Whitmore Rare Books, Inc. Archives - Rare Book Insider

Whitmore Rare Books, Inc.

  • Showing all 25 results

book (2)

The Outsider [Stranger]

Camus, Albert First UK edition, preceding the first American edition. A lovely, Near Fine copy of the book in like dust jacket. Book with a bit of foxing, mostly to the closed text block and the spine cloth a trifle faded. Dust jacket with slight wear at the crown and a very small chip at the base of the spine. Spine a bit toned and a few spots of foxing to the rear panel, but generally a fresh, bright copy. Camus' groundbreaking debut, first published in France in 1942, positioned him as one of Europe's most influential existentialist thinkers (though Camus himself would resist that label). Written in the lead up to the Nazi invasion, The Outsider follows the protagonist Meursault, a French Algerian, as he learns of his mother's death, commits a murder the same day, and is ultimately sentenced to death. Throughout the experience, Meursault eschews all of the expected human emotions; he is detached from bourgeois feelings, focusing instead on the absolute absurdity of life. Before Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957, becoming the first African-born laureate, he explained that the novel was inspired by "a remark I admit was highly paradoxical: 'In our society, a man who does not weep at his funeral runs the risk of being sentenced to death.'.the hero of my book is condemned because he does not play the game" (Carroll). A foundational and brilliant part of the modern literary-philosophical canon. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket.
  • $1,750
  • $1,750
book (2)

The Holiday Visit and Other Tales: Being Sketches of Childhood, Designed for a Juvenile Audience

[Cooper, Emily] Publisher's quarter roan over marbled boards. Measuring 140 x 85mm. Front endpaper neatly excised, else collating complete with frontis and publisher's adverts: [2], 249, [3]. Some rubbing and chipping to boards with spine slightly sunned. Hinges and joints firm. Occasional light scattered foxing, but overall internally clean. A scarce didactic juvenile collection urging educated children against anti-feminist attitudes and social judgement, OCLC reports only 13 copies at institutions. The present is the only copy on the market. A collection of four didactic juvenile stories, largely centered on overcoming social misunderstandings and prejudices surrounding gender and gendered education. Included are The Holiday Visit, The Two Friends, A New Acquaintance, and The Little Heroine. The first story, from which the collection takes its title, also sets the book's tone; and it reveals that while the author is a proponent of women's equal education, she is not an advocate for the misogynistic judgements against girls who receive more traditional "ladylike" training. The Stanhope children -- Ambrose, Anna, Henry, and Susan -- have been educated together at home by their father, who has encouraged their scholarly and practical pursuits. As a group, they were raised into Latin, mathematics, history, and the sciences as well as taught to enjoy outdoor pursuits such as gardening and vegetable growing. When their cousin Louisa visits on holiday from a boarding school, the children are predisposed to judge her before arrival. They assume she will be useless, frivolous, and stuck up. Led by Ambrose, the Stanhope children tease and belittle Louisa for her discomfort in outdoor pursuits, for her talent in music and art but her lack of general scholarship, and for her need of a maid to assist her in dressing. But as the story unfolds, Mr. Stanhope takes numerous opportunities to point out to his children that they are the ungenerous ones; he encourages them to consider how Louisa's education does her a disservice in the areas their family privileges, but that she excels over them in meeting social expectations. Unlike Anna and Susan, she has been trained to realize the limited options open to her in her adult life and to position herself for the best possible marriage she can, as she is "never likely to live on by herself." The problem is not with Louisa but with the system. In the end, all of the children learn to be more generous and less prejudiced, and to judge their own merits and accomplishments more fairly.
  • $1,500
  • $1,500
book (2)

An Authentic Account of the Conversion and Experience of a Negro

Anonymous First separate edition. Measuring 205 x 120mm and complete in 4 pages. A Fine example, with a small pinhole to the center of the final leaf not affecting any text. Upper edge a bit jagged. Scarce in all formats, it was first printed in Vermont in 1793 and contained an additional eight pages documenting a "faithful narrative.towards Polly Davis" (one copy survives at AAS); soon after, an edition was released from Maine containing a poem on Christian Experience (only two copies survive, both at NYPL). The present first British edition is also the first separately printed edition, recorded by ESTC at only 9 libraries. It has come to auction on only five occasions, with the present being the only example currently in trade. An Authentic Account records a brief encounter between a white Englishman and an enslaved Black man on a plantation in New York. Focusing their dialogue on the word of God and on salvation, the white narrator asserts that the two men could find common ground as "children of God.equally effectual with him" despite their diametrically opposed positions within the wider social power structure. "Neither the color of his body, nor the condition of his present life, could prevent him from being my dear brother in our dear saviour." Despite this argument for the spiritual equality of men of all races, the white narrator in An Authentic Account never questions nor seeks to subvert a power structure that would empower him while violently debasing his Black brother in Christ. Rather, he passively participates in the Evangelical attitude so common of the era, which considered enslavement an opportunity for saving the souls of uncivilized peoples who might not otherwise access the word of God. It was a position which abolitionist Evangelicals including William Wilberforce and Hannah More would decry as the height of hypocrisy in their own work during the period, calling upon Christians not only to see Black peoples as spiritual equals but also as humans deserving equal liberty and dignity. ESTC T224026.
  • $2,250
  • $2,250
book (2)

