Rare books from B Street Books, ABAA

Chapman and Hall, 1839. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st edition, mixed state. Frontis and 39 plates by Hablot K. Browne (Phiz). Nicholas Nickleby was Dickens third novel and was issued in monthly installments March 1838 October 1839 before it was published as this single volume. An instant success, it both solidified Dickens voice as a social critic and marked his first of many romances. Description: Half green morocco leather over green cloth, by Birdsall of Northampton, 5 raised bands, title and author in gilt in two compartments, TEG, marbled endpapers. Xvi, 624 pp., frontis & 39 plates, 2 pp. ads including an advertisement for New Work by Boz., and another advertisement for A Paperof Tobacco.. Octovo size (8 ½ by 5 ½). Pagination: front free endpaper, [i] half-title, [ii] blank, Frontispiece, [iii] title page, [iv] copyright, [v] dedication, [vi] blank, [vii]-x preface, [xi]-xiv contents, [xv]-xvi list of plates, [1]-624, [i-ii] ads, free end paper, marble pastedown. Condition: Overall… Read More

The St. Catherine Press, 1910. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. This Complete Peerage set, a "comprehensive and magisterial work on the titled aristocracy of the British Isles", is the complete second edition published 1910-1940 with the 1998 addenda & corrigenda. It has 14 volumes whereas the first had 8. Volume XII is in two parts, making this a set of 15 books. Vol. 1-13: 11.5" x 8", green boards, gilt titles, TEG, rough-cut pages. Vol. 14: 10" x 7", reprinted 1998, darker green boards. Condition: Green boards are slightly faded with lightly bumped corners, gilt titles bright and intact, pages are pristinely clean and unmarked. Binding is sound with the exception of the following volumes: Vol. II Front hinge endpaper has ripped. Vol. III Front hinge endpaper has ripped. Vol. V Front hinge endpaper has ripped. Vol. VI Front hinge endpaper has ripped. Vol. VII Small stain to front board. Overall an attractive, impressive set.

Doubleday, Doran, 1930. Hardcover. Very Good. This set includes the complete works of the iconic crime fiction author, including of course the four novels and over fifty short stories about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, as well as all his non-Sherlock works such as his plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's signature in the first volume of this set is interesting in that the set was published during the last year of his life, before he died of a heart attack at age 71 in 1930. Octavo. Signed by Arthur Conan Doyle in the first volume. Number 612 of 760 copies. Complete 24 volume set. Brown boards with tan cloth spines, gilt "A Conan Doyle" title to front board, paper titles to spines. Does not include dust jackets. As a whole set the books are clean and unmarked, T.E.G. intact, paper titles on spine intact, no foxing to pages, no writing inside whatsoever. A number of the books show some discoloration to the tan cloth. Those and other flaws are listed… Read More

1965. Paperback. Very Good. The 330 GT were V12-powered Ferraris produced from 1963-1968, this book appears to have been sold along with the 2+2 Series II. 106 pp., printed in Italian, French, and English. Original manual, not a facsimile. Black front cover with photo of 330 GT, red rear cover, no title to spine. Interior of front cover is red with Ferrari logo near hinge, title page specifies "300/GT 1965", and "modifications introduced in respect of the 1964- 330/GT". Five pages of modifications, followed by 1965 330/GT operation guide. Chapters include: general specification, running instructions, lubrication, routine maintenance, chassis servicing, electrical installation, and tool kit. Detailed diagrams and photos throughout. Condition: Edges of covers are rubbed, spine is rubbed. Binding is tight and sturdy, pages are clean and without any marks. Ferrari dealership (Luigi Chinetti Motors) stamp on front free endpaper. Necessary for any owner of a 330 GT, or Ferrari enthusiast.

Monte Carlo: Andre Sauret, 1963. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 12.5" X 10" The late French-Russian artist Marc Chagall is known for his distinct abstract style that merged Cubism, Fauvism, and Surrealism. Throughout his long career, he created dream-like figurative and narrative art that explored his Jewish identity and life in Russia. Includes 12 original lithographs (including original cover). Includes transparent dust jacket. No slipcase. Second volume of the six-volume series. 1 cm tear top front left corner of dust jacket. 1 inch tear in transparent dust jacket on top back corner. Light foxing on first free front endpaper. Near fine condition. Additional shipping fees may apply due to weight of this item.

New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1892. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Unique, complete 13 volume set printed on Holland hand-made paper in November 1892. Limited edition no. 83 of 250 sets. Tan cloth wrappers with decorative gilt spine. vol. I : The Warden vol. II: Barchester Towers vol. I; vol. III: Barchester Towers vol. II; vol. IV: Framley Parsonage vol. I; vol. V: Framley Parsonage vol. II; vol. VI: Doctor Thorne vol. I; vol VII: Doctor Thorne vol. II; vol. VIII: The Small House at Allington vol. I; vol. IX: The Small House at Allington vol. II; vol. X: The Small House at Allington vol. III; vol. XI: Last Chronicles of Barset vol. I, small tear at top edge of front cover, cracked front hinge; vol XII: Last Chronicles of Barset vol. II; vol. XIII: Last Chronicles of Barset vol. III; Most volumes exhibit cocked spines, light scuffing on the covers and light edgewear. Overall very good condition. Additional shipping fees may apply due to weight of this item.

