Rare books from Borg Antiquarian

Boston: Marshall Jones Company [The Plimpton Press: Norwood, Mass.], 1921. First Edition. brown pictorial cloth. Fine/Near Fine. Arthur V. Diehl. Presentation Copy SIGNED with an Original Pen Drawing of a Dying WWI Soldier by the Poet-Illustrator laid in [It may have been a front endpaper that was added to this text by the author for this "Author's Edition."]<br/> 12 mo, brown pictorial cloth, matching pictorial tan and black dust jacket, [viii] + 100 pages. Exceptional copy of this Rare and engaging collection of jingling First World War poems that have solemn content.<br/> It's the sort of poetry that men at war chant while marching or sing with bravado. With faint though handsomely inscribed brown ink note by the author-artist: "This Volume is No. 32 of the Author's Edition. A.Y.D." on half title.<br/> <br/> Excellent though pathos-filled ink drawing of three dead Tommies lying in cratered ground beneath barbed wire.

Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1951. First Edition. Cloth. Near Fine/Very Good +. Ray Bradbury. SIGNED, dated, & Illustrated with a CARICATURE of himself by the Author; 8vo, beige buckram, red pictorial dust jacket, 251 + [1p. Epilogue} + [2] pages. Rare copy of Ray Bradbury's important collection of stories with his amusing SELF PORTRAIT/CARICATURE; inscribed to "Joel!' by the author; dated Oct. 23, 72."<br/> <br/> This third collection of short stories by the great Sci-Fi author includes "Prologue: The Illustrated Man," "The Long Rain," "Zero Hour," "The Velt," and "Kaleidoscope," among several other titles.<br/> <br/> According to Clute & Nicholls, Encyclopedia of SF: "RB's vintage years are normally thought to be 1946-55, his short-story collections of that period are certainly superior to those he produced later. They began with The Illustrated man (coll. 1951; with 2… Read More

London: Longman and Rees, 1800. First Miniature Edition. Tooled leather with gilding. Very Good. Cook. 12mo, tooled and gilt-stamped leather with four hubs, engraved frontispiece of Dr. Johnson by Cook, frontis. & t.p. + [iii-iv] advert. + 284 pages. Very Rare! [Edited by Rev. Joseph Hamilton.] Handy edition of the redoubtable Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary with its marvellous definitions. Published in 1800 during the raging Napoleonic wars with France (see also the somewhat later inscription to a French ship's captain below). Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), or more commonly "Dr. Johnson" or "the Great Cham," was a brilliant English writer, devout Anglican and Tory, who made his reputation as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and most lastingly as a lexicographer. His Dictionary of the English Language is noteworthy for its extent, comprehensiveness, and use of pithy definitions. James Boswell, of course, memorialized the life and… Read More

Paris: Librairie Victor Lecoffre / J. Gabalda, Éditeur, 1926. First Edition (in French). 1/8th pigskin over boards. Good +. Quartos (11 1/4" H x 8 7/8" W); 5 Volumes (in "Fascicules") published over a 14-year period. These consist of "Jerusalem Antique" in Volume I & "Jerusalem Nouvelle" in Volumes II, III, & IV, plus Volume V, "Planches" [Plates] covering all volumes. 1/8th whitened pigskin over B&W textured boards; Preface by M. le Marquis de Vogüé; Profusely illustrated with B&W line drawings (with occasional red-delineation), schematics, and B&W photographs (especially in Vol. IV "Planches"): Vol. I, Part I. Topographie, xii + 196pp. ; Vol. II., Parts I & II. Aelia Capitolina, Le Saint-Sepulcre et Le Mont des Oliviers, xi + 419pp.; Vol. II, Part III. La Sainte-Sion et Les Sanctuaires de Second Ordre, 421-668pp.; Part IV. Sainte-Ane et Les Sanctuaires Hors de la Ville Histoire Monumentale de 31… Read More

London: Robert Barker...by the Assignes of John Bill, 1633. Very Early Elizabethan Printing. Tooled leather. Very Good +/Custom Case. 12mo, original tooled leather 17th century binding, engraved frontispiece, very closely cut borders, all edges gilded, original green silk page divider, [viii blank] + ~ 524 + [vi blank] pages. THE NEW TES_/ TAMENT / Of our Lord and / S A V I O V R / - Jesus Christ Newly translated out of the / Originall Grrek : and / with the former transla- / tions diligently compared / and revised , by his Maie- / sties special commande- / ment. ---------------------------- Imprinted at London / By Robert Barker, Printer / to the Kings most Excel- / lent Majesty, and by / the Assignes of John Bill, 1633. Cum privilegia. A GEM! In an original tooled leather binding, no less. Beautiful clear type. Minimal wear. Some pages so closely cropped by the printer that the chapter headings at the top have been partially excised, though not the text. In order to ensure its… Read More

