SOLD! First Edition Friday: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
“Better never means better for everyone... It always means worse, for some.”
This book took the world by storm when it came out, and continues to be one of the most requested books in the shop.
It tells the story of Offred, a woman who lives in a time where extremist Judeo-Christian beliefs have won America's culture war. Her, like many other women, have lost all of their rights and become slaves to a brutal patriarchal society which allows them no autonomy nor hope.
It has been 35 years since this book was written and it is just as relevant now as it was when it was first published. It is harrowing, terrifying brutal and necessary.
And here is the First Edition!
This is a First Edition, First Impression published by Jonathan Cape in 1986. It is an Ex-Library and is missing its FEP (front end page), aside from this, it is a suprisingly tidy copy for its age and history and for only NZ$100.00 is an absolute bargain!
This will not last long so snatch it up before someone else does!
If you are interested we also have First Edition Copies of many other Atwood favourites:
Oryx and Crake $20NZD
Alias Grace $27.50NZD
The Blind Assasin $18.59NZD (1st Aus. Edition)
The Robber Bride $15.30NZD
SOLD! First Edition Friday: Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel García Márquez
You may already be familiar with Gabriel García Márquez, the nobel prize winning Colombian powerhouse - he wrote 'Love in a Time of Cholera', 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' and 'Autumn of the Patriarch' to name a few. He is the father of magical realism, weaving the mystery of the unknown, the magic of myth, and the familiarity of real life.
This is particularly true of 'Of Love and Other Demons'. It tells the story of a young girl bitten by a rabies infected dog whom shows then shows no signs of illness. When strange occurances begin to happen around the town she is believed to be possessed. After being shipped off to convent to be exorcised, she meets a priest who adds love to her list of ailments.
We have first editions from both England and America available.
The American version (pictured first) is only $11.15 NZD
The English version (second with no dust jacket) is $12.00NZD
First Edition Friday Presents: The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God by Bernard Shaw.
So I did some research and what I found surprised me.
This is a selection of short stories from Bernard Shaw (Best known for Pygmalion and it’s adaptation My Fair Lady) which follows an African woman in the wake of interacting with white Christian missionaries. Dissatisfied with their teachings, she embarks upon her own quest for God and Truth. Journeying through the forest, she encounters various religious figures, each one seeking to convert her to their own brand of faith. It is a sardonic fable which echoes Shaw’s unorthodox views on religion and also attacks the racist and sexist underpinnings of religious dogma and prophesies the emergence of feminism and multiracialism.
Definitely not what I was expecting!
This is visually striking First Edition, Fourth impression and is available online or in store for $14.00NZD.
(I know it is not a true first edition, but it was so gorgeous and interesting that I had to share)
The Alchemy of Mirrormask by Dave McKean & Neil Gaiman
After the popularity of yesterday’s post, we thought it would be a good idea to showcase another book of the same ilk. Mirrormask is an incredibly quirky film from Dave McKean, Neil Gaiman and The Jim Henson Company.
This book is a look inside the creative process of this extraordinary film and is available online or in our Dunedin store
SOLD! This just in: Brian Froud’s The World of The Dark Crystal!
It will cost you $38.50NZD and is worth every cent!
THIS BOOK HAS BEEN SOLD
First Edition Friday: Anais Nin
"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."
Anais Nin was a novelist, passionate eroticist, short story writer who rose to fame with the publication of her personal journals which covered over 40 years of her extraordinary life. She is regarded as one of the leading female writers of the 20th century and a source of inspiration for women challenging conventionally defined gender roles.
We have several first edition copies of her books:
Delta of Venus; Erotica - First Edition in excellent condition 1978: $65.00
In Favour of the Sensitive Man and Other Essays - First Edition 1978: $20.66
The Novel of the Future - First Commonwealth Edition 1969: $27.89
The Four Chambered Heart - First Edition 1959: $35.00
All these books are available online or at our Dunedin Store.
This Just In: Occult, Spiritualism, Freemason
We have quite a large collection of this type of book - here are some of the highlights that where added last weekend.
The Encyclopaedia of Death and Life in the Spirit World by J. R. Francis. 3 vol. set from 1906. $175.00 SOLD!
Commentaries on the Holy Books and Other Papers: The Equinox (Vol.4 No. 1) by Aleister Crowley, Madam Blavatsky and co. $245.00
Glimpses of Masonic History by C. W. Leadbeater. 1926. $85.00
And that is just the beginning!
All these books and more are available on our website www. hardtofind.co.nz or in our stores.
First Edition Friday: Winnie the Pooh!
"So they went off together. But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing."
A beautiful and well-loved first edition of the immortal Winnie the Pooh! I am not sure is there is a more sustained or beloved character in the history of children’s literature.
You can pick up this copy from our website or in store at 20 Dowling St, Dunedin Central.
It is NZ$950.00 and is a MUST for any A.A Milne collector, or devotee in general.
We also have several other early editions that won't break the bank as much, as well as other earky Milne classics. There is something about a first edition however that makes it worth the expense.
