Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
IRVING, WASHINGTON. THE SKETCH BOOK OF GEOFFREY CRAYON, GENT NO. V. C.S. VAN WINKLE, NEW YORK, 1819.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: VERY GOOD LEATHER HARDCOVER. PLEASE REVIEW PICTURES. THIS IS NOT A REPRINT BUT THE ORIGINAL BOOK.
Seller: Shadetree Rare Books, Chatham, VA, U.S.A.
Price: US$962.45 + shipping
Description: Four parts (of seven) bound in one volume, with part I third edition, part II a mix of the points given by Langfeld and parts III and IV second editions, 8vo, 169, (1), 92, 93, (1) pp. Some light foxing, hinge slightly cracked but sound early on in the first part, title page of part I with a light stain. 20th century half morocco. Langfeld p.15.
Seller: Bow Windows Bookshop (ABA, ILAB), Lewes, United Kingdom
Price: US$1000.00 + shipping
Description: 443 pp. 8vo, old scuffed calf; the front cover detached. First edition; second printing of Part I; Variant A of Part III. BAL 10106. Top one inch of title page lacking (probably to remove an ownership signature which appears at the head of the tile pages to the other parts); lower half of p. 227 lacking; marginal chipping and dog-ears; contemporary juvenile pencilled annotations on a few dozen pages.
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Description: 8vo, old full straight-grain morocco gilt; gilt spine. First edition; first printing of Parts I, II and VI. BAL 10106. Marginal ink stains to the last few leaves of text; old ink ownership signature on blank leaf; two short tears, one marginal and the other not affecting legibility. Slight small scuffs to the handsome binding at joints; tight and sound.
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Condition: Poor
Description: The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., Nos. I-VII. New-York: Printed by C.S. van Winkle, 1819-1820. Bound in two books, Mixed states. 8.25 x 5.25", 8vos. **Previous provenance of George Washington Nesmith (friend of Daniel Webster). No. I: 1819, 2nd Printing, according to BAL 10106 (Bibliography of American Literature): Last line of copyright notice "-ving, and etching.". & Title-page imprint "101. Greenwich Street." **Includes first appearance of RIP van Winkle p. 55. No. II: 1820, printed one year after first edition - BAL 10106 found no typographic or textual variations in Part II. Pagination includes No. I as well, 169 pp. No. III: 1820, later printing. New pagination: 1-92 pp. No. IV: 1819, first printing, BAL 10106 has found no typographic or textual variations. 242 - 335 pp. **End of first book. No V: 1820, later printing. New pagination: 1-108 pp. No. VI: 1820, first printing, 120 pp total. - BAL 10106 explains variations which make this a first printing: p. 38 (last line): "species."; p. 93 (line 8): ".his/"; p. 105 (line 9): ".la-"; p. 106 (line 16): ".yeo-"; p. 114 (line 11): ".cast-iron"; p. 115 (line 13): ".and"; p. 116 (line 3): ".intelli-"; p. 117 (first line): "the.". Includes first appearance of Legend of Sleepy Hollow p. 50. No. VII: 1820, first printing, 123 pp total. - BAL 10106 explains variations which make this a first printing: p. [5] (line 2 of preliminary poem): ".they."; p. 21 (line 20): ".notes, and piling"; p. 33 (line 6): ".which lavish,"; p. 34: 22 lines of text; p. 36 (line 10): ".reccollections"; p. 41 (line 13): ".thick-"; p. 45 (line 3): "flowers."; p. 46 (last line): "tre of his cage. The scene."; p. 64 (last line): ".royal". A Discourse, Delivered at Plymouth, December 22, 1820. In Commemoration of the First Settlement of New-England. By Daniel Webster. Boston: Wells and Lilly, 1821. 104 pp, found after No. VII of Geoffrey Crayon in 2nd book. In poor condition. As is. Leather boards are generally scuffed and worn at edges and corners. All front and rear hinges are split with exposed cording. Heads and tails of spines lacking - binding exposed. Both bindings are beginning to break - fragile. Front boards attached by cording only. No front end-pages or fly-leaves in either book. Title pages of No. I & No. V (first in each new book) exhibited previous ownership signature and marginalia: G.W. Nesmith, Franklin, 1822. & Geo. W. Nesmith, March 10, 1823. Water dampness staining exhibited in both volumes, mostly around edges or at tail of gutter. Toning, foxing, and age-staining exhibited throughout text-block, but all leaves are legible. Some instances of exposed cording. Bindings are intact, but very fragile. Perfect candidates for restoration. Please see photos and ask questions, if any, before purchasing. Washington Irving (1783-1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian and diplomat in the early 19th century. He is most well-known for his short-stories Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, for which these are FIRST EDITIONS being sold. No. I, of which Rip Van Winkle is included, is a 2nd printing (according to BAL), and No. VI, of which Sleepy Hollow is included, is a 1st printing (also according to BAL). All points of first printings have been checked and compared. George Washington Nesmith (1800-1890), previous provenance, was a justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court from 1859 to 1870, and was later involved in the administration of the New Hampshire Agricultural College. He was described as being "an intimate friend of Daniel Webster (1782-1852)," and as "one of New Hampshire's most noted jurists." Nesmith's close friendship with Daniel Webster was "one of his most pleasant recollections," and he has long been quoted in matters relating to the history of the great expounder. He was noted as having "resembled Webster somewhat in personal appearance". Nesmith first saw Webster speak in 1818, while Nesmith was still a student at Dartmouth. He became personally acquainted with Webster in 1824, when brothers Daniel and Ezekiel Webster visited a farm that had been their childhood haunt, and over the following years, Nesmith and Webster became very close friends. In 1858, Nesmith wrote a well-received biography of Webster's father, Ebenezer Webster. Nesmith most likely included a work by Webster in the second book to keep pagination relatively similar between the two individually bound works, and also because Webster was his close friend & respected colleague. Incredibly scarce first printing with interesting provenance. Please message us with any questions.
Seller: ROBIN RARE BOOKS at the Midtown Scholar, Harrisburg, PA, U.S.A.
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Octavo, Part 1 is a second printing, parts 2-6 are printed one year after the first printing 1820 with no textural difference. (BAL) part 7 match BAL (10106) for second printing. A very good set in period mottled brown leather, rubbed along the comers, starting along the front gutter of volume 2 inner hinge cracked, and both with blank endpapers, indicating an early repair as rear endpapers are period marbled . Spines nicked but an attractive set with original labels .
Seller: Old New York Book Shop, ABAA, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.
Price: US$3500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: New-York: C.S. Van Winkle, 1819-20. First Edition, Mixed Printings (see below). Seven parts in two volumes (bound without original wrappers, otherwise complete); octavos (21cm.); contemporary calf over marbled paper-covered boards, black gilt spine labels. Margins a bit scuffed, foxing to textblocks as well as some soil and damp spotting to textblock of Vol. II, near-contemporary ex libris to both front pastedowns of American philanthropist Augustus Russell Street (1792-1866), else Very Good. Attractive set of Irving's pseudonymously-published series of comic, spooky, and Christmas sketches most famously including the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Perhaps Sabin said it best: "It has been repeatedly reprinted, and will doubtless maintain its position as a classic in every age and nation." Printing sequence as follows per BAL: Part I mixed printing; Parts II and IV first printings; Part III BAL state B (no priority); Parts V-VII second printings. Bound in rear of Vol. II is a first edition of "Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent." (New York: William H. Clayton, 1824). BAL 10106 & 10112; SABIN 35197.
Seller: Capitol Hill Books, ABAA, Washington, DC, U.S.A.
Price: US$3750.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 443 pages. Each of the five parts with title page dated 1819; Part I is the first printing - according in all respects with BAL 10106. Part II line 12, p. 240 is BAL designation A (no priority). Wrappers not bound in; no infringement slip in II. Blank leaf retained for Part I; two blanks follow Part V - the second with closed tear. Contemporary unsophisticated leather with gilt to spine: SKETCH BOOK / VOL. I. Foxing to endpapers; two ownership signatures to front free endpaper, and an older one dated 1820 to first title page. Joints split for an inch at head of spine; unrestored binding is sound. Leaves tanned; occasional spotting. It is worth noting that the Part I title page shown currently [March '18] on Wikipedia as first edition is not that of the first printing.
