Baldwin, James
First edition, first printing. Publisher's cream cloth, black dust jacket lettered in red and orange with photograph of Baldwin to the rear panel. Near fine book, with a touch of toning to spine, and boards very slightly bowed; very good unclipped dust jacket, with light rubbing to front panel and spine, some shallow chipping to head of spine, light wear to foot of spine, lightly nicked corners (tiny bit of insect damage to bottom rear corner), and a couple of small closed tears to top edge of front flap. Overall, a solid and internally clean copy. This influential work by American writer and activist James Baldwin contains two essays, "My Dungeon Shook - Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation" and "Down at the Cross - Letter from a Region of My Mind." Written during the height of the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 60's, these two essays put forth Baldwin's perspective on the struggle for Black liberation in the United States. In "My Dungeon Shook," Baldwin addresses his nephew, James, and implores him to defy the expectations and limits set for him by white oppressors. Baldwin writes, "Please try to remember that what [white people] believe, as well as what they do and cause you to endure, does not testify to your inferiority but to their inhumanity and fear." In the longer of the two essays, "Down at the Cross," Baldwin recounts his experiences growing up in Harlem and in the Church, chronicling the daily realities faced by himself and other young Black people in what amounts to one of the most important treatises on race relations ever published. The Fire Next Time continues to be referenced by modern civil rights leaders and activists and is an important anti-racism text.
Vonnegut, Kurt
First edition thus. Signed by Vonnegut with self-caricature on half-title page. Publisher's burgundy cloth, with gilt titles label to spine; in its original dust jacket, designed and lettered in blue and white. Near fine book, with some dimming to spine label, and some toning to page edges; very good or better unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine, and some tiny nicks to spine ends and panel edges. Overall, a lovely copy. Housed in a black custom clamshell box, with morocco label to spine. Player Piano is a novel about a dystopian future in the United States, where, much like a player piano that plays itself, society is largely run by self-automating machines. In this early work, Vonnegut explores themes that continue in his later novels: class struggle, dystopia, and science-fiction.
Vonnegut, Jr. Kurt; Gornik, April
Essay by Vonnegut. With twelve color plate illustrations by Gornik. First edition. One of 100 copies, signed by Vonnegut and Gornik on title page. Publisher's light blue cloth, with front board lettered in silver foil, printed on arches paper; in its publisher's light blue slipcase. Fine book; one tiny spot of soiling to side, else fine slipcase. Overall, a pristine example. This book was published "to coincide with the exhibition of April Gornik's small paintings at Glenn Horowitz Bookseller in East Hampton" in 1999. In Vonnegut's introductory essay, he writes about his personal relationship with Gornik, and his experience visiting her at her Soho apartment while she was preparing her paintings for the exhibition. Gornik is a painter known for her American landscapes, whose work is held at museums like the Whitney Museum of American Art, the MoMA, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Alcott, Louisa May
Illustrated with a frontispiece and three plates. First American edition (preceded by the London edition, issued in monthly parts), first printing, with six pp. of ads to rear. Publisher's brick-red cloth, with floral decoration in blind to front board, gilt lettering to front board and spine, gilt decoration to spine, and brown endpapers; no jacket, as issued. Very good, with light rubbing to spine ends, small spot of staining to bottom of rear board, some light soiling to pages, and some signatures slightly pulled. Overall, a lovely example, without any restoration. BAL 188. In Under the Lilacs, two girls, Betty and Bab Moss, meet a boy named Ben who's run away from the circus with his dog, Sancho. The girls' mother is charmed by Ben and helps him find a home with her neighbor, Cecilia. Ben starts to settle into a new, simpler way of life, though he misses the excitement of his former life with the circus. Louisa May Alcott (1832 - 1888) is best known for her timeless novel, Little Women (1869), which delves into the lives of four sisters - Jo, Beth, Meg, and Amy - around the time of the Civil War.
