Wilde, OscarABAA
1911ref. 2222674First edition thus from British sheets. Small octavo. Introduction by Robert Ross dated Reform Club May 25 1910. Original red stamped brown boards. No dust jacket. Very good small chip at head of spine. 86 pages. No signatures or bookplates. Pages 61-86 contain a shorter early draft of the ballad. Printed by T. and A. Constable at the Edinburgh University Press. Browne’s Bookstore hardcover books
1994ref. 16855Illustrated with wood engravings by Garrick Palmer. Two attached ribbon bookmarks. Slipcase covered in a pattern by Palmer. Old Stile Press books
1898ref. 23817London: Leonard Smithers 1898. First edition. Hardcover. Orig. quarter cream and light brown cloth spine darkened. Very good. 31 pages. 23 x 14 cm. "Of this Edition eight hundred copies have been printed on hand-made paper and thirty copies on Japanese vellum." The last edition to identify the author as "C.3.3." -- Wilde was imprisoned in cell block C landing C Cell 3. This narrative a tale of Charles Thomas Woodbridge's 1896 execution at Reading for the murder of his wife. Three small fade spots front cover and slight crinkling at back cover toward head at fore-edge. Nicks to spine head and foot. Leonard Smithers hardcover books
1937ref. 021166New York: Limited Editions Club 1937. Hardcover. Wear to spine mostly at tips and along front edge with some loss; contents clean. Near Very Good in a Very Good slipcase. Zhenya Gay. Quarto 7-1/2" x 11" bound in full granite-gray sheepskin leather embossed to resemble a jail cell wall; 76 pages. Copy #473 of 1500 illustrated with 8 full-page ORIGINAL LITHOGRAPHS by Zhenya Gay and SIGNED by the artist on the colophon page. One of the more unusual bindings of the press. Limited Editions Club hardcover books
1905ref. 77425Portland Maine: Thomas B. Mosher. Very Good. 1905. Hardcover. This book is hard-bound in gray paper covered boards with a printed paper label on the upper cover and spine. The covers show light toning and light edge-wear. The binding is solid. The contents are bright and legible but with intermittent damp-staining to the bottom edge/bottom outer corner of the pages. . Thomas B. Mosher hardcover books
1898ref. 23069London: Leonard Smithers 1898. Sixth Edition. Hardcover. Orig. cream cloth and light brown cloth spine darkened. Very good. 31 pages. 23 x 14 cm. One of a 1000 copies on handmade paper. The last edition to identify the author as "C.3.3." -- Wilde was imprisoned in cell block C landing C Cell 3. This narrative a tale of Charles Thomas Woodbridge's 1896 execution at Reading for the murder of his wife. Small owner signature free front endpaper free endpapers toned. Leonard Smithers hardcover books
1928ref. 164757New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. Inc 1928. Hardcover. VG/G significant remnants of dust jacket remaining. Blue boards with black and gold stamped design and black spine. Black blue and gold dust jacket. 124 pp. Illustrations. Poetry by Oscar Wilde illustrations by John Vassos. E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc hardcover books
1937ref. 018551New York: Limited Editions Club 1937. Hardcover. The spine is very worn with the leather all but rubbed away although the gilt is still clear and bright and the covers are in nice shape; contents clean. Good only in a Good slipcase with the top edge partly detached. Zhenya Gay. Quarto 7-1/2" x 11" bound in full granite-gray sheepskin leather embossed to resemble a jail cell wall; 76 pages. Copy #393 of 1500 illustrated with 8 full-page ORIGINAL LITHOGRAPHS by Zhenya Gay and SIGNED by the artist on the colophon page. One of the more unusual bindings of the press. Limited Editions Club hardcover books
ref. 127159New York: Limited Editions Club. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Special. Very good/ Very good minus slipcase. Rubs to edges and corners of boards and slipcase. Limited Editions Club hardcover books
1914ref. 165916New York: Maisel 1914. Softcover. Good. Good in stiff paper covers. Water stain tideline on rear cover and rear endpaper. Maisel unknown books
1928ref. 2221806First edition thus. 9 1/4" x 7 1/4". 16 illustrations by John Vassos. Original black cloth over blue boards t.e.g. Dust jacket clipped; small chips. Very good. 124 pages. No signatures or bookplates. No. 33 of 200 copies. This copy is not signed. Printed by Knudsen Process. E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc. hardcover books
