1895Best.-Nr. 215072London: Elkin Mathews. Dublin: Hodges Figgis & Co. Limited 1895. First edition. xiii 1 140 4 20 ads pp. 1 vols. 8vo. Original green cloth. Fine. First edition. xiii 1 140 4 20 ads pp. 1 vols. 8vo. With 4 poems by Oscar Wilde and poems by Douglas Hyde Aubrey de Vere John Todhunter William Wilde. Elkin Mathews. Dublin: Hodges, Figgis & Co., Limited unknown books
1949Best.-Nr. 133084Culver City CA: Columbia Pictures 1949. Vintage studio still photograph of director Douglas Sirk working on the set of the 1949 film noir. A wonderful photograph of the entire crew shooting a scene where Cornel Wilde and Patricia Knight are parting at an airport. Sirk is standing on a crane support at the left and cinematographer Charles Lawton Jr. is seated just below. A key American noir from an original screenplay by Samuel Fuller. Shot on location throughout Los Angeles and notably in the Bradbury Building on Broadway now an architectural landmark originally built in 1893 by Los Angeles mining millionaire Lewis L. Bradbury and designed by George Wyman. In a custom museum-quality frame archivally mounted with UV glass. 7 x 9 inches borderless with a studio stamp and a mimeograph snipe on the verso. Near Fine. Selby US. Silver Classic Noir. Spicer US. Columbia Pictures unknown books
1998Best.-Nr. 205490Ostfildern-Ruit: Cantz 1998. Hardcover. German language. VG. Minimally marked ex-art library just a sticker on the spineand inside rear board. Jacket mostly lean with a small tape reinforcent at the head of spine. Quarto. Hardcover. glossy illustrated white boards in illustrated jacket. 143 pages : chiefly illustrations ; 28 cm. Cantz hardcover books
1982Best.-Nr. ST16482Bayreuth: Printed by Chr. Scheufele Offizin Stuttgart for Bear Press 1982. No. 1 OF 10 COPIES ON VELLUM plus a "special" edition of 25 copies and 185 copies on Kochi Japanese paper. 223 x 148 mm. 8 7/8 x 5 3/4". 50 pp. 2 leaves.Translated and with an afterword by Wolfram Benda. Publisher's fine burgundy morocco by Erwin Lehr upper cover with gilt rose in recessed square flat spine with gilt titling turn-ins with gilt fillet frame pale yellow silk pastedowns. In the original burgundy suede slipcase. With three large initials in burnished gold and four signed and numbered original etchings by Peter Klitsch. Printed in red and black. Signed in the colophon by the artist the binder and the publisher/translator. In mint condition. This is the splendid deluxe version of a finely crafted private press edition of Wilde's fairy tales "The Nightingale and the Rose" "The Happy Prince" and "The Selfish Giant." It is the third work issued by the Bear Press founded in 1979 by literary scholar Wolfram Benda and still in operation. According to the firm's website "at a time when the craftsmanship and ethos of the artisan in bookmaking have been damaged by ever-increasing industrialization and neglect . . . The Bear Press . . . tries to achieve the highest possible degree of technical and artistic perfection in its printed works." The font used to print the text and the artist chosen to illustrate each work are carefully selected to express "the individual author's personality and intention." Even the discriminating aesthete Wilde 1854-1900 would be pleased with the choices here especially for the luxurious vellum printing: the type is set in refined Walbaum Antiqua and shown off with special effect by the creamy leaves; the etchings by Austrian artist Peter Klitsch b. 1934 are meticulous detailed and reminiscent of the work of Wilde's friend Aubrey Beardsley; and the binding is the epitome of tasteful restraint flawlessly executed with premium materials. The three tales here first appeared in 1888 and are bittersweet in their themes of love and self-sacrifice. His stories for children were one of Wilde's early successes and DNB notes "Their permanent place in child affections refutes the vulgarism that Wilde's literary reputation arose from his legal notoriety. In all cases the fairy tales are on the child's side celebrating the courage and generosity of the poor and vulnerable while their satire mocks the kind of pomposity and hypocrisy children can recognize." We have been able to trace just two other copies of the vellum printing at auction in ABPC and RBH. [Printed by Chr. Scheufele Offizin, Stuttgart, for] Bear Press unknown books
