Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Stevenson, Robert Louis. THE BEACH OF FALESA. Limited Editions Club/Ward Ritchie Press, 1956.
Price: US$20.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First edition. #679 of 1500 copies. Signed by the illustrator, Millard Sheets. Near fine.Illustrated cover is mildly soiled. (c)
Seller: C. Trowbridge, OZARK, MO, U.S.A.
Stevenson, Robert Lewis. The Beach of Falesa. The Limited Editions Club, Los Angeles, 1956.
Price: US$30.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Los Angeles: The Limited Editions Club, 1956 113 pp printed on deckle-edged heavy stock by the Ward Ritchie Press. Terxt is clean, tight and unmarked. Boards are quarterbound of decorative paper with a drawing of a South Sea Island girl. Signed by Illustrator. Number 207 of an Edition of 1500. Hard Cover. Near Fine/No Jacket. Illus. by Sheet5s, Millard. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall.
Seller: Catron Grant Books, Rio Rancho, NM, U.S.A.
Price: US$40.00 + shipping
Description: Slipcased Hardback. No dustjacket as issued. #1287 out of 1500 copies. Signed by the illustrator. Book has a small owners name and address on the front free endpaper, otherwise a Tight square unmarked copy in Very Good to Near Fine Condition. Slipcase is only in About Good condition with rubbing and wear on the edges.
Seller: Tacoma Book Center, Tacoma, WA, U.S.A.
Price: US$40.00 + shipping
Description: First edition thus. Hardcover. 113 pages. Number 1332 from an edition of 1500 copies. Features an introduction by J.C. Furnas. Includes illustrations by Millard Sheets. A clean near fine copy in paper covered boards with a cloth spine with laid in newsletter for the Limited Editions Club in an about very good glassine dust jacket with large chips to the spine and some other wear in a very good slipcase that has some wear. Signed by Millard Sheets on the colophon page.
Seller: Jeff Hirsch Books, ABAA, Wadsworth, IL, U.S.A.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. BEACH OF FALESA.|THE. The Limited Editions Club, New York, 1956.
Price: US$42.00 + shipping
Description: 4to. cloth-backed boards, slipcase. xviii, 113, (3) pages. With an Introduction by J.C. Furnas and illustrations by Millard Sheets. Limited to 1500 numbered copies signed by Sheets (LEC 271). Printed by The Ward Ritchie Press in Los Angeles. Slipcase is not original, however it is well made and in fine condition with a skilled cutout exposing the cover of the book. Some spotting to the spine,
Seller: Oak Knoll Books, ABAA, ILAB, NEW CASTLE, DE, U.S.A.
Price: US$46.50 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Limited edition, #1059 of 1500 copies, signed by the artist. Lacks slipcase. Abrasion to base of front board, otherwise an excellent copy. 1956 Large Hardcover. xv, [3], 113, [5] pp. Numerous illustrations by Millard Sheets throughout, with an introduction by J.C. Furnas. "The Beach of Falesa" is a short story by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It was first published in the Illustrated London News in 1892, and later published in book form in the short-story collection Island Nights' Entertainments (1893). It was written after Stevenson moved to the South Seas island of Samoa just a few years before he died there. Stevenson saw "The Beach of Falesá" as the ground-breaking work in his turn away from romanticism to realism. Stevenson wrote to his friend Sidney Colvin: "It is the first realistic South Seas story; I mean with real South Sea character and details of life. Everybody else that has tried, that I have seen, got carried away by the romance, and ended in a kind of sugar candy sham epic, and the whole effect was lost - there was not etching, no human grin, consequently no conviction. Now I have got the smell and look of the thing a good deal. You will know more about the South Seas after you have read my little tale than if you had read a library." In an unusual change for Stevenson, but in-line with realism, the plot of the story is less important, rather the realistic portrayal of the manners of various social classes in island society is foregrounded; it is essentially a novel of manners. As Stevenson says to Colvin in a letter, "The Beach of Falesá" is "well fed with facts" and "true to the manners' of the society it depicts." Other than the island itself which is fictional, it contains the names of real people, real ships and real buildings which Stevenson was familiar with from his personal travels in the South Seas. "The Beach of Falesá", along with his two other South Seas tales in Island Nights' Entertainments, were generally poorly received by his peers in London. Stevenson was known and loved for his historical romances such as Treasure Island, Kidnapped and The Master of Ballantrae and so his shift to realism was not widely applauded. Oscar Wilde complained "I see that romantic surroundings [Samoa] are the worst surroundings possible for a romantic writer. In Gower Street Stevenson could have written a new Trois Mousquetaires. In Samoa he wrote letters to The Times about Germans." Edmund Gosse wrote "The fact seems to be that it is very nice to live in Samoa, but not healthy to write there." Modern scholarship and the reflection of time has been more kind to Stevenson's late works. What his critics could not see or know at the time is that modernism was just around the corner and Stevenson had begun to experiment with early forms, along with a critique of the European colonial venture (post-colonialism), something most people in the 1890s were not interested in hearing, but within a decade or so, such as with Joseph Conrad, would become fashionable.
