Selected Genre Fiction
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN’S WONDERFUL STORIES, 1846, WITH FOUR LOVELY HAND-COLORED PLATES 1. ANDERSEN, Hans Christian. Wonderful Stories for Children. Translated from the Danish by Mary Howitt. London, 1846. Small octavo, original blind-stamped blue cloth gilt. Housed in a custom clamshell box. $17,000 First edition of the extraordinarily rare first translation into English of Hans Christian Andersen’s stories, with four hand-colored plates, in original cloth. “Wonderful Stories for Children was the first translation into English of the ‘modern’ fairy tales of Andersen, although his stories had been appearing in his native Denmark since 1835… During an early visit to Britain he met Charles Dickens and befriended Mary Howitt, the author of a number of natural history books for children… Due to her meeting with Andersen she conceived the idea of translating his stories, then almost totally unknown in Britain, actually learning Danish to enable her to do this” (Quayle, 74-6). Because of the popularity of Andersen’s tales in England, three separate translations were published in 1846: “Mrs. Howitt’s was the best of these, and was greeted with a chorus of praise from all the leading literary journals” (Muir, 106). “The earliest collections in Danish [of Andersen’s tales] are of the utmost rarity; and the English translations in 1846 and 1847 are almost as rare” (Muir, 52). “Andersen’s work was immediately naturalized into English children’s literature, and was the second great element, after Grimm, in the revival of public enthusiasm for fairy tale and fantasy” (Carpenter & Prichard, 22). This important work contains ten of Andersen’s tales, including “The Naughty Boy,” “Tommelise,” “The Rose-Elf,” and “The Constant Tin Soldier.” First issue, with the author’s name misspelt on the title page. Contemporary owner gift inscription. Only slightest foxing to preliminaries and a few finger smudges to interior, expert restoration to cloth extremities. An extremely good copy. 1
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 SCARCE FIRST EDITION OF THE MARTIAN WAY, SIGNED BY ISAAC ASIMOV 2. ASIMOV, Isaac. The Martian Way. Garden City, 1955. Octavo, original blue cloth, dust jacket. $4600 First edition of Asimov’s important second story collection, signed on the title page by him. This volume contains four early Asimov novellas together in book form for the first time: Youth, The Deep, Sucker Bait and the famous title story, The Martian Way, an attack on McCarthyism that won praise by science fiction scholar James Gunn as “quintessential Asimov… one of the 22 novellas included in Science Fiction Hall of Fame II” (Isaac Asimov, 82). “For five decades [Asimov’s] was the voice to which science fiction came down in the end. His was the default voice of science fiction” (Clute & Nicholls, 58). Appropriately, then, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named Asimov a “Grand Master” in 1987. First edition, first printing with “Azimov” on spine of book. The Martian Way and The Deep serialized in Galaxy (respectively November, December 1952); Sucker Bait in Astounding (February/March 1952); Youth in Space (May 1952). Currey, 14. A fine signed copy. 2
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 ONE OF “THE TWO BEST BOOKS OF MY CAREER”: FIRST EDITION OF THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ 3. BAUM, L. Frank. The Patchwork Girl of Oz. Chicago, 1913. Octavo, original pictorial green cloth, custom clamshell box. $2850 First edition of Baum’s seventh Oz book, the introduction of one of his most beloved characters, profusely illustrated by John Neill with numerous color and black-and-white text illustrations, many full page. After writing a series of unrelated fairy stories, Baum, motivated by popular demand and personal bankruptcy, returned to tales of Oz with this volume. He would produce a new Oz title annually until his death in 1919. This novel became the basis for the first production of Baum’s motion picture production business, the Oz Film Manufacturing Company. Although the film proved an unexpected failure, the novel has enchanted generations. Baum himself considered it, along with the non-Oz Sky Island, one of “the two best books of my career” (Rogers, 184). In first state binding with five pages of advertisements with synopses at rear; announcement with half-tone photographs on page [343]; the “C” of “Chapter Three” (page 35) not overlapping the text, an error found in the earliest copies printed and corrected (as here) “probably during the first printing” (Hanff & Greene, 64). Without extremely scarce original dust jacket. Hanff & Greene, 63-65. Contemporary gift inscription on ownership page, evidence of owner name erasure on title page. Interior fine, cloth bright and fresh with only minor wear to spine ends. A nearly fine copy. 3
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “THIS DANDELION!”: DANDELION WINE, COLORFULLY INSCRIBED BY RAY BRADBURY WITH A SKETCH OF A DANDELION 4. BRADBURY, Ray. Dandelion Wine. Garden City, 1957. Octavo, original yellow cloth, dust jacket. Housed in a custom clamshell box. $4900 First edition of Bradbury’s semi-autobiographical novel, boldly inscribed by him using several colors of pencil over the entire front free endpaper: “For Matthew Stiller!?!!! This dandelion! [sketch of dandelion] With good wishes! from Ray Bradbury, Oct. 4, ‘92.” “Dandelion Wine is one of Bradbury’s autobiographical fantasies, a novel that fully embodies Bradbury’s love for creating eccentric characters and exploring their lives. The novel is more autobiographical than fantasy (unlike its companion, Something Wicked This Way Comes), with the majority of events being daily moments of life in the Midwest in the late 1920s. The main character, Douglas Spaulding, is based on Bradbury… Considered one of Bradbury’s strongest works, the novel has received a good deal of acclaim and critical attention” (Reid, 63). Dandelion Wine was Bradbury’s “first chance to develop a true novel from the experiences of his Illinois youth… It has never been out of print since its publication in 1957. But it is nonetheless a novelized story cycle closer (in terms of structure) to The Martian Chronicles than to its sister work, Something Wicked This Way Comes” (Eller & Touponce, 208). “Much of Bradbury’s work, whether in fantasy, science fiction, realistic fiction or even horror is infused with a pastoral nostalgia, and nowhere is this trait more pronounced than in Dandelion Wine. The author effectively evokes the transition of the novel’s protagonist from childhood to early adolescence” (Barron, Fantasy and Horror 7-45). Currey, 44. Book and dust jacket near-fine. An excellent inscribed copy. 4
