VIRGINIA COMPANY OF LONDON] KINGSBURY, Susan Myra, ed.; Herbert Levi Osgood, pref
Large, thick quarto (29.5cm.); publisher's greenish-grey pictorial cloth stamped in gilt; [2],636pp.; facsimile frontispiece, three leaves of plates, tissue guards printed in red. Boards scuffed and corners bumped, short tear at spine crown not quite touching titling, front hinge cracked but holding, light foxing throughout, else a Good to Very Good, unopened copy. The subsequent three volumes of this edition published through 1935.
DU BOIS, William Edward Burghardt a.k.a DUBOIS, W.E.B.] CLARKE, John Henrik, ed
Octavo (23cm.); photo-illustrated wrappers; 216pp. Mild external rubbing and wear, tiny chips at spine ends, brief splitting at bottom rear spine edge; Very Good. The Du Bois memorial volume, with tributes by several dozen luminaries of the African and African-American independence movements, including Horace Mann Bond, Langston Hughes, Roy Wilkins, C.L.R. James, many others. Includes a small selection of Du Bois's poems, introduced by Kwame Nkrumah and edited by Shirley Graham; a section of unpublished writings, edited by Herbert Aptheker; Ernest Kaiser's preliminary bibliographical checklist of Du Bois's writings, etc.
LEE, Arthur T[racy]
Octavo (17.5cm); brown publisher's cloth, stamped in gilt on front and spine; 160pp, frontis., 2 plates. Boards moderately worn, especially about extremities; rear panel soiled; spine sunned, with somewhat faded gilt and torn top joint; front pastedown detached from textblock; interiors show some soiling and creasing to edges; signed and inscribed by the author on dedication page (dated May 1874). Overall Very Good. Colonel Arthur T. Lee had a long and storied career in the U.S. Army. He is especially noted for his art; during his service at Fort Davis, he produced many sketches of the area, thus creating an early visual document of the American southwest. Lee illustrated two b/w plates and the frontispiece for this volume of his poetry, which examines the lot of the soldier (of the day) through lyric and rhyme; he also provides a section of footnotes. No publication information is listed in this book, save the 1871 date; its listings in OCLC and an 1882 War Department Library catalogue are similarly brief.
DAVIS, Mrs. C[aroline] E. K[elly]
Octavo (18cm); green publisher's cloth, stamped in black and gilt, with tipped-on color illustration; 184+[4]pp, frontis. General wear and soiling to boards and text; boards rubbed, extremities chapped with minor material loss; textblock foxed throughout; front pastedown partially detached from textblock, with exposed lining. Else, Very Good, scarce. Each verso in this volume contains a very short story, accompanied by its own (uncredited) plate illustration on the recto. Stories are geared for very young readers and intended to promote good behavior and moral values, if peppered with some harrowing things, e.g., multiple dead cats, Napoleon Bonaparte looking sad, "heathen" religions, and the ominous future for "Idle Harry", who ruined the family clock, quarreled with his sister, and cut his face while playing with razors. Author C.E.K. Davis produced several other volumes like this, including "Papa's Boy" (1875), "Dotty" (1879), and "Brave Donald" (1888). Appended with four pages of advertising from D. Lothrop.
LARSON, Gary
Complete collection of Larson's brilliant, long-running comics, printed between 1980-1994. First Printing. Two quarto volumes (34.75cm); brown faux-leather and blue cloth boards, with titling and author's facsimile signature stamped in gilt on spines and front covers, and decorative elements applied in colors on front cover of each volume; pictorial endpapers; publisher's original illustrated slipcase; xx,644; [iv],601,[3]pp; illus. Gentle sunning to spines, else very Near Fine in like slipcase, showing some very minimal shelfwear.
KARR, Phyllis Ann
Octavo (21.5cm); black paper boards, stamped in gilt (spine), in color pictorial dustwrapper; 591pp. Dustwrapper shows mild wear, soiling and scuffing, with an abrasion/tear on front top edge; leading corners chipped; interiors clean and unmarked. Fine in Near Fine dustwrapper. First published in 1979, The Arthurian Companion is a comprehensive glossary of prominent people, places, and things in the Arthurian canon. This revised edition contains over 1000 alphabetized and annotated entries relating to the world of Camelot, of King Arthur and his knights, of Merlin and Morgan le Fay, of Excalibur and even Guenevere's comb. Scholars of Arthurian legend may also appreciate the numerous appendices, which include a chronology, geographical guide, and other miscellaneous details about the lore of Camelot.