Seller: Yesterday's Muse, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA, Webster, NY, U.S.A.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. THE BEACH OF FALESA. Ward Ritchie Press, Los Angeles, California, 1956.
Price: US$57.91 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: LIMITED EDITIONS CLUB, THE BEACH OF FALESA By Robert Louis Stevenson with an introduction by J.C. Furnas and Illustrations by Millard Sheets, signed by Sheets, The Limited Editions Club was founded in 1929 by George Macy (1900-1956) to publish finely made and finely illustrated limited editions of the classics of literature - and of a few carefully selected contemporary titles. Most of the books were beautifully illustrated with original artwork by leading book illustrators, major artists, and photographers. In most cases, they hand signed each copy of the books that they illustrated for the LEC. The LEC issued up to twelve books each year, each limited to about 1500 copies, to a small group of subscribers. Binding: Hardcover in Slipcase Publisher: The Limited Editions Club by the Ward Ritchie Press, Los Angeles, California Date Published: 1956 Description: The short story first published in 1892 that marked Stevenson's turn away from romanticism to realism. First edition thus. Limited to 1500 copies of which this is #921. Signed by the illustrator, Sheets. Boards bound in paper with a grass-cloth design. Also includes the monthly letter from the LEC describing the selection. 113 pp Condition: Book is in FINE condition with no interior markings. Binding is tight. Slipcase box has no cracks, but does have fading to spine, and portions of sides, and some minor rubbing and edge wear (NO CRACKING OR SPLITTING).
Seller: Barry's Books, San Antonio, TX, U.S.A.
Robert Louis Stevenson. The Beach of Falesa. The Limited Editions Club, New York, 1956.
Price: US$60.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: 1429 of 1500 numbered copies signed by Millard Sheets. 271st publication of LEC and the 4th of the 25th series. Introduced by JC Furnas and illustrated by Millard Sheets. Designed, printed and bound by Ward Ritchie et in intertype Waverley on Linweave paper on quarter brown cloth and the paper sides printed with a design from Sheets. 130 pages, 8 ¼ x 12 ¼ inches. The book is in near fine condition, internally clean and in very fine condition. The original slipcase is showing some wear VG+. This is a heavy book and extra shipping charges may apply; 4to 11" - 13" tall; 130 pages; Signed by Illustrator
Seller: Rare Collections, Brighton East, VIC, Australia
STEVENSON, Robert Louis. THE BEACH OF FALESA. Limited Editions Club, Los Angeles, 1956.
Price: US$62.50 + shipping
Description: Tall quarto (8-1/4" x 12-1/4") bound in cloth-backed paper with a grass-cloth Hawaiian design by the illustrator; 134 pages. Handsomely printed by the Ward Ritchie Press. Introduction by Stevenson's biographer, J. C. Furnas. Copy #333 of 1500 illustrated by Millard Sheets and SIGNED by the artist on the colophon page. A handsome book. Near Fine in glassine and a complete, intact slipcase but with much staining
Seller: Charles Agvent, est. 1987, ABAA, ILAB, Fleetwood, PA, U.S.A.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Beach of Falesa. The Ward Ritchie Press, 1956.
Price: US$65.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Illus. by Millard Sheets, signed in blue ink by him. Very large book, 113 pages, brown cloth spine, decorated and illustrated boards, very tiny tear at bottom front tip, 1/4" tear at back bottom tip, gilt on spine very bright. Printed in conjunction with Limited Editions Club. (1st appeared in 6 weekly issues of The Illustrated London News, 2 July-6 August 1892) 771 of 1500 copies.
Seller: Callaghan Books South, New Port Richey, FL, U.S.A.
Price: US$65.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: 1245 of 1500 numbered copies signed by Millard Sheets. 271st publication of LEC and the 4th of the 25th series. Introduced by JC Furnas and illustrated by Millard Sheets. Designed, printed and bound by Ward Ritchie et in intertype Waverley on Linweave paper on quarter brown cloth and the paper sides printed with a design from Sheets. 130 pages, 8 ¼ x 12 ¼ inches. The book is in fine condition, with a previous owner name in front written in pen and dated 1957. Otherwise internally clean and with no issues. The original slipcase is showing some wear and only VG. A collectible copy of this beautiful book. This is a heavy book and extra shipping charges may apply; 4to 11" - 13" tall; 130 pages; Signed by Illustrator
Seller: Rare Collections, Brighton East, VIC, Australia
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Beach of Falesa. The Limited Editions Club. Los Angeles. 1956., 1956.
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Illustrated front cover. 1500 copies printed by the Ward Ritchie Press. Signed by Millard Sheets, California artist. Lacks slip case. Uncut page sides. Measures 8 1/2 x 12 1/2. In the Introduction, J. C. Furnas comments that this story epitomizes "the terms of life on a hypothetical South Sea Island in the late nineteenth century".
