Burnside Rare Books

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."

02/13/2026

Nightwood
Djuna Barnes

London: Faber and Faber Ltd, 1936. First British edition, first printing. Association copy signed by Djuna Barnes on the front free endpaper and warmly inscribed to Chester Page with date 1970. 239 pp. Bound in publisher's purple cloth with gilt lettering to spine, blue topstain. Near Fine with slight lean to spine, light rubbing and toning to extremities, and fading to topstain. Contents lightly toned. In a Very Good unclipped dust jacket with light toning and moderate edgewear and soiling. The groundbreaking lesbian-themed novel, uncommon in the original dust jacket and quite scarce as a signed first.

Djuna Barnes became a notorious recluse during the last decades of her life, suspicious of all but her closest friends. One of those friends, poet Marianne Moore, became concerned about Barnes' health in the spring of 1970 and asked a young pianist and bibliophile named Chester Page to call her. Somewhat surprisingly, Barnes invited him to tea, and the ensuing friendship that developed lasted until her death in 1982. This book marks the earliest stages of a relationship that defined the last decade of the great writer's life, as covered in Page's Memoirs of a Charmed Life in New York. He notes the difficulty of getting signed books from Barnes: "I knew Djuna regarded giving her signature as though she were giving her life blood."

Offered by ABAA-member Burnside Rare Books and found in their recent "e-List 105: Staff Picks."

For more info or to browse the complete catalog, visit: https://www.abaa.org/articles/latest-catalogs-of-rare-books

02/10/2026

Our newest e-list is Staff Picks-- books selected by the four of us at Burnside Rare Books.

Check it out here:

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1964. First American edition, first printing. Bound in teal cloth stamped in brown and gold. Fine, with a tiny mark to the front free endpaper, in a Fine unclipped dust jacket. A superior copy of the critically acclaimed Japanese novel. Item #140945166

02/05/2026

Happy New-Muppet-Show-Day to all who celebrate!

Of Muppets & Men: The Making of the Muppet Show
By [Henson, Jim]; Christopher Finch

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1981. First edition. Near Fine/Near Fine. First edition, first printing. Signed by Jim Henson on the half title page and inscribed, "To Michael From Kermit the Frog and Jim Henson." Bound in publisher's original dark blue cloth lettered in metallic pink. Near Fine with light wear at extremities, light soiling and trivial foxing to endsheets. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with small closed tears and wear to edges, light rubbing, and minor foxing to verso.

A fantastic copy of this behind-the-scenes look at the production, planning and acting of the beloved Muppet Show, signed by the creator.

Offered by ABAA-member Burnside Rare Books

For more info or to browse recent highlights, visit: https://www.abaa.org/articles/weekly-highlights

01/23/2026

War is a Racket
Butler, Smedley

New York: Round Table Press, Inc., 1935.

First edition, second printing as stated on dust jacket front flap. [viii], 52 pp. Bound in publisher's red cloth lettered in black. Near Fine. Light foxing to textblock edges, front endpaper, and upper margin throughout. Bookplate to front pastedown, separate owner inscription and date 5/20/1944 to bookplate. In a scarce Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with moderate soiling, foxing and toning and small area of paper loss near head of spine.

A rediscovered antiwar classic by the (then) most highly decorated Marine in US history. One recent reprinting of the book featured essays by contemporary figures like Jessie Ventura, Cindy Sheehan, and David Talbot hailing the book. Butler also broke up a secret coup plot against FDR sometimes referred to as "The Business Plot," dismissed by the mainstream media of the time but recounted and affirmed in books such as Jules Archer's The Plot to Seize the White House.

Offered by ABAA-member Burnside Rare Books and found in their recent "e-List 104: War is a Racket."

For more info or to browse the complete catalog, visit: https://www.abaa.org/articles/latest-catalogs-of-rare-books