Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Ca. 1902 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Sequel: Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll with Alphonse Mucha–Style Publisher's Binding

Ca. 1902
Through the Looking-Glass
And What Alice Found There
By Lewis Carroll
With Fifty Illustrations by John Tenniel

Alphonse Mucha–Style Binding

Rare Antique Book ~ Art Nouveau ~ Decorative-Cloth Publisher’s Binding ~ Illustrated ~ Fairy Tale ~ Fantasy Classic ~ Sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Publisher:
New York: Hurst & Company, no date, circa 1902.

Features:
First edition in this format (no statement of edition, no additional printings listed).
Measures 6 x 4.3 inches.
Original decorative-cloth and paper publisher’s binding: white cloth with embossed silver-gilt stamping and a lithographed color panel in the Art Nouveau style of Czech/Parisian artist Alphonse Mucha on the front and back.
Textblock top edge gilt.
Frontispiece and extra vignette title page.
Illustrated throughout.
189 pages.

Monday, November 13, 2023

1894 Frankenstein Or, The Modern Prometheus By Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ~ Rare Antique Book ~ Victorian ~ Original Decorative-Cloth Publisher's Binding ~ Gothic Novel ~ Horror ~ Supernatural ~ Science Fiction ~ Occult ~ Monster

1894
Frankenstein
Or, The Modern Prometheus
By Mrs. Mary W. Shelley

Rare Antique Book ~ Victorian ~ Original Decorative-Cloth Publisher's Binding ~ Gothic Novel ~ Horror ~ Supernatural ~ Science Fiction ~ Occult

Publisher:
Chicago: Donohue, Henneberry & Co., no date, circa 1894.

Features:
Measures 6.1 x 4.4 inches.
Original publisher’s binding: Desert-rose cloth with embossed silver-gilt stamping.
Patterned endpapers.
294 pages plus a short book catalog.

Note: The Handy Volume Classics series in this format was only issued in 1894, likely making this the first and only printing of this edition.

View the listing here.

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

1883 Frankenstein Or, The Modern Prometheus By Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ~ Rare Antique Book ~ Victorian ~ Original Decorative-Cloth Publisher's Binding ~ Gothic Novel ~ Horror ~ Supernatural ~ Science Fiction ~ Occult ~ Monster

1883
Frankenstein
Or, The Modern Prometheus
By Mary W. Shelley

Rare Antique Book ~ Victorian ~ Original Decorative-Cloth Publisher's Binding ~ Gothic Novel ~ Horror ~ Supernatural ~ Science Fiction ~ Occult

Publisher:
New York: John W. Lovell, no date, circa 1883.

Features:
Measures 7.1 x 4.9 inches.
Original publisher’s binding: Green cloth with embossed gold-gilt and black stamping.
Floral-patterned endpapers.
177 pages.
After which, there are two short stories by Edward Bulwer-Lytton: The Haunted and the Haunters or The House and the Brain (28 pages) and Calderon, the Courtier (53 pages).

Note: The Lovell publishing company only existed from 1878 to 1891. This book contains an owner's signature dated 1883. The “Lovell’s Library” series was first advertised in 1884, likely making this 1883 printing the first edition in this format.


Thursday, July 20, 2023

1855 Rare Antique Victorian Almanac with Mystical Gothic Esoteric Zodiac Astrology Occult Arts Binding



1855

The Boston Almanac for the Year 1855

By Damrell & Moore, and George Coolidge

Rare Antique Book ~ First Edition ~ Exquisite Mystical Victorian Decorative-Cloth Publisher’s Binding with Gold-Gilt Zodiac Symbolism

Calendars ~ Phases of the Moon ~ Eclipses ~ Masonic Temples ~ Freemason Bodies ~ Coroners ~ Cemeteries ~ Medicine ~ Folding Map ~ Trade Ads ~ Engravings ~ Lodging ~ Government ~ Streets, Roads, Avenues ~ Public Buildings, Halls, Offices ~ Railroads ~ Bus Stations ~ Wharves ~ Transportation ~ Societies ~ Militia ~ Custom Houses ~ Post Offices ~ Steamers ~ Packets ~ Amusements ~ Newspapers ~ Municipal, State, and National Register, Etc.

