Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$20.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 8vo. 2nd printing. Rubbing to spine endsm corners and bottom edges of boards. Mild toning to leaves. Light toning to DJ. Tape repair to verso of DJ near top of front joint. General edgewear to DJ. Some chipping to top edges of DJ.
Seller: Strand Book Store, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$25.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: (1953) 8vo. 2nd printing. Rubbing to spine ends, corners, and bottom edge of boards. Mild toning to leaves. Light toning to DJ. Minor shelfwear to DJ. VG/VG.
Seller: Strand Book Store, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$60.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Stated First Edition. Spine, bottom edge, and corners of boards are rubbed. Pages are tanned with age. Dust jacket has tears and two chips along the top, but is intact. But the binding is tight. Pages, text block edges, inside covers, and hardcovers are clean and unmarked. Images are shown both with and without the dust jacket and are of the actual item. Free shipping within the US.
Seller: Friends of KPL, Kalamazoo, MI, U.S.A.
Price: US$64.14 + shipping
Description: The book is bright and firm with a little browning, the dj is worn and frayed with a 8cm closed tear to the front panel. Size: 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall
Seller: LONGLAND BOOKS, Totteridge, LDN, United Kingdom
Price: US$67.50 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Light edge wear.
Seller: Take Five Books, Ashland, OR, U.S.A.
Gorey, Edward. Unstrung Harp; or, Mr. Earbrass Writes a Novel. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1953.
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 1953 Duell, Sloan and Pearce stated first edition in pictorial boards, no jacket. Tight and unmarked, "With the season's greetings" card from publisher laid in. B75 Please email for photos. Larger books or sets may require additional shipping charges. Books sent via US Postal
Seller: Griffin Books, Stamford, CT, U.S.A.
Price: US$80.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Gorey's first book. Illustrated covers. Contains black and white illustrations. No dust jacket. Slight wear to corners. Some wear to head and tail of spine. Slight wear along joints of spine. 8vo.
Seller: Carl Blomgren Fine Books ABAA, petaluma, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$130.00 + shipping
Description: Stated First Edition, First Printing. 5 x 7.5in. Unpaginated, complete. Publisher's printed paper-covered boards. VERY GOOD in Very Good dust jacket protected in a removable archival cover. The book itself shows the extremities shelf rubbed with marginal loss, the last 4 pages with a very short closed tear at the bottom margin not affecting text or design, otherwise the binding is strong and tight, the text is clean and unmarked, and the boards remain bright and distinct. The dust jacket shows marginal shelf rubbing of the extremities, topmost of the spine with a chip, a small chip from the back panel, otherwise is not price-clipped remaining bright, colorful, and distinct. As pictured.
Seller: North Books: Used & Rare, St. Louis, MO, U.S.A.
Price: US$130.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 5 x 8 in. Matching pictoral paper boards. Stated first edition, 1953. Condition is VERY GOOD+ ; covers extremely clean and fresh with a touch of wear to corners, light wear to spine ends. Binding tight. Gift message dated 1955 on ffep, small bookseller's label on rear pastedown "Palmer's Book Shop 224 Maine St. Brunswick Maine". Text very clean, edges show a touch of toning. DJ is GOOD+ ; not clipped ($2.00) very clean except a tiny red pencil mark bwlow the curtains on front. Upper front edge has a couple of long chips, rear has two larger at same edge. In a new Mylar wrapper. Rare. RGR.
Seller: Andre Strong Bookseller, Blue Hill, ME, U.S.A.
Price: US$135.00 + shipping
Description: illus boards, front & back, w/ matching dust jacket [$2.95]; russet endpapers; unpaginated [64]. cover/ jacket art by Edward Gorey. near fine (-) copy in good (+) dust jacket: front top edge bumped w/ slightest bruising; sitting edges rubbed but corner points & spine ends excellent; dust jacket: shallow chipping along top edge w/ tear at front of crown; lower front of spine split, repaired; 2 small punctures to upper 'curtains' area; rear top edge nicked w/ closed tear; nicer than it sounds!