Seller: Barry Cassidy Rare Books, Sacramento, CA, U.S.A.
STEVENSON, Robert Louis. THE BEACH OF FALESA. Limited Editions Club, Los Angeles, 1956.
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Description: Tall quarto (8-1/4" x 12-1/4") bound in cloth-backed paper with a grass-cloth Hawaiian design by the illustrator; 134 pages. Handsomely printed by the Ward Ritchie Press. Introduction by Stevenson's biographer, J. C. Furnas. Copy #39 of 1500 illustrated by Millard Sheets and SIGNED by the artist on the colophon page. Monthly Letter laid in. Bookplate on the front pastedown. Near Fine in in a Very Good slipcase with typical soiling and a closed split
Seller: Charles Agvent, est. 1987, ABAA, ILAB, Fleetwood, PA, U.S.A.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Beach of Falesa. Limited Editions Club, 1956.
Price: US$99.22 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 1956. Hardcover. Illustrated by Millard Sheets. This is copy 226 of 1,500 designed and printed by Ward Ritchie in intertype Waverley on Linweave paper. In fine decorated cloth cover in slip case showing shelf wear. Good clean copy. . . . .
Seller: Kennys Bookshop and Art Galleries Ltd., Galway, GY, Ireland
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: pp. (xvii), 113 (1). Small folio. Designed, printed, and bound by Ward Ritchie. Set in Intertype Waverly; on Linweave Paper, deckle edged. Bound in paper boards decorated by the artist, backed in brown cloth. Slipcase covered in rice paper, slightly soiled. Number 769 of an edition limited to only 1500 copies, signed by the artist. A fine example. From Wiki: The story is told in the first person by John Wiltshire, a British copra trader on the fictional South Sea island of Falesá. Upon arriving on the island, he meets a rival trader named Case, who (in an apparently friendly gesture) arranges for him to be "married" to a local girl named Uma in a ceremony designed to impress the natives but to be completely non-binding in the view of Europeans. Wiltshire soon discovers that Uma has a taboo attached to her which causes all the other natives to refuse to do business with him, to Case's profit. He also hears rumors of Case having been involved in the suspicious deaths of his previous competitors. Although realising that he has been tricked, Wiltshire has genuinely fallen in love with Uma, and has their marriage legalised by a passing missionary. Wiltshire gradually learns that Case's influence over the villagers stems from their belief that he has demonic powers, as a result of his simple conjuring tricks as well as strange noises and visions they have experienced at a "temple" he has built in the forest. Upon investigating, Wiltshire finds that these experiences are also tricks produced by imported technologies such as luminous paint and Aeolian harps. Wiltshire sets out that night to destroy the temple with gunpowder. Case confronts him and the two men fight, resulting in Case's death. The story concludes with Wiltshire several years later living on another island, still happily married to Uma, worrying about what will happen to his mixed-race children. Stevenson saw "The Beach of Falesá" as the ground-breaking work in his turn away from romanticism to realism. Stevenson wrote to his friend Sidney Colvin: 'It is the first realistic South Seas story; I mean with real South Sea character and details of life. Everybody else that has tried, that I have seen, got carried away by the romance, and ended in a kind of sugar candy sham epic, and the whole effect was lost - there was not etching, no human grin, consequently no conviction. Now I have got the smell and look of the thing a good deal. You will know more about the South Seas after you have read my little tale than if you had read a library.' In an unusual change for Stevenson, but in-line with realism, the plot of the story is less important, rather the realistic portrayal of the manners of various social classes in island society is foregrounded; it is essentially a novel of manners. As Stevenson says to Colvin in a letter, "The Beach of Falesá" is "well fed with facts" and "true to the manners' of the society it depicts." Other than the island itself which is fictional, it contains the names of real people, real ships and real buildings which Stevenson was familiar with from his personal travels in the South Seas. W42 L Language: eng
Seller: FAMILY ALBUM, Kinzers, PA, U.S.A.
Price: US$175.00 + shipping
Description: Sheets, Millard. One of 1500 copies, designed and printed by Ward Ritchie in intertype Waverley on Linweave paper. Signed by the artist on the colophon. 1 vols. 4to. Original brown cloth-backed patterned paper boards. Fine in original glassine and slipcase One of 1500 copies, designed and printed by Ward Ritchie in intertype Waverley on Linweave paper. Signed by the artist on the colophon.
Seller: The Old Mill Bookshop, HACKETTSTOWN, NJ, U.S.A.
Price: US$227.79 + shipping
Description: folio. pp. xv, [3], 113, [1]. many colour illus. fore-edge uncut. cloth-backed bds. (owner's bookplate on front pastedown). in a foxed slipcase. Limited to 1,500 numbered copies, signed by the Artist.
Seller: D & E LAKE LTD. (ABAC/ILAB), Toronto, ON, Canada