CHILDREN OF THE RITZ (Inscribed By The Author) - Rare Book Insider
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Woolrich, Cornell

CHILDREN OF THE RITZ (Inscribed By The Author)

Boni & Liveright: 1927
  • $5,900
Woolrich, Cornell. CHILDREN OF THE RITZ. NY Boni & Liveright, (1927). First edition. Previous owner's bookplate, some tanning to end papers, abrasion to the top of the ffep, a few stains to cloth, a very good used copy. In a priced ($2.00) Very Good dust jacket, a few chips and small closed tears, some fading (as almost always) to the purple spine panel. No repairs or major faults, with good eye appeal. INSCRIBED by the author on November 1st, 1927, three weeks after publication. CHILDREN OF THE RITZ, Woolrich's second novel, is a Jazz Age social comedy about an heiress who has recently lost all of her money, and her marriage to a formerly impoverished man who has just come into a massive fortune. It shows only a few hints of the signature dark and edgy writing style that would later create novels like The Bride Wore Black and Black Alibi. His biographer, Francis Nevins Jr. famously and not inaccurately rated Woolrich the fourth best crime writer of his day, behind Dashiell Hammett, Erle Stanley Gardner and Raymond Chandler. CHILDREN OF THE RITZ was adapted into a forgettable film in 1929. An exceedingly uncommon opportunity to acquire an inscribed copy of one of Woolrich's early first editions.
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GOODBYE MR. CHIPS (First Edition Presented to the Novel’s Illustrator — with an Original Pen-And-Ink Illustration from the Story)

Hilton, James. GOODBYE MR. CHIPS. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1934. First Edition. A Near Fine copy in a Very Good edge-worn dust jacket still sporting the original publisher's wraparound band. PRESENTATION COPY FROM JAMES HILTON TO ETHEL "BIP" PARES (1904-1977), FAMED ILLUSTRATOR OF GOODBYE MR CHIPS and one of the leading British Art Deco dust jacket designers of the 1930s: "To Bip Pares, who saw her Chips as I did -- With all good wishes from James Hilton, October 1934." [With:] A framed and glazed ORIGINAL PEN & INK ILLUSTRATION ON ART BOARD for GOODBYE MR. CHIPS, a discarded variant of the first (of four) illustrations in the novel -- this one featuring Chips meeting his wife while climbing the Lake District's Great Gable (image size measures 4 ½" by 3 ½"). Along with the book and the illustration is an archive of other materials including an Autograph Letter, Signed, in which Bip Pares gives the history of her involvement with the novel; this includes the surprising revelation that after she illustrated the initial periodical appearance of GOODBYE MR. CHIPS -- it was she who suggested to Osgood & McIlvaine that GOODBYE MR. CHIPS deserved book publication and she agreed (for five guineas) to provide virtually every design element of the first edition's physical appearance. Further, the archive contains newspaper clippings retained by the illustrator pertaining to the novel's success as well as a later newspaper account of James Hilton's death in 1954. Finally, added to this collection, is a fine first edition copy in fine dust jacket (signed) of the sequel TO YOU, MR CHIPS (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1938) with another round of beautiful illustrations by Bip Pares. The 1939 film adaptation starring Robert Donat and Greer Garson was nominated for ten Oscars (winning three) and remains one of the best loved and most enduring British films of all time. Housed in a custom slipcase.
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SANS MERCI; or, Kestrels and Falcons. In Three Volumes.

Lawrence, George Alfred [Lawrence, George Alfred]. SANS MERCI [without mercy] or, Kestrels and Falcons. In Three Volumes. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1866. First Edition. A Near Fine copy in original publisher's blue ripple-grain cloth, gilt, showing only the most minor abrasion to the boards; we doubt many first editions of this title still exist much less an example in this condition. OCLC notes only four copies worldwide in institutional collections. George Alfred Lawrence (1827-1876) was a sensation novelist of a different ilk than Wilkie Collins or M. E. Braddon. His protagonists were often, if not always, men who were equally skilled at fighting, riding, hunting, killing, truth-seeking, and wooing. Not one to shirk a challenge himself, Lawrence sailed to America to fight for the Confederate Army (he was captured and shipped back to England). Lawrence is little read today but he created the original inspiration for the "Beau Geste" character, that self-sacrificing, dashing, honorable crusader who often fought for lost causes usually on behalf of some wronged maiden. In short, Lawrence may be credited with creating today's iconic literary "action hero." This novel takes place in the hazardous English countryside; the title of this book (which suggests birds of prey flying mercilessly at each other talons at the ready) is a metaphor for the evil lawyers and other such villains who are trying to destroy our heroic protagonist's honor and livelihood and romantic prospects with fair maiden. Horse racing, gambling, and several violent fighting scenes also keep things lively. The publisher, Tinsley, is particularly known for the low survival rate of their three-decker first editions.
  • $540
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TRILBY (1894 Three-Volume 1st Edition)