The Eliza Armstrong Case: Being a Verbatim Report of the Proceedings at Bow Street. With Mr. Stead’s Suppressed Defence

[Sex Work] [Sexual Abuse] [Stead, William Thomas] Original printed wraps stapled at spine. Measuring 250 x 180mm and complete in 96 pages. Chipping, splitting, and loss along spine and corners of wraps. Light scattered foxing throughout, with heavier foxing to final four leaves and to fore-edge of closed text block. A follow-up and conclusion to William Stead's sensational expose of abuses within London's sex trade, this piece is scarce institutionally and in trade. While OCLC reports 4 copies in libraries, none appear in the modern auction record and the present is the only example on the market. [TW: Sexual assault] A pioneering journalist, William Stead rose to prominence with his 1885 exposès on widespread child abuse and human trafficking present in London's sex trade. In a series of articles titled A Maiden Tribute to Modern Babylon and released by the Pall Mall Gazette across the summer and fall of 1885, Stead described harrowing conditions, oftentimes with sensational language, using allusions to Greek mythology and the behaviors of those in the pantheon to depict criminal behaviors in brothels. Yet at other times, his descriptions of violence are shockingly frank and force his Victorian readership to look sexual assault in the face. These are the moments that were most effective politically, drawing the support of conservative religious leaders, progressive social reformers, and liberal feminist groups alike. The present work on the Eliza Armstrong case participates in Stead's larger project, humanizing and individualizing those girls Stead sought to aid. The charges brought against the perpetrator, a Mr. Vaughan, detail that he did take "Eliza Armstrong, an unmarried girl under the age of sixteen -- to wit, of the age of thirteen -- out of the possession and against the will of Charles Armstrong, her father, and Elizabeth Armstrong, her mother.for indecently assaulting Eliza Armstrong and conspiring" to perform a "certain noxious thing designed to injure, aggrieve, and annoy her" in addition to conspiring to allow other men to engage in the same abuse. The details of the Armstrong case as laid out here with specificity, drew a wide audience. While some readers sought out prurient sensation, more participated in public outcry and demanded reform. This lobbying quickly resulted in the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885, which raised the sexual age of consent for girls from 13 to 16 in addition to requiring a woman's informed consent (thus making coercion, fraud, or the application of drugs fall within the legal definition of rape). Yet as with so many laws enacted for the protection of cis-gendered women, the Amendment also offered conservative groups a means for exerting control over communities of which they disapproved. In the name of protecting women and children, these representatives included in Section 11 legislation criminalizing "acts of gross indecency with male persons." The ambiguity of this section meant that while its overt purpose was to protect young women from "deviant" acts, it did not account for "whether the acts were committed by consenting adults in private" (Fize). Thus, the covert and more frequent use was to punish previously legal sex trade practices, or intimate contact among consenting LGBTQ+ people. In particular, "men who engaged in any homosexual activity were very easily blackmailed, and it became known as the 'Blackmail Charter'" until its dissolution in 1967 (BL). A key reminder of the importance of intersectional activism, which recognizes the mutual protection needed by minority communities including all women, all LGBTQ+ people, and all sex workers. It is a history that was and continues to be repeated today, as people outside those communities try to wrest authority from them, insisting on a false dichotomy in which the protection of one group demands the disempowerment of another.
  • $1,650
  • $1,650
book (2)