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 5 “AT THE HEAD OF A TRADITION”: FINE FIRST EDITION OF DARK CARNIVAL, RAY BRADBURY’S FIRST BOOK, SIGNED BY HIM 5. BRADBURY, Ray. Dark Carnival. Sauk City, Wisconsin, 1947. Octavo, original black cloth, dust jacket. $6800 First edition of Bradbury’s important first book, signed by him on the title page. The legendary Bradbury was “as influenced by George Bernard Shaw and William Shakespeare as he was by Jules Verne… Bradbury’s poetically drawn and atmospheric fictions—horror, fantasy, shadowy American gothics—explored life’s secret corners” (Los Angeles Times). The 27 stories collected in Dark Carnival mark Bradbury’s departure from publishing in pulp magazines. Their “stylistic deftness… stands at the head of a tradition in modern horror fiction” (Barron 4-24). “Evocative, poetic and suffused with youthful wonder, Bradbury’s tales broke with pulp conventions in their style and approach to the fantastic… Collected in his first book Dark Carnival… they mesh to form a smalltown landscape in which the magic possibilities of ordinary life and the banality of the fantastic are indistinguishable from one another” (Clute & Grant, 132). Because only 3112 copies were printed, “Dark Carnival was never widely available,” and in 1955 Arkham House published The October Country, which is “substantially a reprint of Dark Carnival” (Horror 100 Best 55). With pictorial dust jacket designed by George Barrows. Currey, 55. Book fine, dust jacket extremely good with light rubbing, shallow chipping to spine ends. A near-fine copy.
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 6 A “TESTAMENT… TO THE HUMAN SPIRIT”: FIRST EDITION OF OCTAVIA BUTLER’S NEBULA AWARDWINNING NOVEL, PARABLE OF THE TALENTS, BOLDLY SIGNED BY HER 6. BUTLER, Octavia E. Parable of the Talents. New York / Toronto, 1998. Octavo, original black paper boards, dust jacket. $1800 First edition of one of Butler’s final novels, the concluding work in her Parable Series—a “masterpiece” (New York Times)—boldly signed on the title page by her. “By writing Black female protagonists into science fiction, and bringing her acute appraisal of real-world power structures to bear on the imaginary worlds,” Butler became a prominent early voice of Afrofuturism (New Yorker). Her Parable series, begun with Parable of the Sower (1993), was continued by her series’ final work, Parable of the Talents (1998). Awarded the 1999 Nebula Award for Best Novel, it was quickly heralded as a “masterpiece” (New York Times). The novel, which evokes a dystopian world in which “indentured servitude and slavery are common” (New Yorker), nevertheless stands “as a testament to the author’s enormous talent, and to the human spirit” (Publishers Weekly). To Butler, the book “was not intended as an augur. ‘This was not a book about prophecy,’ she said… ‘this was a cautionary tale’” (New Yorker). In addition to her two Nebula Awards—for Parable of the Talents and for Bloodchild (1985) as “Best Novelette”—Butler won two Hugo Awards: one for Bloodchild and another for her 1984 short story Speech Sounds. Following her sudden death in 2006, Butler was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010. Her body of work “pushes the genre to speak to our deepest, culturally burdened horrors as well as to our transcendent hopes” (Kilgore & Samantraim, Memorial, 353). Interior fine with scant foxing to fore-edge; mere trace of soiling to bright dust jacket. A handsome about-fine copy.
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 7 FIRST EDITIONS OF ALL THREE VOLUMES OF OCTAVIA BUTLER’S XENOGENESIS TRILOGY, WITH BOOKPLATES SIGNED BY BUTLER LAID IN 7. BUTLER, Octavia. Dawn Xenogenesis: Dawn, Adulthood Rites, Imago. New York, 1987, 1988, 1989. Octavo, original half cloth, dust jackets. $1800 First of the all three novels in Butler’s innovative Xenogenesis trilogy, with three bookplates signed by Butler laid in. Dawn, the first novel in Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy (later known as Lilith’s Brood), begins hundreds of years after a global nuclear holocaust and is centered around Lilith Iyapo, a Black woman who awakens from suspended animation to find herself held captive on an interplanetary ship of the Oankali, aliens who practice gene trading to exchange genetic information with other species. “Evocative of the biblical first but defiant wife of Adam,” Lilith is told by one of the Oankali, “Your Earth is still your Earth, but between the efforts of your people to destroy it and ours to restore it, it has changed… You will become something other than you were’… The Oankali have left the species with little choice and Lilith must come to terms with the ambivalence of the circumstances that are simultaneously salvation and slavery, evolutionary and exploitative, transformation and cooptation” (Chang, Drawing the Oankali, 81-2). The following two novels follow Iyapo’s half alien descendants as they grapple with the destructive tendencies of the human species. Butler, who died in 2006, “walked a singular path… she became the first science fiction author to be granted a MacArthur fellowship, and the first Black woman to win Hugo and Nebula awards” (New York Times). As in all her work, Dawn’s “leitmotif of bondage situates her firmly in the African American literary tradition, which is infused with the racial memories of slavery” (Oxford Companion to African American Literature, 113-14). These features made Butler a revolutionary “voice in the traditional domains of science fiction, feminism and Black literature” (Salvaggio, Octavia Butler, 78). To Library of America editor Gerry Caravan, “she seems to have seen the real future coming in a way few other writers did… it’s hard not to read [her] books and think ‘How did she know?’” (USA Today). Dawn is in a first printing dust jacket with price of $15.95, “0587” on lower corner of front flap. With publisher’s press release laid into Imago. One inner hinge expertly reinforced, about-fine condition.