BLACKLOCK, M. Strickland
Octavo (19cm); dark green publisher's cloth, decoratively stamped in black and gilt, blind-stamped rear border; 101pp, frontis. Spine slightly cocked; boards worn and rubbed, with chapped extremities, some material loss to leading corners and spine edges; sticker residue to front; interiors toned, with foxing intermittent throughout. Ownership inscription on ffep (dated '77), else Very Good, rare. A rather scarce volume of poetry by a certain M. Strickland Blacklock, perhaps his only publication. Interestingly, Blacklock apologizes for both the quality and subject matter of his poetry, describing "an incongruity between the title of this work and several of the pieces it contains". Indeed, many of the poems within are actually about lovely ladies, with a variety of other subjects mixed in, including New York City, the Civil War, and the shame of slavery.
BÆDEKER, Karl
Octavo (16cm); tan publisher's cloth, decorative borderwork stamped in blind, with gilt titling; cxvi, 374pp. All edges marbled; moderate handling wear and soiling throughout; extremities bumped w/ minor fraying; front pastedown detached from textblock, lining material exposed; some pages foxed with dampstains to edges and margins; ownership inscription on ffep; color map of Greece on rear pastedown, w/ pull-out map intact. Very Good overall. The first English language edition, translated from the second German edition of Karl Bædeker's travel guide to the Grecian Isles. Covers the basics of speaking and reading Greek, an introduction to Greek culture, and 48 suggested tours of Grecian cities, landmarks, and natural wonders, by foot, rail, or sea. This book also includes maps (including a fold-out map of Athens) and a fold-out panorama photo-illustration in b/w, also of Athens. Rear endpapers feature illustrated diagrams of Doric and Ionic architecture.
WARNER, Sylvia Townsend
Octavo (19cm); green patterned publisher's cloth, in green and white dustwrapper; 250pp. Dustwrapper sunned, especially along spine; minor soiling and chipping to extremities; price-clipped inner flap; text has slight handling wear, else clean. Overall Very Good or Better. This collection contains 18 of Warner's often darkly humorous and wry short stories, penned between 1938 and 1955. Many of these stories, including "The Children's Grandmother", "Hee-Haw!" and "Evan" were previously featured in The New Yorker, and paint a vivid portrait of English life, and people (especially women) from all walks of it. Openly bisexual herself, Warner's work is also frequently imbued with feminist and lesbian/bisexual motifs.
ROMANOVA, S.A.
Slim quarto (28.5cm.); publisher's glossy blue card wrappers lettered in white; 91pp.; color illus. throughout. Wrappers a bit curled along fore-edges, light shelf wear, else Very Good, internally fine. Exhibition catalog featuring the works of twelve 20th-century Soviet artists, including M.F. Volodin, N.N. Gorlov, V.G. Gremitskikh, Iu. P. Kugach, K.M. Maksimov, V.K. Nechitailo, M.V. Savchenkova, O.G. Svetlichnaia, N.K. Solomin, I.S. Soshchnikov, N.P. Tolkunov, and V.G. Tsyplakov.
LEWIS, C[live] S[taples]
Octavo (20.5cm); red publisher's cloth in tan dustwrapper; 160pp. Dustwrapper toned and brittle, with abrasions and pinholes, plus chips and tears to extremities (with some material loss, particularly to front panel and heel/crown of spine); boards slightly bumped along front bottom edge, soiled along extremities; interiors clean and tight. Dustwrapper retains original $1.50 price listing. Very Good or better in Good, scarce "Wartime" dustwrapper. This is the seventh printing of Lewis's classic epistolary, concerning the correspondence between an elder devil named Screwtape and his nephew, Wormwood, as they attempt to corrupt an Earthly individual. This satire, in its defense of Christianity, takes a witty approach to theological issues in temptation and resistance.
AFRICAN-AMERICANA] DWIGHT, Theodore
Early such piece arguing against slavery, delivered by the Federalist lawyer and cousin of Aaron Burr. The Society was founded just four years previously, in 1790, and Dwight would work assiduously as an attorney representing free black New Yorkers who had been kidnapped to be placed on the slave market. "Although he wrote too much and too rapidly for lasting fame, his political articles were bright and spicy" ("Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography (1888), Vol. II, p. 282). EVANS 26922; SABIN 21530. Octavo (19.5cm.); disbound; 24pp.; [A]-C4. Title page and last leaf of text (serving as upper and rear wrappers) separated but present, upper wrapper rather soiled, extremities chipped and a bit brittle. A Good, serviceable copy only.