Vonnegut, Kurt
Illustrated with photos by Jill Krementz and Bert Andrews. First edition, first printing. One of 3,000 copies. Inscribed by Vonnegut on half-title page. Publisher's black cloth, with red foil trident to front board, spine lettered in bronze, and orange endpapers; in its original black dust jacket, with red trident to front panel, lettered in white and yellow, and photo of Vonnegut to rear panel taken by Jill Krementz. About fine book, with a tiny hole to cloth at foot of spine, and light toning to top edge of text block; near fine unclipped dust jacket, with a small chip to bottom left of front panel, and a couple of small closed tears. Overall, a bright and clean copy. Pieratt and Klinkowitz AI1. Happy Birthday, Wanda June tells the story of Harold Ryan, a macho war hero and big game hunter who is presumed dead. He returns home to find that his wife, Penelope, is entertaining two suitors very unlike himself - a vacuum cleaner salesman and a hippie doctor. To celebrate Harold's birthday in his absence, one of Penelope's suitors bought a cake that had originally been made for a young girl, Wanda June, who was run over by an ice cream truck. At the end of the play, Wanda June and several other deceased people connected to Harold address the audience from heaven. The Vietnam War-influenced play made its off-Broadway debut at the Theatre de Lys in 1970. It was adapted into a 1971 film directed by Mark Robson and starring Rod Steiger and Susannah York as Harold and Penelope.
Vonnegut, Kurt
First UK edition, first printing. Signed by Vonnegut with self-caricature on half-title page. Publisher's blue cloth, with spine stamped in gilt; in its original pictorial dust jacket, with yellow, blue, red, and white illustrations to panels and spine, designed by Peter Gibberd. About fine, with a hint of soiling to text block edges and very light toning to head of spine; near fine unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine, a touch of spotting to panels, and very mild rubbing to spine ends. Overall, a lovely and crisp copy. Housed in a black custom folding box. Pieratt and Klinkowitz AD6. Mother Night tells the story of Howard W. Campbell, Jr., an American who was living in Germany during World War II and imprisoned in Israel, awaiting trial for war crimes. Throughout the novel, Vonnegut examines Campbell's relative guilt and cautions the reader that "we are what we pretend to be." Notably, the book is one of Vonnegut's darker stories.
Vonnegut, Kurt
First UK edition, first printing. With laid-in bookplate signed by Vonnegut. Publisher's red cloth, with light toning to spine ends, a few tiny bumps to edges of rear board, a hint of soiling to spine ends, bottoms of boards, and edges of endpapers, and light foxing to text block edges; about very good clipped dust jacket, with light fading to spine, light soiling to panels and spine, front flap stamped with "Macmillan's Overseas Library," light wear to edges and spine ends, light foxing to jacket verso, tape reinforcement along upper and lower margins of jacket verso, and some splitting to top portion of rear flap fold. Overall, a pleasing copy. Vonnegut's first book Player Piano is a dystopian novel set ten years after World War III, in the fictional town of Ilium, New York. In this town, society is largely run by self-automating machines, and the population is divided into managers and engineers on one side of the river, and the "Homestead" - a camp for people displaced by technology - on the other. The story's protagonist, Dr. Paul Proteus, is a manager at Ilium Works, who becomes increasingly rebellious to the system. For this novel, Vonnegut drew on his personal experience working as a technical writer at General Electric shortly after the close of World War II. In a 1973 interview, Vonnegut said that he "cheerfully ripped off the plot of Brave New World, whose plot had been cheerfully ripped off from Yevgeny Zamyatin's We."
Salinger, J. D.
First edition, first printing. Publisher's blue-gray cloth, lettered in gilt to spine; original green and white dust jacket, lettered in black. About fine with a hint of toning to spine ends and boards edges, and a hint of smudging to rear free endpaper; very good unclipped dust jacket, with some light marks and light soiling to panels, light toning to panels, spine, and flaps, and light wear to spine ends. Overall, a solid copy. Franny and Zooey contains stories based on Salinger's previously published writings featuring the fictional Glass family. "Franny," a short story, and "Zooey," a novella, were originally published in The New Yorker magazine in 1955 and 1957, respectively. The characters Franny and Zooey are both in their twenties and are the youngest members of a settler family in New York. Both narratives, "Franny" tells of Franny Glass' emotional breakdown and increasing disenchantment with her surroundings, while "Zooey" is told from Zooey Glass' point of view as he attempts to offer his younger sister Franny some brotherly advice and support.