Seller: The Odd Book (ABAC, ILAB), Wolfville, NS, Canada
Washington Irving. Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent ( Rip Van Winkle ). C.S. Van Winkle, 1819.
Price: US$7500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Shelf 1004 Text clean; light ripple to paper; paper lightly browned; foxing throughout; hinges have been repaired but front still cracked, now separated; rebound; signature of prior owner Samuel H. Laughlin on FEP; FFEP has one inch by half inch chip at top; VII parts; small area of margin writing on pp 146-147; couple pages have chip to outer margin; last few pages don't open completely; corners bumped and rubbed; edges and surface show wear.The handwritten notes at bottom of pages 146-47 state that the person Irving names as E, the Irish patriot on that page was Robert Emmet,tried twice and convicted of high treason in Ireland in 1803 and executed was brother of Robert A. Emmet of New York, the first attorney in the United States.On page 147 the handwritten notes refer to Irving's description of a daughter of a distinguished barrister and explains she is daughter of the orator John Philpot Curran and states the source of the information. There is also a previous owner name on inside front cover of "Samuel H. Laughlin" (1796-1850) who was known as President James K. Polk's "Political Handyman" . Mr. Laughlin was attorney general in Tennessee, active in national Democratic politics, and was editor of Nashville newspaper. Mr. Laughlin's papers and diary repose in the Emory University Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library and many more documents in the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Not a book club (BC)copy. Not ex library, not a remainder, smoke free. PHOTOS POSTED WITH OUR BOOKS ARE STOCK AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT CONDITION OR EDITION OF BOOK OFFERED FOR SALE. WE DO NOT POST THE PHOTOS.
Seller: BookManBookWoman Books, Nashville, TN, U.S.A.
Price: US$7500.00 + shipping
Description: [IRVING, Washington]. The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. New York: Printed by C.S. Van Winkle, 1819[-1820]. First edition, first issue of all parts. Two octavo volumes (8 x 5 inches; 203 x 128 mm), bound together from the original seven parts. Volume 1 is parts 1-4, volume II is parts 5-7. BAL describes parts 1, 6, and 7 as having additional first printing points, of which our copy has all points as described in BAL; and state B (no priority) of the text on page 240 of part III in first volume, line 12: "on the". Collates exactly according to the BAL. iv, [5]-94; [97]-169,[-170, blank]; [171]-210, 203-242; [243]-301[-302], [2], [303]-335,[-336, blank]; [337]-443, [1, blank]; [1]-120; [1]-123, [1, blank] pp. Part 2 without the anti-piracy slip (not required for a complete collation). Bound without final blank in Part I as usual. Almost uniformly bound in full mottled tree calf, but not with exact gilt stamping. Elaborately stamped in gilt on boards and spine. Each volume with two red morocco spine labels, lettered in gilt. Gilt board edges. Gilt dentelles. Marbled endpapers. Volume II with some chipping along outer hinge, not affecting the gilt. Some soiling and foxing throughout, mainly to volume I. Part III with tear to top edge of title-page and following leaf, not affecting text. A repaired closed tear to same 2nd leaf in part III. A few other tears to top margins, not affecting text. Pages 127 (part II) and 317 (part IV) with repaired closed tears, but with no loss of text. Overall a very good, attractive set. Each volume chemised and housed in matching quarter morocco slipcases. This handsome copy of the first edition of Irving's first collection of short fiction, is made more rare by the fact that it is bound here from the original parts. Contains the complete first appearance of some of Irving's most famous stories, "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." "That Americans here first read of Rip Van Winkle and Ichabod Crane is not so important, in influencing the culture of the country, as that they learned of these and other gentlemen, and of the Indians, and of old England, through the medium of a musical, rhythmical style, quiet humor and dreamy charm, which instinctively taught taste and sweetness,' taking pleasure and giving pleasure and always playing the companion rather than the teacher.'" (Grolier, 100 American, 31.) BAL 10106. Langfeld & Kleinfield, pp. 15-22. Grolier, 100 American, 31. HBS 68522. $7,500.
Seller: Heritage Book Shop, ABAA, Beverly Hills, CA, U.S.A.