New Jersey or New York: Al Capp, 1930. UNIQUE. Framed. Very Good. Al Capp. Oil painting framed (15 1/2" H by 18 5/8" W; image: 13 7/16" x 16 7/16") signed by Al Capp with facial caricature of a man with bulbous eyes & two teeth plus initials; with the Edgar Allen Poe-based caption "Nevermore" in gold with black highlighting and double underlining, above a cartoon of a drunken black raven with orange beak passed out upside down in a martini glass while still holding an olive with pimento. On the tattered brown paper backing, there is the ink inscription: "PRESENT from MR. ACE" / The One and Only 1981" and an old browned newspaper cut-out of an Edgar Allen Poe caricature (see below). Panel beneath the brown paper reads: Visit our Grecian Art Pavilion Ltd. Home of the "Hellenic Art Festival" Exquisite Oil Paintings, Watercolors and select Handicrafts by Greek Artists 95-42 Queens Blvd. Rego Park N.Y. 11374 (212) 275-1745 Opposite… Read More

Hamburg, Leipzig: H. Goverts, 1951. Reprint. Cloth. Fine/Fine. 8vo, beige buckram with embossed gilt Tara on cover and gilt lettering on spine, Mylar-protected illustrated dust jacket (uncut) by G. Gossman, [916] pages. TEXT IN GERMAN. A Fine copy internally and externally of this German edition. <br/> <br/> Copyright 1937 by H. Goverts Verlag GmbH, /Hamburg.

Jamie Wyeth. Photo of original painting. Matted. Fine. Wyeth. Signed 5 1/2" by 4 1/4" B&W magazine photograph of Wyeth's iconic portrait of president John F. Kennedy. Matted to an overall size of 10" W by 8" H. Signed and inscribed on the mount in black felt tip: "For Kay Carter--Jamie Wyeth." The original painting being unobtainable, this is an attractive--and RARE--affordable substitute in excellent condition.

No Place: Sendak, 1963. Original drawing by the Author-Illustrator. Very Good +. SELF-CARICATURE SIGNED by MAURICE SENDAK, the famous illustrator-&-author of children's books. <br/>8vo (6.5" x 9"), humorous pencil sketch & self-caricature by MAURICE SENDAK with Lewis Carrollean-aspects on translucent drawing paper. EXCEEDINGLY RARE SIGNED humorous SELF PORTRAIT--head & hat to feet--of Maurice Sendak drawn lightly in pencil on tracing paper (presumably a "rough" or "prelim"[inary] sketch) that has been Signed lightly but fully. One horizontal fold at bottom of self portrait.<br/><br/>The artist depicts himself looking and smiling at the viewer in his "Where the Wild Things Are" inimitable style. <br/><br/>The artist-illustrator's hat recalls Tenniel's sketch of the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. An exhuberant Sendak has written "Fun! Ha! Ha!" and "Ho! He!"… Read More

America or Europe: Polish School, 1795. original. Victorian silver-and-enamel brooch with gold back. Portrait: Very Good/Frame: Very Good +. Polish School miniaturist. Portrait miniature--head & bust--of Tadeusz Kosciuszko: watercolor (image: 1.4 x 1 cm / 0.6" x 0.4"; framed: 4.1 x 3.5 cm /1.6" x 1.4") executed on natural material; wearing a military uniform (blue body cloth with red trimmed collar & red sash with silver epaulettes. <br/><br/>Because Tadeusz Kosciuszko was made a "Brigadeer General" in the American Revolution and a "Major General" in the subsequent Russo-Polish conflicts, his silver epaulettes and our provisional dating convey the high and prestigeous rank of "General"--an impression reinforced by three medals that are depicted on Kosciuszko's breast. Formerly a miniature watercolor portrait set into a male finger-ring, this delicate minature of General Tadeusz Kosciuszko (1746-1817), the famous hero of the… Read More