Woolf, Virginia
First edition, first printing with 14 pages of press opinions. One of 1200 copies. Publisher's crocus-yellow cloth, cream label with titles printed in black to spine, fore and bottom edges untrimmed; in its original cream dust jacket printed in cinnamon and black, designed by Vanessa Bell. Near fine or better book, with light soiling to spine, lightly bumped corners, and light offsetting to endpapers; unclipped dust jacket, with heavy toning to spine, front and rear panels separated at spine, approximately 60% of the spine still present, small piece of spine separated but present, front panel bright and intact except for half of the "V" from "Virginia Woolf" missing, some repair to verso including a diagonal tear across front panel, some edgewear, and a few small chips to front and rear flap folds. Overall, a lovely example, with most of the exceptionally scarce original dust jacket present. Kirkpatrick A6a. Woolmer 26. Jacob's Room traces the life of Jacob Flanders, a man who attends school at Cambridge, travels abroad, and ultimately dies at 26 in World War I. There is very little emphasis on plot in the story, and the reader does not gain access to Jacob's internal life - rather the story is a pastiche of impressions of Jacob from family members, friends, and lovers. It is believed that Woolf was influenced by the death of her brother Thoby at the age of 26 in writing the book. Woolf's third novel, Jacob's Room is the first book in which Woolf exhibits the experimental and psychological style that she would go on to use so masterfully in her classic novels like Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse. Woolf published Jacob's Room in 1922, the year that, according to Willa Cather, the "world broke in two" due to the seismic changes taking place in the world of literature. A watershed year for modernism, it was also the year that James Joyce published Ulysses and T. S. Eliot published The Wasteland. Notably, Jacob's Room was the first novel published by Hogarth Press, and the first Hogarth Press book to be published with a dust jacket. The dust jacket was made collaboratively - Vanessa Bell provided the drawing, Virginia chose the coloring, and Leonard Woolf helped design the lettering.
García Márquez, Gabriel
Translated from the original Spanish by Gregory Rabassa. First American edition, first printing in the second issue dust jacket with "." at the end of the first paragraph on the front flap. Publisher's dark green cloth, gilt lettering, and olive endpapers; in the colorful pictorial dust jacket designed by Guy Fleming. Near fine book, with light rubbing to spine ends and bottom corners, light spotting to text block edges, and light offsetting to rear endpapers; very good unclipped dust jacket, with light wear to spine ends, a few small nicks and creases to edges, a small closed tear to top edge of rear panel, "Doubleday" sticker to rear panel, and lightly nicked corners. Overall, an attractive copy. Widely considered the author's masterpiece, One Hundred Years of Solitude is the English translation of Cien años de soledad, first published in Buenos Aires in 1967 by Editorial Sudamericana. The Pulitzer Prize winning novel tells the story of five generations of the Buendía family, beginning with patriarch José Arcadio Buendía and his wife Ursula Iguarán. Through the family history, García Márquez relates the history of the fictional Macondo people, founded by the Buendías. Despite their importance to Macondo, García Márquez makes clear that the Buendías interpret their land like they interpret themselves - in their own unique and esoteric way. Regardless, the Macondo represent the author's home country, Colombia, and the Buendías, his countrymen. As the dust jacket explains, "In the noble, ridiculous, beautiful, and tawdry story of the Buendía family one sees all mankind, just as in the history, myths, growth, and decay of Macondo one sees all of Latin America." An important example of the magical realism style and the literary Latin American Boom of the 1960s and 1970s, One Hundred Years of Solitude has been translated into over forty languages.
