Literature & Children's Books by Top Authors

Charles Dickens

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first issue of A Christmas Carol, accompanied by the other Christmas Books, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 5 volumes.</li><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>The Christmas Books: A Christmas Carol; The Chimes; The Battle of Life; Cricket on the Hearth; The Haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain.</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall 1843-48.</li><li>Christmas Carol:" reading "Stave I," green pastedowns and endpapers, and unbroken “D” in Dickens to gilt front cover.</li><li>First edition first state of The Chimes, first edition of The Cricket, first edition fourth state of engraved title-page to The Battle Of Life, first edition of The Haunted Man.</li><li>All the volumes bound in their original gilt decorated cloth, all edges gilt, housed in red leather backed clamshell slipcase, ribbed gilt decorated spine.</li></ul> A Christmas Carol, regarded as Dicken's most widely read novel, selling more than 6000 copies in the few days leading up to Christmas. The work was extravagantly costly as Dickens for the first time (and incidentally his last) used color in the title-page and etchings as he wanted to make the book a beautiful gift and to be a celebration of the Christmas spirit. After the initial success, Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840's, maintaining "the Carol" philosophy to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated, and repressed.

A Christmas Carol | First Edition, First Issue | Accompanied by the Christmas Books

A.A. Milne | Ernest H. Shepard

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first issue of Winnie the Pooh by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=A.A.+Milne&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A.A. Milne</a>.<ul><li>A. A.&nbsp;Milne (English).</li><li>Illustrated by E. H. Shephard (English). </li><li>London: Methuen &amp; Co. Ltd., 1926.</li><li>Bound in the publisher's original gilt stamped green cloth, top edge gilt, pictorial pastedowns and endpapers.</li></ul>

Winnie The Pooh | First Edition

A third edition of A Christmas Carol by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>A Christmas Carol In Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas.</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.</li><li>Illustrated with 4 hand colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton. </li><li>Bound in the original straight grained rose colored cloth, gilt tile and wreath to spine and front cover, yellow pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.</li></ul> This was the last edition published in the same year as the original issue, which was done on Christmas eve. By the end of the next year (1844) 13 editions had been printed.

A Christmas Carol | Third Edition

Winston Churchill

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First editions</a> of The Second World War in six volumes, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Winston+Churchill&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Winston Churchill</a>, accompanied by a framed signature.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 6 volumes, 1 framed signature.</li><li>Winston Churchill (English,1874-1965).</li><li>London: Cassell, 1948.</li><li>Original cloth, in unclipped dust-jackets.</li><li>Accompanied by a framed display with signatures of Sir Winston Churchill and Clementine Churchill, mounted beneath a contemporary black-and-white portrait.</li></ul> Written with the authority of a wartime Prime Minister and the literary skill that would earn him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953, The Second World War is both an indispensable military history and a deeply personal memoir of Britain's darkest and finest hours. No other participant in the conflict occupied such a commanding position, and few have left so compelling a record. Accompanying the books is a framed display bearing signatures of both ‘Winston Churchill’ and his wife, ‘Clementine Churchill,' mounted beneath a portrait photograph.

The Second World War In Six Volumes | With Framed Signature of Winston and Clementine Churchill

Ian Fleming

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first printing of the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/james-bond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> novel Diamonds Are Forever by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ian+Fleming&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ian Fleming</a>.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (British).</li><li>Wrapper design by Richard Chopping.</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1956.</li><li>In the unclipped wrapper, in a custom made solander box.&nbsp;</li></ul> First edition, first printing of For Your Eyes Only by Ian Fleming, published by Jonathan Cape, London in 1960.

For Your Eyes Only | First Edition

Beatrix Potter

First commercially published edition, <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first issue</a> of The Tale of Peter Rabbit by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Beatrix+Potter&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Beatrix Potter</a>.<ul><li>Beatrix Potter (English).</li><li>London: F. Warne and Co., 1902.</li><li>Grey boards, leaf-patterned end-papers, all first issue points sated.</li></ul> The first trade edition has leaf-pattern end-papers and the text "wept big tears" on page 51 (the text reads "cried big tears" in the privately printed edition; "wept big tears" in the first three impressions of the trade edition; and "shed big tears" from the fourth impression onwards).