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 RARE ADVANCE REVIEW COPY OF CHANDLER’S FAREWELL, MY LOVELY, 1940, IN PUBLISHER’S ORIGINAL WRAPPERS 8. CHANDLER, Raymond. Farewell, My Lovely. New York, 1940. Octavo, original red wrappers. Housed in a custom clamshell box. $9200 First edition, Advance Review Copy, of Chandler’s scarce second novel—an exceptional copy of this premiere work by “one hell of a writer” (George Higgins)—in original ARC wrappers. “Show me a man or woman who cannot stand mysteries and I will show you a fool, a clever fool—perhaps—but a fool just the same.” With these words, written by Chandler in 1949, the man who redefined the American crime novel acknowledged what his own writing made evident. It was barely a decade earlier that Chandler began to achieve some success. With the popularity of his first novel The Big Sleep in 1939, Chandler began working on Farewell, My Lovely in April that same year, completing a first draft by September and finishing the novel in the summer of 1940. To many, Farewell, My Lovely, the second Philip Marlowe novel, remains Chandler’s premiere achievement—glittering with lines such as “All she did was take her hand out of her bag, with a gun in it. All she did was point it at me and smile. All I did was nothing” (265). W.H. Auden calls Chandler’s works “serious studies of a criminal milieu, the Great Wrong Place, and his powerful but extremely depressing books should be read and judged, not as escape literature, but as works of art” (ANB). Or, as George Higgins noted, “Chandler is fun to read… one hell of a writer, and those are hard to find” (Bruccoli & Layman, 82-3). “First Edition” stated on copyright page. A Haycraft Queen cornerstone. Bruccoli A2.1.a. Hubin, 75. Johnson, 60. Owner signature dated year of publication. Text fresh and fine, mild rubbing, scant edge-wear mainly to spine of ARC original wrappers. An excellent near-fine copy. 8
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “IT IS MY BUSINESS TO KNOW WHAT OTHER PEOPLE DON’T KNOW”: FIRST EDITIONS OF THE ADVENTURES AND MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES 9. CONAN DOYLE, Sir Arthur. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. WITH: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. London, 1892, 1894. Two volumes. Octavo, original light blue and dark blue cloth. $13,500 First editions in book form of these classic stories starring literature’s most famous detective, illustrated by Sidney Paget. Although Sherlock Holmes first appeared in the novel A Study in Scarlet (1887), his adventures in the Strand Magazine brought both him and his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, lasting fame. “The initial 12 tales were collected between covers as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, published in England and America in 1892; and 11 of the second 12… as The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, published in 1894. If any reader be prepared to name two other books that have given more innocent but solid pleasure, let him speak now— or hold his peace!” (Haycraft, 50). These volumes contain such famous and memorable tales as “A Scandal in Bohemia” and “The Adventure of the Speckled Band.” Of special note is the last case in the Memoirs, “The Final Problem,” in which Holmes apparently meets his death in a struggle with “the Napoleon of crime,” Professor Moriarty. “At one point, tiring of the detective, Doyle attempted to exterminate him… but the clamor of his admirers forced him to resurrect Holmes for several further volumes, and his popularity has waned little since” (Benet, 273). Adventures in first-issue binding, with blank street sign on front cover illustration. Green & Gibson A10a, A14a. DeWaal 520, 596. Ink gift inscription in Memoirs, dated 1895. Scattered light foxing and the occasional marginal smudge. Inner paper hinges tender, bindings sound. Extremities of cloth lightly rubbed, faint discoloration to front cover of Memoirs, gilt bright. An extremely good and attractive set. 9
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “THIS BOOK IS FOR CHILDREN OVER SIX. YOU QUALIFY—JUST”: FIRST EDITION OF CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, DELIGHTFULLY INSCRIBED 10. DAHL, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. New York, 1964. Octavo, original red cloth, dust jacket, custom half morocco clamshell box. $18,000 First edition, first issue, boldly inscribed in red crayon by Dahl and his wife, actress Patricia Neal, the inscription likely in Neal’s hand, the signature in Dahl’s: “Dear Anette and Gerald, This book is for children over six. You qualify— just. With love from Pat and Roald. Christmas 1964.” With numerous in-text illustrations by Joseph Schindelman. “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is already a great classic work… one of the most enduring post-war children’s books—and I think we will not see its like again… Dahl is undeniably special” (Connolly, 102). It is in this famous work that the world was introduced to Willie Wonka. Inscribed copies of Dahl’s books are uncommon, particularly with such a lengthy and highly personal inscription. First issue, in full red cloth and with six lines of publishing information on last page (instead of five). Book fine. Dust jacket near-fine, with slightest rubbing, front fold splitting but stable, only two tiny closed tears to spine head. A wonderful inscribed copy. Scarce and most desirable. 10
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE VAGUE BLUR!” 11. DICK, Philip K. A Scanner Darkly. Garden City, 1977. Octavo, original tan paper boards, dust jacket. $1850 First edition of Dick’s “suburban phantasmagoria” (New York Times), his finely crafted and frightening vision of drug culture, social conformity, and the struggle to discern reality. Although many of Philip K. Dick’s works in the 1960s employ “a language singularly familiar with the large repertory of mind-states accessible through the use of drugs,” only with this 1977 novel did the author “explore the more negative human implications of drug-taking, though with an almost hallucinated vehemence” (Clute & Nicholls, 329). The gripping tale of a narcotics agent in hot pursuit of himself, A Scanner Darkly revisits Dick’s life-long fascination with the inability to distinguish the real from the unreal to terrifying effect. “A Scanner Darkly is Dick’s most politically astute novel” (Christopher Palmer, Science Fiction Studies 18:3). “An affecting, powerful novel” (Anatomy of Wonder II-333). Made into the 2006 film directed by Richard Linklater and starring Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and Robert Downey, Jr. Levack 36a. Currey, 126. Book fine, dust jacket near-fine with slight soiling and mild toning to spine. A handsome copy. 11
