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All books are first printings of first editions or first American editions unless otherwise noted.

click for a larger image of item #35975, Turn About [NY], Saturday Evening Post, 1932. A previously unknown Faulkner "A" item -- an offprint of this story from the March 5, 1932 issue of the Saturday Evening Post. Apart from this offprint, the story was not published separately until 1939, by W. L. Massiah of Ottawa, Canada. Not in Petersen, where Peter Howard of Serendipity Books, in the 645-page catalog of the Petersen collection, proclaimed the 1939 Canadian publication, A.21.2, to be "by far the rarest of Faulkner's published books." Howard priced that copy at $17,500 in 1992. Nonetheless, OCLC now shows 6 copies of the Canadian edition published by Massiah, but no copies of this offprint. "Turn About" was first published in the Saturday Evening Post, then collected in O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1932 and then in the Faulkner collection Doctor Martino and Other Stories. The text of the story in the book publications differs slightly from the magazine version: in the second paragraph of the original magazine story, the main character is described as having "a little dull gold mustache," a part of his description that is dropped in the later book publications. The Massiah publication and this offprint both have the mustache phrase, tying them to the original Post publication. In addition, the text of the Post story is broken into sections, numbered with Roman numerals. The Massiah publication has the sections, separated by a filigree; the book publications forego the sections altogether. This offprint is the only version, other than the original magazine version, that separates the text with Roman numerals. Petersen and Howard speculated that the Massiah edition had been based on tearsheets of the magazine. It is more likely that the Massiah edition was based on this offprint -- a stapled offprint being more likely to survive the intervening seven years intact than loose tearsheets. There is at least one place where a comma has been added to the 1932 O. Henry text, which did not appear in the original magazine or this offprint, again helping to date the offprint to approximately the time of the original magazine, and not to a point after it had been edited for a book. At the last appearance of the Massiah edition at auction, in 2010, Christie's wrote about it: "EXCEEDINGLY SCARCE: no copies have appeared at auction in at least fifty years, according to American Book Prices Current. Petersen did not have it at the time of his first book (1975) -- he first recorded it in his On the Track of the Dixie Limited in 1979 and it is in the Serendipity catalogue of 1991. Not in the Brodsky, Massey, University of Mississippi or University of Texas collections. Petersen A21.2." We can only add that this is even more true of this offprint, which until now has apparently remained totally unknown, and has not been in any of the great Faulkner collections, including all of the ones mentioned by Christie's. 28 stapled pages; one page corner turned; a handful of mostly marginal pencil markings ("x's"); near fine in stapled wrappers. [#035975] $25,000
click for a larger image of item #34924, Light in August (NY), Smith & Haas, (1932). A Yoknapatawpha County novel that is considered his "most penetrating and dramatic analysis of contemporary Southern society." Fine in a fine dust jacket. A strikingly beautiful copy of one of the high spots of 20th century American literature: probably the brightest, freshest copy we've seen in 40+ years of selling modern first editions; the orange topstain is as bright as the orange of the fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom three-quarter leather clamshell case. [#034924] $15,000
click for a larger image of item #34923, Mosquitoes New York, Boni & Liveright, 1927. Faulkner's second novel, which had a first printing of 3047 copies. Bookplate gently tipped to the front pastedown. Slight push to the crown and trace wear to corners, but a very near fine copy with the orange stamping on the front cover and spine still bright and fresh, in a lightly rubbed, near fine example of the first issue "mosquitoes" dust jacket. A very attractive copy of a book seldom found in this condition. [#034923] $8,500
click for a larger image of item #34922, Soldiers' Pay NY, Boni & Liveright, (1926). His second book, first novel. Modest wear to corners and spine gilt. A near fine copy, lacking the rare dust jacket. In custom gilt-stamped, full leather slipcase. [#034922] $2,500
click for a larger image of item #34948, The Sound and the Fury (n.p.), Twentieth Century Fox, 1957. The "Final Script" of the screenplay adaptation of Faulkner's novel. The movie starred Yul Brynner and Joanne Woodward. 150 pages. Wear to the yapped covers, and fragile along the spine. Stamped as copy "32." A very good copy, now protected by a custom clamshell case. [#034948] $2,500