An Extensive Collection of P.G. Wodehouse Novels

Wodehouse, P. G. [Pelham Grenville] An extensive collection of 45 titles, the majority first editions, all in the publisher's boards or cloth, and most in the publisher's original pictorial dust jackets. Overall condition of the collection is Near Fine, with 2 copies closer to Very Good (noted below). Two books inscribed by Wodehouse: Pigs Have Wings and Ice in the Bedroom. The Collection includes: A15a. The Prince and Betty (First Edition, no DJ) 1912, USA (front inner hinge expertly repaired, slight stain at top of first few pages); A32a. Ukridge (First Edition, second printing, second printing DJ) 1924, UK; A34a. Carry On, Jeeves (First Edition, no DJ) 1925, UK; A42a. Very Good, Jeeves (First Edition, DJ) 1930, USA; A50a. Heavy Weather (First Edition, DJ) 1933, USA; A53a. Blandings Castle (First Edition, third printing, DJ) [1935], UK; A55a. Young Men in Spats (First Edition, First Variant with Drones Club Band, second issue DJ) 1936, UK; A56a. Laughing Gas (First Edition, third printing, later DJ) [1936], UK; A59b. Summer Moonshine (First Edition, second issue DJ) 1938, UK; A61b. Uncle Fred in the Springtime (First Edition, second printing, DJ, ex-libris James H. Heineman bookplate on front pastedown) [1940], UK; A62a. Eggs, Beans and Crumpets (First Edition, second printing, second issue DJ) [1940], UK; A64b. Money in the Bank (First Edition, DJ) [1946], UK; A65b. Joy in the Morning (First Edition, DJ) 1947, UK; A66b. Full Moon (First Edition, DJ price-clipped) [1947], UK; A67b. Spring Fever (First Edition, DJ) [1948], UK; A68a. Uncle Dynamite (First Edition, DJ) [1948], UK; A68a. Uncle Dynamite (First Edition, DJ) [1948], UK; A69a. The Mating Season (First Edition, DJ) [1949], UK; A72a. Barmy in Wonderland (First Edition, DJ price-clipped) 1952, UK; A73a. Pigs Have Wings (First Edition, no DJ, inscribed on front endpaper "To Buddy with love from Plum PG Wodehouse, Dec 3. 1952", Very Good condition) 1952, USA; A73b. Pigs Have Wings (First Edition, DJ) 1952, UK; A78a. French Leave (First Edition, DJ price-clipped) 1955, UK; A80a. Something Fishy (First Edition, DJ) 1957, UK; A81a. Cocktail Time (First Edition, DJ, ex-libris James H. Heineman bookplate on front pastedown) 1958, UK; A82b. A Few Quick Ones (First Edition, second issue (black boards), second issue DJ) 1959, UK; A83b. Jeeves in the Offing (First Edition, second issue half-title, DJ) 1960, UK; A84a. Ice in the Bedroom (First Edition, DJ, Inscribed "Best Wishes PG Wodehouse" on front endpaper) 1961, USA; A84b. Ice in the Bedroom (First Edition, DJ price-clipped (spine slightly faded)) 1961, UK; A85b. Service with a Smile (First Edition, DJ) 1962, UK; A86b. Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves (First Edition, DJ price-clipped) 1963, UK; A87b. Frozen Assets (First Edition, DJ) 1964, UK; A88b. Galahad at Blandings (First Edition, DJ). 1965, UK; A89b. Plum Pie (First Edition, DJ) 1967, USA; A90b. Company for Henry (First Edition, DJ) 1967, UK; A91b. Do Butlers Burgle Banks (First Edition, DJ) 1968, UK; A92a. A Pelican at Blandings (First Edition, DJ) 1969, UK; A93a. The Girl in Blue (First Edition, DJ) 1970, UK; A94b. Jeeves and the Tie That Binds (First Edition, DJ) 1971, USA; A95a. Pearls, Girls and Monty Bodkin (First Edition, DJ) 1972, UK; A96b. Bachelors Anonymous (First Edition, DJ) 1972, USA; A97a. Aunts Aren't Gentlemen (First Edition, DJ) 1974, UK; A100a. Sunset at Blandings (First Edition, DJ price-clipped, sticker £6.95) 1977, UK; B14. The Golf Omnibus (First Edition, DJ) 1973, UK; N49. Plum to Peter (First Edition, DJ, Blue leatherette, 1 of 500 copies signed by Peter Schwed, Very Good condition) 1996, USA; Donaldson, Frances. PG Wodehouse. The Authorized Biography. London, 1982. (First Edition, DJ); Wodehouse, PJ. The Jeeves Omnibus I & II. London, 1990 - 1992. (Paperback) Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE (1881-1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeves; the immaculate and loquacious Psmith; Lord Emsworth and the Blandings Castle set; the Oldest Member, with stories about golf; and Mr Mulliner, with tall tales on subjects ranging from bibulous bishops to megalomaniac movie moguls. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket.
  • $14,500
  • $14,500
book (2)