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “SKILL WITH THE SWORD AND A WAY WITH THE MANDOLIN” 12. DUNSANY, Lord (PLUNKETT, Edward John Moreton Drax, 18th Baron of Dunsany). The Chronicles of Rodriguez. London, 1922. Quarto, original half vellum, dust jacket. $850 Signed limited first edition, number 94 of only 500 copies, signed by both Dunsany and illustrator Sidney Sime, who drew the frontispiece and illustrated many of the author’s works. The warrior-poet Rodriguez, Lord of Arguento and the Duke of Shadow Valley, approaches life with his sword in one hand and his mandolin in the other. Precedes the New York issue, titled Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley. Currey, 135. Only occasional faint foxing, a bit of minor rubbing to dust jacket, very nearly fine. A lovely signed copy. 12
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “ONCE UPON A TIME…”: FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH OF GRIMMS’ FAIRY TALES, ILLUSTRATED BY GEORGE CRUIKSHANK 13. GRIMM, Jacob and Wilhelm. (CRUIKSHANK, George, illustrator) . German Popular Stories, Translated from the Kinder und Haus Marchen, Collected by M.M. Grimm, from Oral Tradition. London, 1823, 1826. Two volumes. 12mo, early 20th-century full brown morocco gilt; custom clamshell box. $22,000 First editions in English (first issue of Volume I; first printing of Volume II) of Grimms’ famous fairy tales, including “Snow White,” “Cinderella” and “Sleeping Beauty,” illustrated with two engraved title pages and 20 full-page etchings by George Cruikshank (“perhaps his best work”), handsomely bound in full morocco by Bayntun-Riviere. As early as 1805, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm began collecting German popular tales. They published the first and second volumes of Kinder- und Hausmärchen in 1812 and 1814. Its publication brought immediate and worldwide fame to the brothers Grimm and provided the foundation for their influential and groundbreaking studies in German philology and grammar (See PMM 281). “Their great insight and artistry in editing and refining the material made the tales second only to the Bible in German readership” (Zipes, 208). The 1823 edition in English of German Popular Stories was the “first anywhere to be fully illustrated” as well as the first to truly target children (Darton, 216). Moreover, the English translation by Edgar Taylor (and his relatives) “revolutionized the conventional English attitude to fairy tales and rehabilitated fantasy as generally acceptable reading-matter for the young” (Carpenter & Prichard, 230). “The Cruikshank illustrations, which the Grimms themselves admired, remain inextricably associated with the tales” and are considered among his best works (Carpenter & Prichard, 230). They have been called “the first real, kindly agreeable, and infinitely amusing and charming illustrations for a child’s book in England” (Charles Welsh). “If you ever happen to meet with the two volumes of Grimm’s German Stories,” John Ruskin once advised, “which were illustrated by Cruikshank long ago, pounce on them instantly; the etchings in them are the finest things, next to Rembrandt’s, that, as far as I know, have been done since etching was invented.” Among other famous Grimm tales, these volumes contain “Rumpel-Stilts-Kin,” “Snow-Drop” (Snow White), “Rose-Bud” (Sleeping Beauty), “Tom Thumb,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “The Golden Goose,” “The Frog-Prince” and “Ashputtel” (Cinderella). First state of the engraved title page of Volume I, without the umlaut in the word Märchen (“later issues of the first edition of Volume I had the umlauts inserted”— Quayle, 38). Plates in Volume I printed in sepia, as often found. With engraved title pages; bound without Volume II half title, Volume I blanks, and publisher’s advertisements in either volume. Cohn 369. Les Livres de l’Enfance 2835.Morgan Library 122. Ray 112. See Osborne, 599. A very few marginal smudges; minor offsetting from plates to text. A handsomely bound, about-fine copy of this splendidly illustrated classic. 13
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 AN EXCEPTIONAL COPY OF HAWTHORNE’S CELEBRATED FIRST CHILDREN’S BOOK 14. HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel. A Wonder-Book For Girls and Boys… With Engravings by Baker from Designs by Billings. Boston, 1852. Octavo, original blue cloth; custom half morocco slipcase. $6000 First edition, first printing, of Hawthorne’s first book for children, with frontispiece and six engraved plates. An exceptionally clean and bright copy. Although Hawthorne had written a number of histories, biographies and morals for children prior to the publication of The Scarlet Letter in 1850, these early stories were primarily undertaken as hack-work and published in periodicals. Following the success of The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne attempted to capitalize on his fame with two intended moneymakers, A Wonder-Book and Tanglewood Tales, in 1853. Both were very popular and have since been celebrated for their retelling of myths for children. Includes six tales: “The Gorgon’s Head,” “The Paradise of Children,” “The Three Golden Apples,” “The Miraculous Pitcher,” and “The Chimaera,” as well as Hawthorne’s version of the King Midas tale, “The Golden Touch.” The popular success of A Wonder-Book led Hawthorne to publish another volume of children’s stories in 1853, Tanglewood Tales. First printing or issue with “lifed” for “lifted” on page 21, line 3. Clark A.18.1.a. BAL 7606. Owner signature. An exceptionally clean copy with bright gilt lettering. Scarce in this condition. 14
