Search Results: Titles starting with S from Swan's Fine Books

San Francisco: The Book Club of California [printed by E. & R. Grabhorn (the Grabhorn Press)], 1931. First and Limited Edition. Hardcover. Very good +. One of 300 copies, folio size, 293 pp. From the description in the BCC bibliography: "The journal covers three years of travel from Greenville, Illinois, to St. Louis, to San Diego, then up the California cast to San Jose, the gold fields and San Francisco, and back to Greenville via the Isthmus. It is a vivid day-by-day account, supplemented by the author's drawings which are reproduced in the exact size of the originals..." Thought to be expensive at the time of publication (priced at $30.00), the account goes on to say that "[t]oday it is among the most sought-after and expensive of the Club's publications" and was selected as one of the Fifty Books of the Year. The book was printed from the original manuscript account "in the possession of the Press", and per the Grabhorn bibliography "does not follow the usual period treatment of the gold rush… Read More

Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow Press (1985-1991), 1985. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. Five volumes (complete), octavo size, approx. 1500 total pp., each volulme one of the signed, limited publications. John Sanford (born Julian Lawrence Shapiro, 1904-2003) was awarded the a PEN/Faulkner Award and the Los Angeles Times Lifetime Achievement Award for this five-volume, autobiographical work (originally envisioned to be only three volumes). Each volume in this set one of the Black Sparrow special signed, limited copies (see below for details). If read at all, it was done gently, as the books still have that "tight" feel. Loosely laid into the second volume is a small "Note Concerning John Sanford's Epic Trilogy" which summarizes the plot line of the first volume and announces the forthcoming third volume. ___DESCRIPTION: Each volume bound in decorated paper over boards with a cloth shelfback (each volume in different colours), Vol. One published in 1985, this no. 31 of 150 numbered… Read More

San Francisco: Printed by Andrew Hoyem, 1976. Limited Edition. No binding. Near fine. Angelo, Valenti. One of 150 copies, quarto size. John Hoyer Updike (1932-2009), one of only three authors to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once, is probably best known today for his "Rabbit" series. He often wrote about "everyday life", and this poem, originally published in 1958 (in "The Carpentered Hen"), touches upon the little things which make the city of San Francisco so memorable to so many. With four blue line-drawing vignettes by Valenti Angelo (1897-1982), a highly regarded designer, illuminator, and decorator of books during a career which spanned decades, doing much of his early work for the Grabhorn Press and The Book Club of California. He also printed books in extremely limited editions under the imprints of "The Golden Cross Press" and "The Press of Valenti Angelo". This lovely broadside was printed by the inimitable Andrew Hoyem, founder of the Arion Press and keeper of… Read More

Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1984. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. First printing, large octavo size, 318 pp. From the jacket flap: "The book traces the development of the concept of form - one of the most important and persistent elements in natural philosophy - from its origins in Plato and Aristotle to the beginnings of the nineteenth century." ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full blue cloth over boards, gilt lettering on the spine, a few black-and-white illustrations and charts; large octavo size (9 1/2" by 6 3/8"), 318 pages. The dust jacket is unclipped (and unpriced), summary of book on both flaps, short author bio on back flap. ___CONDITION: Volume fine, with clean boards, straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; clean, crisp, and as new. The dust jacket near fine, clean, remarkably free of edgewear other than a few light creases at the bottom; spine lightly sunned,… Read More

Glasgow: Hugh Hopkins, 1869. Second Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. Two volumes (complete), octavo size, 587 pp. Joseph Ritson (1752-1803) was an interesting and, even for his day, unusual man. Described by the DNB as an "antiquarian"; at the age of 20, upon reading the "Fable of the Bees" he decided to "forswear all animal foods, and to subsist solely on milk and vegetables." By trade a "conveyancer", he studied law and became a barrister, employing his leisure time as a writer. Never one to run from an argument, in 1784 he took issue with a publication of "Select Scotish Ballads" by one John Pinkerton, claiming they were modern forgeries - which indeed turned out to be the case. Ritson went on to publish, in 1785, "The Caledonian Muse: a Chronological Selection of Scottish Poetry from the earliest times", and later, after a walking tour through Scotland, publishing in 1794 two volumes of "Scotish Song with the genuine Music". This two-volume set the second edition, published in 1869 in Glasgow;… Read More

