Rare books from Odysseus Books

Oxford: Oxford University Press / Humphrey Milford, 1925. Book. Near Fine. Cloth. First Edition. First illustrated edition, first printing, first state, with the plate showing the Old South Church in Boston incorrectly as the place where Patrick Henry gave his famous "Give me liberty, or give me Death" speech at page 271, which was substituted with the plate showing the Boston Harbor in the second state. The vast majority of the first-state copies were recalled and destroyed by the publisher with only 12 known copies surviving. In the original-issue dark-blue cloth binding with gilt lettering and decoration on the spine and front cover. xiii + 354 pages, followed by 15 pages of b/w maps. Many full-page b/w illustrations throughout. Large, heavy book measuring 8 1/8" x 5 5/8" x 1 1/8" and weighing nearly 2 pounds. In NEAR FINE condition. Book is very bright and clean, tight and square, with strong, firm hinges with no cracking. Very slight bumps to the tips of two corners, very… Read More

London: J. Dodsley, 1768. Book. Very Good +. Full-Leather. First Edition. First edition, first printing, of Thomas Gray's first collected poems. Title page dated 1768. Includes the scarce half-title page. 120 text pages followed by a "Contents" page with 10 titles listed. Three original blank pages precede and one original blank page follows the text. 19th-century signed fine binding by "Riviere & Son" in light-tan full calf. Spine ornately decorated in gilt with five raised bands and brown leather title label lettered in gilt. Triple-ruled gilt bordering on both covers. Ornately decorated gilt borders on inside covers. All page edges gilt-covered. Bluish-green endpapers. In VERY GOOD + condition. Spine remains very bright and unworn. Light wear to the edges and minor touches of wear to the front cover. Tightly bound and square with no cracking. Light crease at the top corner of the front blank pages and small faint writing in pencil on the first text page. Otherwise… Read More

Florence: G. Orioli, 1930. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. First Edition. Hand-numbered limited first edition: No. 581 of 810. Title page dated 1930. In original dust jacket. Protected inside a deluxe custom clamshell foldout case covered in beige cloth with gilt-lettered red morocco title label on spine. Large hardcover book in beige-cloth binding with reddish-orange illustration on front cover and reddish-orange lettering on paper title label on spine. Uncut page edges. 216 text pages. Pale olive-green dust jacket with black lettering and decoration on spine and front panel and "The Lungarno Series" list of books with prices on front flap. NEAR FINE book in VERY GOOD + dust jacket in FINE clamshell case. Book has a slight bump at the top spine end and a very slight bump at the top front corner tip. Otherwise Fine. Bright, clean and unworn with a nearly immaculate flawless interior. No previous owner markings. Pages appear unread. Dust jacket has sun-toning on the spine and along the edges, a… Read More

Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1842. Book. Very Good -. Cloth. First Edition. 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall. First edition, first printing, in two volumes. Both title pages dated 1842. Copyright 1842. Publisher's original brown cloth binding with tan paper labels on spines. J. Fagan, stereotyper / I. Ashmead and Co., printer. (3) xii + 236 (2) and (2) 247 (2) pages. Dark-blue cloth-covered custom slipcase with tan cloth title label with dark-blue lettering on spine. GOOD + / VERY GOOD - books in NEAR FINE slipcase. Books show moderate wear and staining to the covers, worn spine ends and corner tips, and worn but intact title labels. Partial cracking to the inner hinges but binding is still sound and all pages secure with no looseness. Pages are moderately foxed. Vol. I has open tears at bottom corners of the front blank pages with increasingly smaller open tears continuing through the first 21 text pages with no loss of text. No other defects to the pages. Previous owner… Read More

Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran and Company, 1942. Book. Very Good. Soft cover. 1st Edition. Advance review copy preceding the publication of the first edition hardcover book. Softcover book with French flaps with publisher's $2.50 price on front flap. Illustrated covers are identical to the dust jacket of the first-edition hardcover. Title page is dated 1942 and "First Edition" is stated on copyright page. 310 text pages preceded by four bound pages of facsimile copies of four of the publisher's signed typewritten letters describing the book and the author, the last dated December 1, 1941. Measures 7 3/4" x 5 1/2" x 1 1/4". In VERY GOOD condition. Book is tightly bound. Heavy vertical creasing, slight concavity and light wear to the spine. Covers and flaps are otherwise bright and clean, illustrated front panel especially so with colors remaining vibrant. Slight creasing at the corners. One 1" closed tear at bottom edge of rear panel, which also has some… Read More