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “YES, EVERYBODY’S HAPPY NOW”: FIRST EDITION OF BRAVE NEW WORLD 15. HUXLEY, Aldous. Brave New World. London, 1932. Octavo, original blue cloth, dust jacket. Housed in a custom clamshell box. $13,500 First trade edition of Huxley’s haunting dystopian classic, in original dust jacket. “A nightmarish prognostication of a future in which humanity has been destroyed by science… easily Huxley’s most popular (and many good judges continue to think his best) novel” (DNB). “After the success of his first three novels, Huxley abandoned the fictional milieu of literary London and directed his satire toward an imagined future. He admitted that the original idea of Brave New World was to challenge H.G. Wells’ Utopian vision… The novel also marks Huxley’s increasing disenchantment with the world, which was to result in his leaving England for California in 1937 in search of a more spiritual life. The book was immediately successful” (Parker & Kermode, 161-62). It remains the “seminal dystopia… As argument and as satire, Brave New World is a compendium of usable points and quotable jibes… and has provided material for much subsequent fiction,” not only within speculative fiction but also beyond it (Clute & Nicholls, 606). “Along with Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, it is one of only two futuristic novels to have made a considerable contribution to the social and political rhetoric of the 20th century” (Anatomy of Wonder II-558). Preceded by the signed limited edition of 324 copies. Connolly 75. Books of the Century, 94-96. An English Library, 30. Owner ink signature, dated “March, 1932,” the year of publication. Cloth spine very gently sunned, gilt bright; book clean and very nearly fine. Scarce unrestored original dust jacket with only shallow chipping to head of slightly toned spine, panels and flaps clean and bright, exceptionally good. A lovely copy. 15
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “THE STORY EVERYONE KNOWS”: FIRST EDITION OF JACKSON’S THE LOTTERY 16. JACKSON, Shirley. The Lottery, or The Adventures of James Harris. New York, 1949. Octavo, original gray cloth, dust jacket. $2800 First edition, first issue, of Jackson’s second book, featuring her early masterpiece, “The Lottery.” With its initial publication on June 26, 1948, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” became “likely the most controversial piece of fiction ever published in the New Yorker, resulting in hundreds of canceled subscriptions, later adapted for television, radio and ballet” and now residing “in the popular imagination as an archetype… the story everyone knows even if they don’t remember Shirley Jackson’s name” (Lethem, Salon). In this, the first edition of her collected stories, Jackson threaded “a loose unity on the 25 stories… [and] the lottery becomes a symbol of vulnerability” (ANB). First issue, with publisher’s stylized “fs” on copyright page. Book near-fine, with a couple tiny spots of soiling to interior, slightest soiling to spine, and mildest toning to extremities. Dust jacket extremely good, with faint foxing and light rubbing mainly to extremities. A desirable copy. 16
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 SIGNED LIMITED FIRST EDITION OF THE EYES OF THE DRAGON, ONE OF 1000 COPIES SIGNED BY STEPHEN KING 17. KING, Stephen. The Eyes of the Dragon. Bangor, Maine, 1984. Folio, original half black cloth, original slipcase. $3500 Signed limited first edition of this fantasy novel originally written for children, number 168 of 1000 copies (out of a total limited edition of 1250 copies) signed by King. In this departure from his more characteristic horror fare, King “has used the full authority of his talent as a yarn spinner to create the atmosphere of a made-up bedtime story. The narrative address is that of a parent to a child… reminding us strongly of A.A. Milne… From the book’s first words—’Once, in a kingdom called Delain’—we know that we must suspend our disbelief just as completely as if we were listening to a tale by Andersen or Grimm” (New York Times). “Well crafted and smoothly told” (Fantasy and Horror 7-209). With 19 detailed, black-and-white illustrations, several full-page, by Kenneth R. Linkhaüser. Precedes the first trade edition (1987). With a typed letter from the publisher laid in. A fine signed copy. 17
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 FIRST EDITION OF THE TOMMYKNOCKERS, INSCRIBED BY STEPHEN KING 18. KING, Stephen. The Tommyknockers. New York, 1987. Octavo, original half black paper boards, dust jacket. $2000 First trade edition of the novel considered “King at his best,” inscribed by him on the half title, “To M— All the best! Stephen King, 5/22/00.” The publication of Tommyknockers led The New York Times to single out King’s unique ability as a storyteller, noting that whether “King is… saying ‘EEEOOOOOOARRRGHMMMMMMM!’ or ‘Hurts! It hurrrr-… or quoting MobyDick, we believe him.” Widely considered “King at his best” (San Francisco Chronicle), this is “an incredibly scary story—you will not be able to put this down” (Los Angeles Times Book Review). Published November 1987: original dust jacket with front wrapper containing King’s name in gold (this copy) and in red; no priority established.. Preceded by a signed limited prepublication facsimile edition of King’s manuscript. A splendid inscribed copy in fine condition. 18
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 FIRST EDITION OF NEEDFUL THINGS, INSCRIBED BY STEPHEN KING 19. KING, Stephen. Needful Things. (New York): Viking, (1991). Octavo, original half black cloth, original dust jacket. $2500 First edition of King’s critically praised “horror ride… where all hell breaks loose,” boldly inscribed on the colophon leaf, “To Shirley—who has ESP, Stephen King 10/24/00.” Returning to Castle Rock in Needful Things, King again sets the stage where “all hell breaks loose and we’re off on another horror ride… As always, one is bowled over by Stephen King’s… ability to line up vast landscapes of dominoes whose toppling will concatenate catastrophically, and by his sheer inventive energy… Reading him late into the night, you feel the walls closing in” (New York Times). Basis for the 1993 film starring Max von Sydow and Ed Harris. With laid in receipt and bookmark from BookMarc’s, a bookstore in Bangor, Maine that was the site of frequent Stephen King booksignings. A fine copy. 19