click for a larger image of item #34941, The Mansion NY, Random House, (1959). The limited edition of the third volume in his Snopes trilogy. Copy No. 91 of 500 copies signed by the author. This title was a National Book Award finalist in 1960. A fine copy in a near fine, original acetate dustwrapper with a few tiny chips and tears. A very nice copy. [#034941] $1,500
click for a larger image of item #34930, Mosquitoes [Moustiques] (Paris), Les Editions des Minuit, 1948. The first French edition of his second novel, first published in 1927. Of a total edition of 200 copies, this is Copy No. 27 of 50 copies printed "sur velin superieur." Pages uncut; a fine copy, in a near fine, French-folded glassine dustwrapper. An extremely small limitation for a Faulkner novel; the 1/50 issue is very scarce in the market. [#034930] $750
click for a larger image of item #34928, Intruder in the Dust NY, Random House, (1948). A Haycraft-Queen cornerstone, and most likely the trigger for his winning the Nobel Prize the year after it was published. No top stain--a state not noted by Petersen. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a chip at the crown and light edge wear. [#034928] $500
click for a larger image of item #34942, The Mansion NY, Random House, (1959). The first trade edition of the final book in Faulkner's Snopes trilogy. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with light edge wear and fading to the spine lettering. A Burgess 99 title. [#034942] $500
click for a larger image of item #34929, Intruder in the Dust NY, Random House, (1948). By most accounts, this novel -- which deals with the legacy of black-white relations in the South -- was the book that cinched the Nobel Prize for him, which he won in 1949. Some fading to the top stain, else a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with slight rubbing to the edges and folds. [#034929] $450
click for a larger image of item #34943, The Mansion [Le Domaine] [Paris], Gallimard, (1962). The first French edition, limited issue. Copy No. 49 of 66 numbered copies on pure fil. Sunning to wrappers; near fine. [#034943] $450
click for a larger image of item #34936, Intruder in the Dust [L'Intrus] [Paris], Gallimard, (1952). The first French edition. This is Copy No. 123 of 125 numbered copies on "velin pur fil" (there were also 6 hors commerce copies in this binding). Pages uncut. Slight tanning to the spine; near fine in wrappers and glassine dustwrapper. [#034936] $375
click for a larger image of item #34937, Intruder in the Dust [L'Intrus] [Paris], Gallimard, (1952). The first French edition. This is Copy No. 70 of 131 copies on "velin pur fil." Petersen A26.41. Spine tanned, with mild slant; very good in wrappers and glassine dustwrapper. [#034937] $350
click for a larger image of item #34931, Mosquitoes [Moustiques] (Paris), Les Editions des Minuit, 1948. The first French edition of his second novel, first published in 1927. Of a total edition of 200 copies, this is Copy No. 58 of 150 copies printed "sur alfa-mousse des paperteries." Pages uncut; dampstaining to the upper outer corner of rear pages. Near fine in a very good, French-folded glassine dustwrapper. [#034931] $300
click for a larger image of item #34940, Soldiers' Pay [La Paga de los Soldados] Barcelona, Luis de Caralt, (1954). The first Spanish edition of Soldiers' Pay. Peterson A2.30 (incorrectly described as the first Catalan edition). Fine in a near fine, spine-tanned dust jacket. [#034940] $250
click for a larger image of item #34933, Intruder in the Dust [Griff in den Staub] Stuttgart, Scherz & Goverts, (1951). Petersen A26.37. First German edition, published just after he won the Nobel Prize. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. With publisher's pamphlet laid in, announcing 1952 releases, and original wraparound band (torn) laid in. [#034933] $200
click for a larger image of item #34934, Intruder in the Dust [Ongenode Gast] Amsterdam, Wereld, (1951). A Dutch edition. Not in Petersen. Fading to top stain; near fine in a very good, rubbed dust jacket with one corner chip. [#034934] $150
click for a larger image of item #34944, The Sound and the Fury [title in Arabic] [Beirut], [Dar el-Ilm Lil-Malayeen], [1963]. "Almost certainly the first edition in Arabic," according to Serendipity. Petersen A6.55. Pages uncut. Fingerprints inside both covers; very good in wrappers. [#034944] $150
click for a larger image of item #34939, Soldiers' Pay [La Paga Del Soldato] [Milan], Garzanti, (1953). Petersen A2.28. First Italian edition. Edge-tanned pages, else near fine in a good dust jacket with chipping to the corners, edges, and spine ends. Publisher's bookmark with a list of translated authors laid in. [#034939] $125
London, Scolar Press, 1977. The first British edition. Trace shelf wear; still fine in a very near fine dust jacket. [#035088] $30
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