Rare books from Idler Fine Books

New York: Random House, 1975 First printing of the stated first edition. Signed and inscribed by Maya Angelou directly on the title page: "Lois Langland, / Joy! Maya Angelou / Nov 19, 1980 / (I hope we can be / together, again.)" Lois Langland taught (professor emeritus in psychology) at Scripps Women's College. Toning/offsetting to endpapers, else book in fine condition; dust jacket with faint toning to spine and cover margins, else fine.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf / Borzoi Books, 1972 First printing, stated first edition. 1972 movie titled, Pursuit. Book and dust jacket in fine condition. A lovely copy.

New York : Ballantine Books, 1955 First printing of the first edition, first state, with the "BB" monogram on spine of book inverted, red cloth with black lettering on spine, 8vo, 306pp. Preceded by a limited edition of 50 copies bound for the author. Signed by Ray Bradbury directly on the title page. Minor rubbing to board edge (primarily to spine ends), else book in fine condition; dust jacket with tanning to spine, minor paper loss to spine ends, lightly rubbed/soiled panels, a few short close tears to top and bottom front cover, and light paper loss (primarily at spine ends), else fine.

Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House, 1943 First printing of the first edition. One of 1,217 copies printed, Publisher's black cloth with gilt spine titles, octavo, 458 pages. The fourth book issued by Arkham House. The companion novel to The Outsider and Others. Accompanied by three letters from August Derleth to Clark Ashton Smith, discussing dust jacket art. Also includes a prepublication announcement card and a subsequent information card, as well as a letter from Derleth verifying an order for copies of Beyond the Wall of Sleep. Light rubbing at head and tail of spine and at corners of boards, text block is faintly age toned, but clean, unmarked, and tight in binding. Scarce dust jacket is slightly rubbed at spine head and tail and at corner tips. Overall near fine to fine condition.

London : Frederick Etchells & Hugh Macdonald, 1928 Limited edition, 1 of 55 signed and numbered copies, this being number 11; rebound in custom quarter leather marbled boards, ribbed spine and gilt-lettered, xxvi, 84pp. printed on Millbourn, hand-made paper, no dust wrapper issued for this signed edition [Gallup B7a]. Signed by T. S. Eliot. Small stain to front endpaper and light rubbing to corners of boards and spine ends, else book in fine condition.

London: The Aquilla Press, 1930 Original typed Manuscript, Signed by Nancy Cunard, with 5 corrections. First appeared in print under the title, "Poems (Two) 1925"; published 1930 by The Aquilla Press. Three loose 8vo sheets, previously stapled. Three of the corrections are minor but one alters the original 40th line from "Cools at the still, yeasts raise his auburn flour" to Yeast raising auburn flour." In line 47 Cunard corrects the spelling of the word, "orgu[e]illeux" by adding the e, but it never made it into the published work. Signed in pencil, "Nancy Cunard 1925'" at the bottom of the poem. Age toning, paper-clip ghost, minimal wear, else in fine condition.

London : The Aquila Press, 1930 First printing of the first edition, limited edition of 150 copies; publisher's copy; original orange and cream patterned boards, 4to, unpaginated, issued without dust jacket. Contains poems, "Simultaneous" and "In Provins." Crease to top, outer corner, slight tanning to spine, minimal wear, else book in fine condition.

New York: Little, Brown & Company, 2000 First printing of the first American edition. Signed by Paul McCartney directly on the half-title page. Light shelf wear else book and dust jacket in fine condition.

New York: Viking Press, 1952 First printing of the first edition, first state. Original green cloth boards, front cover printed in dark green, spine printed in black on brown background, pictorial jacket., 602pp., with the word "bite" present on page 281, line 38. First issue jacket with photo of Steinbeck on rear panel with no photo credit mentioned. Steinbeck's epic novel about two families who settle in the rich farmlands of California [Goldstone-Payne A32.b.]. Book with light toning to edge of boards and two small, faint blemishes to top page edge, else in fine condition; dust jacket with a couple tiny rubbed spots, edges lightly toned, and light wear to extremities, else fine. A lovely copy, seldom seen in this condition. Basis for the 1955 film starring James Dean.

New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1947 First printing of the first edition. Inscribed and signed by Robert Frost to poet, teacher, and friend, Samuel French: "To Samuel [French] Morse / from his fellow in the art / Robert Frost / in great hopes for us all." Light rubbing to board ends and faint toning to page margins, else book in fine condition; light toning to jacket spine and cover margins, trace of shelf wear, else dust jacket in fine condition. Among his many lifetime achievements, Frost was a four time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.

Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1977. First printing of the stated first edition, first issue with the publisher's code "R49" printed in the gutter of p. 447; in original first issue dust jacket. Basis for the 1980 Stanley Kubrick adaptation starring Jack Nicholson. Book with light rubbing to spine ends and a tiny crimp to the bottom front corner, else in fine condition; dust jacket with faint toning to spine and flap margins, faint crimping to upper spine end, very faint crease to upper front corner, and light wear to extremities, primarily at the edge of bottom spine, else fine. an exceptional copy indeed.

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940 First printing of the first edition, in first state dust jacket. Basis for the 1943 classic Technicolor film directed by Sam Wood and starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman. Book with light toning to spine and endpapers, else in fine condition; first issue dust jacket with moderate edge wear, a closed tear to the upper back cover / bottom back fold, and light rubbing to folds, else fine.

New York: Viking Press, 1939 First printing/first issue of the first edition; original beige cloth boards, in original first issue dust jacket. Book with mild toning primarily near gutters of the illustrated endpapers and faint rubbing to bottom boards, else in fine condition; dust jacket with a closed tear and diagonal crease to bottom front cover, soft diagonal crease to upper back flap, mild edge wear and shallow creasing, light paper loss to ends and corners, faint toning to spine, a few surface scratches to covers, and light rubbing, else fine. A well preserved collectible.

Baltimore / Colorado Springs: Borderlands Press / Gauntlet Press, 2018 First edition of the deluxe, signed limited edition of Neil Gaiman’s novella, “Doctor Who,” this offering being #7. Signed by Neil Gaiman directly on the colophon page. Book and dust jacket in fine, as new condition.

New York: Scribner Poetry / Simon & Schuster, 2005 First printing of the first edition. Signed by David Lehman directly on the title page; additionally signed at their page of contribution by John Ashbery, Stephen Dunn, Galway Kinnell, and D. Nurkse. Light shallow crimping at spine ends, else book and dust jacket in fine condition.