Seller: Flips Fine Books, Greensboro, GA, U.S.A.
Price: US$142.90 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Duell, Sloan, & Pearce, 1953. First Edition. Hard Cover. UN-clipped dust jacket ($2.00) has substantial shelfwear, 1.5 inch piece missing at top right corner, 2 inch tear near lower right corner with a small chip missing, scuffed along fore edge and corners, a few additional small closed tears. Price is intact. Cover has very slight shelfwear, gently rubbed on corners and spine ends. Pages are clean and unmarked, slightly toned. Binding is tight. Hinges are perfect. Beautiful condition. Illustrations are utterly charming.
Seller: PJK Books and Such, Murrells Inlet, SC, U.S.A.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Small hardbound 8vo in dustwrapper. Unpaginated. Words and images by Gorey. His first book. Stated first edition. A very good copy in price-intact dustwrapper. A very handsome copy of the illustrator's debut work.
Seller: Derringer Books, Member ABAA, Avon, CT, U.S.A.
Edward Gorey. The Unstrung Harp; or, Mr. Earbrass Writes a Novel. Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1953.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: First edition. Gorey's first book. Dust jacket edgeworn. Bottom edges of covers worn.
Seller: Moe's Books, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$172.50 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Illus. by Edward Gorey, 7.5 x 5", pict boards, unpaginated, extremities bumped and worn, front inner hinge tender, pp quite browned, in a darkened, edge-worn/chipped/torn dustjacket. FIRST EDITION.
Seller: John K King Used & Rare Books, Detroit, MI, U.S.A.
Price: US$225.00 + shipping
Description: Stated First edition Toledano A1a; 12mo.; pictorial boards, hardcover; black and white illustrations; Author's first book; edge-rubbed boards with spine ends lightly bumped and a small hole on endpaper else very good in a edgeworn dust jacket with closed tears on spine ends that is taped on the under side and with the original price intact.
Seller: WellRead Books A.B.A.A., Northport, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$225.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First Printing. A Near Fine copy in illustrated paper covered boards, maroon endpapers, in a Very Good or better dustwrapper of same design, price-clipped. Rubbing to bottom edges of boards. Small ink inscription to top corner of free front endpaper. Jacket with small wear to points, and two small chips to area around crown. Unpaginated. Toledano A1a. Q17502
Seller: Compass Rose Books, ABAA-ILAB, Kensington, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Description: 12mo, publisher's illustrated boards in dust jacket. First edition. Contemporary ink inscription on front free endpaper; else a near fine copy in a price-clipped jacket with a small area of light chipping at the top of the front panel.
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Near fine in very good+ dust jacket. (2"-inch closed tear at upper right hand edge of front cover. Couple small edge chips in dust jacket. Front flap neatly clipped, but printed price of $2.00 present. Small edge tears at base of front cover. ) Author's FIRST book. (LR) ; 5 1/4' X 7 1/2"
Seller: WAVERLEY BOOKS ABAA, Santa Monica, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. Gorey's first book. And what a delight it is! VG/VG- in decorated paper-covered boards stamped in red, black, and gold; with some spotting to the bottom of the front maroon endpaper. In lightly edgeworn dustjacket missing pieces at the top of the spine and the adjacent corner of the front panel. With several scuff marks along the right side of the dustjacket spine.The original price of $2.00 is printed on the inside front flap. A nice, tight copy of the book in the original dustjacket. First Edition.
Seller: Brainerd Phillipson Rare Books, Holliston, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Description: First edition of the author's first book. Illustrated by the author. 1 vols. 12mo. Author's First Book. Pictorial boards. Lower corner bumped, erasure mark on flyleaf, otherwise very good, in a well-worn dust jacket Illustrated by the author. 1 vols. 12mo First edition of the author's first book.
