Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - July - 2004 Issue
Literary Firsts and More from<br>James S. Jaffe Rare Books
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Item 173 is one of 90 numbered copies of the first edition of No Thanks by E.E. Cummings (or should we say e. e. cummings?). This was published in 1935 and bears Cummings signature. $1,500.
Item 321 is The Novels and Tales of Henry James. This is a 26-volume set published by Scribner's from 1907-1918, also known as the New York Edition. This was not merely a high quality reprint of James’ works, but includes his revisions to the works plus 18 new prefaces to his writings. The set includes the last two volumes, which were published posthumously and are rarely found with the others. This is essentially a very fine set and includes many of the unrecorded glassine dust jackets. $20,000.
Four first editions of Alan Lerner plays are offered. Item 391 is Paint Your Wagon (1952), $225; item 392 is On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (1966) $175; item 393 is My Fair Lady (1956, with Frederick Lowe), $225; and item 394 is Camelot (1961, with Frederick Lowe), $350.
Items 343 and 344 are a couple of handwritten items from Jack Kerouac. Item 343 is a 1964 note to Ted Wilentz of the Eighth Street Bookshop in New York regarding Gregory Corso. Writes Kerouac, "Dear Ted, If you see Gregory Corso, which I doubt, tell him he owes me $10. Thanks again, Jack". The original envelope is included. $3,500. Item 344 is an undated postcard from Kerouac in France to Allen Ginsberg. The postcard is stamped "postage due". No wonder Kerouac needed the money from Corso. $2,500.
Item 533 is a first edition of Remington's Frontier Sketches, by Frederick Remington, published in 1898. Remington was a writer, but primarily artist, and he is most famous for his portrayals of a dying culture, the Old West, in the last two decades of the 19th century. $2,250.
James S. Jaffe Rare Books may be found on the internet at www.literaryfirsts.com, or reached by telephone at 610-649-4221.
