Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - January - 2015 Issue

Major Literary Works from Whitmore Rare Books

A catalogue of important literature.

A catalogue of important literature.

Whitmore Rare Books recently completed their Catalogue 10. They describe their field as “offering literary first editions and other books of merit.” This explains well what you will find, with one further detail. They also focus on condition. Most of what you will find is in fine or near fine condition, even dust jackets (where applicable) being in amazingly good shape for dust jackets. The great majority of what is offered are first editions of important literary works, with a few exceptions, such as a couple of letters written by authors, a poster, and I'm not sure whether children's books qualify as also being literature or stand apart. Here are a few examples of what you will find in this tenth Whitmore catalogue.

 

We will start with one of those works that could be called a children's book, but it is enjoyed at least as much by adults. It is the timeless classic of logic, albeit turned upside down: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, writing under the pen name Lewis Carroll, produced his masterpiece of twisted logic that makes all of us, young and old, think, a useful if often forgotten skill. Offered is a copy of the rare 1866 first American edition, essentially the earliest obtainable printing. The book was first printed in England in 1865. Carroll sent out 50 copies to his friends. However, illustrator John Tenniel was displeased with the quality of the printing, and Carroll acquiesced to his request to have the copies recalled. Carroll wrote those to whom he had earlier sent copies to send them back, and promised to give them new copies once they were printed. Meanwhile, the rest of the copies were sent to America, where they were given a new title page and published as the first American edition, herein offered. American readers, evidently, are not so fussy. Only around 20 copies of the London edition with the 1865 title page still exist, essentially making it unobtainable today. Item 14. $21,000.

 

Next up is the book that forever made us rethink our assumptions about rabbits. They aren't always gentle little critters. Item 2 is an inscribed first edition of Richard Adams' Watership Down. It is the story of a group of rabbits who leave their warren on the advice of one who foresees its destruction. They have to endure attacks by others from their own warren who do not believe them, and other rabbits along the way. Yes, there are killer rabbits out there. Somehow, they do find a new home and survive the various obstacles they encounter along the way. And yes, their original warren is destroyed, as foreseen, and it was none other than humans, like us, who did it. The book seems full of allegorical references and lessons for humans based on these anthropomorphized rabbits, but Adams has strenuously maintained that there is no deep meaning here, just a story he made up for his girls, who encouraged him to write it down. $1,250.

 

Many consider this book to be Ernest Hemingway's masterpiece, not a small compliment considering his body of work. Item 37 is a first edition, first printing of The Sun Also Rises. Published in 1926, it is the story of American and English expatriates in Europe in the 1920's, a thinly disguised account of his own time there. The Paris-based characters take a trip to Spain, to watch the bullfights and the running of the bulls, their interactions perhaps epitomizing life of the “Lost Generation.” Those were people who came of age during the First World War, and had a hard time finding themselves in the years ahead. Item 37. $2,850.

 

From the Lost Generation we go to the Beat Generation. If Hemingway's book was the signature description of the former, this one is the quintessential tale of the latter – On The Road. Published in 1957, it recounts author Jack Kerouac's journey across the country in the late 1940's. While there are few representatives of the Lost Generation still around anymore, those of the Beat Generation can readily be found at the Social Security office or Denny's early bird special. We know who we are. Kerouac, on the other hand, will never grow old. His drinking did him in first. Still, he remains a generation's voice. Item 42. $9,500.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Th. McKenney & J. Hall, History of the Indian tribes of North America, 1836-1844. Est: €50,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Biblia latina vulgata, manuscript on thin parchment, around 1250. Est: €70,000
    Ketterer, May 26: M. Beckmann, Fanferlieschen Schönefüßchen, 1924. Est: €10,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: A. Ortelius, Theatrum orbis terrarum, 1574. Est: €50,000
    Ketterer, May 26: M. S. Merian, Eurcarum ortus, alimentum et paradoxa metamorphosis, 1717-18. Est: €6,000
    Ketterer, May 26: PAN, 9 volumes, 1895-1900. Est: €12,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Breviarium Romanum, Latin manuscript, 1474. Est: €15,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Quran manuscript from the Saadian period, Maghreb, 16th century. Est: €10,000
    Ketterer, May 26: E. Hemingway, The old man and the sea, 1952. First edition in first issue jacket. Presentation copy. Est: €3,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Flavius Vegetius Renatus, De re militari libri quatuor, 1553. Est: €3,000
    Ketterer, May 26: K. Marx, Das Kapital, 1867. Est: €30,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Brassaï, Transmutations, 1967. Est: €6,000
  • Leland Little, May 21: Signed Artist Proof of the Monumental G.O.A.T.: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali.
    Leland Little, May 21: Assorted Rare Publications Related to H.P. Lovecraft, Including The Recluse Signed by Vincent Starrett.
    Leland Little, May 21: Two Issues of The Vagrant, Including the First Appearance of H.P. Lovecraft's "Dagon" in Number Eleven.
    Leland Little, May 21: Rare First Printing of Anne of Green Gables, With ALS from the Author.
    Leland Little, May 21: First Edition of Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, In First Issue Jacket.
    Leland Little, May 21: The Limited Paumanok Edition of The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman.
    Leland Little, May 21: Beautifully Bound Limited Flaubert Edition of The Works of Guy de Maupassant.
    Leland Little, May 21: First Edition of Bonaparte's Celebrated American Ornithology, With Spectacular Hand-Colored Plates.
    Leland Little, May 21: A Rare Complete Set of Jardine's The Naturalist's Library, With Hand-Colored Plates.
    Leland Little, May 21: Invitation to the Lincoln-Johnson National Inaugural Ball, March 4th, 1865.
    Leland Little, May 21: A Scarce Inscribed First Edition of James Baldwin's Nobody Knows My Name.
    Leland Little, May 21: Picasso's Le Goût du Bonheur, Limited Edition.
  • Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Peter Max, Portrait of Mary Tyler Moore (Versions 1,2, 5, 6), 2001. Estimate $10,000-15,000
    DOYLE: The iconic screen-used wall-mounted "M" from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Estimate $5,000-8,000
    DOYLE: The Mary Tyler Moore Show by Al Hirschfeld. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Annie Leibovitz presents Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke for Vanity Fair. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    DOYLE: Al Hirschfeld presents Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke in the CBS Wednesday Night Lineup. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    DOYLE: Richard McKenzie, Portrait of Mary Tyler Moore. Estimate $1,000-2,000
    Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Three Original Bill Hargate Costume Designs for The Mary Tyler Moore Hour. Estimate $600-800
    DOYLE: The famous Bonnie and Clyde "Wanted" broadside. Estimate $500-800
    DOYLE: Ticket to the Final Episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show Estimate $400-600
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR

Review Search

Archived Reviews

Ask Questions