Search Results: Books by oscar wilde

London: Leonard Smithers and Co, 1899. Signed Limited First Edition. Near Fine. Signed limited first edition. [xii], 152 pp. Bound in publisher's original pale lavender cloth with gilt spine lettering and decorations by Charles Shannon. Copy number 82 of 100 large paper copies signed by Oscar Wilde with a flourish. Near Fine with subtle sunning, several barely discernible spots to cloth, short bubble to rear cloth. Typical offsetting to endpapers, and a 5" tear to the rear endpaper. Contents bright and fresh. A beautiful copy. Wilde's masterpiece, which opened to wide acclaim at the St. James's Theatre, London, on February 14, 1895. It was withdrawn after 86 performances following his arrest and imprisonment on charges of gross indecency as a consequence of his failed libel suit against Lord Queensbury, the father of Wilde's homosexual lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. He was outed as gay (a disgrace in Victorian society) and the play was not published in any form until the present edition, following his… Read More

1888. First Edition . WILDE, Oscar. The Happy Prince and Other Tales. Illustrated by Walter Crane and Jacob Hood. London: David Nutt, 1888. Quarto, original full Japan vellum over beveled boards, uncut. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. $48,500.Large-paper limited first edition, number 21 of only 75 copies on handmade paper, signed by Oscar Wilde and the publisher David Nutt. Extraordinarily rare.""Wilde's reputation as an author dated from the publication of The Happy Prince and Other Tales… He presents the stories like sacraments of a lost faith… Their occasional social satire is subordinated to a sadness unusual in fairy tales"" (Ellmann, 299). Wilde wrote these tales for his own children. He told Richard La Gallienne that ""It is the duty of every father… to write fairy tales for his children."" His children later wrote of their father's ""never-ending supply"" of fairy tales and tales of adventure,… Read More

London: Leonard Smithers and Co, 1899. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personæ to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the play's major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the resulting satire of Victorian ways. Contemporary reviews all praised the play's humour, though some were cautious about its explicit lack of social messages, while others foresaw the modern consensus that it was the culmination of Wilde's artistic career so far. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde's most enduringly popular play. The successful opening night marked the climax of Wilde's career but also heralded his downfall. The Marquess of Queensberry, whose son Lord Alfred Douglas was Wilde's lover, planned to… Read More

London: David Nutt. 1888. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Signed Limited Edition. Small 4to. Stunning contemporary orange morocco by Zaehnsdorf, titles and ivy leaf tooling in gilt to the spine, upper board with titles in gilt, upper and lower boards decorated with acorns and oak, ivy, sycamore and willow leaves in gilt. The inner dentelles are decorated with ivy leaves in gilt, the binder's name stamp in gilt at the front and exhibition stamp in gilt at the rear. Top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Retaining the original upper wrapper. Illustrated title page in red with black vignette, printed title page in red and black. Illustrated with a frontispiece and two further plates by Walter Crane, each in two states, and 12 head and tailpieces by Jacomb Hood. A beautiful, near fine copy. Imperceptible repair to the upper joint, minor toning to the leather. The contents with light offsetting to the endpapers and a faint mark to the margin of one page are otherwise clean and… Read More

London: David Nutt,, 1888. Presentation copy First edition, presentation copy, inscribed on the front free endpaper a month after publication, "Edith Cowes from her sincere friend the author. Oscar Wilde, June, 88". A woman of that name contributed an article on the artist James Tissot in the Century Magazine (Cowes). The Happy Prince and Other Tales was the author's first and best-known collection of children's stories, including "The Selfish Giant", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Devoted Friend", and "The Remarkable Rocket". Wilde's "reputation as an author dated from the publication of the Happy Prince and Other Tales in London in May 1888. The Athenaeum compared him to Hans Christian Andersen, and Pater wrote to say that 'The Selfish Giant' was 'perfect in its kind,' and the whole book written in 'pure English' - a wonderful compliment" (Ellmann, p. 282). Small quarto. Original white Japanese vellum boards, spine lettered in black, front cover lettered in red with design in black by Jacomb… Read More

London: Ward, Locke, & Co., 1891. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. Deep forest green morocco, gilt decorated spine and gilt-ruled boards; marbled endpapers, gilt dentelles, all edges gilt, binding near fine. No fading or browning to the spine. The color is uniform and the morocco boards are completely fresh and flexible. Contents near fine, the entire text with only a few faint spots, no paper tears or folds at all. Small 4to, one of 250 signed copies on watermarked Van Gelder laid handmade paper. Advertised in The Athenaeum on 16 May 1891 as the Edition de Luxe, and just so. A real highspot of the era. Previously sold at Christie's London, April 19, 1991. A marvelous copy of a great book. Price is net to all.