1937ref. 52410New York: The Heritage Press. Very Good. c1937. Hardcover. Very Good condition with mild sunning to the upper board edges and some shelfwear; The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a beautiful and heartbreaking poem about Oscar Wilde's time spent in prison. Wilde writes about the loneliness and sadness he feels while incarcerated and how reading and writing can keep him sane. The poem is a great reminder that even though life can be difficult it's always worth trying to find beauty in the world.; 4to ; 42 pages . The Heritage Press hardcover books
1930ref. 4964to. New York. E.P. Dutton and Co. 1930. Uncut bright and clean copy includes DJ in fine condition. Quarterbound coated black cloth spine gilt lettering and decorative elements patterned blue paper boards frontispiece tissue guards. 124pp. Illus. b/w plates. Conceptions by John Vassos. Vassos second work following his breakthrough work with Salome in 1927. E.P. Dutton and Co books
1904ref. 30594Portland Maine: Thomas B. Mosher 1904. Limited edition 16mo pp. 6 33 2; title-page vignette printed in red; original gray cloth paper-covered boards printed paper spine and cover labels printed in red and black plain paper wrapper chipped with a fairly large ink stain joints and hinges cracked internally fine. Thomas B. Mosher unknown books
1937ref. 012329New York: Limited Editions Club 1937. Hardcover. Bookplate on front pastedown. Mild rubbing to spine tips. Near Fine in a Near Fine slipcase with a few mild scratches. Zhenya Gay. Quarto 7-1/2" x 11" bound in full granite-gray sheepskin leather embossed to resemble a jail cell wall; 76 pages. Copy #1205 of 1500 illustrated with 8 full-page ORIGINAL LITHOGRAPHS by Zhenya Gay and SIGNED by the artist on the colophon page. One of the more unusual bindings of the press rarely found in such nice condition as the spine is often badly rubbed or worse Limited Editions Club hardcover books
1902ref. 11348THE BALLAD OF READING GAOL Alfred Bartlett 1902 an early American edition wear and chipping to the spine and lower fore edge corner tips else a good copy with vg contents. 1/550 copies of this unauthorized edition. This copy bears the bookplate of Michigan politician Thomas Weadock on the f.p.d. whose collection of Napoleona was at one time second to none. Alfred Bartlett unknown books
1923ref. 56675München Munich: Drei Masken Verlages 1923. Limited Edition. Very good. SIGNED. 57pp. Quarto 28 cm Parchment vellum boards with a hubbed spine gilt spine title and single gilt ruled borders on the spine and boards. Top edge gilt. Patterned endpapers. Bound by Hübel & Denck in Leipzig. The front board is wavy. There is a previous owner's decorative bookplate on the front pastedown. The text is in English. Ritter C a 29. Woodcuts by Frans Masereel. This is one of the copies which have been numbered with Roman Numerals. Number XLVII of LXX the copies numbered in Roman numerals forming part of an overall edition of 340 copies. Signed by Frans Masereel on the limitation page. Masereel has additionally signed the seven full-page woodcut illustrations within. Drei Masken Verlages unknown books
1928ref. 207063New York: E.P. Dutton Inc 1928. Hardcover. 124 pages. Wilde's classic book inspired by his time spent in prison. Features striking illustrations by John Vassos. A very good copy in paper covered boards with a cloth spine with wear to the corners a small vintage bookstore sticker to the front pastedown an attractive vintage bookplate to the front free endpaper and some other minor internal wear. No dust jacket. A solid copy of this terrific book. E.P. Dutton, Inc unknown books
1928ref. D19243New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. 1928. First Edition thus. Hardcover. Very Good/Good. Original cloth-backed boards gilt; dust jacket. ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN VASSOS and signed by him on the half-title. DJ is chipped along the edges and has a chip missing from the center of the spine. In mylar protective wrapper to minimize further damage. E. P. Dutton & Co. hardcover books
1930ref. 61005New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. Inc 1930. Early printing of the edition illustrated by John Vassos. Hardcover. Very good/very good. John Vassos. 124pp. Small quarto 24 cm 1/4 black cloth with blue patterned paper over boards. The edges of the boards are a bit faded. There is a very brief gift inscription on the recto of the frontispiece and there is a semi-lengthy poem in pen on the recto of the rear free endpaper. In a very attractive dust jacket with clipped corners chipping to the ends of the spine and a small chip along the front fold of the spine. Includes sixteen black and white illustrations by the illustrator of Salome John Vassos. John Vassos was a 1930's book illustrator and long-term industrial designer. Vassos' interpretation of Wilde's masterpiece illustrating the emotional experiences of a condemned prisoner in his last days. E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc hardcover books