Vonnegut, Kurt
First hardcover edition, first printing. One of 2,500 copies. Publisher's black cloth, with front board and spine lettered in white; in its original wraparound pictorial dust jacket, printed in purple and green, lettered in white, with photograph of Vonnegut to rear panel taken by Anne Simpkins. About fine, with just some light rubbing to spine ends and corners, and a touch of toning to head of spine; near fine dust unclipped dust jacket, with some toning and a few light marks to spine, some light wear and shallow chipping to spine ends, a tiny bit of soiling to rear panel, and a small closed tear to top edge of front panel. Overall, an exceptionally tight and attractive copy. Pieratt and Klinkowitz AB2. The Sirens of Titan, Vonnegut's second novel, is a comic science fiction novel that revolves around three main characters - Winston Niles Rumfoord, whose space flight through the chronosynclastic infundibulum gives him the ability to predict the future, Malachi Constant, the richest man on earth who gets swept up in an interplanetary war, and Salo, a robot from the planet Tralfamadore whose ship is stranded on Saturn's moon, Titan. The novel explores the subject of free will, a subject that Vonnegut revisits in subsequent books, like Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) and Breakfast of Champions (1972). Douglas Adams, in a 1979 interview in which he discusses Vonnegut's influence on his book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979), says, "Sirens of Titan is just one of those books - you read it through the first time and you think it's very loosely, casually written And then you read it a few more times, simultaneously finding out more about writing yourself, and you realize what an absolute tour de force it was, making something as beautifully honed as that appear so casual."
Swift, Jonathan
Illustrated with two maps in Volume I, and three maps and a diagram in Volume 2. Four parts in two volumes as issued. First edition, third issue (Teerink's "B" Edition), with frontispiece portrait of Gulliver in the second state (legend lettered around an oval frame, and vertical chain lines), as usual. This is the third of three editions of Gulliver's Travels printed in the same year - the first "A" published October 27th, "AA" published in November, and this "B" issue published in December. Octavo. Finely bound in 19th century speckled calf by Robson & Kerslake, with boards triple-ruled in gilt with gilt decorations in corners, five raised bands to spines, ruled, lettered, and decorated in gilt, red and dark blue leather labels to spines, red marbled endpapers, gilt turn-ins, top edge gilt, and yellow edges. Very good set, with some repair to hinges, light wear to edges and corners, and some light spotting to pages. Overall, a gorgeous example of Swift's greatest satire. Teerink-Scouten 291. Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, or Gulliver's Travels, as it has come to be known, begins when the fictional traveler Lemuel Gulliver finds himself prisoner on the island of Lilliput, held captive by a race of people less than six inches tall. The story continues through a series of similarly outrageous adventures, divided into four parts that each take place over a period of about four years. First published in 1726, Gulliver's Travels is one of the first books to take the form of the modern novel, and uses satire to express critical views on government, religion, and patriarchy. Notably, it has been adapted for television, film, and radio, and continues to be referenced throughout English literature.
McGraw, John J.
Illustrated with black and white photos. First edition. Rebound in custom tan cloth with titles in black to spine, with publisher's red wrappers bound in, printed in white with photo of a baseball catcher to front wrapper. About fine, with light offsetting to margins of endpapers, a few small numbers in pencil to front wrapper, and light toning and rubbing to rear panel. Overall, remarkably clean and bright original wrappers. John McGraw was a star player and an all-time great manager from the dead-ball era. He helped the Baltimore Orioles win a pennant as a player-manager in the late 1890s, and then became manager for the New York Giants for almost thirty years (1902 - 1932), during which time he led the team to 10 pennant wins and three World Series titles (1905, 1921, 1922). As both a player and a manager McGraw was known for his aggressive style and willingness to bend the rules in the pursuit of winning (one of McGraw's coaches famously said that he "eats gunpowder for breakfast and washes it down with warm blood"). McGraw holds records for most pennant wins as a manager (10, tied with Casey Stengel) and most seasons managed (31). He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, which was the second induction class in the sport's history. This baseball manual features McGraw's insights on how to play and excel at the various positions in baseball, and the official rules and team schedules for the year in which it was published.