The Tale of Peter Rabbit | First Issue

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Fine%2520Bindings%2520and%2520Sets" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">finely bound</a> antique limited edition set of the works of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 32 volumes.</li><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1894.</li><li>Large Paper edition.</li><li>Part of an edition of 500 sets, of which this is number 35.</li><li>Illustrated with steel protestors and engravings from the original designs by Browne, Cruikshank, Leech, and others, illustrated frontispiece in plates of three states.</li><li>With critical and bibliopgraphic introductions and notes by Edwin Percy Whipple and others.</li><li>Marbled endpapers, top edges gilt, raised bands on spine, bound in three-quarters red Morocco leather with marbled boards, gilt detailing on covers and floral gilt motifs on spine compartments.</li></ul>

The Works of Charles Dickens

The World Crisis 1911-1914, <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Winston+Churchill&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Winston Churchill</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 5 volumes in 6.</li><li>Winston Churchill (British).</li><li>London: Thornton Butterworth, 1923-1931.</li><li>Octavos.</li><li>Volume V 'Inscribed by/ Winston S. Churchill/ June 21 1929.'</li><li>Staggered publication from 1923 - 1931.</li><li>Vols I, IV &amp; V with the errata slip.</li><li>Illustrated throughout with portraits, maps and plans, some folding.</li><li>Publisher's navy blue cloth, blind embossed panels to upper boards, gilt lettering to spine.</li></ul> A superlative account of the prelude to and events of the First World War. It is still regarded as a defining work of twentieth-century history, reconstructing the action on the Western and Eastern Fronts, the wars at sea and in the air and the advent of tanks and U-boats. Churchill describes the Lusitania's sinking, the heroics of the Battle of Jutland, Verdun's 'soul-stirring frenzy', the bloodshed of Gallipoli, the Somme and Passchendaele, as well as the USA's entry into the conflict. It confirmed the author's reputation as a brilliant historian.

The World Crisis 1911-1914 | Signed First Edition

Oscar Wilde

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first large paper edition</a> of A Woman of No Importance by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=oscar+wilde&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Oscar Wilde</a>.<ul><li>Oscar Wilde (Irish).</li><li>London: John Lane, 1894.</li><li>Quarto.</li><li>One of 50 large paper copies.</li><li>Printed on hand-made paper, publisher's straw colored buckram with gilt decorations by Charles Ricketts, gilt lettering to spine, housed in custom purple cloth chemise and matching quarter morocco slip-case.</li></ul> First performed in April 1893, prior to being published in book form, A Woman of No Importance addresses many social issues with Wilde's wit and dark humor. The run of the play was cut short as a result of Wilde's arrest and prosecution. The scandal dampened enthusiasm for Wilde's work until after his death in 1900, when interest in his work began to revive.

A Woman of No Importance | Large Paper First Edition

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Fine%2520Bindings%2520and%2520Sets" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">finely bound</a> edition of Great Expectations by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 3 volumes.</li><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>London: Chapman &amp; Hall, 1861.</li><li>Octavos.</li><li>Second, second, and third 'editions' [issues].</li><li>Without publisher's catalogue at rear of volume III, but Smith states that 'some copies of the first five issues did not contain catalogues.'</li><li>Bound in contemporary half calf gilt over marbled boards, morocco labels.</li></ul> An attractive set of Great Expectations, the most popular of Dickens' novels, in a contemporary binding. Although the title-pages states 'Second and third editions', in fact the first five editions are really only different impressions of the same edition. Apart from the title-pages the only differences are in the text where the type in the earliest impressions shows fewer signs of wear and damage. The title-pages were altered to encourage sales.

