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first editions

Bygone bestsellers, first editions good reads at Feb. 13 auction

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
first editions
Margaret Atwood, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ 1986, signed first printing with tipped in book card from Houghton Mifflin, near fine condition (close to new). Estimate: $400-$500. Jasper52 image

NEW YORK – Bibliophiles will have an opportunity to acquire some of the best 20th-century literature in a comprehensive book auction that visually and textually spans various historic endeavors, iconic memoirs and cultural wonders. Jasper52 will conduct the online auction on Tuesday, Feb. 13, starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

The auction begins and closes with two dystopian novels. Lot 1 is a first printing of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (above), which the Canadian author signed and inscribed to the manager of a book-reading event. Tipped in is a book card from publisher Houghton Mifflin. The book is clean and solid and unmarked, save the inscription on the title page.

Toward the end of the sale is a first edition of Ayn Rand’s controversial but enduringly popular novel Atlas Shrugged.

first editions
Ayn Rand, ‘Atlas Shrugged,’ first edition-first printing, Random House,1957. Estimate: $500-$600. Jasper52 image

Additional classics include a first edition of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, published a decade before he won a Nobel Prize for literature. The book and dust jacket are in good condition with wear some wear and soiling.

first editions
John Steinbeck, ‘East of Eden,’ first edition, Viking Press, 1952, with dust jacket. Estimate: $400-$500. Jasper52 image

A 1926 printing of Irish writer James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, regarded as one of the greatest literary works in history, contains its original paper covers and is bound in half leather. This book was owned by a T. Alan Goldsborough (1877-1951), a U.S. congressman from Maryland and later a federal judge.

first editions
James Joyce, ‘Ulysses,’ James Paris: Shakespeare & Co, 1926, eighth printing. Estimate: $500-$600. Jasper52 image

Nonfiction in the auction includes a copy of The Architectural Forum (January 1938), an issue devoted to Frank Lloyd Wright. The spiral-bound magazine is in very good condition, with light wear to the cover.

first editions
‘The Architectural Forum 1938,’ first edition, special issue devoted to Frank Lloyd Wright. Estimate: $400-$500. Jasper52 image

A complete set of Avant Garde magazine (January 1968, through July 1971) is offered as one lot. The magazine was notable for graphic and logogram design by Herb Lubalin. Edited by Ralph Ginzburg and filled with creative imagery, the publication was it was often critical of American society and government.

first editions
Complete run of ‘Avant Garde’ magazine (Nos. 1-14, January 1968-July 1971). Estimate: $300-$400. Jasper52 image

Recent releases include a signed copy of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Hard Choices, a memoir of her tenure as U.S secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

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first editions