" It is a man's duty to have books. A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessaries of life. "
— Henry Ward Beecher
Oscar Wilde | First Editions
1854 - 1900
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 - 30 November 1900) Irish writer and poet, hugely successful playwright and novelist, master of the bon mot and the pithy aphorism, the very soul of the late Victorian literary era and its tragic sacrifice on the altar of respectability and hypocrisy. Very few figures capture the late-Victorian, slightly decadent, slightly silly, slightly sadistic, insanely creative fin-de-siecle period so completely as Oscar Wilde. His reputation as the leading aesthete of his day, equal parts hero and villain depending upon which side of the aesthetic argument you came down on, is well known. Parodied in Gilbert and Sullivan's "Patience" 1881 he immediately caught the imagination of the public and with the sponsorship of John Murray and the assistance of the bizarre and enigmatic Colonel Morse Oscar embarked on a wildly successful tour of the US.
See below our stock of Oscar Wilde First Editions, fine bindings, sets and other collectible material.
Results 1 - 8 (of 8)
The Selfish Giant.
London: Red Fox, 2015. [Children's Illustrated] SIGNED FIRST PAPERBACK THUS. Small quarto (30 x 23cm), pp.[32]. With fine colour illustrations to every page by Deacon. SIGNED by the illustrator in black marker to title page. Publisher's colour-illustrated soft covers, priced at £7.99. A fine, as-new copy. Abridged and illustrated by..... More
The Letters of Oscar Wilde.
London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1962. [Literary Letters] INSCRIBED PRESENTATION COPY, first printing. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.xxvi; 958. INSCRIBED by Rupert Hart-Davis in black ink for H.D. Ziman to fly-leaf. With a publisher's compliments slip loose to preliminaries. Publisher's purple cloth with gilt titles to spine. Top edge purple. With the..... More
Children In Prison and Other Cruelties of Prison Life.
London: Murdoch and Co., 1898. FIRST EDITION in book-form. Pamphlet, pp.16, printed wrappers. Trivial toning. A fine copy, but for the rust-through from the single staple at fold. The text of Wilde's celebrated letter to the Daily Chronicle, appearing on 28th May 1897, which concerned the affair of Warder T...... More
The Importance of Being Earnest.
London: Samuel French Ltd, 26 Southampton St., n.d. [c.1900]. French's Acting Edition, 'The Dramatic Works of Oscar Wilde' No.1. pp.52. Publisher's decorative pale green paper covers printed in black with 'Gothic' title in two lines (some show the title over three lines, priority unknown). Original price 1d,.6s. Some trivial handling..... More
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Prose Pieces.
London: Methuen and Co., 1908. [Short Stories] FINELY BOUND LIMITED EDITION. Octavo (22 x 16cm), pp.[10] 266 [4]. One of just 1000 copies thus printed on handmade paper. Contemporary brown half crushed morocco by ZAEHNSDORF with raised bands, gilt titles and decoration to spine, and brown cloth over boards. Neatly..... More
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Prose Pieces.
London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., 1891. [Short Stories] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (18 x 12cm), pp.[4] 168. Publisher's tan paper covered boards with titles in dark brown, rebacked with remains of the original spine laid over. W.H. Smith blind stamp and recent bookseller's ticket to flyleaf. Light spotting to..... More
Sebastian Melmoth.
London: Arthur L. Humphreys, 1905. [Aphorisms] SECOND PRINTING. Octavo (17 x 14cm), pp.[4] 222 [2]. Fine letterpress printing on handmade paper. Publisher's quarter cream paper over spine, with the printed paper title label, and grey paper over boards. Deckle edges. Some spotting to edges, endpapers, and covers. Spine toned, with..... More
The Soul of Man Under Socialism.
Portland, ME: Thomas B. Mosher, 1905. [Political Essay] LIMITED EDITION. Small octavo (17 x 13cm), pp.[10] 90 [8]. One of just 600 copies finely printed on Van Gelder hand-made paper. Publisher's plain card boards with grey paper over. Black titles to spine, and red and black titles to upper. All..... More
Results 1 - 8 (of 8)