Marvel Comics Library, X-Men, Vol. 1, 1963–1966, Famous First Edition Book

The First Family of the Marvel Age. The ultimate collection of the world’s greatest comic magazine. Hoping to break out of a sales slump at Marvel in the early 1960s, veteran comic...

The Strangest Super-Heroes of All. The foundation of a pop-culture phenomenon. When Marvel publisher Martin Goodman asked Stan Lee to deliver another new team book for his line of comics, he had no idea he’d be getting something like The X-Men. In fact, nobody could have imagined the extraordinary phenomenon the X-Men would eventually grow into—not Goodman, not Lee, not even the forward-thinking futurist Jack Kirby. What they started out as was a charming, ragtag team of misfits, devised by Lee and Kirby to be mutants—youngsters born with “X-tra” powers thrust upon them not by accidentally crossing paths with cosmic rays or a nuclear blast, but by the fate of birth—led by a no-nonsense professor who trained them to become heroes that could protect the world from menaces, mutant and otherwise. The first years of storytelling laid the foundation for much of what has put the X-Men at the crossroads of comics and popular culture: Hounded by a public that fears and misunderstands them, mutantkind find themselves at the heart of their own civil rights struggle; Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast, and Iceman found safety amongst themselves despite the challenges that set them apart from others in society; and Professor Xavier lined up against his ideological foe, Magneto, who had assembled a Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to take the fight for their self-preservation directly to humankind. Along the way, Lee and Kirby—who were on fire taking comics into the Marvel Age—introduced a menagerie of villains and supporting characters that would become mainstays of Marvel and its lore: the super-powered siblings Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch; the formidable Blob; the unstoppable Juggernaut; the jungle dweller from the Savage Land, Ka-Zar; the demigod from the stars, the Stranger; and Bolivar Trask and his army of mutant-hunting Sentinels. And as Lee and Kirby gave way to new talents so they could move on to new corners of the Marvel Universe, Atlas era art veteran Werner Roth teamed with writing newcomer and future X-Men legend Roy Thomas...

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Assembling the definitive Marvel Age Avengers anthology By early 1963 the foundations of the Marvel Universe had been laid. Following the introduction of the Fantastic Four in 1961 came the amazing (Spider-Man), the astonishing (Ant-Man), the strange (Doctor, that is), the incredible (Hulk), the invincible (Iron Man) and the mighty (Thor). Still, Marvel editor in chief Stan Lee realized something was missing. “I was writing these characters and I thought it would fun to put them together in a team,” he recalled. So Lee and artist Jack Kirby assembled Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Thor, and the Hulk...

The First Family of the Marvel Age. The ultimate collection of the world’s greatest comic magazine. Hoping to break out of a sales slump at Marvel in the early 1960s, veteran comic...

To study Gio Ponti’s prolific body of work is to appreciate the clear, unifying vision behind a complex creative universe. His creations expand intuitively with the Italian grandeur ...

The classic encyclopedia of the arcane in an expanded edition. Renowned philosopher and lecturer Manly P. Hall’s masterful encyclopedia of ancient symbols, hidden rituals, and arcane practices has remained a classic since first published in 1928. Hall’s densely detailed writings explore topics ranging from Hermeticism to Tarot, Egyptian mythology to Pythagorean theory. Each chapter is accompanied by the vivid illustrations of artist J. Augustus Knapp, with additional images by Mihran Serailian found in the companion volume, each taking their own unique approach to nearly 60 artworks depicting occult subject matter. The initial concept for what became known as Hall’s “Great Book”, first began in 1923 when the young Los Angeles-based orator began a months-long trip around the globe. Circumnavigating by ship, Hall visited Egypt, China and India, immersing himself in the philosophical and religious history of each country. Upon his return he spent the next five years penning his massive compendium of philosophy and myth. Nearly a century after its release, this iconic masterwork has been reproduced for the first time from the rare and extravagant original edition. This meticulously-restored version of Hall’s “Great Book” is also accompanied by an expansive companion book, featuring condensed summaries of each chapter of The Secret Teachings, alongside newly-discovered artworks, rare photography...

Visual Culture edited by Chris Jenks. London and New York: Routledge, 1995. First edition softcover. 269 pp. An exploration of the 'visual' character of contemporary culture in a ser...

AUTHOR: HARDY, Thomas. TITLE: The Return of the Native. PUBLISHER: London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1878. DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION FIRST ISSUE. 3 vols., 7-1/4" x 4-15/16", (without the quotation marks...

The Wrightsman collection, Vols. I-V. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1966-1973. First edition hardcovers with dust jackets. 2248 pp. Inscribed by the Wrightsmans. The complete series of The Wrightsman collection catalogues from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Jayne and Charles Wrightsman, who, in a relatively short period of time—beginning in 1952—amassed the finest private collection in America of the decorative arts of the Ancien Régime (15th c until 1792). Throughout the years the Wrightsmans' active interest in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts has resulted in splendid gifts that have enabled the Museum to create an unparalleled and truly encyclopaedic collection of French 18th c...

New Orleans architecture vol. VII Jefferson City. Gretna: Pelican publishing company. First edition hardcover with dust jacket, 1989. 192 pp. ...

AUTHOR: CHURCHILL, Winston. TITLE: Lord Randolph Churchill. PUBLISHER: London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1906. DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION. 2 vols., 8-11/16" x 5-7/8", illustrated with ...

American Painted Furniture by Cynthia V.A. Schaffner and Susan Klein. New York: Clarkson Potter Publishers, 1997. Stated first edition hardcover with dust jacket. An examination of A...