Rare & Collectible

A curated selection of our most significant finds — true first editions, pre-1900 cloth-bound classics, and scarce specialty titles drawn from estate sales across Arizona. Each is personally inspected and honestly described.

Janice Meredith — Paul Leicester Ford, 1899
Pre-1900 · Bestseller of 1899

Janice Meredith: A Story of the Revolution

Paul Leicester Ford · Dodd, Mead & Company · 1899
Decorated green cloth HC Pre-ISBN era Est. $50–$200 (true 1st) Verify edition

The runaway bestseller of 1899 — a 540-page Revolutionary War romance that sold over 200,000 copies in its first six months. Ford's heroine Janice navigates love and loyalty as the war rolls through New Jersey. A quarter-century later, William Randolph Hearst financed a $1 million silent film adaptation as a vehicle for his mistress Marion Davies (released 1924, directed by E. Mason Hopper). This copy in original decorated green cloth shows honest reading wear consistent with 125+ years.

Before listing — verify:
  • Copyright page reads "1899" (later printings dated through 1910s exist)
  • Dodd, Mead Publisher imprint on title page
  • Howard Pyle illustrations present (true 1st was illustrated)
  • Cloth not ex-library, no library markings
Inquire to purchase
The Nations at War — Willis John Abbot, 1917
WWI Illustrated · Pre-1920

The Nations at War: A Current History

Willis John Abbot · Leslie-Judge Company, New York · 1917
Decorated cloth HC Pre-ISBN era Est. $20–$75 Verify edition year

A 109-year-old object as much as a book — the cover IS the artifact, featuring the national flags and emblems of every Allied and Central Power nation rendered in decorated cloth. Abbot wrote and revised "The Nations at War" in annual editions through the war (1914–1918), making this a primary-source contemporary account of WWI from before the outcome was known. Color plates and battlefield maps throughout. Decorated cloth bindings of this scale are uncommon survivors.

Before listing — verify:
  • Copyright page edition year (1914 / 1915 / 1916 / 1917 / 1918 — 1914 most scarce)
  • Color plates intact and not detached
  • Hinges sound, spine not split
  • Cover gilt and decoration legible (not heavily rubbed)
Inquire to purchase
Mr. Britling Sees It Through — H.G. Wells, 1916
H.G. Wells · 1st US Edition · 1916

Mr. Britling Sees It Through

H.G. Wells · Macmillan (US) · 1916
Red cloth HC Pre-ISBN era Est. $90 / $150+ w/ DJ Verify 1st printing

Wells wrote this WWI novel from his English country house during the war's middle years, watching the conflict unfold through the eyes of a fictional middle-class Englishman who loses his son at the front. Published September 1916, it became Wells's bestselling novel of the decade and was widely credited with shifting American sympathies toward the Allied cause before the US entered the war in 1917. Spine confirms Macmillan US imprint.

Before listing — verify:
  • Copyright page reads "Published September, 1916" — confirms 1st US printing
  • Macmillan publisher's device on title page
  • No later printings noted
  • Original red cloth not faded to brown (light damage common at this age)
Inquire to purchase
Christina Alberta's Father — H.G. Wells, 1925
H.G. Wells · 1st US Edition · 1925

Christina Alberta's Father

H.G. Wells · Macmillan (US) · 1925
Red cloth HC Pre-ISBN era Est. $120 / $200+ w/ DJ Verify 1st printing

A late-career Wells novel exploring class, identity, and one English clerk's psychological unraveling when he becomes convinced he's the reincarnation of an ancient Mesopotamian king. Less famous than Wells's science-fiction work, but well-regarded by the small community that collects his interwar realist novels. Macmillan US 1st (the UK Jonathan Cape edition was published the same year). This copy in original red cloth, century-old at this point.

Before listing — verify:
  • Copyright page reads "1925" with no later printing notations
  • Macmillan US publisher imprint (UK Cape edition has different value)
  • Dust jacket if present is the original — Wells-era DJs are scarce and add significant value
  • Inscription if present — provenance can raise or lower value depending on signer
Inquire to purchase
Pyramids of Tucume — Thor Heyerdahl et al., 1995
Heyerdahl's Final Expedition · Thames & Hudson 1st

Pyramids of Tucume: The Quest for Peru's Forgotten City

Thor Heyerdahl, Daniel H. Sandweiss & Alfredo Narvaez · Thames & Hudson · 1995
Hardcover w/ DJ ISBN 9780500050736 Est. $45 / $200+ signed Check for signature

After Kon-Tiki, Ra, and a lifetime of crossing oceans on reed boats to prove his diffusion theories, an 80-year-old Thor Heyerdahl spent his last working years in Peru — excavating Túcume, the largest adobe pyramid complex in South America. This Thames & Hudson 1995 first edition is the definitive published account of that expedition. Heyerdahl died in 2002, seven years after this book published, making signed copies particularly significant for collectors of 20th-century exploration.

Before listing — verify:
  • Number line on copyright page — true 1st has full 1–10
  • Thames & Hudson UK or US imprint (both are 1st editions; US slightly less scarce)
  • Dust jacket intact, not price-clipped
  • Inspect endpapers and title page for Heyerdahl signature — signed copies command 4–5x premium
Inquire to purchase
The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt — Shaw & Nicholson, 1995
British Museum Reference · 1st US Edition

The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt

Ian Shaw & Paul Nicholson · Harry N. Abrams (with The British Museum) · 1995
Hardcover w/ DJ ISBN 9780810932258 Est. $20–$60 Verify 1st printing

The standard one-volume reference on Egyptology — co-published by Harry N. Abrams and the British Museum Press, drawing on the Museum's curators and the broader Egyptological community. Hundreds of cross-referenced entries on dynasties, deities, sites, materials, techniques, and individuals. Used by working Egyptologists, museum curators, and serious amateurs for thirty years. Spine confirms ABRAMS imprint — this is the US Abrams co-edition, not the British Museum Press UK printing.

Before listing — verify:
  • 1st printing — number line on copyright page
  • Dust jacket intact, not torn at corners (DJ wear common on heavy reference volumes)
  • Binding tight, no loose plates
  • No prior library / ex-museum markings
Inquire to purchase