A Tale of Two Cities

Dickens, Charles Original printed wraps with near-invisible restoration to some spines. A Near Fine, largely unopened copy, with occasional marginal foxing or offsetting from the plates. First printing with p. 213 numbered 113 (and the other points in Smith), but without signature "b" on the list of illustrations. Complete with all sixteen etched plates by "Phiz" and all advertisements called for in Hatton & Cleever (including the scarce Thackeray ad for Cornhill Magazine), plus an additional sixteen pages of ads in parts VII and VIII not mentioned in the bibliography. Housed in a custom slipcase with chemise bearing the bookplate of Michael Sharpe. Published in 1859, A Tale of Two Cities is considered one of the greatest of Dickens' works and contains one of the most recognizable openings in the English language: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Originally released in parts, after its completion A Tale of Two Cities became (and still remains) one of the most widely read novels in history, selling over 200 million copies to date. The book follows events in London and Paris around the time of the French Revolution, and Dickens used Thomas Carlyle's history of the French Revolution as both a source and inspiration. A complex novel of opposites and foils, its exploration of national and individual identity, selfish and selflessness, love and sacrifice has inspired countless operas, musicals, and films including a 1935 movie nominated for Best Picture.
  • $22,500
  • $22,500
book (2)

The Petticoat: An Heroi-comical Poem. In two books

[Erotic Literature] [Chute, Francis] Bound to style in quarter calf over marbled boards with gilt to spine. All edges marbled. Measuring 185 x 112mm and collating complete including half title: [4], iii, [1, blank], 39, [1, blank]. With catchword 'behold' on page 27 and floral ornament above 'Finis' on page 39 as called for. A Fine example, unmarked and fresh. A scarce piece of erotic satire, ESTC records copies at 11 U.S. institutions. It last sold at auction in 1929, and the present is the only first edition on the market. "Begin my Muse and sing in Epick train The Petticoat; Nor shall thou sing in vain, The Petticoat will sure reward thy pain!" So opens a satire composed under the pseudonym Mr. Gay (used by several of those hacks in Edmund Curll's employ), which traces how the amorous adventures of Thyrsis and Chloe were made possible by the latter's fashionable hooped skirt. Finding both humor and seriousness in women's fashion, The Petticoat points out how some of the clothing designed to hinder women's movement could actually be adapted to their advantage -- in this case, the pursuit and fulfillment of illicit sexual affairs. For just as Thyrsis is able to hide beneath his lover's skirt to conceal himself while pleasing her, Chloe is able to share this information with her female coterie (including the work's readers). Thus, women desirous of hiding lovers of any gender might deploy this ingenious method, allowing them to engage in affairs without traveling far from home. An acknowledgement of women's own sexual desire and agency. ESTC T43929. Unspeakable Curll 241-242. Not in the Register of Erotic Books.
  • $2,250
  • $2,250
book (2)