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “AN HONORABLE PLACE IN ANY LIBRARY OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS” 20. KIPLING, Rudyard. The Jungle Book. WITH: The Second Jungle Book. London and New York, 1894-95. Two volumes. Octavo, original pictorial blue cloth gilt, custom chemises and slipcase. $7000 First editions of Kipling’s classic Jungle Books, “replete with adventure and excitement.” “Among the 15 stories in [these volumes] are some of Kipling’s most memorable narratives” (Abraham, 36). “The child who has never run with Mowgli’s wolf pack, or stood with Parnesius and Pertinax to defend the Northern Wall… has missed something that he will not get from any other writer” (Carpenter & Prichard, 297). Illustrated largely by W.H. Drake and Kipling’s father, J. Lockwood Kipling, “this most desirable pair… will always fill an honorable place in any library of children’s books” (Quayle 87). Livingston 104, 116. Jungle Book with bookplate of noted book collector Lucius Wilmerding, financier, philanthropist and director of the New York Public Library. Jungle Book exceptionally fine and fresh with cloth pristine and gilt bright. Second Jungle Book near-fine with scattered light foxing, light toning to spine. An excellent pair of volumes. 20
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “WWEE MUSSTT GGO BBEHINDD THEE SSHADDOW”: EXCEPTIONALLY RARE FIRST EDITION OF MADELEINE L’ENGLE’S NEWBERY MEDAL-WINNING A WRINKLE IN TIME 21. L’ENGLE, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. New York, 1962. Octavo, original half blue cloth, dust jacket; custom clamshell box. $11,000 Rare first edition in original dust jacket of L’Engle’s landmark novel, winner of the 1962 Newbery Medal, handsomely housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. “At once a science fiction story, a philosophical meditation on the nature of Evil and Love and a coming-of-age novel, Wrinkle broke new ground in what was considered appropriate for young readers. Rejected by several publishers for being too complex, this title has amply proven L’Engle’s belief that ‘children are excited by new ideas’ and has been credited with bringing science fiction into the mainstream of children’s literature. This is L’Engle’s best work” (Silvey, 401). “First printing, 1962” stated on copyright page; first state dust jacket without embossed gilt Newberry Medal affixed to front panel. Anatomy of Wonder II-662. Early owner signature dated 1963. Text very fresh, light expert restoration to cloth; scant edge-wear, mild toning to spine of colorful dust jacket. A most desirable near-fine copy of this rare first edition. 21
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 FIRST EDITION OF THE STORY OF DOCTOR DOLITTLE, INSCRIBED BY HUGH LOFTING— THE COPY OF HORN BOOK FOUNDER BERTHA MAHONEY MILLER 22. LOFTING, Hugh. The Story of Doctor Dolittle. New York, 1920. Octavo, original blue-stamped orange cloth, mounted cover illustration, pictorial endpapers. Housed in a custom clamshell box. $7800 First edition of the first Doctor Dolittle title, with color frontispiece, two plates, and 30 in-text black-and-white illustrations, inscribed on the half title: “Sincerely Yours, Hugh Lofting. Jan. 15 21.” The copy of Bertha Mahoney Miller, founder and editor of The Horn Book Magazine, with her posthumous bookplate. Author Hugh Lofting was “creator of the most famous vet of all time (pace James Herriot)— and what a wonderfully sane loony Dr. Dolittle is. The books are absolutely irresistible and deathless—as well as being immensely stylish… Very much collected, as is right and proper” (Connolly, Children’s Modern First Editions, 189). Asked about the genesis of Doctor Dolittle, Lofting stated that he came up with the idea during World War I. He recalled: “’It was during the Great War and my children at home wanted letters from me—and they wanted them with illustrations rather than without. There seemed to be very little of interest to write to youngsters from the Front: the news was either too horrible or too dull… One thing, however, that kept forcing itself more and more on my attention was the very considerable part the animals were playing in the World War” (Firsts). After being injured in the war, Lofting used his letters to compile a book. With the help of fellow writer Cecil Roberts, whom Lofting met on a trip home to the United States, Lofting secured publication at Frederick A. Stokes in New York. Soon after, he became one of the most celebrated children’s authors of all time. Without scarce original dust jacket. Peter Parley to Penrod, 138. With the posthumous bookplate of Bertha Mahoney Miller, who founded The Horn Book Magazine, the first periodical to deal only with children’s literature, and Horn Book, Incorporated, the publishing company. Miller also founded the Bookshop for Boys and Girls, which was dedicated to providing disadvantaged youth with quality books. Faint child’s signature. Only slight wear to bright original cloth. A scarce near-fine inscribed copy with an interesting provenance. 22
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “ONE OF THE BEST FANTASY BOOK SERIES OF THE PAST DECADE”: SARAH J. MAAS’ COMPLETE THRONE OF GLASS SERIES 23. MAAS, Sarah J. The Throne of Glass series: Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn, Kingdom of Ash. New York, 2012-18. Together, seven volumes. Octavo, original boards, dust jackets. $2500 First editions of the seven books in Maas’ enormously popular Throne of Glass series, following the exploits of teenage assassin Celaena Sardothien in the corrupt kingdom of the tyrannical ruler, the King of Adarlan. “Woven in the vein of a Tolkien fantasy, Celaena’s world is one where magic is outlawed and power is snatched through greed and genocide. The third-person narrative allows frequent insight into multiple characters (heroes and villains alike) but never fully shifts its focus from the confident yet conflicted Celaena… This commingling of comedy, brutality and fantasy evokes a rich alternate universe with a spitfire young woman as its brightest star” (Kirkus Reviews, regarding Throne of Glass). “An epic fantasy readers will immerse themselves in and never want to leave” (Kirkus, regarding the second volume, Crown of Midnight). Time Magazine described the final novel in the series, Kingdom of Ash, as “a worthy finale to one of the best fantasy book series of the past decade.” “Not only has [Maas] single-handedly created universes for her three best-selling fantasy series (including the Throne of Glass juggernaut, which just hit the children’s series [bestseller] list for its 50th week), Maas is also developing Court of Thorns and Roses for Hulu” (New York Times). This Throne of Glass series was also optioned by Hulu, though development has reportedly been delayed for the present. All volumes with complete number lines on copyright pages; Throne of Glass dust jacket later issue, with a more uniform illustration on the front panel and mentioning the next two books in the series. The last three volumes in the series (Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn, Kingdom of Ash) are first trade editions, issued simultaneously with signed limited editions as the series grew in popularity. Publisher’s promotional cards laid into Volume I. A few boards with faint smudges or minor bumps, generally about-fine; dust jackets fine. Quite scarce in hardcover and dust jackets. 23
