First-Editions.Co    First-Editions.Co    First-Editions.Co    First-Editions.Co    First-Editions.Co    First-Editions.Co    First-Editions.Co    First-Editions.Co  100 Banned Books: Curated by ChatGPT
Curator’s Statementp.(1-100)Index: A-Z View Exhibition Subscribe About UsContact


Psychopathia Sexualis

Eine klinisch-forensische Studie.

Krafft-Ebing, Richard von.
Published by Stuttgart: Verlag von Ferdinand Enke

Publication Date: 1886


   An extraordinary copy of the first British edition, first printing of George Orwell's iconic masterpiece. Bound in the publisher's original pale green cloth with maroon lettering to the spine. Aside from the faint trace of an erased pencil inscription to the front free endpaper and rear pastedown, this example is easily Fine, with remarkably bright cloth and spine lettering, a vivid top stain, and a Fine, unclipped dust jacket.

Among the defining works of twentieth-century literature, Nineteen Eighty-Four is notoriously difficult to acquire in such exceptional condition. Copies retaining their original dust jackets almost invariably exhibit fading, rubbing, or other signs of wear. This example is a rare exception—preserved to a standard that is seldom encountered.

A true once-in-a-generation copy, and without question the finest example we have ever handled.




Slaughterhouse-Five: or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with DeathVonnegut, Jr., Kurt
Published by Delacorte Press, New York

Publication Date: 1969


Details     

    Signed first edition, first printing of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, signed by the author on the half-title page. One of the defining anti-war novels of the twentieth century, Vonnegut's masterpiece blends science fiction, autobiography, and dark satire to create a powerful meditation on war, trauma, and memory.

A desirable signed copy in the striking original dust jacket, with a contemporary Bastille Day gift inscription dated 1969, the year of publication. An excellent example of one of the most influential works of modern American literature.








Tess of the d’UrbervillesHardy, Thomas
Published by James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co, London

Publication Date: 1891

Details


    First edition, first impression of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, the landmark novel that scandalized fin-de-siècle England with its tragic and unforgettable heroine. A complete and unsophisticated three-volume set, retaining all of Purdy's first-issue points, including the notable textual errors and corrections identifying the earliest state.

Preserved in the publisher's tan cloth with gilt honeysuckle decoration, this is an unusually attractive example, with sturdy bindings, clean gilt lettering, and significantly less wear than is typically encountered. A highly desirable copy of one of Hardy's greatest novels.


The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnTwain, Mark
Published by Webster, New York

Publication Date: 1885

Details

    
    FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, with all of the first state text points found in cloth copies. A variety of errors were discovered and corrected during the course of printing the first edition, and collectors have always preferred the earliest, uncorrected states. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first banned by the Concord Public Library in 1885, the year it was published, as it was considered coarse and more suited to the slums than to respectable, intelligent people. Twenty years later the Brooklyn Public Library banned the book from the children s reading room as Huck set a bad example for children. Over the years Huck Finn has continued to be controversial, and it regularly features in the American Library Association s Banned Books Week events. It was the fifth most-banned American book in the 1990s. Tom Sawyer and its sequel Huckleberry Finn . . . let fresh air into the minds of parents who had shut the door on their own childhood, and they will be classics the world over as long as there are boys (Grolier/American). Original green decorated cloth with a portrait of Huck. Illustrations by E. W. Kemble. First state of frontispiece. Cloth case. Minor wear. Minor wear to spine ends, one gathering a little pulled, minor soiling. A very good copy.







The Age of Reason
Thomas Paine
Published by Printed by Barrois; London: Sold by D.I. Eaton, at the Cock and Swine, Paris [but London?]


Publication Date: 1794


    Early English edition of Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason, among the earliest obtainable editions of the first part of this seminal work of Enlightenment rationalism. Written during the French Revolution while Paine was imprisoned, the book challenged established religious authority and argued for a philosophy based on reason and intellectual inquiry.

A bibliographically complex and rare edition, this copy corresponds to ESTC N3842, the scarce issue retaining the "Paris: Printed by Barrois" imprint with the distinctive textual points and price statement. Preserved in a near-contemporary diced russia binding, with provenance including the bookplate of Samuel A. E. Abbott and an early ownership signature. An important and scarce edition of one of the most influential works in the history of political and religious thought.