Poésies de Paul Verlaine

Verlaine, Paul One of 500 copies on "papier Vélin à la forme," out of a total edition of 550 numbered copies. Eighteen large octavo volumes (9 13/16 x 6 1/4 inches; 249 x 160 mm.). All illustrations in pochoir. Publisher's harlequin leather (calf and morocco) in brown, purple, tan, red, green, gray, orange, black, and maroon by René Kieffer (with his ticket on front free endpaper of most volumes). Covers decoratively stamped in blind, spines decoratively stamped in blind and lettered in gilt with three raised bands, top edge gilt, others uncut, decorative endpapers. Original wrappers bound in. Spines gently faded, otherwise an excellent set. Comprising: Poèmes Saturniens. Illustrations de H. Bouché-Leclercq (1914); La Bonne chanson. Illustrations de Paul Guignebault (1914); Fêtes galantes. Croquis et vignettes de Robert Bonfils (1915); Romances sans paroles. Illustrations en couleurs de Ch. Picart le Doux (1920); Parallèlement. Illustrations de R. Drouart (1921); Jadis et naguère. Illustrations de Léon Voguet (1921); Amour. Illustrations de Th. Hummel (1922); Bonheur. Illustrations de Pierre Peltier (1923); Chansons pour elle. Illustrations de Quint (1923); Liturgies intimes. Illustrations de G. Assire (1923); Sagesse. Illustrations de Daniel Girard (1924); Élégies. Illustrations de André Cahard (1924); Dans les limbes. Illustrations de Gaston Nick (1924); Odes en son honneur. Illustrations de Paul Baudier (1924); Chair. Illustrations de Maurice Guy-Loé (1925); Dédicaces. 220 Dessins d'Alfred Le Petit (1925); Épigrammes. Dessins d'Alexandre Barte (1926); and Invectives. Illustrations de Maurice Tellier (1926). French lyric poet Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) was "first associated with the Parnassians and later a leader of the Symbolists. With Stéphane Mallarmé and Charles Baudelaire he formed the so-called Decadents.[In 1886] his first volume of poetry appeared. In addition to virtuoso imitations of Baudelaire and Charles Leconte de Lisle, Poèmes saturniens included several poignant expressions of love and melancholy. In 1870 Verlaine married Mathilde Mauté; in the delicious poems written during their engagement (La Bonne Chanson, 1870), he sees her as his long-hoped-for savior from his erring ways. Their marriage, however, was soon shattered by Verlaine's infatuation with the poet Arthur Rimbaud.Verlaine abandoned his wife and infant son in July 1872 to wander with Rimbaud and write ‘impressionist' sketches for his next collection, Romances sans paroles (1874; ‘Songs Without Words').At the time of publication the author was serving a two-year sentence at Mons for shooting Rimbaud during a quarrel in July 1873. Leaving prison in January 1875, Verlaine tried a Trappist retreat, then hurried to Stuttgart to meet Rimbaud, who apparently repulsed him with violence. He took refuge in England and taught for more than a year before returning to France. From this period (1873-78) date most of the poems in Sagesse (‘Wisdom'), including outstanding poetical expressions of simple Roman Catholic faith as well as of his emotional odyssey.The death of his favorite pupil in 1883, as well as that of the poet's mother in 1886, and the failure of all attempts at reconciliation with his wife broke down whatever will to respectability remained, and he relapsed into drink and debauchery. Jadis et naguère (1884; ‘Yesteryear and Yesterday') consists mostly of pieces written years before but not fitting into previous carefully grouped collections. Similarly, Parallèlement (1889) comprises bohemian and erotic pieces often contemporary with, and technically equal to, his ‘respectable' ones" (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature). Near Fine.
  • $4,500
  • $4,500
book (2)

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Twain, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens] A solid, Nearly Fine copy of the book, with no repairs or restoration. Spine gilt a bit dulled and slight rubbing at the spine ends and corners. Cloth generally fresh and bright and in excellent condition internally. Contemporary gift inscription on the front paste-down dated "May 18, 1885." With all three generally accepted first printing points and the frontis bust of Twain in the first state. A copy in Fine condition made $52,920 at Christies in 2023. Housed in custom quarter-leather clamshell over marbled boards. Recounting the adventures of Huckleberry Finn as he flees his own abusive father and aids Jim in his escape from slavery, Twain's novel has been praised for its "distinctly American voice," putting at its center two common people who find an uncommon friendship. "Today perhaps the novel's greatest significance lies in its conception of childhood, as a time of risk, discovery, and adventure. Huck is no innocent: He lies, steals, smokes, swears, and skips school. He accepts no authority, not from his father or the Widow Douglas or anyone else. And it is the twin images of a perilous, harrowing odyssey of adventure and perfect freedom from all restraints that so many readers find entrancing" (Mintz). A metaphor for a young and rebellious nation, as well as its individualist inhabitants, Huckleberry Finn defies genre by being simultaneously an adventure story, a road novel, a coming of age tale, an expression of nostalgia for the expansive natural spaces lost to industrialization, and an exploration of race and class. Listed on the American Scholar 100 Best American Novels and one of the 100 Best Novels Written in English. BAL 3415. MacDonnell, 31. Near Fine.
  • $22,500
  • $22,500
book (2)

The Right of Women to Exercise the Elective Franchise Under the Fourteenth Article of the Constitution.

