Rare books from Town's End Books

Boston: Cummings, Hilliar, And Company, 1826. First Edition. Very good in its original paper covered boards with a printed paper label on the spine. A small quarto of 9 5/8 by 5 7/8 inches with rubbing and wear to the paper at the head and heel of the spine and minor small chipping from the paper title label. There is an early prior owner's book plate on the front paste down. Without a dust jacket. 395 pages of text. Timothy Flint (1780-1840) was a missionary and writer who traveled broadly throughout the US during his lifetime. The subject title deals with the author's descriptions of his years living in various locations in Ohio, Missouri, Arkansas and Lousiana, during the years 1815 to 1825 where he comments extensively on geography, topography, culture and conditions. Considered by Howes to be "quite scarce". Smith in his bibliography of Travels in the Old South states: "The Recollections of Timothy Flint form one of the more significant travel accounts of the early… Read More

n.p.: Chas. R. Hutchinson, 1896. First Edition. Good in full, light brown leather covered boards with gilt text on the front board. A 32mo of 4 1/2 by 6 5/8 inches with the edges of the leather covered boards worn and with the front joint separated, but the front hinge remains strong with the text block still secure in the boards. The edges of the text block are stained a light red. 282 pages (counting the blank end sheets) including names of staff members of the various groups performing with associated photographs; the order of the parade; the "Route Book" for cities visited during the Wild West season of 1896. Includes lists of performers, images from black and white photographs of performers, photographs from the shows, route book for the season of 1896, and hundreds of advertisements. A rather uncommon Wild West show item evidenced by WorldCat showing only 4 institutions holding copies of this title.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1935. First Limited Edition. An ex-library copy in near fine condition in 1/4, light brown morocco leather with tan covered boards with a dark blue leather title label stamped with gilt text on the spine. The top edge of the text block is gilt. A small quarto of 9 3/8 by 6 1/4 inches with very light rubbing to the leather at the head of the spine. The book plate of Jean Hersholt is on the front paste down. (Hersholt was an early Hollywood star his most famous role being in the 1937 film version of Heidi.) The title page is stamped with a library name at the lower margin and the dedication page shows a five digit number and there is the ghost of something removed from the rear paste down. Those are the only library marks in this copy. It does not have a dust jacket as issued; however, it is contained within a new replacement, black. cloth covered slipcase with the original, printed paper title label laid down on its spine with the handwritten number… Read More

London: Chatto & Windus, 1884. First Edition. First Issue Very good+ in its original, staple bound, decorated red cloth covered boards with gilt text stamped on the spine together with with a black illustration of Huck climbing through a window and with gilt text stamped on the front board with silhouettes of five boys and an elderly lady about to whack Huck with her umbrella. A 12mo of 7 1/4 by 4 7/8 inches with printed end sheets. The cloth at the head and heel of the spine rubbed and lightly worn. The cloth on the spine is slightly darkened. The cloth at the tips of the boards is worn and rubbed. The hinges and joints remain tight and strong. The contents are bright and free of damage and foxing or tanning. This is the very unusual and uncommon copy of a staple bound version of the first, true edition of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which was first published in England about four months before the first American edition was offer for sale. 438 pages of text followed by 32 pages of… Read More

London: Chapman and Hall, 1840 and 1841. First Editions. This complete set of three volumes are all in very good+ conditions and bound in their original, ribbed, brown cloth, blind stamped bindings with gilt text and elaborate gilt designs on the spine and with a gilt decorations on each of the front boards in the form of clocks with the hands on each volume pointing to the appropriate volume number. Each volume is a small quarto of 10 1/8 by 6 1/2 inches with light rubbing to the cloth and the heads and heels of the spines and with the cloth worn through on the tips of the boards. Volume II has a small 1/8 by a 1 inch long chip to the cloth at the rear edge of the spine in the title block which barely impacts on the gilt title. The title pages for each volume show a small, oval 1.5 inch wide auctioneer's stamp to the right of the author's name. Save for a few printer's ink stains in the margins and minor foxing to the preliminaries the contents are quite clean and free of much… Read More

Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1984. First Edition. First Printing Very near fine in red cloth covered boards with silver colored text stamping on the spine and with a blind embossed design on the front board. An octavo measuring 9" tall by 6" deep with mild bumps to the lower fore corners of the boards. In a near fine unclipped dust jacket (no price) with a hint of wear to the upper corners of the spine area and to the upper fore corner of the rear panel over the tip of the rear board. The front flap has a crease down its entire length at its inboard edge. The hinges and joints are tight and strong and the contents are without damage or makrings. A first issue copy to include the 18-line copyright page, showing no additional printings,the six-blurb rear jacket panel with Clive Cussler as the third blurb and with the hammer and sickle blind stamped on the front board. 387 pages of text. The basis for the exciting 1990 movie of the same name starring Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott… Read More

Washington, DC: Senate Of The United States and printed by Gales and Seaton, 1845. First Edition. Very near fine in its original black, ribbed cloth covered boards with bold gilt text on the spine and blind embossing on the front and rear boards. A small quarto of 9 by 5 3/4 inches with a prior owner's book plate on the first free end page and very light rubbing to the cloth at the head and heel of the spine and with foxing to the first 20 pages of the text and the final 14 pages of the text. Without a dust jacket and probably as issued. 693 pages of text (with 17 unopened leaves). This volume includes the first report: An Exploration Of The Country Lying Between The Missouri River And The Rocky Mountains In The Line Of The Kansas And Great PLatte Rivers.(comprising pages 9 to 101). Illustrated with 2 one-page maps, 22 plates, and 3 fold-out maps including the large map at the rear of the book with the extraction ribbon still in place. This title is considered by Howes in his bibliography… Read More

New York: Masses & Mainstream, 1952. First Edition. First Printing Very good+ in illustrated and printed heavy paper wraps over an adhesive binding. A small octavo of 8 by 5 1/2 inches with minor rubbing to the corners of the covers and to the folds and wear to the ends of the spine. Without a dust jacket, but the book is protected within a clear, acetate covering. This copy is signed by the author without an inscription or date on the first free end page. 192 pages of text. Taped to the recto of the rear cover is a newspaper clipping noting Du Bois' death and an earlier clipping regarding Du Bois' having become a member of the Communist Party. A collectible copy with the very uncommon signature of its author.