White, E. B.
First edition, first printing. Illustrated by Garth Williams. Original publisher's light tan cloth, lettered in blue and black, pictorial blue endpapers with a cobweb illustration in white; in the original pictorial dust jacket, with Garth's illustration of Fern holding Wilbur and looking at Charlotte to the front panel, lettered in black, blue, red and green. Fine book, with just a touch of rubbing to bottom corners; near fine unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine and upper margin of front panel, some very light surface marks to spine and front panel, a touch of soiling to panels, and two tiny chips to front flap fold. Overall, an exemplary copy of E. B. White's classic book. Charlotte's Web tells the story of a pig named Wilbur and how the farmer's daughter Fern and his spider friend Charlotte endeavor to save Wilbur from slaughter. Just as White's Stuart Little, the story of a mouse in a big city, appealed to urban American children, Charlotte's Web was geared towards rural children who grew up living on a farm. The text is illustrated with forty-seven black and white drawings by Garth Williams, who also illustrated Stuart Little. In both, the artist's cross-hatching illustrations portrayed a jovial subject matter beloved by children with a level of detail that simultaneously garnered adult admirers. White drew his inspiration for Charlotte's Web from his own experience tending to a sick pig, which he outlined in a 1947 essay for The Atlantic Monthly.
Hubbard, Elbert; [Hubbard, Alice]
With engraved frontispiece portraits of Elbert and Alice Hubbard, and decorative initials and head- and tail-pieces by Dard Hunter throughout text, printed in green and white. First edition. One of 207 copies signed and numbered by Hubbard on the limitation page, this being number 158. Additionally inscribed by Elbert and his wife Alice on front flyleaf: "To our beautiful Betty with the love and blessing of Alice Hubbard / Elbert Hubbard / Dec 25th 1907." Finely bound in contemporary three-quarter brick-red morocco, with marbled boards, five raised bands to spine, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, marbled endpapers, and red ribbon. About fine, with light toning and scratching to paper on front board, a touch of rubbing to foot of spine, and light toning to page edges. Overall, an exquisite copy. White Hyacinths is a book of essays on life, which opens with the epigraph, "If I had but two loaves of bread I would sell one of them and buy White Hyacinths to feed my soul." This edition was published by the Roycrofters, a reformist group of artists and artisans who lived in an artists' colony in East Aurora, New York. Founded by Elbert Hubbard in 1895, the Roycrofters formed a major part of the American Arts and Crafts movement, which encouraged the blending of the artisanal and utilitarian, placing emphasis on the beauty as well as the value of objects. In bookbinding, this translated into the use of commissioned artists to design book covers, endpapers, and page borders. Hubbard's Roycroft Press was inspired by William Morris' Kelmscott Press, which produced beautiful books with elaborate decorations inspired by medieval manuscripts.
le Carré, John
First edition, advance reading copy (ARC). Publisher's blue wrappers, printed in black. Very good, with light soiling and creasing to wrappers, light foxing to spine, some very shallow chipping to spine ends, and light soiling to fore edge of text block. Overall, a pleasing copy. Housed in a custom black and gray quarter morocco clamshell box. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a classic espionage novel that takes place during the Cold War. In the novel, British agent Alec Leamas wants to get out of the intelligence profession - or "come in from the cold" - but is convinced to do one last mission. For his mission, Leamas must defect to East Germany and frame Hans Dieter-Mundt, a high-ranking German intelligence officer, as a double agent for the British secret service. Time magazine included the book on its list of the top 100 novels and called it "a sad, sympathetic portrait of a man who has lived by lies and subterfuge for so long, he's forgotten how to tell the truth." In 1963, the book won the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger award for "Best Crime Novel," and in 2005 it won the Dagger of Daggers - an award for the best crime novel of all of the Gold Dagger winners in the Crime Writers' Association's 50-year history.
Woolf, Virginia; [Wheatley, Dennis].