London: Printed by Hague & Gill, Published by Sheed & Ward, 1932. Limited Edition. Sewn binding. Very good +. Gill, Eric. One of 500 copies, duodecimo size, 22 pp., inscribed by Eric Gill. Eric Gill (1882-1940) was a highly regarded printmaker, sculptor, and typographer (as well as a complicated man). Gill provided illustrations for numerous fine press publications by the Golden Cockerel Press and the Saint Dominic's Press, as well as with Pepler under the imprint of the St. Dominic's Press. This volume is a presentation copy with a nice association to Eric Gill's (1882-1940) sculptural work; here Gill articulates the purpose and artistry of sculpture, of function as opposed to aesthetic appeal. Inscribed on the front wrap, near the author's printed name, "To Edward Maufe, Sept. 1932, from &" ["by Eric Gill" [printed]], and signed "ECG" in green ink to the last page of text. Sir Edward Brantwood Maufe (1882-1974) was a friend, sometime collaborator, and longtime patron of Gill. A renowned… Read More

Los Angeles: Glen Dawson [Printed by Mallette Dean], 1959. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Dean, Mallette. One of 225 copies, duodecimo size, [71] pp. This the first time Fr. Vizcaino's diary was published; it was discovered by Woodward "among the hundreds of unknown manuscripts in Biblioteca Naconal de Mexico in Mexico City" in the summer of 1940. Fr. Vizcaino was one of the few passengers on the ship "San Antonio" which was commissioned to bring food and supplies to the earliest explorers of Alta California. He reports on their first sighting of land (San Clemente, in the Channel Islands), details on the canoes used by the Native Americans they encountered, and many other aspects of the Native Americans who lived in the region. Printed, illustrated and bound in paper boards by Mallette Dean, an eminent California artist and printer; the title page illustration being a linocut, the illustration on p. xviii a colour wood engraving, and the map (p. xxxii), illustration on p. xxxxii, and the… Read More

New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1911. First Edition. Hardcover. Good +. First printing, octavo size, 390 pp. Annie Smith Peck (1850-1935) was a woman far ahead of her time; at a time when women were just beginning to be admitted to the halls of higher education, she not only earned a degree in classical languages in 1878 from the University of Michigan, but became the first woman to attend the American School of Classical Studies (in Athens, Greece) and, returning to the Univ. of Michigan, received a Master's Degree in 1881. Following her education she became one of the first American women college professors, teaching Latin at Purdue and Smith. Climbing, however, became her passion at the relatively (for climbers) late age of 35. Upon seeing the Matterhorn during a train trip through the Swiss Alps she vowed to return and climb it - which she would do ten years later, becoming the third woman to summit the Matterhorn and the first to do so...wearing pants (at the time, women could be arrested… Read More

Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1850. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. First printing, octavo size, 148 pp. Three groupings of poems: seven "By the Seaside", thirteen "By the Fireside", the book also includes two translations, "The Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille" and "A Christmas Carol", plus a Notes section at the end. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was one of the most revered and popular poets of his day, earning almost instant recognition with his early poems both in America and abroad, and remaining beloved throughout his life. Upon his death, he became the first non-British writer for whom a commemorative sculpted bust was placed in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey in London; he remains the only American poet represented with a bust (n. b., per Wiki). ___DESCRIPTION: Brown cloth boards with blind-embossed ruled border and decorative device in the middle of both front and back boards, gilt lettering on the spine, yellow endpapers, publisher's catalogue inserted between the front… Read More

New York: The Fountain Press, 1929. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. No. 639 of 742 copies, octavo size, 71 pp., signed by A.A. Milne. Alan Alexander Milne (1882-1956) will likely ever be remembered for having bequethed "Winnie the Pooh" to the world. Begun with "When We Were Very Young", a book of poetry first published in 1924, its success set the stage for the Winnie-the-Pooh books, which employed his own son, "Christopher Robin", as a character. However, Milne was a prolific author of adult literature as well; this book being a compilation of four short stories written between 1918 and 1926, two of which ("Mullins" and "The Return") relate to "The Great War". Milne served in that war, having joined the British Army in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and the Royal Corp of Signals. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full rust-coloured linen over boards, paper spine label with black lettering, signature of A.A. Milne on the half-title, each of the four stories opens with a large, flowing initial… Read More

Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co, 1911. First Trade Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/very good. Robinson, Charles. First U.S. trade edition as illustrated by Robinson, quarto size, [128] pp., in original dust jacket. Percy Bysshe Shelley's (1792-1822) "The Sensitive Plant" is a delicate fairy fable about ephemeral beauty and the aspiration to follow dreams when the reality of the senses fails. It was first published in 1820 in "Prometheus Unbound" along with some of Shelley's best known work; here it is re-imagined with the hazy watercolour illustrations of prolific children's book illustrator Charles Robinson (1870-1937). Though paired with Shelley long after his death, they are well matched, "his black and white illustration reflects the influence of Beardsley and Walter Crane, and his watercolour illustrations have delicacy and sensitivity, greatly helped by the four colour process early in the century as the alternative to lithography. By incorporating lettering into the page design, and in his… Read More

(London): Enitharmon Press [Printed by the Rampant Lions Press], 1995. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Le Brun, Christopher. No. 47 of 50 (plus 15 HC) of the deluxe edition, signed by translator and artist, folio size, 43 pp. Published "in aid of the Shakespeare Globe Trust and its appeal to rebuild the Globe Theatre, the setting for the first performances of William Shakespeare's plays, 1599-1613" (from Contents page). Ted Hughes (1930-1998) is considered "one of the giants of 20th century British poetry" (from web site of Poetry Foundation), serving as Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death. As Mr. Hughes wrote in this book's introduction, in a prior work he argued that "in one way or another this poem [Venus and Adonis] is also the nucleus of his [Shakespeare's] every separate work. One path through my [previous] book is an exploration of how far the myth of these two figures gave him the skeleton key to the treasure chests, the formative energies, not only of Western civilisation, but of… Read More

San Francisco: Printed for Members of the Bohemian Club by the Grabhorn Press, 1961. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. One of 500 copies, quarto size, 68 pp. One of the Grove plays printed by the inimitable Grabhorn Press, included in the Exhibition of Western Books (Rounce & Coffin Club). ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in blue and white decorated paper over boards, natural linen shelfback, title in red on white spine label; Poliphilus and Janson handset types, Cloister monotype, quarto size (11 3/8" by 8 5/8"), pagination: [i-iv] [1] 2-64. ___CONDITION: Fine overall, the boards clean other than a few exceedingly small, stray spots, straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings. ___CITATION: Grabhorn Press Bibliography no. 630. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's… Read More

San Francisco: Privately Printed [by Edwin and Robert Grabhorn], 1933. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. One of 125 copies, octavo size, 28 pp., inscribed by Oscar Sutro. This edition, privately printed for prominant San Franciscan and member of the SF Roxburghe Club 1933-1935 Oscar Sutro (1874-1935), contains an address regarding William Shakespeare, who "of all men understands the English language" (n.b., quote from p. 1). Printed by the Grabhorn Press, one of the most highly renowned private presses in America in the twentieth century, run by brothers Edwin and Robert Grabhorn. ___DESCRIPTION: Quarter cream parchment spine with blue paper boards, gilt lettering on the spine, title page illustration and tailpiece reproduced from an early edition of Shakespeare; Poliphilus handset type on Unbleached Arnold paper, octavo size (9 3/8" by 6 3/8"), pagination: [i-ii] 1-26, one of 125 copies, unnumbered, privately printed for Oscar Sutro, with his inscription in the year and month of publication on… Read More

Louisville: Contre Coup Press, 2000. Limited Edition. String Binding. Fine. One of 15 copies, unnumbered, twelvemo size, twelve printed pp. Award-winning musician Randall Stuart Newman (b. 1943) began his career as a songwriter at the young age of 17, and has gone on to not only write and perform his own songs and write for other well-known bands (such as Fleetwood Mac,etc.) but has composed the music for countless films including nine of the Disney animated films, and more. His award list is impressive, including nominations for twenty-two Academy Awards, the winner of three Emmy Awards and seven Grammy Awards (among others). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and, in 2013, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Contre Coup Press of Louisville took the lyrics to Newman's song "Shame" (released on the album "Bad Love" in 1999) and created a lovely work whose delicacy and grace form a counterpoint to the heartfelt lines. Timothy Hawley's Contre Coup Press is the… Read More

