Artunderwraps

Annotated Reference Guide to Collectible Books and Original Prints

Maugham, W. Somerset Annotated Bibliography & Selected Collectible Books



W. Somerset Maugham is notable for his degree of comfort in various formats and his immense influence on writers who came after him. Born to an aristocratic family, but suffering a difficult childhood at the hands of his cold and distant uncle after he was orphaned by ten, Maugham's writing expressed a keen understanding of human emotion, particularly yearning-an emotion with which Maugham himself would become familiar as a gay man forced into the closet by a deeply homophobic society. Maugham's remarkable insight into emotions is underscored by the extraordinary clarity with which he wrote; in his stories and plays, not a single word is wasted and not a single word is extraneous.

The second novel Maugham ever published was The Making of a Saint. First editions of this work, published in 1898 by T. Fisher Unwin of London and L.C. Page of Boston, can be very valuable. The American edition's starting price point is around $150 and can rise to tens of thousands of dollars if the book is signed. British editions are sometimes even more valuable, beginning around $200 and increasing dramatically in value if the book is inscribed by Maugham.

Maugham's most celebrated work, Of Human Bondage (George H. Doran Co.: New York, 1915), was compared to a Beethoven symphony by the critic Theodore Deiser. First editions of this work are available around $1,000-$4,500, depending on inscriptions and condition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Liza of Lambeth. T Fisher Unwin, London (1897). Maugham's first novel.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Making of a Saint. Page, Boston (1898). 2,000 copies. Illustrated by Gilbert James. First American edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Making of a Saint. T Fisher Unwin, London (1898). First UK edition. 2,000 copies.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Orientations. T Fisher Unwin, London (1899). The author's first collection of short stories.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Venture, An Annual of Art and Literature.. John Baillie, London (1903). Edited by Maugham and Laurence Housman. Contributors to this annual include Maugham, Thomas Hardy, G. K. Chesterton, John Masefield, and Violet Hunt as well as illustrators Lucien Pissarro, E. Gordon Craig, T. Sturge Moore, Sydney Lee, and others. Printed at the Pear Tree Press.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Land of the Blessed Virgin - Sketches and Impressions in Andalusia. William Heinemann, London (1905). 1,250 copies. Frontispiece.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Magician. William Heinemann, London (1908).

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Explorer. William Heinemann, London (1908).

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Explorer. Baker and Taylor, New York (1909). Illustrated edition, with color frontispiece and black and white plates by J. Graham Coates. First American edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Mrs. Dot: A Farce in Three Acts. The Dramatic Publishing Co, Chicago (1912). First American edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Of Human Bondage. William Heinemann, London (1915). First UK edition. Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson and Co. Ltd. at the Ballantyne Press.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Of Human Bondage. Doran, New York (1915). First American edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Of Human Bondage. Gundy, Toronto (1915). First Canadian edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Moon and Sixpence. Doran, New York (1919). First American edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Moon and Sixpence. William Heinemann, London (1919).

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Circle. A Comedy in Three Acts. Doran, New York (1921). First American edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Trembling of a Leaf: Little Stories of the South Sea Islands. William Heinemann, London (1921). First UK edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Circle: A Comedy in Three Acts. Doran, New York (1921). First American edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. East of Suez: A Play in Seven Scenes. Doran, New York (1922). First American edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Making of a Saint. The St. Botolph Society, Boston (1922). First American edition. Illustrated by Gilbert James.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Our Betters: A Comedy in Three Acts. William Heinemann, London (1923). 1,500 copies.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Painted Veil. Doran, New York (1925). 250 signed and numbered copies.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Painted Veil. William Heinemann, London (1925).

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Constant Wife. Doran, New York (1926). Frontispiece portrait of Ethel Barrymore, to whom the book is dedicated and who appeared in the original production.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Casuarina Tree. William Heinemann, London (1926).

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Letter. Doran, New York (1927). First American edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Ashenden or the British Agent. William Heinemann, London (1928). First UK edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Sacred Flame: A Play In Three Acts. William Heinemann, London (1928). First English edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Ashenden or the British Agent. Doubleday Doran, New York (1928). First American edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Cakes and Ale or The Skeleton in the Cupboard. William Heinemann, London (1930).

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Gentleman in the Parlour: A record of a journey from Rangoon to Haiphong. William Heinemann, London (1930).

Maugham, W. Somerset. A Bibliography of the Writings of William Somerset Maugham.. The Unicorn Press, London (1931). Compiled by Frederick T. Bason. 50 numbered and signed (by Maugham) copies.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Book-Bag. Orioli, Florence (1932). 725 signed copies. Frontispiece portrait.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Narrow Corner. William Heinemann, London (1932).

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Judgement Seat. Centaur Press, London (1934). 150 signed copies. Woodcut frontispiece.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Don Fernando or Variations on some Spanish themes.. William Heinemann, London (1935). 175 numbered and signed copies.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Cosmopolitans. Doubleday, New York (1936).

Maugham, W. Somerset. Cosmopolitans. William Heinemann, London (1936). 175 signed copies. UK limited edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Of Human Bondage. Doubleday, New York (1936). Illustrated with 25 collotype plates by Randolph Schwabe. First illustrated edition. 750 copies.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Theatre. William Heinemann, London (1937). First English edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Of Human Bondage. Limited Editions Club, New York (1938). With 16 original etchings by John Sloan and an introduction by Theodore Dreiser. 1,500 numbered copies, signed by the illustrator. Two volumes.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Christmas Holiday. William Heinemann, London (1939).

Maugham, W. Somerset. Strictly Personal. Doubleday Doran, New York (1941). 550 numbered and signed copies. Frontis photo of Maugham. First US edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Unconquered. House of Books, New York (1944). 300 numbered and signed copies.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Razor's Edge. Doubleday Doran, New York (1944). 750 numbered copies. First American edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Razor's Edge. William Heinemann, London (1944). First UK edition.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Razor's Edge. Blakiston, Philadelphia (1945).

Maugham, W. Somerset. Of Human Bondage, with A Digression on the Art of Fiction. The Library of Congress, Washington (1946). 800 copies, 500 of which are signed.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Liza of Lambeth. William Heinemann, London (1947). Designed by Stanley Morison and printed at the Windmill Press. Jubilee edition. 1,000 signed copies.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Catalina. Doubleday, New York (1948).

Maugham, W. Somerset. A Writer's Notebook. Doubleday, New York (1949). 1,000 signed copies. First American edition. Frontispiece portrait.

Maugham, W. Somerset. A Writer's Notebook. William Heinemann, London (1949). 1,000 signed copies. A collection of extracts from the 15 volumes of notes Maugham compiled, beginning at the age of 18.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Vagrant Mood. William Heinemann, London (1952). 500 numbered copies signed by the author. Six essays.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Complete Short Stories. Doubleday, New York (1952). Two volumes.

Maugham, W. Somerset. Cakes and Ale or The Skeleton in the Cupboard. William Heinemann, London (1954). 1,000 copies signed by the author. With an original lithographed frontispiece by the artist Graham Sutherland. In-text decorations by the artist. Preface by Maugham.

Maugham, W. Somerset. The Summing Up. Doubleday, New York (1954). 391 copies signed by Maugham. Portrait frontispiece after a drawing by Bernard Perlin.


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