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$275.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. Gorey's first book. And what a delight it is! VG+/VG+ in decorated paper-covered boards stamped in red, black, and gold. In lightly edgeworn, complete dustjacket with a touch of rubbing at the top of the spine. With a 2 small tears at the bottom of the spine where a sticker was removed and took some of the mustard colored paper with it. With the original price of $2.00 on the inside front flap. A nice, tight, clean copy of the book in the original dustjacket. First Edition.
Seller: Brainerd Phillipson Rare Books, Holliston, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$325.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Sm 8vo. Illustrated boards. Maroon end papers. [unpaginated] Toledano A1a. Slight wear to bottom edges. Prior owner's name on Front Free End Paper. Illustrated dust-jacket (with price clipped) has slight wear to spine ends and corners, and is missing a small chip (5/8" X 1/4") at bottom of front panel (not affecting lettering). Small tape reinforcement on back of dust-jacket, at top of spine. The stated first edition, in original dust-jacket, of Gorey's first book.
Seller: Waugh Books, Lawrence, KS, U.S.A.
Gorey, Edward. The Unstrung Harp. Duell, Sloan and Pierce - Little, Brown, 1953, 1953.
Price: US$414.75 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: GOOD-. Dark red and light brown illustrated jacket, dust jacket in archival plastic protector, approx. 7.5'' x 5.25'', small chips to spine edges, edges and corners of jacket, slightly larger chip to bottom front corner of jacket, creases and small chips to spine hinges of jacket, light brown stain and a few gray smudges to front of jacket, lighter gray smudges to back of jacket, some fading/browning with age to inside jacket flaps, small chips to edges and corners of boards, beginning inner hinge split between fly page and title page, edges of inner pages have turned slightly brown with age. Once Read Books, cover scan available - just ask, OnceReadBooks com Orders shipped via USPS.
Seller: Once Read Books, Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$435.00 + shipping
Description: THE UNSTRUNG HARP; OR, MR EARBRASS WRITES A NOVEL, Duell, Sloan and Pearce / Little Brown, 1953, first edition, just about fine in like color pictorial dust-wrapper. Profusely illustrated of course. The author/artist's first book.
Seller: THE FINE BOOKS COMPANY / A.B.A.A / 1979, ROCHESTER, MI, U.S.A.
Gorey, Edward. The Unstrung Harp: or, Mr Earbrass Writes a Novel. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1953.
Price: US$634.97 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: 1953 Duell, Sloan and Pearce New York Hardback 1st edition 1st impression. Near fine clean tight binding in very good+ unclipped dustjacket. Dj has had very minor repairs at some point.
Seller: MacKellar Art & Books, Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Price: US$1000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 12mo. Unpaginated [64 pp]. Pictorial boards in clipped dust jacket. First edition. Signed by Gorey on title page. Light edgewear to dj, w/ two small [< 1cm] closed tears to rear panel. Rubbing to board edges. Bookseller's label to rpd from "The Holliday Bookshop, 119 East 54th ST, New York 22, N.Y." Tight, sound copy of Gorey's first independent work.
Seller: Small Volume Books, Providence, RI, U.S.A.
Edward Gorey. The Unstrung Harp; or, Mr. Earbrass Writes a Novel. Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1953.
Price: US$1000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition. Signed by Edward Gorey on the title page. Jacket is worn along edges, but protected by a mylar cover. Top corner of front jacket flap is clipped, not cutting off text. Cover corners are worn. Spine is worn along edges, but binding is secure. Pages are tanned, but otherwise clean and unmarked.
Seller: Moe's Books, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$1000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: SIGNED BY EDWARD GOREY on a decorative bookplate affixed to the front free endpaper. A very solid copy to boot of the 1953 stated 1st edition of the maestro's 1st published book. Tight and VG+ (handsome former owner bookplate at the front pastedown) in a crisp, price-intact ($2.00), VG+ dustjacket, with just a bit of light chipping and wear along the spine. 12mo, wonderfully illustrated along each recto, Gorey's madcap text at each facing recto.