Best.-Nr. ST17553Bayreuth: The Bear Press 1982. No. 4 OF 15 COPIES with hand-colored etchings signed by Benda Klitsch and Lehr from a total edition of 210. 226 x 146 mm. 9 x 5 7/8". 50 pp. 2 leaves.Translated and with an afterword by Wolfram Benda. Publisher's dark brown calf by Erwin Lehr covers with gilt fillet border upper cover with large gilt rose at center raised bands spine in gilt-ruled compartments gilt lettering. In the original slipcase covers with ivory handmade paper. With four signed and hand-colored etchings by Peter Klitsch all with original tissue guards. Printed on Kochi-Japan paper. ◆In pristine condition. This is a lovely special version of a finely crafted private press edition of Wilde's fairy tales "The Nightingale and the Rose" "The Happy Prince" and "The Selfish Giant." It is the third work issued by the Bear Press founded in 1979 by literary scholar Wolfram Benda and still in operation. According to the firm's website "at a time when the craftsmanship and ethos of the artisan in bookmaking have been damaged by ever-increasing industrialization and neglect . . . The Bear Press . . . tries to achieve the highest possible degree of technical and artistic perfection in its printed works." The font used to print the text and the artist chosen to illustrate each work have been carefully selected to express "the individual author's personality and intention." Even the discriminating aesthete Wilde 1854-1900 would be pleased with the choices here: the type is set in refined Walbaum Antiqua; the etchings by Austrian artist Peter Klitsch b. 1934 are meticulous detailed and reminiscent of the work of Wilde's friend Aubrey Beardsley; and the binding is the epitome of tasteful restraint. First appearing in 1888 the three tales here are bittersweet in their themes of love and self-sacrifice. Wilde's stories for children were one of his early successes and DNB says that "their permanent place in child affections refutes the vulgarism that Wilde's literary reputation arose from his legal notoriety. In all cases the fairy tales are on the child's side celebrating the courage and generosity of the poor and vulnerable while their satire mocks the kind of pomposity and hypocrisy children can recognize.". The Bear Press unknown books
1911Best.-Nr. 161437Leipzig: Erschienen Im Insel 1911. Good. Good. In German. Spine browned spine ends frayed. Erschienen Im Insel unknown books
1956Best.-Nr. M6135Grafelfing:: Edmund Banaschewski 1956. 1956. 248 x 171 mm. 8vo. 333 pp. Numerous port. plates 10 folding plates. Gilt-stamped green cloth t.e. green. Ownership rubber stamp on title. Very good. Edmund Banaschewski, (1956). hardcover books
1925Best.-Nr. 607516New York: Farlag "Die Feder 1925. Softcover. Very Good. Presumed first Yiddish-language edition. Translated by Aharon Karlin. Octavo. 32pp. Text in Yiddish bound and paginated in the Yiddish style. Stapled printed wrappers with a bit of tanning and edgewear page edges a trifle foxed and the last few leaves with a small faint stain near the spine base very good. The lower wrap prints a publisher's advertisement for a couple of "Die Feder" titles as well as their monthly art and literary magazine The Pen. Very uncommon. Farlag "Die Feder unknown books
1966Best.-Nr. 114524New York: McFadden-Bartell 1966. Paperback. 159p. foreword bibliography good first printing PBO in original pictorial wraps. Pulp format. MB 75-177. Sexual case-studies with gay/lesbian/transgender sections. McFadden-Bartell paperback books
1926Best.-Nr. 329075Paris: F.-L Schmied 1926. Limited. hardcover. near fine. Color woodcuts and decorations by Francois-Louis Schmied printed by hand. 4to full black crushed morocco spine faded to brown with gold & silver art deco design; full gray leather doublures pictorially stamped in gilt & blind with a singing bird; gray silk fly-leaves by Gonin. Paris: F.-L Schmied 1926. Limited Edition. Fine in a leather tipped marbled board slipcase. French translation by Albert Savine of Wilde's The Happy Prince and the Nightingale and the Rose. Number VII of XII copies de collaborateurs signed by the artist. F.-L Schmied unknown books