Atlanta, Georgia: Margaret Mitchell (in reaction to The Reader's Digest & The Atlanta Journal), 1949. Original (3 pieces). Envelope. Very Good/Envelope Good. Autograph Letter Penned & Signed characteristically "M.M.M." [Margaret Mitchell Marsh] by the famed American Author on a Small Folio (8.5" x 14") page copied from "The Atlanta Journal," June 19, 1949; <br/> <br/> with a marginal ink note in the left margin of "The Atlanta Journal" from the recipient, Dr. Mayo, docketed "July 5 - 1949"; <br/> <br/> accompanied by the original envelope addressed by Mitchell to "Dr. C.E. Mayos / 612 West 13 St. / Davenport / Iowa." [stamp and partial postmark cut away leaving only "5 ATLA... Jul /10..19.../ G]; with Mitchell's return address on the envelope flap preprinted as: "1268 Piedmont Avenue, N. E. / Apartment 3 / Atlanta 5, Georgia." Dr. Mayos has written on the envelope: "Letters from /… Read More

Maryland: Charles Carrollton, 1828. Original. Very Good. Autograph Note Signed boldly and clearly by Charles Carroll of Carrollton (a Signer of the Declaration of Independence & longest-lived signer), one page (7" x 3"), dated December 6, 1828. <br/> <br/> Plus an engraving of Charles Carroll of Carrollton suitable for framing. SUPERIOR CONTENT: [Quoting in part:] <br/> <br/> "Admired ... friend of civil & religioius liberty. I esteem your virtues, and actuated by the same feelings shall I be deemed arrogant by placing the name under yours of Charles Carroll of Carrollton." <br/> <br/> It is addressed to "Coke." [Possibly Thomas William Coke (1754 -- 1842), aka Coke of Norfolk, prominent British supporter of the American colonists during the Revolutionary War. He retired in 1832 and was made 1st Earl of Leicester in 1837.]<br/> <br/> Condition: Clear black ink and uniformly lightly age-toned paper with a faint… Read More

N.P.: Original engraving, 1887. Possibly based on an Ritz and Hastings' image ca.1882. Matted. Very Good. Engraving. INSCRIBED by the AUTHOR "Truly Yours / Harriet Beecher Stowe" & dated "May 2, 1887" at the top of the image in fountain pen, small 4to (matted: 9 1/2" x 7 1/2"; vintage portrait image revealed: 5 1/2" x 4"). Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811 - 1896), American author of Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) and fervent abolitionist. Upon meeting the celebrated author, President Abraham Lincoln is said to have said: "so you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war." Overall, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote 30 books including novels, three travel narratives, and numerous articles. Clear inscription and signature in ink. Engraving is crisp black on lightly toned thin onion skin (slightly wrinkled). The engraving has been made from a period photograph. Verso shows tape holding image against matting. Overall, the… Read More

San Francisco: Justin Hein, 1963. Original. Framed and glazed. Near Fine/Framed & glazed. Justin Hein. Original watercolor painting by Justin Hein given to his partner, Glenn Todd, about 1963, and created in San Francisco. Description: Watercolor painting: (23 x 30 cm / 9 ¼" x11 ¾"); in frame (34 x 40.5 cm / 13 ¼ x 16"). Glazed & in a gilt frame.   Item number: 303866. This painting is a pointed, flagrant yet poignant expression of the Beat Scene in San Francisco during the mid-60's. It is an emblem of a central dynamic of the love affairs between Glenn Todd, Justin Hein, and Maggie Harms--as furtther elucidated in Todd's memoir The Book of Friends: Scenes from Life on Gough St.. Glenn Todd (born 1930), who was the recipient of this painting by his lover, Justin Hein, hailed from Archer City,Texas. Glenn served in the U.S. Army; then attended Wichita State University. Thereafter, he graduated from UCal, Berkeley. For a number of… Read More

Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1856. Unrecorded Reprint of 1849 Copyrighted Edition. Blind-stamped cloth. Good/None. Steel engravings. DOUBLE [TRIPPLE?] ASSOCIATION COPY SIGNED & INSCRIBED by the AUTHOR, Oliver Wendell Holmes, to "Joseph Roby, With the love of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Dec. 25th, 1856" on a front blank flyleaf; PLUS a further INSCRIPTION "For M o t h e r / O.W.H., Jr. / No. 4"--that is: [possibly] by Oliver Wendell Holmes, JUNIOR [presumably the great future jurist] on a fine engraving (4 1/4" H x 3 1/2" W [c.1624?]) Signed below engraving in the plate using the name of Dutch artist "Berghem / Dec 23 [d]" (aka Nicolaes Berchem: c.1624 - 1683), said engraving depicting a goatherd with broad hat and staff walking away from the viewer accompanied by a billy goat; engraving affixed as an apparent bookplate to the first blank endpaper; PLUS another PRESENTATION with Inscription on the next page [the blank recto of the frontispiece engraving], which… Read More