Great Expectations

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of one of 50 large paper copies of Lady Windermre's Fan by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=oscar+wilde&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Oscar Wilde</a>.<ul><li>Oscar Wilde (Irish).</li><li>London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane, 1893.</li><li>Small quarto.</li><li>Publisher's straw colored buckram with gilt decorations by Charles Ricketts, gilt lettering to spine, housed in custom purple cloth chemise and matching quarter morocco slip-case.</li></ul> One of 50 large paper copies of Wilde's four-act comedy, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London. Like many of Wilde's plays, it bitingly satirizes the morals of society.

Lady Windermere's Fan | First Edition

James Joyce

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first United Kingdom edition</a> of Ulysses by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=James+Joyce&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Joyce</a>.<ul><li>James Joyce (Irish).</li><li>London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1936.</li><li>Quarto.</li><li>Part of an edition of 900, this being #726, from an overall limitation of 1000.</li><li>Japon vellum, original green buckram with gilt Homeric bow designed by Eric Gill to upper cover, titles to spine gilt, top edge gilt, others untrimmed, with the unclipped dust-jacket.</li></ul> The first truly complete edition of Joyce's literary masterpiece, incorporating the author's corrected text and complemented by a prefatory list of previous editions and three appendices, including a legal history of the novel and a bibliography of the author's works.

Ulysses | First United Kingdom Edition

F. Scott Fitzgerald

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of All The Sad Young Men by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=F.+Scott+Fitzgerald&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">F. Scott Fitzgerald</a>.<ul><li>F. Scott Fitzgerald (American).</li><li>New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926.</li><li>Original full green cloth, lettered in blind on front board and in gilt on spine, original unclipped brown pictorial dust jacket with flapper on front panel by Cleonike Damianakes Wilkins, Scribner's seal on copyright page.</li></ul> Fitzgerald's third collection of short stories, this book followed directly in the wake of Gatsby's success.&nbsp;

All The Sad Young Men | First Edition

J.R.R. Tolkien

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First editions</a>, early mixed impressions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, each <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.R.R.+Tolkien&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 3 volumes.</li><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (British).</li><li>London: George Allen &amp; Unwin, 1965-1966.</li><li>Each individually signed by J.R.R. Tolkien. </li><li>With the folding map at the end of each volume. </li><li>Publisher’s red cloth, in the original dust-jackets</li></ul> A complete signed set of The Lord of the Rings, with Tolkien’s signature appearing in each of the three volumes. The present set combines early impressions, Tolkien’s signature in all three volumes and an unusually attractive group of original dust-jackets.

The Lord of the Rings | Signed First Editions, Early Impressions

A third edition, fifth impression of The Hobbit, <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.R.R.+Tolkien&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (British).</li><li>London: George Allen $ Unwin, 1970.</li><li>With 12 illustrations and an advertisement leaf at the end. </li><li>Author’s presentation copy, inscribed by Tolkien on the half-title.</li><li>Publisher’s green cloth, in the original dust-jacket, price-clipped. </li></ul> A particularly lovely example, retaining the increasingly scarce original jacket.

The Hobbit | Signed by Tolkien

Roald Dahl

An <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">inscribed</a> <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first printing of The BFG by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Roald+Dahl&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Roald Dahl</a>.<ul><li>Roald Dahl (British).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1982.</li><li>Signed on the front endpaper by Dahl (‘To Richard/love/Roald Dahl/7/4/85/). </li><li>In the unclipped dust wrapper.</li></ul>

