New York: Harmony Books, (1980). First American Edition. Hardcover. Octavo. [vi], 215 pages. Douglas's cosmic comic classic in its true first printing in the United States. Join Earthman Arthur Dent, his intergalactic friend Ford Prefect, and a cast of characters on their journey through the galaxy after Earth is demolished..... More
New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., (1972). First American Edition. Illustrated with a map. Hardcover. Octavo. ix, [3], [1]-429 pages. A cornerstone modern classic of mythic adventure as a band of anthromorphized rabbits flee destruction to found a new warren. This first American edition is in the first..... More
London: Luke Hansard & Sons, 1812. Second edition. Original cloth over boards. Octavos. xxxii, 344 and [iv], 499 pages. Thomas Twining had produced the first useable English translation of Aristotle's Poetics in 1789. This is the second edition of 1812, edited by his nephew. This 2-volume set has..... More
New York: G.W. Dillingham Company, Publishers, (1914). First Edition. Black and white stills from the film. Cloth over boards. Octavo. 289 pages. Based on the successful 1913 full length film of the same name, this book published the following year is widely recognized as the first American novelization of a...... More
Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, (1955). First American Edition. Cloth over boards. Octavo. [iv], 345 pages. Through this novel, Simone de Beauvoir delves into the existential theme of immortality. The protagonist, Raimon Fosca, gains eternal life through a magic potion in the 13th century, but has come..... More
Paris: Shakespeare and Company, 1929. First Edition. Printed wrappers. Duodecimo. 194 pages. A collection of essays by notable literary figures--including Samuel Beckett and William Carlos Williams--defending and analyzing Joyce's then "Work in Progress" (later published as "Finnegans Wake"). Offers critical insights and captures the intellectual fervor surrounding Joyce's groundbreaking work..... More
Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, (1945). Limited edition, #354 of 950 copies. Decorative chapter heads by George Salter. Hardcover. Octavo. 311 pages. An elegant, limited edition of this influential socialist utopian novel which was originally published in 1888. The story centers on a Boston aristocrat who falls..... More
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1929. First edition. Drawings by Erick Berry. Cloth-backed decorative boards. Octavo. [x], 255 pages. From the jacket: "A novel of negro life, of elemental passion and tenderness." Attractive dust jacket. More
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, (1980). Firs Edition. Hardcover. Octavo. xii, 257 pages. Inscribed and signed copy of this important collection of Sterling Brown's poetry. This landmark volume showcases Brown's mastery of poetic form influenced by the New Poetry Movement and the Harlem Rennaissance. Brown taught for..... More
New York: James Miller, 1867. 1st Edition. Black & white illustrations. Full cloth. Octavo. 162 pages. Mrs. Browning was nearly as popular in America as she was in her native Britain during her lifetime. This is a handsome first American edition of this posthumous collection, illustrated with 13 drawings by..... More
Santa Barbara: Capricorn Press, 1970. First printing. Black and white drawing by Bukowski. Wrappers. Octavo. [34] pages. Collection of poems by the King of the Underground. Boldly signed by Bukowski under a printed drawing. Title page is printed on a smaller red sheet that hides the drawing but reveals Bukowski's..... More
(Glendale): (Poetry X/Change, [1968]. First printing. Centerfold drawing. Wrappers. Octavo. [16] pages. This first edition of this collection of poetry by Bukowski is one of about 400 copies published in the summer of 1968. Cover illustration is a reproduction of P. David Horton's "Self-Portrait." The poem "Cows in..... More
London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1860. Illustrated by Charles Bennett. Full leather over boards. Octavo. xxxvi, 399 pages. Attractively illustrated edition of this classic Christian allegory. Illustrated throughout with portrait drawings of story's characters and other illustrations. Bound in full leather with all edges gilt and marbled..... More
New York: Grove Press, Inc., (1959) [1962]. First American Edition. Hardcover. Octavo. xvi, 255 pages. Burroughs's groundbreaking work that challenged censorship laws and pushed the boundaries of literary form with its fragmented, hallucinatory narrative. It has had a lasting influence on counterculture and modern literature, solidifying Burroughs as a key..... More
![Item #1901 The Poetical Works of Lord Byron [Fore-Edge Painting]. Lord Byron](https://backcreekbooks.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/1901_1.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1748477795)
London: Federick Warne & Co., [1870s]. Lansdowne Poets. Fore-Edge painting of boxing scene. Black and white plates inside. Full leather. Duodecimo. viii, 638 pages. Elegantly bound edition of Byron's poetry, illustrated with several full page black and white plates depicting scenes from the works. Far more interesting, however..... More
New York: Boni and Liveright, 1919. First Edition. Hardcover. Duodecimo. x, 140 pages. The short stories and essays in this collection originally appeared in periodicals under Clemens's pseudonym, Mark Twain. They are here collected and published in book form for the first time, crediting the author under his real name..... More
London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1957. Hardcover. Duodecimo. 185 pages. Brilliant satirical novel about Alfred Fatigay, a London schoolmaster, who returns from the Congo with a pet chimpanzee named Emily which he plans to give to his fiancée, Amy. Unbeknownst to Alfred, Emily has become literate and fallen in love with him..... More
New York: The Viking Press, 1941. First Edition. Hardcover. Octavo. [vi], 327 pages. A collection of short stories by John Collier, a master of the weird tale. Here are two dozen "astonishing and memorable accounts of the ways in which the normal individual may run afoul of the bizarre, the..... More
Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, (1982). First edition. Cloth over boards. Octavo. x, 671 pages. Robert Creeley was an important poetic voice in post-World War II American literature. This collection gathers his poetry of thirty years, exhibiting his development and the singular inventiveness that made him a...... More
Northridge: Lord John Press, 1984. Limited Edition, one of 200 copies. Hardcover. Small octavo. 25 pages. Crumley was a gritty craftsman who influenced other writers such as Connelly, Pelecanos, and Lehane. Crumley’s writing style has been said to blend the hardboiled tradition of Raymond Chandler with the gonzo spirit of..... More
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1840. First Edition, First State. Marbled paper over boards with leather spine and fore corners.. Sixteenmo. 483 pages. A genuine American classic. Dana was a gifted observer and writer, and his memoir paints a colorful portrait of Mexican California in the 1830s, including the ports..... More
New-York: Printed for I. Riley and Co., 1806. Second edition, considerably enlarged. Frontispiece engraving of Pocahontas rescuing John Smith. Contemporary calf over boards. Octavo. xii, [13]-284 pages. The first extensive treatment of the legend of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith, in its preferred edition, complete, and excellent condition. Scarce, thus..... More
Chicago: R. S. Peale & Company, 1888. First Edition. Black and white illustrations. Cloth hardcovers. Tall octavos. [i-iv], v-ix, [x-xii], 502 and [i-ii], [503-504], 505-998 pages. An elaborate and eccentric argument that Francis Bacon was the actual author of the plays attributed to William Shakespeare. Donnelly claimed that Bacon had..... More
New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1900. First printing. Black and white frontispiece and plates by E. W. Kemble. Original cloth over boards. Duodecimo. [vi], 362 pages. fine collection of 20 short stories by pivotal African American writer Paul Laurence Dunbar, who was first a poet. Dunbar deftly weaves in..... More
London & New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, (1922). Limited Edition, copy #199 of 500. Frontispiece by S. H. Sime. Cloth and vellum over boards. Quarto. [viii], 322 pages. Pioneering fantasy novelist, Lord Dunsany, gives us the story of Don Rodriguez, a young man seeking fortune and love, as he..... More