Seller: APPLEDORE BOOKS, ABAA, WACCABUC, NY, U.S.A.
Gorey, Edward. The Unstrung Harp. Duell, Sloan, & Pearce / Little, Brown, New York / Boston, 1953.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First edition, first printing. Signed by Edward Gorey on the title page. Bound in publisher's illustrated boards. Near Fine with light rubbing at tips, former owner name to front pastedown and erased area to front free endpaper, pages toned. A lovely copy of Edward Gorey's first published book, scarcely found signed.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Gorey, Edward. The unstrung harp;: Or, Mr. Earbrass writes a novel. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1953.
Price: US$1500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Signed by Edward Gorey on title page. First edition, first printing, published by Duell, Sloan, and Pearce in 1953. Hardcover in jacket, price of $2.00 intact on jacket flap, over pictorial boards. Some rubbing and a few small chips to jacket edge. Text is clean and unmarked. Some toning to pages, a few instances of foxing in the margins. Binding strong. Light edge wear to boards. Presents well in fresh Mylar. Very good condition. Additional photos available upon request. All of our books are carefully wrapped and shipped in a box.
Seller: The Bookman & The Lady, Santa Fe, NM, U.S.A.
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First printing of Gorey's first book, duodecimo size, 64 pp., signed by Edward Gorey. "The Unstrung Harp has the distinction of being virtually the only Gorey book where the written word is as lengthy as the illustrations are detailed. It is said that you should write about that which is familiar to you, and Mr. Gorey did just that in this book." Often referred to as "a small masterpiece", "The Unstrung Harp" is clearly an autobiographical work and offers insights into his creative process in a manner which draws the reader both into the work itself and into the mind of Edward Gorey. Edward St. John Gorey (1925-2000) is well-known and well-loved for his poisonously funny picture books which are complex, humorous, serious, and provocative. However, this book, his first published work, may be a bit different than many Gorey fans might expect; he was still developing his signature style and therefore the illustrations "are wonderfully complex while still exhibiting a looseness of line that is not present in later works." The "tale is of an author struggling to find the right story to fit a title plucked at random from a list of hopeful book titles (a practice Gorey indulged in). It goes on to detail all the attendant difficulties involved in writing a novel" - indeed, one can clearly envision Gorey experiencing the same exact agonies as his title character (n.b., above quotes from the web site of the Goreyana blogspot). ___DESCRIPTION: Pictorial paper-covered boards, the illustration a wrap-around by Edward Gorey in three colours, black lettering on both boards and spine, brown endpapers, signed by Edward Gorey on the title page in his usual style (beneath his printed name which has been crossed through), "First Edition" stated on title page (matches the first issue points in Toledano), the story unfolds with text on the verso of each page and a full-page illustration on the recto of each facing page; duodecimo size (7.5" by 5"), unpaginated with 32 leaves (64 pages). In the original dust jacket with the same wrap-around Gorey illustration as on the boards, the front flap with a summary of the book and showing the original price of $2.00, the back flap with a "review" by C.F. Earbrass, followed by a short bio of the author. ___CONDITION: Near fine, the paper boards clean, the corners straight without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and it is entirely free of prior owner markings; some minor edgewear to the bottom edges of the boards, gentle bumping to the head and tail of the spine, and a very small area of light soiling to the lower corner of the front board (not obstructing text or the illustration). The dust jacket is also near fine, unclipped, with a minute amount of edgewear to the head and tail of the spine and where the flaps meet the panels, one light stray mark to the front panel near the joint. Overall a near fine copy of Gorey's first book, somewhat scarce in marketplace, particularly when signed. ___CITATION: Toledano A1a. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Seller: Swan's Fine Books, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA, Walnut Creek, CA, U.S.A.