The BFG | Inscribed First Edition

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First complete paperback edition</a>, of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.R.R.+Tolkien&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>, finely rebound in red leather.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English, 1892-1973).</li><li>London: George Allen and Unwin, 1968.</li><li>Rebound in red Morocco leather with five raised bands, with gilt tooling and titling and marbled endpapers. with the ‘Eye of Sauron’ vignette to the front board; enclosed in a custom-made slip case, mirroring the red leather of the book and also with ‘Sauron’ vignette to the front panel.</li></ul> The first complete collection of The Lord of the Rings; containing the trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring / The Two Towers / The Return of the King, and preceding the Deluxe Edition of 1969. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has had a profound cultural impact since its publication in the mid-20th century. The epic fantasy trilogy has not only set the standard for the genre but has also influenced a wide range of media, from literature and film to gaming and music. Its richly detailed world of Middle-earth, complete with its own languages, history, and mythology, has inspired countless authors, including George R.R. Martin and J.K. Rowling. The 2001-2003 film adaptations by Peter Jackson further cemented its cultural significance, bringing Tolkien’s world to a global audience and achieving critical and commercial success. These films set new benchmarks for cinematic achievements in special effects, storytelling, and epic scale, impacting the film industry and popularizing fantasy cinema. The work’s lasting appeal is evident in its dedicated fanbase, conventions, and its influence on modern fantasy, making The Lord of the Rings a cornerstone of contemporary culture.

The Lord of the Rings | First Complete Paperback Edition

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of The Return of the King by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.R.R.+Tolkien&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>London: George Allen &amp; Unwin, 1955.</li><li>[vi], 423, [1] pages.</li><li>“First published in 1955” to verso.</li><li>In the unrestored dust wrapper.</li></ul> When The Lord of the Rings appeared between 1954 and 1955, it was issued quietly, in modest print runs, by the London publisher George Allen &amp; Unwin. Tolkien’s achievement was not merely narrative but architectural. Drawing upon philology, medieval literature, mythology, and his own linguistic inventions, he constructed a secondary world of unprecedented depth and internal coherence. Middle-earth was not a setting but a civilisation: languages, genealogies, cosmology, and moral philosophy interwoven with epic narrative. In doing so, Tolkien effectively established the template for modern high fantasy. The trilogy’s publication history underscores its rarity. The first impression of The Return of the King at 7,000 copies and the amount of unrestored dust-jackets now, was never high. More than seventy years after publication, The Lord of the Rings remains one of the most widely read and culturally resonant works of the modern era.

The Return of the King | First Edition

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of The Fellowship of the Ring by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.R.R.+Tolkien&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>London: &nbsp;George Allen &amp; Unwin, 1954.</li><li>[vi], 423, [1] pages.</li><li>“First published in 1954” to verso.</li><li>Presented in the original unclipped dust wrapper.</li></ul> When The Lord of the Rings appeared between 1954 and 1955, it was issued quietly, in modest print runs, by the London publisher George Allen &amp; Unwin. Tolkien’s achievement was not merely narrative but architectural. Drawing upon philology, medieval literature, mythology, and his own linguistic inventions, he constructed a secondary world of unprecedented depth and internal coherence. Middle-earth was not a setting but a civilisation: languages, genealogies, cosmology, and moral philosophy interwoven with epic narrative. In doing so, Tolkien effectively established the template for modern high fantasy. The trilogy’s publication history underscores its rarity. The first impression of The Fellowship of the Ring numbered only 3,000 copies and the amount of unrestored dust-jackets now, was never high. More than seventy years after publication, The Lord of the Rings remains one of the most widely read and culturally resonant works of the modern era.

The Fellowship of the Ring | First Edition

J.K. Rowling

A Bloomsbury Deluxe United Kingdom edition of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Harry+Potter+and+the+Philosopher%27s+Stone&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone</a>, accompanied by a <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> photograph of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.K.+Rowling&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.K. Rowling</a>.<ul><li>J.K. Rowling (British).</li><li>London: Bloomsbury, 1999.</li><li>A signed photograph of the author loosely inserted.</li><li>Hardcover, publisher's red cloth.</li></ul>

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Bloomsbury Deluxe Edition with Signed Photograph of J.K. Rowling

A fourth edition of A Christmas Carol by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1844.</li><li>Illustrated with 4 hand colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Bound in the original straight grained rose colored cloth, gilt tile and wreath to spine and front cover, yellow pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.</li></ul> Regarded as Dicken's most widely read novel and considered to be "the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language" selling more than 6000 copies in the few days leading up to Christmas. The work was extravagantly costly as Dickens for the first time (and incidentally his last) used color in the title-page and etchings as he wanted to make the book a beautiful gift and to be a celebration of the Christmas spirit. After the initial success, Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840's, maintaining "the Carol" philosophy to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated, and repressed.