San Francisco: The Arion Press, 1981. Limited Edition. No binding. Fine. One of 300 copies, elephant folio size, 30 leaves, with companion volume, in box, with plexiglass viewer. A superb marriage of poetry and typography, "Shaped Poetry" consists of a suite of thirty typographical printed sheets, with "the component letters and symbols of [the] poems...so arranged upon the page that they form a visual image reflecting the meaning or subject matter of the text" (n.b., from the bibliography of The Arion Press). "The selected poems range from 300 B.C. Greece through George Herbert's 'Easter Wings', Mallarme's 'A Throw of the Dice', Apollinaire's 'It Is Raining', E.E. Cummings' 'Grasshopper', to Dieter Roth's 'Concrete Poetry' and John Hollander's 'Swan and Shadow' of 1970. The other poets include (in chronological order) Simias, Theocritus, Porfyrius Optatianus, Eustorg de Beaulieu, Robert Angot, Robert Herrick, Justus Georg Schottel, Charles François Panard, Lewis Carroll, Christian Morgenstern,… Read More

San Francisco: Thomas C. Russell, 1922. First and Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. First edition in book form, octavo size, 405 pp., signed by Thomas Russell. This the first edition in book form of the letters of Dame Shirley, in which she recounts her experiences living in a mining camp in California in the mid-nineteenth century. The letters tell of life in the mining camp in rich detail and offer a unique perspective from an intellectual New England woman, and form a personal picture of the hardships and innovation during the California Gold Rush. The sources wax rich with praise: per Howes, the work is "a vivid and unexcelled picture of everyday life in the mines." Gary Kurtiz ("The California Gold Rush") has a wonderful short essay on both the author and the various early publications, saying in part: "The 'Shirley Letters' have received the highest possible praise. The important of her letters was recognized early on and influenced the views and writings of Josiah Royce, Hubert… Read More

London: Academic Press / Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1983. Hardcover. Fine/Very Good. Octavo size, 258 pp. Seven presentations by noted scientists all having to do with silicon geochemistry. As an essential nutrient, and the basis of the skeletal material of certain organisms, silicon occupies a dominant position in biogeochemistry; and this book draws together some of the more important aspects of this topic using a series of reviews. (From the book's Preface.) ___DESCRIPTION: Navy blue cloth binding, silver gilt lettering on the front and spine, plain endpapers, technical charts/graphs and some black and white photographs scattered throughout the text, Octavo size (approx. 9" high), pagination: (i)-x, 1-248. There is a glassine DJ present. ___CONDITION: Volume is in fine condition, with a strong, square text block, solid hinges, straight corners with absolutely no rubbing, the interior is clean and bright, and it is entirely free of prior owner markings. There are some shallow creases… Read More

New York: William Morrow and Company, 1944. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good +/very good. Quarto size, 41 pp., inscribed by Wolo. Mixing delightful illustrations with playful fantasy adventure, "Sir Archibald" is the story of a brave monkey who goes on a quest to retrieve the lion king's crown, travelling through harrowing wilderness and magical parts of the jungle. Wolf Erhardt Anton George Trutzschuler von Falkenstein (1902-1989) wrote five children's books under his pen name "Wolo"; after escaping Nazi Germany, he taught himself how to draw and lived and worked in San Francisco, where, in addition to book illustration, he painted murals and advertisement art. This volume is the first edition, and contains a special bookplate inscribed by the author. Not in Baumgarten. ___DESCRIPTION: Full paper with a full-colour illustration of the characters with title in black on the front board, black and brown lettering on the spine, plain orange paper on the rear board, endpapers with a map of the land… Read More

London: The Argonaut Press, 1927. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. Number 628 of 975 copies, quarto size, [318] pp. Sir John Chardin (1643-1712) was a French merchant and traveler; the publication of the first volume of his "Voyages du chevalier Jean Chardin en Perse et autres lieux de l'Orient" simultaneously in French and English in 1686 permitted Chardin to "position himself as one of the most important arbiters of European commercial and colonial expansion. Over the next decade two successive editions of his 'Travels' were published in England, along with reprints of his 1671 'Le Couronnement de Soleiman Troisieme.' In 1711, with the publication of the four-volume edition of his 'Travels,' Chardin provided a full and authoritative account, and abbreviated editions followed in rapid succession, testifying to a nearly insatiable European interest in oriental studies and culture. By the time of his death in 1712 Chardin's chronicles of life and society in Persia had become one of the… Read More