Boston: Benjamin Eliot, 1726. First Edition. Very good in a contemporary, full leather binding with five raised bands on the spine with no dates or titles and with the boards decorated with blind embossing. The spine appears to be rebacked in a style comparable to the rough nature of the boards. A quarto of 11 1/2 by 7 3/8 inches with damage to the leather at the tips of the boards and scars, blemishes and small chips to the leather. The front paste down shows three brief notes from three early prior owners the second one of which notes the date of purchase (1752) from a John Hill, Esq. The title page has been professionally backed to protect numerous chips and has been signed by a more recent prior owner in the margins. This charter which was originally dated on May 14, 1692, included Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, the Province of Maine, and parts of what is now Nova Scotia. It is bound in with The Acts And Laws of His Majesty's Province of the… Read More

Boston and Cambridge: Hilliard, Gray, And Company and Brown, Shattuck, And Co., 1833. First Edition. All three volumes of this complete set are in near fine condition in recent 1/2 calf leather and marbled paper covered boards with five raised bands on the spine with red and black, gilt stamped title blocks in two compartments and with gilt bands and gilt banding at the edges of the leather on the boards. All three are octavos of 8 3/4 by 5 1/2 inches with new end sheets. The blank leaves prior to the title pages and at the end of each text block show spots of mild foxing some of which have migrated to the title page and last printed page; otherwise, the contents are remarkably clean and bright. Volume I contains 494 pages; volume II contains 555 pages; and, volume III contains 776 which includes and index for all three volumes. Story was a noted and accomplished attorney, a member of Congress for one term and was appointed an associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1811. His greatest… Read More

Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1904. First thus. Fine in dark green cloth covered boards with a gilt Lakeside logo and borders on the front board and bright gilt text on the spine which is just a touch off in brightness. The top edge of the text block is gilt. The contents are clean and tight with no damage or prior ownership markings other than those mentioned below. There is a long, multi-party gift inscription in pencil on the first free end page signed by five individuals. The second Lakeside Classic issued at Christmas time in 1904 which is now considered the most difficult copy to locate in collectible condition. 299 pages including the Constitution of the United States. An extremely tight, clean and handsome copy; in fact one of the nicest copies of the 1904 edition that we have ever see!

Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1906. First thus. Very good+ in dark green cloth covered boards with gilt decorations and borders on the front board and gilt text stamping on the spine with the cloth at the head and heel of the spine rubbed and with scuffing to the cloth over and above the gilt text reading "The Lakeside Press". The Lakeside Press logo and gilt borders on the front board are very bright and crisp while the gilt text on the spine is somewhat tarnished. Signed and inscribed on the fly title page by Thomas E. Donnelley. This is the smallest of the Lakeside Classics in terms of both weight and width being only 130 pages (129 numbered). The full title reads: "Fruits of Solitude Reflections and Maxims Relating to the Conduct of Human Life." The fourth Lakeside Classic issued at Christmas time in 1906. It is considered by many collectors as either the first or second most difficult copy to obtain in this series. The book was first published in England anonymously in… Read More

Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1907. First thus. Very near fine in dark green cloth covered boards with gilt borders on the front board, with the top edge in gilt and gilt text on the spine with only a hint of rubbing at the head and heel of the spine and at the . upper and lower tips of the boards The gilt decorations and text are bright and clearly seen on both the spine and front board. The fifth Lakeside Classic from Christmas, 1907. 302 pages with a frontispiece of Patrick Henry with a printed tissue guard. Overall, a very handsome copy of an extremely uncommon, early Lakeside Classic.

London: Little, Brown & Company (UK), 1994. Signed, Limited Edition. Fine in full, dark green morocco leather with gilt text on the spine and gilt borders on the front board. A small quarto of 9 1/8 by 6 inches with all edges of the text block gilt and with map end sheets. Without a dust jacket as issued; however, the book is within a dark green, cloth covered slip case. One of only 250 copies issued, bound in full leather and signed by the author. This copy is numbered 147 and signed by Nelson Mandela on the limitation page. 630 pages including an index and text. Illustrated with three sections of images from black and white photographs. There are no marks, notations or any prior ownership markings in this copy except for the signature and number noted above.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1934. First Edition. First printing Near fine in textured, dark green cloth covered boards with white text on the spine and front board with the flying duck in white. A 12mo of 7 1/4 by 4 3/8 inches with very faint rubbing to the cloth at th ends of the spine and to the fold to the front board. There is a short newspaper clipping of a poem pasted to the front paste down and an early dated ('1934") gift inscription on the first free end page. The hinges and joints are tight and strong. The pages are clean and free of marginal notations, underlinings, checkmarks, etc. Without its extremely scarce and fragile dust jacket. 167 pages including an index, suggestions for further reading and text. Illustrated with sketches within the text and 36 plates 32 of which are black-and-white images; a color frontispiece; and, three colored plates the four of which are each protected by printed tissue guards. This is the author's first field guide and is the first… Read More