First edition, first printing. One of 2000 copies. Publisher's deep rust cloth, gilt lettering to spine; in its original cream-colored dust jacket, printed in black and white, and designed by Vanessa Bell. Fine book, with just some light offsetting to endpapers, and novelist Dennis Wheatley's bookplate to front pastedown; fine unclipped dust jacket, with a few small closed tears to panel edges, very shallow chipping to spine ends, light toning and a touch of staining to spine, panels remarkably bright and clean with just a hint of soiling to rear panel, and a tiny chip to front flap fold. Overall, an exemplary copy of arguably Virginia Woolf's greatest novel. Housed in a custom quarter leather box with folding chemise. Kirkpatrick A9a. Woolmer 82. One of the author's best-known novels, Mrs. Dalloway tells the story of Clarissa Dalloway as she prepares to host a high-society party. The text is a compilation of two of Woolf's short stories "Mrs. Dalloway in Bond Street" and "The Prime Minister." A stream of consciousness narrative, Mrs. Dalloway follows the protagonist from her decision to "buy the flowers herself" at the start of the day through the completion of her party in the evening. Throughout the novel, Woolf explores the impact of mental illness on daily life, both in Mrs. Dalloway, who reveals that she is being treated for depression, and a second leading character, Septimus Warren Smith, a WWI veteran suffering from PTSD who chooses to commit suicide rather than face involuntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital. Like many of Woolf's novels, the text is centered on philosophy and perception rather than action sequences and dialogue; John W. Crawford agrees in his New York Times Review that "One day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway is the complete story of Mrs. Woolf's new novel, yet she contrives to enmesh all the inflections of Mrs. Dalloway's personality, and many of the implications of modern civilization, in the account of those twenty-four hours." Dennis Wheatley (1897-1977) was a writer of thrillers and occult novels who was enormously popular from the 1930s to 1960s, selling more than 20 million books. His most successful series were the Duke de Richleau series, Roger Brook series, and Gregory Sallust series. For the Sallust series - a spy series set during World War II - Wheatley drew on his personal experience as a member of British Intelligence in World War II. Notably, Ian Fleming is believed to have used George Sallust as a model for his own fictional spy, James Bond. Wheatley was an avid book collector, and his personal collection of 2,274 books, many of which were modern first editions, was first acquired by Oxford's Blackwell's in 1979.
Twain, Mark (Clemens, Samuel)
Illustrated with 316 illustrations by John Harley, Edmund Henry Garrett, and A. B. Shute. First edition, intermediate state, with the first state of Twain's bust in flames and the second "The St. Charles Hotel." Publisher's brown cloth, decorated to front board in black and gilt, and gray-tan endpapers. Near fine, with light toning to spine, very bright gilt on front board, light rubbing to spine ends and corners, ownership stamp to front and rear free endpapers, ownership inscription to front free endpaper, hairline crack to front hinge, and light soiling to a few pages. Overall, a very attractive and unrestored copy. BAL 3411. Life on the Mississippi is a semi-autobiographical text about the history of the Mississippi River and the author's adventures riding on a steamboat from St. Louis to New Orleans. While much of the information in this text is factual, many of the individual episodes were fabricated to varying degrees and are better considered tall tales than accurate documentation. For example, Twain provides an account of the origin of his pseudonym, which he claims he took from Captain Isaiah Sellers. While the explanation of "mark twain" as a riverman's phrase for water found to be two fathoms deep (12 feet) is undoubtedly correct, it is likely that the stories regarding Sellers are at least partially embellished. In addition to offering insight into the author's earlier life, Life on the Mississippi provides historical context on the industrialization of the United States in the second half of the 19th century; throughout the text, Twain discusses the competition of railroads along with the growing cities in the American Midwest and South.
