Burnside Rare Books

07/30/2026

COSMOS
Sagan, Carl

New York: Random House, 1980.

First edition, first printing. Signed by Carl Sagan and inscribed to a former owner on the title page. xvi, 365 pp. Bound in publisher's black boards with black cloth backstrip, with spine lettered in metallic red and silver. Near Fine with light sunning and light wear to edges, corners bumped. Former owner (inscribee) bookplate to front pastedown and contents lightly tanned. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with light general wear.

An uncommon signed copy of one of the bestselling science books of all time, which inspired a popular 13-part PBS TV series hosted by the author and scored by Vangelis.

Offered by ABAA-member Burnside Rare Books and found in their recent "e-List #108: Cosmology."

07/17/2026

A Year Among the Girls
by Raynor, Darrell G.; [Donald A. Wollheim]

London: Mayflower-Dell, 1967. First British edition, first printing. 159, [1] pp. Bound in publisher's printed wraps. About Very Good with moderate wear to wraps, faint foxing to textblock edges and occasionally margins throughout, and toning to contents.

Donald A. Wollheim's memoir of his involvement with the cross-dressing community. Written under the pseudonym of Darrell G. Raynor, the author chronicles his time at Casa Susanna, a Catskills weekend retreat for cross-dressing men and transgender women in the early 1960's. Wollheim -- a Futurian member and publishing giant who founded DAW Books -- became a regular at Casa Susanna, where he used the names Donna and Doris. Wollheim had previously published articles (under the name D. Rhodes) in Turnabout and Transvestia, two of the first widely-distributed magazines of the cross-dressing community. A groundbreaking personal account that details the intimate social and domestic lives of Wollheim's fellow transvestites. Sebastien Lifsh*tz directed the 2022 documentary film Casa Susanna about the history and guests of the inn.

Offered by ABAA-member Burnside Rare Books

07/02/2026

The Talented Mr. Ripley
by Patricia Highsmith

New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1955. First edition, first printing. Bound in publisher's black cloth-affect boards with spine titles stamped in green. Good with soiling and slight lean to binding; moderate edge wear with bumped corners; remnants of effaced former owner's name on front free endpaper. In a Very Good unclipped dust jacket trimmed slightly short for the binding (an anomaly?), with fading to spine, light foxing, moderate edge wear; small tear to rear joint and damp stain to spine at verso.

Offered by ABAA-member Burnside Rare Books and found in their recent catalog "e-List #107: Summertime."

05/13/2026

It's true. We're hiring! Learn more here:

https://www.abaa.org/articles/burnside-rare-books-seeks-book-cataloger

ABAA-member Burnside Rare Books is seeking a full-time rare book cataloger to join their team in Portland, Oregon.

Learn more: https://www.abaa.org/articles/burnside-rare-books-seeks-book-cataloger

05/05/2026

Happy Star Wars Day! May the Fourth Be With You!

Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker
by Lucas, George; [Alan Dean Foster]

New York: Ballantine Books, 1977. First hardcover trade edition. Near Fine/Fine. First hardcover trade edition with "Hardbound Ballantine Books Edition: October, 1977" on copyright page. Signed by the uncredited ghostwriter Alan Dean Foster on the title page in black marker. [vi], 183 pp. Bound in publisher's black cloth stamped in gilt on front board and spine, oatmeal speckled endpapers. Near Fine in a Fine unclipped dust jacket (price $6.95).

A novelization of the feature film, illustrated with film stills, and uncommon in such nice condition. This edition was preceded by a slightly less desirable paperback original and a hardcover book club edition. Foster went on to write numerous novelizations of films and television episodes from the Star Wars, Alien, and Star Trek franchises.

Offered by ABAA-member Burnside Rare Books

To purchase this item or to view recent highlights, visit: https://www.abaa.org/articles/weekly-highlights

04/22/2026

04/14/2026

We'll be there, as will many of the books from our latest catalogue. Come say hi.

Universally referred to as the world’s finest antiquarian book fair, the ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair will return to the Park Avenue Armory, April 30-May 3, 2026.

The fair’s specialties encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, gastronomy, fashion, first editions, Americana, philosophy, childrens books, and much more. From the historic and academic, the religious and spiritual—to the bedrock of secular culture, finance, and politics—the fair boasts offerings in every conceivable genre and subject.

Learn more & buy tickets at www.nybookfair.com

04/14/2026

Our latest catalogue is out now! View it as a flipbook:

https://brb.rarebookcatalogs.com/catalogue-8/ =1

04/01/2026

New e-list out now: Amateur Press Publications.

Since the 19th century clubs of printing enthusiasts and amateur journalists all over the world have exchanged their own publications-- zines, really, as they would be called today.

We have selection of some American examples from the mid-20th century to check out, including a large archive and a number of very rare early publications by legendary horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. These were printed in very small numbers (as in 25 copies, total, for instance) during his lifetime and are sought-after by collectors of his work today.

You can find the list here: https://mailchi.mp/burnsiderarebooks/amateurpress

03/13/2026

Steppenwolf [with] Klage und Trost; Das Lied von Abels Tod
Hesse, Hermann; Basil Creighton [Translator]

New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1929.

First American edition, first printing of Steppenwolf. [vi], 309 pp. Bound in publisher's black cloth lettered in red on spine, red topstain. Near Fine with light rubbing to extremities and upper textblock edge, bookseller ticket to back pastedown. In the scarce dust jacket, corners clipped but price of $2.50 intact; Very Good with sunning and small hole to spine panel, several faint stains, and moderate wear including several splits and edge tears (up to 1-3/4 inches), of which two are repaired with tape to verso.

Together with two privately printed and scarce poems, Klage und Trost (1954) and Das Lied von Abels Tod (c. 1957), each on single-fold A5 sheet. The poems are enclosed in Hesse's stationery envelope, addressed in his handwriting to Frau Loni Pflug in Munich. Near Fine with light wear, toning, and foxing.

A beautiful copy of the first American edition of Hesse's best-known novel, in which his surrogate Harry Haller finds his way though suicidal despair. The book was a bestseller in Germany but shocked many American reviewers with scenes of casual s*x and drug use; one generally positive reviewer warned that the book was not for "those who are irremediably steeped in the conventionally rigid formulas" dividing human activities into Good and Bad. Henry Holt did not issue a second edition of Steppenwolf until 1947, and it was not until the blossoming of 1960s counterculture that the United States experienced its "Hesse Boom" and millions of copies of his works sold. Copies from the small print run of 1929 are rare.

The two privately printed poems are even harder to find. Hesse sent individual poems to his correspondents, including the Loni Pflug to whom this envelope is addressed.

Offered by ABAA-member Burnside Rare Books and found in their recent catalog "New Arrivals."