1919Best.-Nr. 47472Hannover: Der Zweemann Verlag Robert Goldschmidt 1919. First edition. Hardcover. g to vg. 76/100. Signed and numbered by the artist on colophon. Quarto. Original half vellum over decorative handmade paper. Frontispiece. Second German translation of "The Priest and the Acolyte" by E. Sander with illustrations by Ernst Schütte. This short story was first published with the German translation of Wilde's "Teleny" the homoerotic story of the French dandy Camille and the Hungarian pianist René Teleny. This work was originally credited to Oscar Wilde however the presumed author is John Francis Bloxam. In his trial against Queensberry Wilde contested the authorship and deemed the story "tasteless." This work contains two stunning lithographically reproduced Art Nouveau images of Ernst Schütte's work. Text in German. Spine with some light wear small chips and closed tears. Borads slightly bent outwards. Binding in overall good interior in very good condition. Der Zweemann Verlag Robert Goldschmidt hardcover books
1918Best.-Nr. 2222511First edition thus. Small 4to. Illustrated with 17 hand colored lithographs by Charlotte Christine Engelhorn. Tan leather spine over purple silk boards. No dust jacket. Very good. 67 pages. One of 100 deluxe copies signed by Engelhorn with hand colored plates. Translated by Felix B. Greve of Oscar Wilde's "The Young King" a short story from his "A House of Pomegranates." With erotic bookplate of Otto Feistmann. Gustav Kiepenheuer hardcover books
Best.-Nr. 41901Berlin: Guido Moriell 1991. Limited edition. Hardcover. Fine condition. Signed by the artist on each etching and colophon. A15/50. Small Folio. 55 1pp. Original hand bound blue Morocco with geometric cover design by bookbinder Guido Moriell and black-stamped lettering on spine housed in blue cloth clamshell box with gilt lettering on spine. Every binding of the deluxe edition is a unique design. Includes the video documenting the production of this anniversary edition housed in separate compartment of clamshell box as issued. Bibliophile edition on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the bookbinder Guido Moriell Radolfzell released in two Deluxe Editions A and B of 50 copies each and a standard edition of 100. This is No. 15 of the deluxe edition A printed on handmade paper. With 10 signed and hand colored original etchings by Rudolf Stuckert printed on the hand press of the artist. Top edge blue. Blue shaded endpapers. Blue initials. Text revised by John Loram based on the translation by Wilhelm Cremer 1922. Beautiful hand press production on firm handmade paper by the Steinort paper mill. An artistic masterpiece of modern hand press printing and bookbinding. Rudolf Stuckert 1912-2002 was a German painter and gallerist. He studied at the Academies in Kassel and Düsseldorf and was a master student of Oskar Moll. Stuckert opened his first gallery in 1936 in Düsseldorf with an exhibitions of Bruno Goller. In 1949 Stuckert became a cofounder of the New Rhine Secession Neue Rheinische Sezession in Düsseldorf. He had moved to Lake Constance in 1947 where he became a cofounder of the artist group "Der kleine Kreis" and was considered one of the so-called Höri-Painters. His paintings are an interplay of figurative and abstract elements. Landscapes ballplayers and acrobats are his favorite motifs. Guido Moriell is a film enthusiast and bookbinder in Radolfzell Lake Constance. In 2008 his work as a bookbinder was featured in the prestigious exhibition "Kunst des Bucheinbandes Art of Bookbinding" at the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar. Emphasis of the exhibition was the bookbinding in historic fashion showing a video of Guido Moriell at work as an example of traditional bookbinding. Guido Moriell hardcover books
1920Best.-Nr. 325592Leipzig: Josef Singer 1920. Hardcover. Good. Later printing. Good with most of the spine missing light soiling internally tight and clean lacking the dustwrapper. Josef Singer hardcover books