Disbound and complete in 16 pages. Measuring 215 x 140mm. A pleasing example, with a touch of staining to the title page and light foxing and soiling to the verso of the terminal leaf, else internally clean. Currently the only copy on the market, it has appeared only once at auction, in 1973. On January 11, 1871 two historic speeches occurred: one, through which Victoria Woodhull became the first woman to testify before a Congressional committee, and the present, through which Congressman A. G. Riddle of Ohio supported that work in an act of allyship to Victoria Woodhull herself and to the constituents represented by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. From his opening, Riddle asserts that he is only present because the law prohibits women's free public exercise of speech in front of the Judiciary Committee: "I have always thought that the questions involved in this movement could be more effectively presented by ladies; and I have never appeared in their public discussion except by special request.I have been asked to bring to your notice as well as I may this evening the argument.that the women of these United States are full and complete citizens. Citizens as fully, broadly, and deeply as it is possible for men to be, though not permitted to exercise the elective franchise." For the remainder of the speech, Riddle draws on the language and logical scaffolding so carefully constructed for decades by the suffragists surrounding him. The Constitution guarantees women's citizenship but disenfranchises them through the use of the word "men." The creation of the Fourteenth Amendment and its use of "citizens" and "people" properly adjusts this to include them. No new amendment is necessary; what men simply need to do is acknowledge that "the right to self government is a natural right, [and] it does pertain to every human being alike," meaning that women already have the right to vote, its exercise is simply being denied. "There is no new right to confer upon them. They are simply to go into the new exercise of an old franchise." Ultimately, "We do not need any 16th Amendment. We need only intelligent, firm, decisive and deciding." And he promotes the National Woman Suffrage Association's action plan of civil disobedience: "I propose to offer Mrs. Griffing and two or three other ladies for registration, two or three months hence when the time comes, here. If they are not registered, I propose to try the strength of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.If they won't, I will take the case to the Supreme Court of the United States." Notably, what Riddle encouraged was what Susan B. Anthony and the NWSA enacted: a campaign of women registering to vote or voting, which led to their arrests and trials, and then to a decision by the Supreme Court that went against their favor. The next steps, over the following six years, was to pursue a 16th Amendment -- and to deploy far more racist dog-whistles than the egalitarian speech here that relies on both Black Americans and women being covered by the 14th Amendment. As the NWSA became more aggressive in aligning itself with white supremacist men and arguing for the necessity of white women's enfranchisement to counteract the "muddying" of elections, it left behind some of the most empowering ideas featured in this speech, that "we have given color to the Constitution" by having "got rid of the 'white'," and that this was a strength.
book (2)

Vanity Fair

An attractive, finely bound copy of the author's defining work. First issue with the heading on p. 1 in rustic type, the advertisement for "The Great Hogarty Diamond" before the frontis and the illustration of "the marquis of Steyne" on p. 336 (later suppressed). Illustrated by the author in 40 steel engraved plates and numerous woodcuts throughout the text. Bound in 20th century full tan calf with red and green morocco spine labels. Spine compartments and turn-ins intricated stamped in gilt, marbled end papers, text block all edges gilt. Internal contents generally in excellent condition, but some foxing throughout, especially in the early and late leaves and near the plates. A handsome copy overall. Considered by its author to be a novel without a hero, Vanity Fair follows the path of the social climbing Becky Sharp as she seeks to improve her position within the Victorian social strata. One of literature's most important early iterations of the female anti-hero, Miss Sharp helped to expose the truth that women were not merely domesticated angels but could be just as ambitious and driven as their male counterparts; and her foil Amelia reveals that even an apparent paragon of femininity was imperfect. A contemporary reviewer noted "Thakeray's theory of characterization proceeds generally on the assumtion that the acts of men and women are directed not by principle but by instincts.There is not a person in the book who excites the reader's respect, and not one who fails to exite his interest. The morbid quickness of the author's perceptions of the selfish element, even in his few amiable characters, is a constant source of surprise. The novel not only has no hero, but implies the non-existence of heroism" (Contemporary Atlantic Monthly review). A literary tour de force, transformed into a popular film starring Reese Witherspoon. Near Fine.
book (2)