A Christmas Carol In Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas | Fourth Edition

An <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">inscribed</a> presentation copy of Winnie the Pooh by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=A.A.+Milne&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A.A. Milne</a>.<ul><li>A.A. Milne (English)</li><li>Illustrated by E.H. Shepard (English).</li><li>London: Methuen &amp; Co. Ltd., 1929.</li><li>Ninth edition.</li><li>Inscribed by Milne on the front leaf "Joyce Redfern's book A.A. Milne Nov 12th 1930."</li><li>Bound in the publisher's original gilt stamped green cloth, top edge gilt, pictorial pastedowns and endpapers.</li></ul> Joyce Redfern was related to the Seligman family. Vincent Julian Seligman was a descendant of a German Jewish mercantile family that emigrated to the USA and London in the 19th century. Vincent’s father ran the London bank Seligman Brothers; his mother came from an artistic and musical family. Vincent Seligman and Milne became lifelong friends, although it is uncertain how and where they first met, and along with Vincent's wife Barbara, became close. In 1923 Seligman dedicated his book, Oxford Oddities, to A.A. Milne and, soon after the publication of the Pooh books, Milne gave prototypes of Pooh and Piglet soft toys to Barbara.

Winnie The Pooh | Inscribed Presentation Copy

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first Deluxe edition</a> of The House At Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne, <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> and numbered by the author and illustrator.<ul><li>A.A. Milne (English).</li><li>Illustrated by E.H. Shepard (English).</li><li>London: Methuen &amp; Co. Ltd., 1928.</li><li>Limited to 350 numbered and signed copies by Milne &amp; Shepard, this being copy #224.</li><li>Bound in the publisher’s original blue cloth backed boards, entirely uncut and unopened, with the original dust jacket.</li></ul>

The House At Pooh Corner | Signed First Deluxe Edition

A set of the complete <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/james-bond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> first editions in facsimile.&nbsp;<ul><li>Sold as a set of 14 volumes.</li><li>Ian Fleming (British).</li><li>Comprising: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only (short stories including From A View To A Kill and Quantum of Solace), Thunderball, The Spy Who Loved Me, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun, Octopussy and The Living Daylights (short stories).</li><li>Shelton, Connecticut: First Edition Library, 1980s-90s.</li><li>Small octavos.</li><li>Replica hardcover volumes of foil-stamped book cloth, illustrated dust-wrappers, with the complete set in the original pictorial card slip-cases.</li></ul> Please note: This item is excluded from complimentary shipping. Shipping quote will be calculated at time of purchase.

James Bond First Editions in Facsimile | Complete Set

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Fine%2520Bindings%2520and%2520Sets" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">set</a> of the Nonesuch Press edition of the works of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 25 volumes.</li><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>Edited by Arthur Waugh [and others].</li><li>London: The Nonesuch Press, 1937-38.</li><li>Large octavo.</li><li>Nonesuch edition, number 433 of 877 limited sets.</li><li>With illustrations printed from the original plates.</li><li>With the original steel plate 'Fagin in the condemned Cell' from Oliver Twist, with a letter of authenticity from the publisher.</li><li>Text based upon the Charles Dickens Edition, the last to be revised by Dickens himself.</li><li>Publisher's vari-colored cloth, morocco labels, top edges gilt on the rough, others uncut.</li></ul> After the Depression of the early thirties, the Nonesuch Press was effectively saved from bankruptcy by the intervention of the American, George Macy. 'The Dickens' set was very much his project and it was due to his great energy that it was produced so quickly. It was described at the time by the Daily Telegraph as 'one of the most glorious achievements of publishing in our time. Robert Lynd in the News Chronicle declared it the most pleasant Dickens to read that has ever been published, while The Scotsman observed: No more handsome edition of Dickens has yet appeared; nor is it easy to conceive of any which might surpass this one.'