1928ref. 47487New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. Inc 1928. First edition illustrated by John Vassos. Hardcover. Very good/very good. John Vassos. 124pp. Small quarto 24 cm 1/2 black cloth over blue striped paper covered boards. The title is stamped in gilt on the backstrip and there is an ornamental design stamped in black and gilt on the lower fore edge corner of the front board. With a slight lean to the spine and mild bumping and fading at the extremities. Age-toned pages. The jacket has periodic short closed tears and chips in the edges and there is a small loss from the paper at the foot of the jacket's spine measuring 1" wide by 3/4" deep. Includes sixteen black and white illustrations with tissue guards by John Vassos. From the dust jacket- "Vassos' interpretation of Wilde's masterpiece illustrating the emotional experiences of a condemned prisoner in his last days. E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc hardcover books
1899ref. 70468Ldn. 1899. Høy 8vo. Originalt shirtingbind. Ubeskåret. 31 s. VEDLAGT : André Gide : Oscar Wilde. In memoriam Souvenirs. Le “de profundis”. Paris. 1947. 8vo. Originalt typografisk omslag. Ubeskåret og uoppskåret. 75 s. Leonard Smithers Engelsk. Hilsen på fribladet. Senere enn 7. utgave men før 1907.Svake indre og ytre falser noe løs. unknown
ref. 39285later Edition of the First Edition 7th printing of June 1899 31 pages original hardcover quarter vellum with mustard boards Leonard Smithers very slight fraying on spine but tight copy in very good condition The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a poem by Oscar Wilde written in exile either in Berneval-le-Grand or in Dieppe France after his release from Reading Gaol pronounced "redding jail" on 19 May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading after being convicted of homosexual offences in 1895 and sentenced to two years' hard labour in prison. During his imprisonment on Tuesday 7 July 1896 a hanging took place. Charles Thomas Wooldridge had been a trooper in the Royal Horse Guards. He was convicted of cutting the throat of his wife Laura Ellen earlier that year at Clewer near Windsor. He was aged only 30 when executed. Wilde spent mid-1897 with Robert Ross in Berneval-le-Grand where he wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol. The poem narrates the execution of Wooldridge. No attempt is made to assess the justice of the laws which convicted them but rather the poem highlights the brutalisation of the punishment that all convicts share. The finished poem was published by Leonard Smithers on February 13 1898 under the name C.3.3. which stood for cell block C landing 3 cell 3. This ensured that Wilde's name by then notorious did not appear on the poem's front cover. It was not commonly known until the 7th printing in June 1899 that C.3.3. was actually Wilde. The first edition of 800 copies sold out within a week and Smithers announced that a second edition would be ready within another week; that was printed on February 24th in 1000 copies which also sold well. A third edition of 99 numbered copies "signed by the author" was printed on March 4th on the same day a fourth edition of 1200 ordinary copies was printed. A fifth edition of a 1000 copies was printed on March 17th and a sixth edition was printed in 1000 copies on May 21st 1898. So far the book's title page had identified the author only as C.3.3. although many reviewers and of course those who bought the numbered and autographed third edition copies knew that Wilde was the author but the seventh edition printed on June 23 1899 actually revealed the author's identity putting the name Oscar Wilde in square brackets below the C.3.3. hardcover
1898ref. 75660London:: Leonard Smithers 1898. Second edition. publisher's white and gold cloth gilt-lettered on the spine. Ink ownership name on front free endpaper; endsheets tanned; a very few smudges and spots to text and deckled fore-edges a bit tanned. The original binding is dust-soiled and stained; spine quite tanned; but tight and sound. . 8vo. Leonard Smithers, hardcover
1901ref. 74522New York:: Brentano's 1901. First US edition third printing. publisher's cream cloth decorated in colors; t.e.g. . Spine a little tanned; otherwise very attractive. 12mo. Horodisch p. 73. Brentano's, hardcover