Victorian Advertising Including Printers, Lithographers, Engravers, Electrotypers, Draughtsman, Illustrators, Designers, Type Foundry, Hardware, Tools, Railroad Ticket Stock, Fancy Paper, Booksellers, Furnaces, Stoves, Cutlery, Lightning Rods, Scales, Clothing, Perfume, Pens, Chocolate, Cocoa, Burning Fluid, Marble, Dye, Fertilizer, Architects, Pianos, Etc.

Publisher:
Boston: John P. Jewett & Co., 1855.

Features:
  • First Edition.
  • Measures 5.3 x 3.3 inches.
  • Original decorative-cloth publisher’s binding: Blue cloth with embossed gold-gilt stamping of branches or vines intertwined with zodiac symbols and lettering on the front, and an industrious figure on the back.
  • Textblock all edges gilt.
  • Folding map of Boston dated 1855 (New Map of the City of Boston Comprising the Whole City with the New Boundaries of the Wards Engraved Expressly for the Boston Almanac for 1855).
  • Many business, trade, and manufacturing ads, some printed in gold on blue stock.
  • Numerous engravings.
  • 196 pages plus ads.
Condition:
Very Good +.
The covers are generally very clean and bright with minor scuffs and a few nearly invisible small spots to the back. The textblock is solid and square. The edge of the folding map is not quite even with the edge of the closed pages. The pages are very clean and bright. No writing or marking.

Monday, July 17, 2023

1891–'2 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman "Deathbed Edition" (first edition of Whitman’s final authorized version)

1891–'2
Leaves of Grass
by Walt Whitman

Including Sands at Seventy . . . 1st Annex,
Good-Bye my Fancy . . . 2d Annex,
A Backward Glance o’er Travel’d Roads,
and Portrait from Life.

First Edition Thus ~ Rare Antique Book ~ First “Deathbed Edition” with the author’s printed signature, “23 South Ninth Street” address, and “1891–’2” on the Title Page ~ Original Publisher's Binding

Publisher:
Philadelphia: David McKay, 1892.

Features:
Published two months before his death, this is the first issue of Whitman’s final authorized version of Leaves of Grass including his note on the copyright page recommending it for all future printings.

First edition thus, showing the author’s printed signature, “23 South Ninth Street” publisher address, and the date “1891–’2” on the title page.

Measures 8.6 x 6 inches.
Original publisher’s binding: Green cloth with embossed gold-gilt stamping.
Textblock top edge gilt.
One full-page plate (portrait of Whitman) with a tissue guard after page 28.
438 pages.
Pages: endpapers, 1 blank, 1–438, 2 blanks, endpapers.

View the listing here.

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Ca. 1899 Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales Complete Illustrated Victorian Edition in the Original German

Ca. 1899
Andersen’s Complete Fairy Tales
The only original German edition provided by the author himself

Rare Antique Book ~ Decorative-Cloth Publisher’s Binding ~ Exquisite Illustrations and Plates ~ Elves ~ Gnomes ~ Fairies ~ Goblins ~ Giants ~ Monsters ~ Witches ~ Magic ~ Enchanted Forests ~ Supernatural ~ Sorcery ~ Animals ~ Mermaids ~ Kings ~ Queens ~ Princes ~ Princesses ~ Demons ~ Magic ~ Occult

Publisher:
Leipzig: Ed. Wartig’s Verlag Ernst Hoppe, no date, circa 1899.

Features:
Measures 8.7 x 6.3 inches.
Original decorative-cloth publisher’s binding: Red cloth with embossed gold-gilt and black tooling and pictorial color stamping.
Textblock edges lightly marbled.
Patterned endpapers.
Eight full-page tinted plates including the frontispiece.
Many part-page pictures and vignettes throughout and an additional full-page illustration.
752 pages.