Third edition (so stated). Octavo. Half white over purple linen, gilt stamped spine, upper cover with gilt stamped floral design by Charles Ricketts, uncut. Very good. 31 pages. Enclosed in a 1/2 brown morocco slipcase with folding chemise. One of 99 copies, printed March 4, 1898, signed by Wilde in black ink on limitation page, with characteristic paraph to the final "e." Mason #374. Bookplate of Chauncey Lawrence Williams on the front free endpaper and a signed pencil notation by Paul Lemperly noting he received the book from Williams. Williams (1872-1924), former member of Way and Williams, publishers and the F.W. Dodge Corp. With his memorial booklet laid in loose. Lemperly (1858-1939), noted American book collector.

London: Leonard Smithers and Co, 1899. First signed limited edition of Wilde's classic comedic stage play. Octavo, original lavender publisher's cloth with gilt titles to the spine and gilt flourishes to the spine and front panel. One of 100 large paper copies signed by Oscar Wilde, this is number 85. In near fine condition with a touch of toning. Housed in a custom half morocco slipcase. A superior example.

London: Leonard Smithers and Co, 1899.

London: Methuen & Co. & Paris: Charles Carrington [The Picture of Dorian Gray], 1908.. FIRST COLLECTED EDITION OF THE WORKS OF OSCAR WILDE. LIMITED EDITION, ONE OF 80 SETS ON JAPANESE VELLUM. 14 volumes. Demy 8vo.(20.5 x 15 cm). Publisher's original limp vellum bindings, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, upper covers with designs by Charles Ricketts, yap edges, top edges gilt. Ex libris William Forbes Morgan with his bookplate to front pastedowns. Some trivial soiling to vellum, Salome with a light splash of red to upper cover, contents exceptionally clean and fresh, overall an excellent, bright set. A fine set of this first collected edition in its most desirable format, on Japanese vellum. "The text is taken in most instances from the last editions issued under the superintendence of the author. In some cases the volumes contain additional matter which had not previously been reprinted, while some of the volumes contain matter here published for the first time...Some of the volumes contain… Read More

London: Smithers, 1899. Limited. hardcover. very good. [16], 214 pages. Square 8vo, original lavender cloth with gilt decorations on covers, uncut edges. London: Leonard Smithers 1899. Limited First Edition. Some minor soiling & bubbling on the cover but still a very good(+) internally clean copy of this exceedingly rare book.<br/> <br/> One of Wilde's most frequently produced plays. Number 38 of only 100 large-paper copies, signed by Wilde. Preserved in a 1/4 leather clam-shell case.<br/> <br/>

London: Smithers, 1899. Limited. hardcover. very good(+). [16], 214 pages. Square 8vo, original lavender cloth with gilt decorations on covers, uncut edges. London: Leonard Smithers 1899. Limited First Edition. Some fading, soiling & shelf-wear on the binding; old heraldic bookplate on end-paper, which has offset onto front flyleaf, still a very good(+) clean copy of this exceedingly rare book.<br/> <br/> One of Wilde's most frequently produced plays. Number 71 of only 100 large-paper copies, signed by Wilde.<br/> <br/>

London: Gay and Bird,, [1894]. Notably uncommon The first and only number of The Chameleon to be published, noted as number 25 of 100 copies in manuscript to the front wrapper, containing the first appearance of Wilde's "Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young", two poems by Lord Alfred Douglas, and the editor John Francis Bloxam's anonymous and controversial homoerotic drama "The Priest and the Acolyte", which was used as a comprising exhibit in the trial of Oscar Wilde. The story details the love affair between a priest and his male lover and sparked public outcry upon publication, causing the cessation of The Chameleon after just one issue. The work was wrongly attributed to Oscar Wilde and included as evidence against him in his libel case against the Marquis of Queensbury in 1895. Copies of this journal are now notably uncommon, with seven traced institutionally worldwide, four of which at the British Library. Of the five copies recorded as appearing at auction since the millennium,… Read More

Düsseldorf: Schmitz & Olbertz, 1906. First German edition. Numbered, one of 600 copies. In unique, custom made, hand-painted vellum binding, by Lajos Kozma. Title on spine in gilt lettering. Upper edge gilt. Paste paper endpapers. Kozma's signet on front flyleaf's verso and another signet (supposedly of the owner: "CHW") on the additional flyleaf drawn by Kozma in black ink. Binding with slight discolorations and light stains. Inside some light and scattered foxing. Overall in fine condition.. First German edition. Numbered, one of 600 copies. In unique, custom made, hand-painted vellum binding, by Lajos Kozma. Title on spine in gilt lettering. Upper edge gilt. Paste paper endpapers. Kozma's signet on front flyleaf's verso and another signet (supposedly of the owner: "CHW") on the additional flyleaf drawn by Kozma in black ink. 44 [4] p. The first German edition of The Priest and the Acolyte in Lajos Kozma's Unique, Hand-Painted Art Nouveau binding. Lajos (Ludwig) Kozma (1884-1948) was one of the… Read More