The Unhappy Lady of Hackney

Folio broadside measuring 240 x 365mm and printed to recto in four columns with two woodcuts. A very nearly Fine example with lower margin untrimmed and several marginal paper flaws not affecting text. Scarce across its early formats, Bodleian Ballads reports six different editions from 1797 to 1846; and OCLC reports no copies of this version at institutions (while documenting 12 copies across all other editions). The present is the only example on the market. An unexpected call and response ballad, in which one narrator speaks from the grave, The Unhappy Lady of Hackney tackles the serious topics of incestuous assault and pregnancy. Within the ballad's first two columns, the narrator focuses in third person on the story of "a gentleman who had two comely daughters, And one was married to a squire who caused this disaster." Centering the damage done to a father by his poorly behaved children, the narrator explains that "the youngest daughter being fair.Her sister's husband night and day Did tempt this lovely creature, telling her it was no sin, For him to embrace her"; and the narrator tells how "this innocent unto his bow Indeed [the squire] quickly brought her, Then took her from her parent's house, With many a tear they sought her; Crying alas!.Her parents did lament her.So secret he did hide her; At length she big with child did prove, While this her amorous lover Did oft frequent her company, None knew it was her brother." By this point in the story, the younger sister is presented as equally culpable as her brother in law -- taking him as a lover and living among strangers as husband and wife. As we move into the ballad's last half, however, the narrator changes and with it the story. Pregnant and vulnerable, the younger sister gains her own voice. In column three she speaks directly to the squire about his sins of forcing her into incestuous adultery; and she focuses on the harms she has also caused to family she loves. "Your wife my tender sister dear, Does little know my sorrow. My troubled soul shall take its flight from hence before tomorrow, O, sister dear forgive the crime, And heaven shew some pity. For heinous was the fault of mine, You wretch that did deceive me." Determined that the cycle of violence cease, she says that she and her child will both die -- but that the story will live on. And so her voice continues posthumously in column four in a letter written to her parents. Here we get a fuller story of assault and manipulation. "He overcame me with wine, And us'd me at his pleasure, Then took me from my parents dear, In sorrow out of measure." Exposed, one would expect that the squire would face punishment. Sadly, the ballad takes a more realistic conclusion. "Her eldest brother, a hopeful youth, Grief burst his heart asunder. And he this life did soon depart. His sister raved like thunder, To think her husband was so base to prove her sister's ruin." As the tale shifts back to third person, it concludes with the man who took focus at the beginning: the father. His conclusion? To blame his youngest daughter for exposing the crimes committed upon her. "Alas, my child, your death is our undoing." As a literary piece, The Unhappy Lady engages with numerous other works and could benefit from further examination (from Ovidian and Shakespearean stories, to the increasingly popular sensational stories told in pulp). As a historical piece, it exists at a moment when concepts of incest and assault were shifting. BOD19040. V477.
book (2)

English Women of Letters: Biographical Sketches (In Two Volumes)

Contemporary half vellum over marbled boards, with gilt to spine and top edges. Mild shelfwear to extremities and small split to the crown of Vol I holding well. Marbled endpapers with the bookplate of Robert Heysham Sayre, chief engineer of the Lehigh Valley Railroad (1824-1907) and the ownership signature of the same on the front endpaper of each volume; Volume II extra-opened between the title and table of contents, but text block tight. Collates: (Vol I) iv, 331 pages, (Vol II) iv, 353: complete, but for the publisher's adverts at the rear of Vol II. Internally, both volumes are exceptionally clean, neat, and pleasing examples of this rare book, which appears twice in the auction record, in 1978 and 1958. Written as a companion piece to French Women of Letters, Kavanagh's English Women of Letters became an influential reference guide for literary scholars. Rather than focus broadly on women's historical accomplishments, as her predecessor Mary Hays did, Kavanagh narrowly honed the focus of her female biography. "My object is, namely, to show how far, for the last two centuries and more, women have contributed to the formation of the modern novel in the great literatures of modern times." By considering writers from Aphra Behn to Jane Austen to Amelia Opie, Kavanagh encouraged readers to see how women influenced the novel's form from its inception. She further urged them to consider how women continued shaping the literary canon through their ongoing engagement with the form. An exceptionally important work in the feminist canon. Feminist Companion to Literature 598. Near Fine.
book (2)

The Works of William Makepeace Thackeray

Thirty-two octavo volumes (8 9/16 x 5 5/8 inches; 217 x 143 mm.). A Near Fine set, handsomely bound in contemporary three-quarter red morocco, ruled in gilt, over pink mottled paper boards. Frontispieces, plates, and text illustrations, after the originals. Spines decoratively tooled and lettered in gilt in compartments, top edge gilt, others uncut. Two volumes with small nicks or rubbing to the crowns, otherwise the leather is intact and without any cracking at the joints. "In beginning with the four great novels the edition follows the logical tradition of the first complete and revised edition published after Thackeray's death; an attempt at a strict chronological succession, which would give precedence to minor works, would confuse the reader and has only pedantic arguments in its favor. In general, the order followed is that of the edition referred to (that of 1869); but some slight variations have been made, sometimes for the sake of bringing closer together work of the same general kind, sometimesâ€"where no important associations were violatedâ€"frankly in the interest of uniformity in the size of volumes. It is believed that the inclusion for the first time in this edition of the well-known Brookfield Letters will be especially welcome. The frontispiece to the initial volume is from the drawing by Samuel Laurence, perhaps the most satisfactory portrait of Thackeray in his prime; and in later volumes other portraits will be given, including several unfamiliar photographs" (Note to the Kensington Edition). "The novelist William Makepeace Thackeray lived at 16 Young Street in Kensington from 1846 until 1854, and during this time published his most famous work, Vanity Fair." Near Fine.
book (2)

The Orange-Girl at Foote’s to Sally Harris: or, The Town to the Country Pomona. An Heroic Epistle

Second issue bearing "A New Edition," and a reprint from the standing type. Disbound, measuring 260 x 200mm and without the half title, else collating complete: [2], 11, [1, blank]. A Near Fine example, with a bit of foxing to title and final leaf; pinhole to center of title, marginal stab holes to first leaf and final leaf, and small paper flaw to header of pages 3-4 (none affecting text). A scarce satirical work about the scandalous affair between famed courtesan Sally Harris and Thomas Lyttelton, the libertine son of politician George, Lord Lyttelton, we have been unable to access ESTC for a more accurate sense of institutional holdings; but OCLC locates fewer than 20 copies of any edition in the US. The only copy on the market, it has only once appeared at auction (in 1933, in a large lot). Once a waitress at the inn at Hockerell (now Bishops Strotford), Sally Harris was during this period rising in position among the London "prostitutes who clubbed together to share carriages and clothes, build community, and support each other" in a mysoginistic world where sex work could provide autonomy and financial independence (Rubenhold). Having gained the mentorship of the beautiful but temperamental Lucy Cooper, she became more publicly visible -- "an Acquisition to [Venus'] blooming train" -- in what this piece describes as "this gay town, where wanton Venus reigns." While success in the sex trade could certainly lead to a glamorous life, it was not without its risks. And both of these facts are acknowledged in The Orange-Girl, which depicts an older, less successful sex worker (an orange-girl at the theater) advising the younger courtesan Harris to exert caution in her decisions, to exercise cold calculation, and, to maintain independence, and to avoid the dangers of romantic entanglement. "Welcome, dear Sister, welcome. I alone Of all the Girls in this gay, vicious Town, Thy Youth, thy Bloom, thy Charms unmov'd can see.My Muse experienc'd shall direct thy Ways, Thro' this enchanted Town's perplexing Maze; Teach thee (too well it knows) to shun each Snare, Laid for the young, the innocent, and fair." The first advice the Orange-Girl provides is that Harris proceed with caution in her relations to Thomas Lyttelton and men like him. "Whim and caprice, thy erring Heart betray'd: In Lyttelton what didst thou hope to find? His body worn with Lust, with Vice his mind. Say, cou'd his languid, enervate Frame, Wither'd and dry, appease thy potent Flame? Thou, who so oft had view'd both bad and good, Love's Weapons better shou'd have understood." These men are temporary fixtures always in rotation; either they lose interest, lose vigor, or lose money. One should never have a courtesan's emotional loyalty. Having learned this lesson, Harris is then warned for the remainder to be wary of the women around her; for they too, she says, want to take for their own profit. "Let not a [Charlotte] Hayes, or [Mary] Collins, with curst Art, Tempt thee with Health and Liberty to part.light are [a slave's] Woes, compar'd With the poor Girl's by some old Bawd ensnar'd: Her blooming Charms, her youthful Hours, are doom'd To be by Anguish and Disease consum'd." Whether working in the service of a lower class bawd in a brothel, or even under the tutelage of famed courtesans like Charlotte Hayes, Mary Collins or, though unnamed here, Lucy Cooper, Harris would lose her independence, her control over her client list, her time, and her finances. Freedom in this world is crucial. "Prostitution was the only way in the 18th century a woman born into poverty could scale the heights and potentially even marry a man of title. Selling their bodies was one of the only means by which they could achieve some control over their lives and, in many cases, was a far better option than marrying a man of her own social class and passing their days in poverty and endless childbirth. If successful, a prostitute could choose her own lovers and make her own life decisions. But there was a high rate of failure too" (Rubenhold). Greedy bawds could entrap their workers in usurious schemes related to room, board, and clothing, forcing their girls into sexual slavery for unpayable debts. Though more successful courtesans provided a softer, more supportive life to many of the girls under their wings, their best retirements as they aged often came from running successful houses designed for their own profit. Ultimately, the Orange-Girl hopes Harris will "detest this worthless Tribe," though it's clear she won't. And it is notable that one year later, another poem featuring Harris would depict her, again, getting advice from a more experienced sex worker. Themes of this piece are echoed there as well, as the ghost of Lucy Cooper urges Harris' caution in dealing with all men, but several specific, real-life clients as well, who are known for their cruelty. Like the Orange-Girl, she warns Harris against allowing other women to seize her autonomy as well -- including the infamous Charlotte Hayes (who ran the brothel competing with Cooper's). ESTC T172418.