FolioEvery lothas a story.Yours startswith a bid.
First editions, out-of-print zines, vinyl pressings, and forgotten film reels — each with full provenance, written like a bookseller's recommendation.
"Every lot has a story. Yours starts with a bid."
Nabokov, Pale Fire — First Edition, 1962
Summer Reading Lots
Late-afternoon finds for the collector who reads in the garden. First editions, annotated galleys, and vinyl that sounds better through open windows.
Vladimir Nabokov
1962
Pale Fire — First American Edition
From the estate of a Columbia University English professor. Purchased at first publication from Putnam's Sons, New York. Accompanied by original receipt and a handwritten annotation card.
The copy arrives with a single penciled note on the flyleaf — a question mark beside Shade's opening couplet. Someone was paying attention. A first edition of Pale Fire surfaces rarely outside institutional collections; this one has clearly been read.
Fleetwood Mac
1977
Rumours — Original 1977 Pressing (UK)
Original UK pressing on Warner Bros. Records (K 56344). Sourced from a Bristol record dealer's personal collection, held since original purchase.
The UK first pressing of Rumours carries a warmth that later pressings simply don't replicate — the low end on "The Chain" alone justifies the hunt. This copy has clearly been loved but not abused.
Robert Crumb (ed.)
1986
Weirdo #14 — Complete Run Issue
From a San Francisco collector who acquired directly from a Haight Street comics shop in original publication year. Stored flat in archival sleeve since 1989.
Weirdo #14 includes Peter Bagge's "Junior" strip in its earliest collected form and a Crumb self-portrait that later became one of his most reproduced images. Fine copies of this issue are genuinely scarce.
James Baldwin
1957
Giovanni's Room — First UK Edition
Michael Joseph Ltd., London, 1957. From a private London collection assembled between 1955 and 1980. Accompanied by a handwritten note from the original owner.
The UK first of Giovanni's Room is rarer than the American — Michael Joseph's print run was smaller and fewer copies survived in collectible condition. This one carries a handwritten note on the half-title: "For understanding." Nothing more.
Back-to-Campus Finds
For the professor tracking down a pristine galley and the student who just discovered they need a first edition Kuhn for their shelf.
Thomas S. Kuhn
1962
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions — 1st Ed.
University of Chicago Press first edition, first printing. From the library of a retired philosophy professor at UC Berkeley. Pencil marginalia throughout in a careful hand.
Kuhn's copy with a philosopher's pencil is arguably more valuable than a pristine one — these annotations are the book in conversation with itself. The marginalia alone would make a dissertation chapter.
Patti Smith
1975
Horses — Original Arista Pressing
Original US Arista AL 4066 pressing. Purchased at Tower Records, Chicago, November 1975 — date written inside sleeve in ballpoint. Stored in poly sleeve since 1978.
The Mapplethorpe cover alone stops the room, but it's the vinyl that matters here — a near-mint original Arista pressing of Horses is increasingly difficult to find. This copy has been waiting forty-eight years for the right room to play in.
ClosingSoon
These lots close today. The difference between watching and bidding is measured in minutes.
Vladimir Nabokov — Pale Fire — First American Edition
James Baldwin — Giovanni's Room — First UK Edition
Patti Smith — Horses — Original Arista Pressing
Sylvia Plath — The Bell Jar — UK First Edition (as Victoria Lucas)
47 more lots close this week
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Condition Grading
As issued. No wear, marks, or defects. Original condition throughout.
Light evidence of use. Minor wear only. Text clean and binding tight.
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47 lots closing this week. Every one with a story worth knowing.