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 AN UNPARALLELED AND UNIQUE COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION OF BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, SIGNED BY KATHERINE PATERSON AND WITH MORE THAN 35 LENGTHY ANNOTATIONS 24. PATERSON, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia. New York, 1977. Octavo, original navy cloth, dust jacket. Housed in a custom clamshell box. $12,000 Most exceptional first edition of the quintessential children’s book about loss, signed by Katherine Paterson and specially annotated by her with over 1300 handwritten words describing the writing process and her experiences after publication, all intended to bolster this copy’s value for a Christie’s auction to benefit the PEN/American Center. “Jess and Leslie, whose parents have moved from the suburbs because they’re ‘reassessing their value structure,’ become close friends. On her lead they create Terabithia, a secret magic kingdom in the woods, and there in the castle stronghold she tells him wonderful stories… about a gloomy prince of Denmark, or a crazy sea captain bent on killing a whale. She lends him her Narnia books and lectures him on endangered predators… but he teaches her compassion for a mean older girl at school. Indeed Leslie has brought enchantment into his life. Then one morning, with the creek they must swing over to reach Terabithia dangerously swollen by rain, and Jess torn between his fear of the maneuver and his reluctance to admit it, he is saved by an invitation to visit the National Gallery with his lovely music teacher. The day is perfect—but while he is gone Leslie is killed, swinging into Terabithia on their old frayed rope. Jess’ feelings range from numb denial to rage to guilt to desolation (at one point the thought occurs that ‘I am now the fastest runner in the fifth grade’)—typical grief reactions, but newly wrenching as Jess is no representative bibliotherapeutic model. By the end, he is ready to think about giving back to the world something of what he had received from Leslie. You’ll remember her too” (Kirkus). This copy was specially annotated by Katherine Paterson for an auction at Christie’s intended to benefit the PEN/ American Center. Here, she has added more than 35 annotations totaling more than 1300 words providing deep insight into Paterson’s ideas and intentions as the author of this work. Paterson has also added photographic images of her son, David, and his friend, Lisa, on whom the novel’s protagonists were based. David also wrote the screenplay for the 2007 film adaptation. This work also includes a copy of an excerpt from David’s childhood journal discussing the pain of being admired for being a character in the book given that the highly traumatic death of his best friend, Lisa, was the book’s inspiration. Illustrated by Donna Diamond. Book about-fine, price-clipped dust jacket nearfine with light rubbing and toning to extremities. An unparalleled copy, signed and heavily annotated by Katherine Paterson. 24
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “MY OWN FAVORITE AMONGST MY LITTLE BOOKS”: FIRST TRADE EDITION OF THE TAILOR OF GLOUCESTER 25. POTTER, Beatrix. The Tailor of Gloucester. London and New York, 1903. 12mo, original dark green paper boards, mounted cover illustration, custom half morocco clamshell box. $2600 First trade edition, first printing, of Beatrix Potter’s second book, described by her as “my own favorite amongst my little books,” with pictorial label, frontispiece and 26 illustrations in color. Inspired by a real-life incident involving a tailor’s pressure to finish a waistcoat for the new mayor of Gloucester, this book “was Potter’s own favorite of all her stories, and one can see why, for in it she indulges her own fascination with the era of her grandparents and great-grandparents… Fairy tale, nursery rhyme and Arcadian fantasy all come together for a moment in perfect balance. No wonder Beatrix Potter was proud of the book” (Carpenter, 148). First printing, with single-page endpaper occurring four times. Preceded by a privately printed edition of 500 copies. Without rare original glassine dust jacket. Quinby 4. Linder, 423. A few spots of soiling to interior, text block separated but holding strong, stray mark to front board, and boards bowing slightly. A near-fine copy. 25
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “HE’LL BE FAMOUS–A LEGEND… THERE WILL BE BOOKS WRITTEN ABOUT HARRY–EVERY CHILD IN OUR WORLD WILL KNOW HIS NAME!”: FIRST AMERICAN EDITION OF HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE, SIGNED BY J.K. ROWLING 26. ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. New York, 1998. Octavo, original half red cloth, dust jacket. $12,500 First American edition of the first volume in Rowling’s phenomenally popular Harry Potter series, boldly signed by the author on the title page. At the time a mother struggling on welfare, “Rowling first thought of Harry while riding a train in 1990. ‘Harry just strolled into my head fully formed.’ Several publishers turned down the finished manuscript before one took interest,” publishing it in 1997 in a very small first printing of only about 300 copies (Scholastic). It first appeared in America-the “philosopher’s stone” of the original title changed to “sorcerer’s stone”-the following year, also in a small first printing. By the time the fifth book in the series was published, “Harry Potter [had] shown empire-building skills that would put Queen Victoria to shame… Worldwide sales [had] topped 190 million in more than two hundred countries… It’s a Harry Potter world, and we just live in it” (Weinberg, 43). “A marriage of good writing, inventiveness and sheer child appeal that has not been seen since Roald Dahl, perhaps even since Tolkien, Lewis and Ransome” (The Times). First printing, in first-printing dust jacket, without “Year 1” box on spine and with Guardian quote on rear panel. First published in a 1997 English edition titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Owner signature. Dust jacket with minor creasing to spine ends. A nearly fine copy. 26