London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane,, 1894. A fine copy First edition, one of 200 unnumbered copies. Wilde's poem, together with Charles Ricketts's art nouveau illustrations, was described by W. E. Henley, Wilde's harshest critic, as "about as fin-de-Siecle a business as you ever saw" (Frankel, p. 155). Wilde first met Ricketts in 1889, and in the two years that followed the artist designed either parts or the entirety of several of Wilde's works, including The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), Poems (1892), Intentions (1891), and Lord Arthur Savile's Crime (1891). While predominantly working with book illustration and design, Ricketts was also famed for his theatre designs and costumes, and he contributed to the first English production of Wilde's Salomé in 1906. As recorded by James G. Nelson, alongside the 200 copies published in the limited edition, a further 103 copies were printed, though most of these were left unbound. Small quarto. Original full vellum, pictorial decorations by Ricketts to… Read More

London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane at the Sign of the Bodley Head, 1893. I can resist anything except temptation" "Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about" WILDE, Oscar. Lady Windermere's Fan. A Play About a Good Woman. London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane at the Sign of the Bodley Head, 1893. First edition. One of fifty large-paper copies on hand-made paper. Quarto (8 5/8 x 6 5/8 inches; 220 x 169 mm.). [i, blank], [i], limitation], [iii-xvi], 132 pp. Handsomely bound by Zaehnsdorf ca. 1897 (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in) and with their exhibition stamp in black on rear paste-down. Full dark green crushed levant morocco, covers bordered in gilt enclosing a six-line gilt border. Spine with five raised bands decoratively framed and lettered in gilt in compartments, gilt-ruled board edges, multi gilt-lined turn-ins, top edge gilt, others uncut. With the bookplates of the renowned collector C. S. Ascherson (dated 1897) and Paul Louis Weiller (also a famous book… Read More

London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine, 1891. First Edition. Publisher’s cloth; cloth soiled and with some wear; only a good copy. Signed by the author in the month of publication on the leaf opposite the title, “Oscar Wilde/ May ‘91.” The inscription is faintly blotted onto the title page. The book was published on May 2, 1891 in an edition of 1500 copies, 600 of which were issued with the American Dodd, Mead imprint.

London: Leonard Smithers,, 1898. A rare survival complete with dust jacket First edition, retaining the understandably rare thin plain jacket. We can trace only three copies complete with their dust jackets in auction records: at Parke-Bernet in 1941, and at Sotheby's in 1975 and 2004. This is one of 800 copies printed on handmade paper; an additional 30 copies were printed on japon. Wilde published this work under the pseudonym "C.3.3." after his cell in Reading Gaol, the third cell on the third landing of Gallery C. The first edition sold out rapidly, and a second edition was printed within weeks. Octavo. Original white quarter cloth, spine lettered in gilt, yellow cloth sides, top edge cut, others uncut. With original unprinted dust jacket. Housed in a custom brown quarter morocco chemise with paper-covered sides and interior patterned in orange and green. Text printed on rectos only. Binding and contents fresh; fragile jacket with chips to spine and fold ends, large section of foot neatly… Read More

London: A. R. Keller & Co, 1907. The Writings of Oscar Wilde. Illustrated. London: A. R. Keller & Co., 1907. Edition de Luxe of the Uniform Edition. One of 200 numbered copies, of which this is number 14. Complete in fifteen octavo volumes. (Measures 7 1/4 x 5 in.). Illustrated in black and white, with plates in two states, each with a descriptive tissue guard. Title and limitation pages on Japanese vellum, printed in black and red, with additional engraved title pages in each volume. Finely bound in modern full green levant morocco. Spines tooled and lettered in gilt in compartments, with a red morocco gilt floral inlay, four raised bands, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. A fine set. This very early edition precedes the 1908 Ross edition of Wilde's works, often described as the first collected edition. HBS 67715. $11,500.

London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane: At the Sign of the Bodley Head, 1894. First English Edition (Mason 361). Hardcover. Very Good. 8vo (44 pages. One of 200 copies produced in England at the Ballantyne Press). One of Wilde’s great works and one of English literature’s great feats of book design, executed by Wilde’s friend, the artist and typographer Charles Ricketts, who was given full reign over every aspect of this book's typography, binding and illustration. The text features ten of Rickett’s risque wood-engraved illustrations, nine of them full-page. The volume is richly bound in full vellum with Ricketts' sinuous decorations gilt-stamped on the covers, front and rear. This is a very good copy, entirely unfoxed, though the slender vellum boards have bowed just enough to separate slightly from the inner pastedown edges. There are two discreet bookplates on the front pastedown, one of which has left a tiny shadow on the front free endpaper oppositie. Otherwise a uniquely fresh copy… Read More