[Hubbell, Carl (HOF); Ott, Mel (HOF); Terry, Bill (HOF); Jackson, Travis (HOF)]
Original 9" x 7" Type 1 black and white photo. Photo of the 1933 New York Giants team after capturing the NL pennant, featuring future Hall of Famers Carl Hubbell, Mel Ott, Travis Jackson, and Bill Terry. Fine photo. Overall, a beautiful vintage team photo. After winning the NL pennant, the 1933 New York Giants went on to defeat the Washington Senators in the World Series in five games. The team's success was due in no small part to exceptional pitching throughout the season by Carl Hubbell and Hal Schumacher. Carl Hubbell was a Hall of Fame pitcher who spent his entire career with the Giants. He won NL MVP honors twice (1933, 1936) and was selected for nine All-Star games. His most memorable moment in the league came when he struck out five all-time great hitters - Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin - in a row in the 1934 All-Star Game. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. Mel Ott was a Hall of Fame right fielder who spent his entire playing career with the New York Giants (1926 - 1947). He was selected to 12 All-Stars games and was a 6x NL home run leader. Notably, he led the Giants in home run hitting for 18 consecutive seasons (1928 - 1945), which still stands as a record today, and was the third player to join the 500 home run club after Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx. Ott was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1951. Bill Terry was a 3x All-Star whose greatest feat was batting .401 in 1930 (to date, he is the last player to hit over .400 in the National League). In 1933, Terry was a player-manager, succeeding Hall of Famer John McGraw in the role of team manager.
[Ott, Mel (HOF); Hubbell, Carl (HOF)
Original 9" x 7" Type 1 black and white photo. Photo of the 1937 New York Giants team after winning the pennant, featuring future Hall of Famers Carl Hubbell and Mel Ott. Near fine photo, with just some light toning and rippling, and brown lettering to upper margin. Overall, a great vintage team photo. The 1937 New York Giants won the National League pennant, though they went on to lose in the World Series against their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees, in five games. Carl Hubbell was a Hall of Fame pitcher who spent his entire career with the Giants. He won NL MVP honors twice (1933, 1936) and was selected for nine All-Star games. His most memorable moment in the league came when he struck out five all-time great hitters - Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin - in a row in the 1934 All-Star Game. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. Mel Ott was a Hall of Fame right fielder who spent his entire playing career with the New York Giants (1926 - 1947). He was selected to 12 All-Stars games and was a 6x NL home run leader. Notably, he led the Giants in home run hitting for 18 consecutive seasons (1928 - 1945), which still stands as a record today, and was the third player to join the 500 home run club after Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx. Ott was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1951. Other notable players featured in the photo are 4x All-Star Wally Berger, 6x All-Star Jo-Jo Moore, and 3x All-Star Hank Leiber.
First edition, first printing. Publisher's blue-gray cloth, lettered in gilt to spine; original green and white dust jacket, lettered in black. Near fine book, with light toning to spine ends and board edges, and a small spot of staining to bottom edge of text block; near fine unclipped dust jacket with bright panels, a touch of toning to spine, and a couple of light creases to front flap. Overall, a lovely copy. Franny and Zooey contains stories based on Salinger's previously published writings featuring the fictional Glass family. "Franny," a short story, and "Zooey," a novella, were originally published in The New Yorker magazine in 1955 and 1957, respectively. The characters Franny and Zooey are both in their twenties and are the youngest members of a settler family in New York. Both narratives, "Franny" tells of Franny Glass' emotional breakdown and increasing disenchantment with her surroundings, while "Zooey" is told from Zooey Glass' point of view as he attempts to offer his younger sister Franny some brotherly advice and support.
First UK edition. Publisher's black cloth, with spine lettered in gilt; in its original white dust jacket, with concentric circles design to front panel, lettered in black and gray. Near fine book, with a touch of toning to spine ends, a gentle lean to spine, a touch of smudging on pp. 161 and 163, and former bookseller's label to front pastedown; near fine unclipped dust jacket, with very light soiling to spine, rear panel, and front flap, light wear to spine ends, and a bit of creasing to top left of front panel. Overall, a lovely copy. The Bell Jar is a semi-autobiographical novel about Esther Greenwood's descent into the dark world of clinical depression, or the feeling of being trapped under a bell jar. A young and talented writer, Greenwood's unhappiness spirals into a mental breakdown that lands her in the hospital's psychiatric ward. Many of the people and events in the novel are based on the actual events of Plath's life; the author's own battle with depression informs the "deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche," which is "rare in any novel." The first edition of The Bell Jar was published in 1963 by William Heinemann only a month before Plath committed suicide, and under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. This first UK edition is the first edition of The Bell Jar to appear under Plath's real name.