Liverpool: Printed for the Author by G.F. Harris's Widow and Brothers, 1816. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. First Edition. An early guide to fly-fishing, 'Illustrated by Coloured Plates Representing Upwards of Forty of the Most Useful Flies, Accurately Copied from Nature'. Described by Westwood & Satchell as 'One of the text books of the fly-fisher' p.21. Octavo; Diced calf; some wear to spine, one inch tear on upper joint; blue endpapers with remains of bookplate on paste-down; pencil marks from previous sellers, corner of flyleaf cut out; wear to corners; foxing to endpapers and light foxing throughout; 8 hand-coloured plates, with tissue, including lovely frontispiece of a trout.

London: I.H. for Ed. Brewster, 1628. Hardcover. Near Fine. 8" x 13" 'Joseph Hall, was born July 1 in 1574, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England and died Sept. 8, 1656 in Higham, Norfolk. He was an English bishop, moral philosopher, and satirist, remarkable for his literary versatility and innovations.' Bookplate on pastedown. Minor scuffing to leather covers. Gilt decoration still brilliant on covers and edges of textblock. Joints of spine are creased but sound. Sound binding. Due to the size of this volume, additional shipping fees may apply.

New York: C. H. Webb, 1867. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Good. First edition, first printing of Mark Twain's first book, in the original binding. Gilt stamped green front cover, blind stamp back cover. Unbroken 'this' on final page, unbroken 'life' on page 66, unbroken '21' on page 21. Wear to corners, edges of spine fraying (see photos). Binding is sound. Text leans. Lacking the advertising page facing the title page. Previous owner's inscription on the dedication page. Significant foxing throughout (photos of the title page and copyright page are representative of the whole).

New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1896. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. First edition, first printing of Mark Twain's parody of adventure stories. 1896 on the title page, copyright page has four lines of text, no boxed ads. 410 pages. Two pages of ads in the back: Mark Twain's Joan of Arc; By Richard Harding Davis. Red covers with gilt stamped cornhusk on the front, blind stamp on the back cover. Spine has faded with the sun. Pages are bright and unmarked. Slight lean to the text block. BAL 3447.

London: Old Bourne Press, 1902. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. The complete second series of the Elf magazine, written, illustrated and printed by James Guthrie, using the 'Myrtle' type he would later use in his Pear Tree Press books. Four small quarto volumes, all numbered 250 (of 250), printed rectos only in black, red and blue. Cloth spines and color-printed boards, with minor wear and bumping to the corners. Some foxing of the tissue guards. Laid in 'Announcement' of the Pear Tree Press's 'de luxe' edition of Edgar Allen Poe, with illustrations by Guthrie. 7 x 5.5

London: Printed by the Author and sold by J. Bowen, 1780. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. A history of America written by a British Loyalist at the height of the Revolution, drawing upon extensive archival research, and so invaluable to early American historians with very different political views. Although Chalmers intended a second volume (and the title page describes the volume as 'Book I') this was the only volume published. ESTC T149593. Three quarter binding, front upper joint starting. Small 'Liverpool Library' stamp to title page, minor foxing throughout, with the worst on the title page (pictured). [10], [1]-695 pp. 11.5 x 9.5". From the first chapter: "Of these colonies it cannot be asserted, as it is of European nations, that their origin is uncertain or unknown; that their ancient history is fabulous and dark; or that their original institutions have come down the current of time, loaded with the disputation have come down the current of time, loaded with the disputations of the… Read More

London: John Stockdale, 1790. Hardcover. Very Good. Stothard. A handsome eighteenth-century edition of Robinson Crusoe in an early Bayntun binding. Accompanied by a description of the book on the letterhead of the early twentieth-century bookseller Harry F. Marks. Marks describes it as a "SUPERB COPY OF ROBINSON CRUSOE... Engraved titles and vignettes and 15 beautiful steel engravings by Medland from designs by Stothard. 2 Vols., royal 8vo., handsome full polished sprinkled calf, panel sides, blind tooling, gilt fillet borders, extra gilt backs, inside dentelles, gilt edges, by Bayntun. Enclosed in fleece-lined slip case." With George Chalmer's "Life of Daniel Defoe". In the century since Marks wrote his description there have been minor scuffs to the front board of volume II and the hinges have begun to start. They have been professionally repaired and strengthened. At the advice of a conservator the volumes are no longer stored in the fleece-lined slip case. Loss to the head of the spine of volume… Read More

London: Cassell and Company, 1954. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. Four volumes, beautifully bound by Bayntun-Riviere in full red morocco. All edges gilt, lettering and rule in gilt, feather-patterned endpapers, inner gilt dentelles. xxi, [1], 416; xi, [1], 344; xi, [1], 332; xi, [2], 322pp. 9.25 x 6.25 x 5". As a heavy set that will be packed and shipped with care, this order will incur additional shipping charges.

Boston: American Stationers Co, 1837. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. First edition. BAL 7581. Four pages of ads preceding; sixteen following; '78' for '76' in table of contents. Ornate early twentieth-century American binding, from the Bennett Book Studios of New York, with two samples of the original quatrefoil cloth bound in behind the text. Twentieth century bookplate of "James Wilson Mull". Minimal foxing, upper corner missing to first page of ads. 334pp. 7.75 x 5.25