The Anarchist Cookbook

Powell, William; P. M. Bergman [Introduction]
Published by Lyle Stuart, Inc, New York, NY


Publication Date: 1971

Details

    
    First edition, first printing of The Anarchist Cookbook, the rare cloth-bound issue. One of the most controversial and widely discussed countercultural publications of the twentieth century, this notorious tactical manual remains a subject of debate decades after its publication. The book's complex history was explored in the 2016 Netflix documentary American Anarchist. An exceptionally scarce hardcover issue, preserved here with the original dust jacket.






The Autobiography of Malcolm XMalcolm X; Alex Haley; M.S. Handler [Introduction]
Published by The Grove Press, New York

Publication Date: 1965


    Signed presentation copy of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, inscribed by Alex Haley to his longtime editor and collaborator Murray Fisher on the front free endpaper. A remarkable association copy, inscribed in November 1965 shortly after publication and addressed to the editor who helped shape the work's final form.

Haley's collaboration with Fisher was central to the development of both The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Roots, with Fisher providing extensive editorial guidance and helping transform Haley's vast research into his most celebrated works. A significant figure in African-American literary history, Haley authored two of the most influential books of the twentieth century, and this copy offers a rare connection to the creative process behind one of them


The Beautiful and The DamnedFitzgerald, F. Scott
Published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York

Publication Date: 1922

Details

    
    First edition, first printing, first state of the author's second novel. A superb copy, preserved in the scarce first-issue dust jacket with the title printed in outline on the upper panel. Bound in the publisher's dark green cloth with blind-stamped upper board and bright gilt spine lettering, the book remains exceptionally attractive, housed in a custom chemise folding case.

A highly desirable example of this important early novel, distinguished by its excellent condition and first-state points.






The Bell JarPlath, Sylvia (as Victoria Lucas)
Published by William Heinemann, London

Publication Date: 1963


    First edition, in excellent condition, of the author's only novel. The Bell Jar was published on 14 January 1963, just five weeks before Sylvia Plath's death. The pseudonym Victoria Lucas was used to avoid offending Plath's mother, who appears in the novel in thinly disguised form. It was not until the third edition, published in 1966, that the work appeared under Plath's own name. Tabor A4.

Octavo. Original black boards, spine lettered in gilt. With the dust jacket designed by Thomas Simmonds. Housed in a custom blue board slipcase. Bookseller's ticket of Exclusive Books, Johannesburg, on the front pastedown.

Spine ends lightly bumped, with faint vertical creasing to the spine; contents fresh and clean. Dust jacket bright, with light rubbing and creasing to the edges and a few small nicks; unclipped. A near-fine copy in a near-fine jacket.








The Bluest EyeMorrison, Toni
Published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York.


Publication Date: 1970

Details

    
    First edition, inscribed by the author on the title page, "To Paul Bartel, Regards, Toni Morrison."

The recipient, Paul Bartel (1938–2000), was an actor, writer, and director best known for his black comedy Eating Raoul (1982). Morrison wrote The Bluest Eye, her debut novel, "in stolen moments between her day job as a book editor and her life as the single mother of two young sons" (Fox). The novel attracted little critical attention on publication, though the distinguished critic John Leonard was unstinting in his praise, describing Morrison's prose as "so precise, so faithful to speech and so charged with pain and wonder that the novel becomes poetry" (Leonard). It has since come to be regarded as a landmark of American literature, celebrated for "cut[ting] a new path through the American literary landscape by placing black girls at the center of the story" (Als). Its enduring significance was further recognized in 1993, when Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Hilton Als, "Toni Morrison's Profound and Unrelenting Vision", The New Yorker, 27 January 2020; Margalit Fox, "Toni Morrison, Towering Novelist of the Black Experience, Dies at 88", The New York Times, 6 August 2019; John Leonard, "Three First Novels on Race", The New York Times, 13 November 1970.

Octavo. Original blue quarter cloth, spine lettered in silver, grey paper-covered sides. With dust jacket. Book label of William A. Strutz (1934–2024) on the front pastedown.

Spine ends lightly sunned. Dust jacket unclipped, lightly toned as usual, with the customary vertical creases to the flaps. A near-fine copy in a near-fine jacket.






1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Buy with confidence.
SEANCE Inc. ® 2026. All rights reserved.
First-Editions.Co—Rare Books and First EditionsRegistered Business Address: 131 Continental Dr. STE 305 Newark, DE. 19713 USA.