The Nonesuch Dickens

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first printing of The Return of the King by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.R.R.+Tolkien&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>United Kingdom: George Allen and Unwin, 1955.</li><li>Original fold out map is still present to the rear.</li><li>Bound in the publisher’s rich red boards, in the dustwrapper.</li></ul> The third installment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The Return of the King First Edition

Virginia Woolf

A limited edition of A Room of One's Own, signed by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Virginia+Woolf&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Virginia Woolf</a>.<ul><li>Virginia Woolf (English).</li><li>New York / London:&nbsp;The Fountain Press / Hogarth Press,&nbsp;1929.&nbsp;</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>159 [1] pages.</li><li>Limited Edition, #408/450.&nbsp;</li><li>Signed flat by Virginia Woolf on the half-title page.</li><li>Bound in publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering along the spine.</li></ul>

A Room Of One's Own | Signed by Woolf

Ernest Hemingway

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of For Whom the Bell Tolls by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ernest+Hemingway&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ernest Hemingway</a>.<ul><li>Ernest Hemingway (American).</li><li>New York:&nbsp;Scribner's,&nbsp;1940.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>471 pages.</li><li>In the first state dust jacket, publisher's coarse calico grain cloth with facsimile of the author's signature in black on the uppers cover in custom half-morocco clamshell box.</li></ul> Hemingway's celebrated novel of the Spanish Civil War, difficult to find in such nice condition, as any rubbing stands out against the black background, and the red and blue of the spine are generally found faded.

For Whom the Bell Tolls First Edition

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first printing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which has been <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.K.+Rowling&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.K. Rowling</a> and actor <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Daniel+Radcliffe&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Daniel Radcliffe</a>, who portrayed the boy wizard in the Harry Potter films.<ul><li>J.K. Rowling (English).</li><li>London: Bloomsbury, 2000.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Signed by both J.K. Rowling (without dedication) and actor, Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the eight motion pictures.&nbsp;</li><li>Accompanied by a typed Letter with a facsimile signature from the author to a fan thanking them for enjoying the book (having been signed) loosely inserted.</li><li>In the original dust wrapper.</li></ul>

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | First Edition Signed by the Author and Daniel Radcliffe

A.A. Milne | Ernest Howard Shepard

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of The House At Pooh Corner by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=A.A.+Milne&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A.A. Milne</a>, <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> by the illustrator <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=E.H.+Shepard&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">E.H. Shepard</a>, with an additional signed letter tipped in.<ul><li>A.A. Milne (English).</li><li>E.H. Shepard (English).</li><li>London: Methuen &amp; Co. Ltd., 1928.</li><li>Signed by the illustrator E. H. Shepard on the title page.</li><li>Bound in the publisher's original gilt stamped pink cloth, pictorial pastedowns and endpapers, top edge gilt.</li></ul> Tipped to the verso of the front endleaf is a one page signed letter by Shepard which reads: "28 November: 57Dear Mrs. McCreedy,I have heard from Miss George of the Oxford University Press that you are staying in the neighborhood. It will give great pleasure to my wife and to myself if you will come and see us. I would like to suggest Dec. 17th Tuesday, at 4 oclock, If your husband and daughter are able to come as well we shall bt most pleased,Yours SincerelyErnest H. Shepard"

The House At Pooh Corner | First Edition Signed by the Illustrator

A.A. Milne

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first American edition</a> of When We Were Very Young by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=A.A.+Milne&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A.A. Milne</a>.<ul><li>A.A. Milne (English).</li><li>New York: E. P. Dutton &amp; Co., 1924.</li><li>Inscribed by Milne to the recto of the frontis "For Mrs. Burnside from A. A. Milne Christmas 1924."</li><li>Bound in the publisher's original gilt stamped red cloth, pictorial pastedowns and endpapers, with the original dust jacket.</li></ul>