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 FIRST DELUXE EDITIONS OF ALL SEVEN HARRY POTTER BOOKS 27. ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter deluxe editions. London, 1999-2007. Seven volumes. Octavo, original cloth, pictorial paper labels. $5200 First deluxe editions of the entire run of Harry Potter books. “A marriage of good writing, inventiveness, and sheer child appeal that has not been seen since Roald Dahl, perhaps even since Tolkien, Lewis and Ransome,” Rowling’s extraordinarily popular Harry Potter series has become a classic praised by children, teachers and parents; “the emergence of each of the remaining books in the series of seven [will] become an annual event” (The Times). Each volume from the first deluxe edition. Philosopher’s Stone was first published in 1997, and Chamber of Secrets was first published in 1998. With the third volume in the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the publisher decided to release deluxe editions of all of the first three titles, in a larger format with color illustrations on the front covers; subsequent titles all had deluxe editions produced, usually within a few months of the first trade edition. First state of Prisoner of Azkaban, with “Joanne Rowling” on copyright page. Fine condition. 27
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 BEAUTIFUL LIMITED EDITION COLOR LITHOGRAPH, ONE OF ONLY 125 COPIES PRINTED, INSCRIBED BY MAURICE SENDAK TO A CLOSE FRIEND 28. SENDAK, Maurice. Chromolithograph inscribed [“Unicorn”]. No place, circa 1976. Chromolithograph measuring 6 by 7-1/2 inches; handsomely matted and framed, entire piece measures 11-3/4 by 13-3/4. $3500 Beautiful limited edition chromolithograph, one of only 125 copies printed for sale at the exhibition at Galerie Daniel Keel in Switzerland during the 1970s exhibition of Sendak’s art, inscribed in the lower margin to a close friend: “For Betty—from Maurice Sendak. Jan:76,” handsomely framed. Maurice Sendak originally created this illustration to serve as the cover design for a Harper & Row children’s books catalog. During the 1970s, the image was revived when a limited edition of 125 prints was offered for sale at the Exhibition at the Galerie Daniel Keel in Switzerland during the 1970s. Keel was the founder of Diogenes, the publishing house responsible for German translations of Sendak’s work. The former owner of this inscribed chromolithograph was Maurice Sendak’s neighbor, Andrew, from Ridgefield, Connecticut. Sendak bought a home and studio in Ridgefield in 1972 with his longtime partner, Eugene Glynn, and lived there until his death. Andrew first encountered Sendak in 1975 during one of his daily dog walks. (Sendak owned many dogs throughout his life, and they often starred in his books.) Andrew was immediately taken with Sendak, who reminded him of his recently deceased father. One day, Andrew called Sendak at home and asked if he could join him on his walks. Andrew and Sendak thus embarked on a 37-year friendship that also included the Andrew’s mother, Betty, as well as Andrew’s brother. Sendak went on long walks and hikes with Andrew and his family regularly, discussing general life events, opera, and books. He also invited them into his studio to show off works in progress. Andrew’s mother, Betty, was an avid reader and collector and she and Sendak would talk late into the night about books. Sendak offered Betty advice about how to find and authenticate rare children’s books, which she used to build her collection. Additionally, he frequently bartered for autographs (i.e. a cake for an inscribed drawing featuring the cake). Sendak often referred to Betty as “Elizabeth” in inscriptions as he felt that “Betty” was too common a name. The many inscribed drawings, along with first editions, signed books, and other valuable items grew into one of the country’s premier Sendak collections. Fine condition. 28
B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S G E N R E F I C T I O N * 2 0 2 3 “WITH ALL DUE RESPECT”: THE FIRST NINE VOLUMES FROM LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, EACH VOLUME STAMPED, DATED AND INSCRIBED BY “LEMONY SNICKET” HIMSELF 29. SNICKET, Lemony. A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Bad Beginning. The Reptile Room. The Wide Window. The Miserable Mill. The Austere Academy. The Ersatz Elevator. The Vile Village. The Hostile Hospital. The Carnivorous Carnival. New York, 1999-2002. Nine volumes. Small octavo, original laminated paper boards. $5000 A splendid set of the first nine volumes of the Lemony Snicket series, all first editions in beautiful condition, each volume with embossed stamp “Library of Lemony Snicket” and signed by the author “with all due respect” and dated. One of the most imaginative series to appear in recent years, books by “Lemony Snicket”—a pen name of author Daniel Handler—”have collectively sold more than 51 million copies worldwide… Handler’s literary opera buffa of calamity has been a children’s book phenomenon second only to Harry Potter… The tales chronicle the unrelenting misfortunes of the three Baudelaire siblings… [Readers] rebelled against the author’s admonition to steer clear of the horrid stories, in which the hapless Baudelaires face hurricanes, indentured servitude, entrapment in a shack with biting crabs, numerous kidnappings, a merciless all-night gym class, shoves down an elevator shaft and near death by spores from a deadly fungus, to name a few. The End is indeed the end of what the author calls ‘170 chapters of misery… Critics have compared the Snicket oeuvre to Edward Gorey, the Brothers Grimm and Roald Dahl. They are melodramatic gothic-style cliffhangers, darkly lighthearted (or lightly dark-hearted) books with a contemporary sardonic wit… The inventive use of irony and language, including defining big words… shows that ‘kids have a nose for literature that is often underestimated’” (New York Times). By 2006 the Series had extended to 13 volumes. A fine set of the first nine volumes of the series. 29
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