London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1911. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Third Edition. Revised Third Edition of The Golden Bough: Part II. Title page dated 1911. "Third Edition May 1911 / Reprinted November 1911" stated on the copyright page. Publisher's original dark-green cloth binding with gilt illustration on front board and gilt lettering on spine. Large and heavy volume measuring 9" x 6" x 1 1/2". xv + 446 pages + 2 pages publisher's ads. In VERY GOOD condition. Bright and clean, tightly bound and square, with strong uncracked hinges. Spine is not sun-faded and gilt illustration and lettering are bright and unworn. Chipped and frayed top spine end and a tiny chip at the bottom spine end. Rubbed top front corner. Boards have some very faint small stains. Flawless interior with no browning to endpapers and only slight age-toning to pages with no foxing. No previous owner markings..

New York: The New American Library, 1966. Book. Fine. Hardcover. First Edition. First edition, "First Printing" stated on copyright page. First-issue dust jacket with publisher's $6.50 price on front flap. Black boards and green cloth spine with silver lettering. 309 pages. FINE book in VERY GOOD + dust jacket. Book is very bright and clean, tight and square, spotless and unworn with no bumping. Thin strip of mild sun-fading along top edge of spine. Flawless interior with bright pages appearing possibly unread. No previous owner markings. Dust jacket is very bright and very clean with no sunning. Light wear to the spine ends. A small scrape with closed tear on the rear spine fold. Front panel has just slight surface wear. Rear panel has one small closed tear at both the top and bottom edges along with some faint creasing and is otherwise unworn. Excellent inner flaps. Jacket is protected in an archival mylar cover..

London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1900. Book. Very Good +. Cloth. 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall. Two title pages dated 1900. One volume in the seven-volume illustrated Haworth Edition of the Life and Works of Charlotte Bronte and Her Sisters. Both novels complete in one volume with a preface and memoir of both authors by Charlotte Bronte and an introduction by Mrs. Humphry Ward. Publisher's green-cloth binding with gilt lettering on spine and front board. Gilt-covered top edge. Dark-blue endpapers. Eleven full-page b/w illustrations, including frontispiece portrait of Emily Bronte protected with tissue and facsimile reproductions of the title pages from the three-volume 1847 first edition. lviii+ 557 text pages + 2 pages publisher ads. Thick and heavy volume measuring 8 1/8" x 6" x 1 7/8". In VERY GOOD + condition. Bright and very clean exterior with no sunning. Gilt lettering is bright and unworn. Tightly bound and square with strong, secure hinges with no cracking.… Read More

Indianapolis / New York: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1943. Book. Very Good +. Hardcover. First Edition. First edition, "Eighth Printing, February, 1944" stated on the copyright page under the 1943 copyright date. Original larger-size, green-cloth binding with gold lettering on the front cover and spine, the same size as the first printing. In the original-issue dust jacket fitting the larger-format book with the $3.00 price clipped. (Note that 13 stated printings were produced between 1943 and 1944, which were followed by many unstated printings in slightly smaller formats throughout the 1940s and 1950s.) VERY GOOD + book in VERY GOOD dust jacket. Book is bright, clean and unworn. Spine is not sunned except at the top and bottom edges where the dust jacket was chipped. Gold lettering on spine and front cover remains bright and unworn. Small bump on the rear board at the bottom edge. Tightly bound, straight and square with strong, secure hinges with no cracking. Excellent interior with flawless… Read More

London: William Heinemann, 1969. Book. Near Fine +. Hardcover. First Edition. First UK edition, first printing, as indicated by "First published in Great Britain 1969" stated on the copyright page with no later printing statement. First-issue white dust jacket has the publisher's original "£1.75 net" price at lower edge of front flap and no printing on rear cover. Black cloth hardcover with gold lettering on spine. 446 pages. NEAR FINE + book in VERY GOOD + dust jacket. Book is bright, clean and unworn, with no sunning, staining or bumping. Tightly bound and square. Excellent interior with flawless pages. Opens slightly wide after the half-title page but still tight and secure. No previous owner markings. Dust jacket is bright and clean except for a small stain on the top end of the spine panel and overall age-toning to all the exterior panels. Light wear at the spine ends, corners and front fore-edge fold. Faint creasing along the top edges. Jacket is protected in a new… Read More