When We Were Very Young | Inscribed First Edition

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, second issue of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>' A Christmas Carol.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.</li><li>Illustrated with 4 hand colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Chapter heading reading "Stave One."</li><li>Bound in the original straight grained rose colored cloth, gilt tile and wreath to spine and front cover, front cover has a perfect 'D' in 'Dickens', yellow pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.</li></ul>

A Christmas Carol | First Edition

William Shakespeare

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Fine%2520Bindings%2520and%2520Sets" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">finely bound</a> set of The Dramatic Works of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=William+Shakespeare&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">William Shakespeare</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 10 volumes.</li><li>William Shakespeare (English).</li><li>Notes by S. W. Singer, A Life... by W. Watkiss Lloyd.</li><li>London: George Bell and Sons, 1888.</li><li>Bound in full tan calf, ribbed gilt decorated spines, gilt lettered red and black morocco spine labels, covers ruled in gilt and blind, blind tooled dentelles, marbled pastedowns, endpapers, and edges, engraved bookplate to front pastedowns of Ascott House Buckinghamshire.</li></ul>

The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare | With A Life Of The Author

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of Farewell to Arms by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ernest+Hemingway&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ernest Hemingway</a>.<ul><li>Ernest Hemingway (American).</li><li>New York:&nbsp;Scribners,&nbsp;1929.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>[10], 355 pages.</li><li>Number 56 of 510 copies signed by the author on the limitation leaf.&nbsp;</li><li>Publisher's light bluish-green boards backed and cornered with vellum, black morocco spine label lettered in gold, in custom half-morocco clamshell box.</li></ul> The only signed limited issue of Hemingway's work, and one of the greatest war novels of all time.

A Farewell to Arms | Signed First Edition

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a>, limited <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/james-bond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ian+Fleming&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ian Fleming</a>.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>Oxford: Jonathan Cape, [1963].</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>288 pages.</li><li>Signed Limited Edition, one of 250 copies, this being number 38.</li><li>Frontispiece portrait in color of Ian Fleming from the painting by Amherst Villiers.</li><li>Publisher's quarter vellum and black boards, gilt titles and stamp to spine, white wavy line decoration to front boards, top edge gilt, complete with original clear mylar, in a custom quarter blue morocco slipcase with chemise.</li></ul> The only signed limited edition of any of Fleming's books.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service Signed First Edition

A signed <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first printing of the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/james-bond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> novel Thunderball by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ian+Fleming&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ian Fleming</a>, with a fine proof pull of the jacket.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London:&nbsp;Jonathan Cape,&nbsp;1961.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Signed by Ian Fleming on the front flyleaf.</li><li>Jacket signed by artist Richard Chopping.</li><li>Original black boards, titles to spine in silver, skeletal hand motif to upper board in blind, with two states of the dust jacket; proof jacket with variant text on front flap and back flap blank, housed in a black morocco backed folding box.</li></ul> Of the preliminary dust jacket, Gilbert notes “a very few copies of the published book came in a trial dust-jacket … likely a tiny number were produced.”

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Charles Dickens

A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard

Charles Dickens

Winston Churchill

Ian Fleming

Beatrix Potter

Charles Dickens

Winston Churchill

Oscar Wilde

Charles Dickens

Oscar Wilde

James Joyce

F. Scott Fitzgerald

J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien

Roald Dahl

J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien

J.K. Rowling

Charles Dickens

A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard

A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard

Ian Fleming

Charles Dickens

J.R.R. Tolkien

Virginia Woolf

Ernest Hemingway

J.K. Rowling

A.A. Milne, Ernest Howard Shepard

A.A. Milne

Charles Dickens

William Shakespeare

Ernest Hemingway

Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming