Rare books from Contact Editions

Paris: Contact Publishing Company, 1923. Book. Very Good. Original Wraps. Inscribed by Author(s). First Edition. 12mo. Black lettered blue jacket over beige wraps, enclosed in green cloth slipcase. Hemingway's first book. Although Bill Bird's Three Mountains Press' In Our Time was contracted earlier, Robert McAlmon's Contact Editions book was published and released first. Limited to 300 copies only. This copy inscribed by Hemingway on the front endpaper "This book is the property of James Cowan--he is not responsible for it--nor did he buy it. It was presented to him by the author--Ernest Hemingway" Cowan was a fellow reporter for the Toronto Star newspaper, for which Hemingway also worked. Included also is a sheaf of correspondence between former owners and James Cowan attesting to it's history and authenticity. Also included a dealer's catalogue in which this book was listed for sale back in late thirties or forties. This copy wrapped in glassine which is… Read More

London: William Pickering, Talboys and Wheeler, T. Combe and Son, 1826. Book. Very Good. Red Cloth. First Edition. Octavo. Three volumes in their original red cloth binding. Book covers have minor cracking, scuffing, and bumping. The title labels are scratched and unreadable. Previous dealer's sticker in the first volume. Scattered faint foxing to the interior. Pencil on the rear endpapers, but otherwise clean interiors. Housed in a 3/4 red leather slipcase with rounded back and raised bands, signed by Baynton. Case has minor scuffs, shows signs of sunning, and the fabric is torn on top. Christopher (Kit) Marlowe was an Elizabethan playwright, poet and translator whose life was filled with accusations of bar-room brawls, espionage, homosexual intrigue and betrayal. This is the first collected edition of his work..

New York: Hastings House, 1964. Book. Fine. Quarter Leather. Author's Signature Laid in. Limited Edition. Octavo. This signed, limited edition set (112 of 185) is quarter leather bound with raised bands and gilt lettering. Pages are deckled. Contains signed pages from the book's manuscript. Smaller book entirely cloth bound with title label. Smaller book contains a map of all of the major beaver areas and historical timeline. Accompanied by a post card and photograph. Cloth slipcase. Mari Sandoz mostly wrote about the pioneer days which she researched intensely..

London: Bernard Quaritch, 1893. Book. Very Good. Green Cloth. Limited Edition. Quarto. Three volumes in green cloth elaborately gilt lettered and decorated with Blake's designs. Frayed cloth at head and heel of spines, and a folded cover on the third volume, all expertly repaired. Gilt designs very sharp with minimal wear. Top edges gilt. Limited edition of 500 copies only. Label declaring it to be from the library of George Woodward Wickersham, former Attorney General of the U.S.A. Occassional edgewear to books. In it's time the best edition of Blake extant. A beautiful set..

Paris: Librairie Gallimard, 1927. Book. Illus. by Foujita. Near Fine. Leather. Limited Edition. Small Quarto. Full black calf with striking beige onlays. Gilt and silver decorations and dentelles with marbled endpapers. Housed in calf edged board slipcase. Original wraps bound in by Randeynes et Fils and signed so. Edition limited to 300 copies. This is #292. Twenty nine illustrations in colour by Foujita..

New York: Viking, 1964. Book. VG. Cloth. Signed By the Author. 1st Edition. 8vo. Speckled grey cloth lettered in green and blue. Top stain green. Wrapped in decorative dust jacket. This copy signed and dated 1993 by Kesey on the front endpaper in blue and pink magic marker. Wear to spine and extremities of dj. Story of an independent lumbering family in the pacific northwest was made into a good feature film..

New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1947. Book. VG+. Cloth. 1st Edition. 8vo. Maroon lettered grey cloth in decorative dust jacket. Some yellowing to paper. Some sunning to top edge. Dust jacket complete with $3.00 price. Some minor creasing and short tears to edges,. A very tight copy in good shape..

New York: Noneuch Press, 1929. Book. VG. Leather. Limited Edition. 8vo. Seven (7) volumes in full tan Niger Morocco. Gilt letters between bands on spines. Edition limited to 1600 numbered copies. This is #687. Volumes are all uniformly darkened. Expert restoration work done the spine and outside hinges. Interiors are fine. Designed by Francis Meynall. This is probably the finest 20th century edition of Shakespeare based on the first folio text. A very attractive set.

New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1939. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). Limited Edition. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Four volumes in purple cloth with gilt and title labels. Limited edition, 19 of 500, signed on the verso of the half-title of volume 1. Pencil on the front free endpaper, and very sporadic foxing dot in the first volume and edge of second, but the text block is clean. Uncut. Contains (i) 16, (ii) 13, (iii) 16, (iv) 15 plates of photographs, plus extensive illustrations. In matching supplied slipcase. Carbon copy of letter to the author from reviewer (possibly written by Lloyd Lewis, who also wrote about Lincoln) laid in. Beautiful sequel to Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years..

London: Town of Boston, 1770. Book. Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Beautifully rebound in red half cloth on marbled boards, all gilt. Missing frontis, first page soiled, but o/w clean. Contains transcripts from sworn testimonials given at the Town-Meeting held on the 12th recorded by the official transcriber. This massacre sparked the American war of Independence. A historically significant work..

McClelland & Stewart Limited, 1964. Book. Near Fine. Cloth. Inscribed by Author(s). 1st Edition. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Gilt lettered green cloth in decorative dust jacket. This is the second state of the first edition. THis copy is inscribed by the author to the Canadian Poet Al Purdy " Al--with best wishes Margaret Laurence" Great association copy of the one of the major 20th Century novels of Can Lit. Wear to extemities and some minor staining to rear cover o/w nice copy..

Harvill Secker, 2014. Book. Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Brightly decorated boards with spine titles in white and pink. Wrapped in decorative dust jacket. This copy one of 100 signed by the author at a Waterstones store in London. This is not the limited edition in a box. Includes special picture neatly taped in on front endpaper, A button with Murakami Armi on it. And a wristband with Murakami. This is a very fine unread copy. .

Harcourt Brace & Company, 1959. Book. Very Good. Cloth. Inscribed by the Author. Reprint. Gilt lettered beige cloth in pictorial dust jacket. This copy inscribed "For Howard Engel from his friends SHAKESPEARE AND COMPANY and Sylvia Beach with friendliest wishes Paris April 7, 1960" Engel was a noted Canadian author of detective novels. Also included is a letter with envelope and stamp from Beach to Engel thanking him for the loan of a book and her future travel plans , dated Mid April of the same year. Signed or inscribed books by Beach are uncommon. Syvia Beach was the publisher of ULYSSES in 1922. 100 years ago..

W. & R. Chambers, Limited, 1935. Book. Very Good. Cloth. 1st Edition. Gilt lettered green-blue cloth in pictorial dust jacket. Five stories including "THe Quiet Man" which was filmed by John Ford in 1952 with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. Other stories with supernatural content. Dust jacket chipped at extremities and cloth sunned at edges. Inscription on front endpaper. Overall a very nice copy of an uncommon and desirable book..

New York and London: W. W. Norton & Company Inc., 1996. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). First American Edition. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Quarter black cloth, silver gilt, on gray boards, the top corners and head are lightly bumped. Clean pictorial dust jacket. First American edition, signed by the author on the title page. Crisp and clean interior. This book was released in the same year of the film adaptation. .