Illustrated with black and white photos. First edition. Rebound in custom tan cloth with titles in black to spine, with publisher's red wrappers bound in, printed in white with photo of a baseball player mid-toss to front wrapper. Near fine, with light offsetting to margins of endpapers, a small chip to bottom edge of front wrapper, a small closed tear to top edge of rear panel, and some numbers written in pencil to rear wrapper and its verso. Overall, a bright copy of this very scarce title. John McGraw was a star player and an all-time great manager from the dead-ball era. He helped the Baltimore Orioles win a pennant as a player-manager in the late 1890s, and then became manager for the New York Giants for almost thirty years (1902 - 1932), during which time he led the team to 10 pennant wins and three World Series titles (1905, 1921, 1922). As both a player and a manager McGraw was known for his aggressive style and willingness to bend the rules in the pursuit of winning (one of McGraw's coaches famously said that he "eats gunpowder for breakfast and washes it down with warm blood"). McGraw holds records for most pennant wins as a manager (10, tied with Casey Stengel) and most seasons managed (31). He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, which was the second induction class in the sport's history. This baseball manual features McGraw's insights on how to play and excel at the various positions in baseball, and the official rules and team schedules for the year in which it was published.
Illustrated with black and white photos. First edition. Rebound in custom tan cloth with titles in black to spine, with publisher's red wrappers bound in, printed in white with photo of a baseball player mid-toss to front wrapper. Very good, with light offsetting to margins of endpapers, light scratching, rubbing and toning to wrappers, small chip to bottom right corner of front wrapper, small closed tear to right edge of title page, some writing in pencil at bottom of page with diagram of baseball field and a hint of dampstaining to bottom edges of last two leaves, otherwise very clean and fresh internally. Overall, a great copy. John McGraw was a star player and an all-time great manager from the dead-ball era. He helped the Baltimore Orioles win a pennant as a player-manager in the late 1890s, and then became manager for the New York Giants for almost thirty years (1902 - 1932), during which time he led the team to 10 pennant wins and three World Series titles (1905, 1921, 1922). As both a player and a manager McGraw was known for his aggressive style and willingness to bend the rules in the pursuit of winning (one of McGraw's coaches famously said that he "eats gunpowder for breakfast and washes it down with warm blood"). McGraw holds records for most pennant wins as a manager (10, tied with Casey Stengel) and most seasons managed (31). He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, which was the second induction class in the sport's history. This baseball manual features McGraw's insights on how to play and excel at the various positions in baseball, and the official rules and team schedules for the year in which it was published.
Illustrated with black and white photos. First edition. Rebound in custom tan cloth with titles in black to spine, with publisher's red wrappers bound in, printed in white with photo of a baseball player to front wrapper. Very good, with light offsetting to margins of endpapers, some toning and creasing to wrappers, a few chips to edges of wrappers, and small tears to edges of pp. 141-144. Overall, a great, internally clean copy of a scarce title. John McGraw was a star player and an all-time great manager from the dead-ball era. He helped the Baltimore Orioles win a pennant as a player-manager in the late 1890s, and then became manager for the New York Giants for almost thirty years (1902 - 1932), during which time he led the team to 10 pennant wins and three World Series titles (1905, 1921, 1922). As both a player and a manager McGraw was known for his aggressive style and willingness to bend the rules in the pursuit of winning (one of McGraw's coaches famously said that he "eats gunpowder for breakfast and washes it down with warm blood"). McGraw holds records for most pennant wins as a manager (10, tied with Casey Stengel) and most seasons managed (31). He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, which was the second induction class in the sport's history. This baseball manual features McGraw's insights on how to play and excel at the various positions in baseball, and the official rules and team schedules for the year in which it was published.