du Maurier, George du Maurier, George. TRILBY. London: Osgood, McIlvaine, 1894. First Edition. Three volumes in the original publisher's buff-colored cloth, blocked and lettered in blue. A NEAR FINE copy, ownership inscription dated 1894 on the front paste-down of each of the three volumes, some scattered foxing and intermittent very light staining, an inevitable touch of soil here and there, spine a tiny bit darkened on Vols. 1 & 2, else an exceptionally fresh set. All three volumes show virtually no wear to the boards and all still have intact inner hinges, the latter case being particularly unusual given the weight of these books as they were printed on heavier, better quality art paper. This is the true first edition of du Maurier's masterpiece (published a year prior to the better known first illustrated edition), one of the most wildly popular novels of the 1890s. There were Trilby parties where extracts of the book were read aloud; there were Trilby fashions inspired by "la vie bohème." A town in Florida even changed its name to Trilby. Furthermore, Trilby forever altered the public perception of hypnotism with its strikingly original creation of Svengali, one of the most memorable Victorian characters of all time (who also served as the role model for Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera, written fifteen years later). Michael Sadleir, Professor Robert Lee Wolff and David Magee all universally proclaimed Trilby, in fine state, to be a substantial rarity. In Sadleir's case, he points out (Sadleir 1675) that this rarity is not just due to the light color and perishable nature of the publisher's cloth, but also to the fact that much of the first edition was overprinted with misleading later edition stamps in an attempt to imply greater sales, a not uncommon Victorian publisher's practice. Although the initial printing may have been as many as 1,000 copies, few survive today in original condition. We had an equally superior copy in 1994, in Lakin & Marley's Catalogue One, but this is the first really nice copy we've handled since then. Sadleir 1675, Wolff 1952
  • $1,850
  • $1,850
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TRILBY (In Original PUBLISHER’S PRINTED DUST JACKET)

du Maurier, George du Maurier, George. TRILBY. A Novel. London: Osgood, McIlvaine, 1895. 141 illustrations by the author including frontispiece. FIRST ENGLISH ONE-VOLUME EDITION AND FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION preceded only by the 1894 non-illustrated three-volume first edition which is rarely seen today. A FINE copy (gilt blazing bright) in a VERY GOOD example of the extremely uncommon ORIGINAL PUBLISHER'S PRINTED DUSTJACKET which is a little chipped along the bottom edge, and at two small points near the top. But there is no loss to any of the lettering or the design. Two very small pieces of archival tape can be found on the verso of the DJ. Du Maurier (1834-1896) was one of the most successful illustrators of the last half of the Victorian era, the much acclaimed illustrator for "Punch" and other popular publications. Toward the end of his life, at the urging of Henry James, he produced three novels, the most extraordinarily successful of which was TRILBY which begat hysterical Trilby-mania (the Trilby hat changed men's fashion, it became the name of a town in Florida) and introduced the character of SVENGALI, the evil mesmerist who hypnotizes the lovely Trilby into becoming a world renown diva through his dark hypnotic talents (thus serving as the inspiration for Gaston Leroux's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA). This is the novel for which du Maurier will forever be remembered, a book which made hypnotism just as much a part of our modern culture as Svengali has become part of the English Language as the descriptor of anyone who manipulates another person in a sinister fashion through the force of mesmerizing persuasion. The survival of this dustjacket seems to us to be of equal rarity to the survival of Thomas Hardy's JUDE THE OBSCURE which was also published in a six-shilling single volume by Osgood, McIlvaine in November of this very same year.
  • $1,200
  • $1,200
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ORIGINAL PEN-AND-INK DRAWING OF THE FRONTISPIECE for the 1929 Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland By Lewis Carroll Illustrated By Willy Pogány

Pogány, Willy (Lewis Carroll) (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) Carroll, Lewis (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson). Willy Pogány (Hungarian/American, 1882-1955). ORIGINAL PEN-AND-INK DRAWING FOR THE FRONTISPIECE for his illustrated 1929 Alice's Adventures In Wonderland (published by E. P. Dutton). This exceedingly important original pen-and-ink on paper drawing serves as the frontispiece which illustrates "The Mad Tea Party" featuring Alice at the head of the table, and the Mad Hatter, March Hare and Dormouse at the far end. Surely it is the most desirable piece of original art from the creation of this book. Pogány's interpretation of Alice as a thin adolescent flapper/schoolgirl was much criticized at the time as bizarre, but remains famous and revered for its aggressively modern interpretation of the Alice characters compared to all the other post-1907 non-Tenniel versions re-imagined by the other great Alice illustrators. The image is 11.25" by 7.25" situated in the center of a large sheet of 11" by 14" artist's board. Pogány has printed his name in full lower left. The detail of the drawing is spectacular in comparison to the actual printed book (as shown here). Provenance: The Book Sail 16th Anniversary Catalogue (Item J-6, 1984), Heritage Auctions (April, 2013). Included is a copy of the published work, one of 200 numbered copies, signed by Pogány. Currently in a Victorian-Style frame with museum glass however the frame will not be included unless the artwork is picked up in person.
  • $35,000
  • $35,000