1950Best.-Nr. 41360NY: Philosophical Library 1950. 8vo pp. 147. Introduction by Vyvyan Holland. A VG tight copy. A long letter written from prison to Alfred Douglas. Philosophical Library unknown books
Best.-Nr. 7595NY PHILOSOPHICAL 1950. UNEXPURGATED FIRST EDITION THUS VERY GOOD. F. NY, PHILOSOPHICAL, 1950 unknown books
1905Best.-Nr. 55474Berlin: S. Fischer 1905. First edition in part. Publisher's vellum. Nearly Fine. 1/20. Small quarto 19.4 by 14.6 cm. viii 115 1 colophon pp. Double-suite titles in red and black printer's device floral borders; red and black initial. Publisher's full vellum lettered in gilt; top edge gilt fore- and bottom edges deckled; silk ribbon marker. Covers with mild soiling; vellum very slightly bowed. A nearly fine copy. Limited fine press edition one of only twenty copies bound by the publisher in full vellum lettered in gilt. This German translation by Max Meyerfeld importantly includes material which did not appear in English until 1908. "Before the English version was issued an authorised translation in German. appeared in Die Neue Rundschau Berlin January and February 1905 under the title of De Profundis. Aufzeichnungen und Briefe aus dem Zuchthaus in Reading. It was printed in German characters with ornamental initials etc. by E. R. Weiss and included a translation of the Four Letters written from Reading Prison which were not published in England until 1908. Later in the year the text was issued in book form printed in Roman characters with title-page and initial letters by Walter Tiemann. Berlin: Verlag S. Fischer" Mason. Mason S. Bibliography of Oscar Wilde vol. 2 p. 445. Schneider & Sotscheck Eine Bibliographie Selbständiger Deutschsprachiger Publikationen 3068. S. Fischer unknown books
1910Best.-Nr. 144641New York: Putnam's/Knickerbocker 1910. Hardcover. Clean and tight but with some foxing to very ends of pages. Grey paper over navy blue cloth; gilt lettering to cover and spine. 154 pp. Bw frontis with tissue guard. TEG. Wilde's classic written in despair from his imprisonment in Reading jail gaol. Putnam's/Knickerbocker hardcover books
1909Best.-Nr. 622202New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons 1909. Hardcover. Very Good. Second edition and first American revised edition with new material. Edited with a Prefatory Dedication by Robert Ross. Octavo. 154pp. Gray paper over blue cloth gilt-stamped topedge gilt. Faint scratches on front board spine and edges age-toned and lightly rubbed else a very good copy. G.P. Putnam's Sons hardcover books
1927Best.-Nr. 2222501Forty-fifth edition with additional matter. Small octavo. Original gilt blind stamped green cloth uncut. No dust jacket. Very good. 156 pages. No signatures or bookplates.7 page dedication by Robert Ross.Printed by T. and A. Constable Ltd. at the University Press Edinburgh.Includes listing details for all 45 printings. Methuen & Co. Ltd. hardcover books
Best.-Nr. 437190London: The Unicorn Press no date. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Reprint. 12mo. 110pp. Top edge lightly foxed offsetting on endpapers very good or better in a just about very good price-clipped dustwrapper with the front panel lightly foxed and a couple of small chips and tears. The Unicorn Press hardcover books
2000Best.-Nr. WELLER9780679783213Modern Library 2000. New. New book. Modern Library unknown books
1909Best.-Nr. 7592Second American edition with additional matter 80 pages. Small octavo. Edited with a prefatory dedication by Robert Ross. Frontispiece portrait from the etching by J. E. Kelly. Original gilt stamped dark blue cloth over gray boards t.e.g. uncut. No dust jacket. Good slight soiling. 154 pages. No signatures or bookplates. Mason 412. G. P. Putnam’s Sons/The Knickerbocker Press hardcover books
Best.-Nr. 7591NY PUTNAM'S 1909. VERY GOOD. NY, PUTNAM'S 1909 unknown books
1949Best.-Nr. 92475New York: Philosophical Library 1949. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. First complete edition. Edited with an introduction by Vyvyan Holland. Foxing to the foredge and endpapers a sound very good copy in a modestly spotted and age-toned about very good dustwrapper. James Jones's copy with his ownership and address stamp in Marshall Iowa. Philosophical Library hardcover books