New York: Newmarket Press, 1993. Book. Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. SIGNED by both Martin Scorsese and Jay Cocks on a decorative bookplate attached to the front endpaper. First edition, first printing, with "First Edition" stated and full number line ending with "1" on the copyright page. Large and heavy folio-size black hardcover book with gold lettering on the spine and a color still from the film on the front cover in publisher's clear plastic dust jacket with gold lettering on the front and black inner flaps with gold text. Decorative endpapers. Beautifully illustrated throughout on heavyweight glossy paper. 190 pages. FINE book in FINE dust jacket. Practically as new with no wear. Tightly bound, straight and square. Immaculate interior with flawless pages. No previous owner markings..

New York / Boston: Little, Brown and Company / Megan Tingley Books, 2005. Book. Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. Hand-signed by the author directly on the title page in black pen. Signature only, without personalized inscription. First edition, 19th printing, with "First Edition: September 2005" and number line ending in "19" on the copyright page. Original-issue third-state dust jacket with review blurbs on back panel and publisher's $19.99 price on the front flap. Black hardcover with silver lettering on spine. Black endpapers. 498 text pages, followed by an unpaginated "sneak peek" of New Moon. FINE book in FINE dust jacket. Bright, clean, tight and square book. A very tiny bump at the bottom front corner tip and a slight scratch at the top edge of the text block. Otherwise nearly as new. No previous owner markings and pages appear unread. Dust jacket is bright, clean and unworn and is protected in a new archival mylar cover..

Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1849. Book. Very Good +. Half-Leather. First Edition. 16mo - over 5¾ - 6¾" tall. First continental European edition. In English. Two-volume set, complete. Both title pages are dated 1849. Author on title pages is "Currer Bell" without mention of Charlotte Bronte. Title pages state "Copyright Edition. In Two Volumes." Original red half-leather fine binding with red pebbled-cloth boards. Gilt lettering and ornate decoration on spines with author's last name "Bell" in gilt on spines. Marbled endpapers. Marbled page edges. 405 and 412 text pages. Each approximately 6" x 4 3/4" x 3/4". Both volumes are in similar VERY GOOD + condition. Light wear to the leather edges and corners. Otherwise, very bright and clean, tightly bound, and square, with no cracking to the hinges. Gilt on spines is bright and unworn and spines are not sunned. Excellent interiors with nearly flawless pages except for some mild foxing. No… Read More

New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985. Book. Near Fine +. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. SIGNED by movie actress Julie Christie on the half-title page in black marker, signature only along with heart illustration. First edition, first printing, with "First U.S. Edition" stated on copyright page above full number line 10 through 1. Black cloth hardcover with gold lettering on spine. Beige endpapers. 192 pages. Many color and b/w photographs throughout. First-issue dust jacket with publisher's $14.95 price on front flap. NEAR FINE + book in NEAR FINE + dust jacket. Book is bright and clean, tightly bound, straight and square. Fine except for a slightly bumped rear bottom corner and a hint of a bump at the front bottom corner tip. Interior is immaculate with pages appearing unread. No previous owner markings. Dust jacket is very bright and very clean with no sunning, rubbing or tears. Practically as new except for a barely noticeable faint vertical crease down the front… Read More

New York: Boni and Liveright, 1927. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. First Edition. First edition, first printing. Title page dated 1927 with title and author in blue and no later printing mentioned on the copyright page. Publisher's dark-blue cloth binding with gold lettering on front cover and spine and dark-blue patterned endpapers. 349 pages. In NEAR FINE condition without dust jacket. Slight wear at the spine edges and corner tips and some slight wear to the surfaces of the boards. Exterior is otherwise bright and clean with no bumping to the edges and no sunning to the spine. Bright and clear gold lettering on the spine and front cover. Tightly bound, straight and square with no cracking to the hinges. Excellent interior. One-inch closed tear at bottom edge of the front endpaper, and the last two text pages have a couple of small tears at the fore edges from being improperly cut and separated. Otherwise flawless pages, appearing possibly unread, with just typical mild age-toning. No previous… Read More