Auctiva Emporium: SANTA CRUZ BOOKS

Scarce First Edition

De Descriptione Temporum

 C.S. Lewis

 University Press, Cambridge  1955

Small pamphlet in printed wrappers; 24 pages; sewn through the spine in very good condition. Neat and clean free of markings except for an inscription on front cover.

The text of Lewis’s inaugural lecture at Cambridge University November 29,1954 on becoming first holder of the Chair in English Medieval and Renaissance Literature. Fine example of this hard to find Lewis work.

PRICE: $155.00

Extremely Rare Lewis Emphemera  (Those bits of throwaway paper of every day life (e.g.: advertising, ticket stubs, programs, some booklets and pamphlets, etc.)

THE TROUBLE WITH X

C.S.Lewis

London: The Church Union Church Literature Association.

This is a most unusual find; I never think of C.S. Lewis in connection with tracts. Pamphlet is in very good condition with only the slightest wear spine at head and heel; there is no creasing or tears to pages or cover. Figure drawings signed by "et" in a monogram. 4pp. Printed at Southend-on-Sea and published at 4d. A sermon first published in The Bristol Gazette in 1948, but not printed or published separately until here and later appeared in God in the Dock. OCLC records no copies in the USA, but short pamphlets like this are often under reported. Not in the bibliography by Christopher and Ostling, surprisingly. Not at Yale apparently. (this info from ILAB)

I have only been able to locate two copies of this small pamphlet; my first copy sold recently and after this one is gone it could be a long time before I am able to get another.

PRICE:$255.00

VERY SCARCE 1st Ed./1st Printing copy of

THE CASE FOR CHRISTIANITY

C.S.Lewis

Macmillan Publishing N.Y. 1943

Lovely little first edition in exceptional condition. There are no inscriptions or markings to text;the binding is tight and there is no foxing. Jacket is  good and unclipped; there is light edge wear, a closed tear on front panel and discoloration to spine but overall quite nice. It is now in a new Brodart protective sleeve. This is an extremely rare volume with or without jacket.

First delivered as an informal radio address during World War II to bring hope to an embattled public, The Case for Christianity is C.S. Lewis's artful and compelling argument for the reasonableness of Christian faith. Dividing his case into two parts, "Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe" and "What Christians Believe," Lewis uses all the powers of his formidable wit and logic and the strength of his convictions to shed light on this most important subject.

PRICE:$295.00 

1st Edition/1st printing of this very scarce book.

Weight of Glory  and Other Addresses

C.S. Lewis

Macmillan Publishing 1949

Published in the UK as Transposition and Other Addresses, this wonderful little book is extremely rare.This hard cover is in very good condition with no markings or inscriptions.The gold gilt is very bright with no wear and dark blue boards have only very minor edge wear. The jacket is also in very good condition with only minimal edge wear and fading to the spine. It is now in a new Brodart protective sleeve.

PRICE: $300.00

Very Scarce 1st UK Edition 

A GRIEF OBSERVED

 N.W. Clerk (pseudonym for C.S.Lewis)

Faber and Faber, London 1961 

A Very Good+ hardcover in a Very Good unclipped dustjacket that has minor edge wear.endpapers tanned away from jacket flaps. No inscriptions. Jacket now in a new Brodart protective sleeve.

Lovely 1st UK edition of A Grief Observed;published under the pseudonym N.W. Clerk (for Nat Whilk - Anglo -Saxon for 'I know not whom' and Clerk meaning a scholar or writer). Written in the days immediately following the death of Lewis's wife, Joy, in July. Published September 29,1961 by Faber and Faber,London. The U.S.A. edition appeared February 14,1963. It was re-issued under the author's own name in 1964

PRICE: $325.00

THE EVERLASTING MAN

 G.K Chesterton

Hodder & Stoughton London 1925

FIRST EDITION/FIRST PRINTING. Book is in very nice condition with only slightest edge wear and some foxing on outer edges. There is a gift inscription and pencil notes on the rear end paper that have been erased earlier. The hard to find jacket has edge wear and some soiling  but what a wonderful find in any condition!

A very scarce copy of one of Chesterton's greatest and most important books. Written as a sort of rebuttal to H.G. Wells' Outline of History, this is Chesterton's view of history, presented in two parts: "On The Creature Called Man," and "On The Man Called Christ," arguing that the central character in history is Christ, and that no explanation other than the Christian one makes as much sense. When the book was first published, The Times Literary Supplement wrote: "Mr. Chesterton has a quite unusual power of seeing the obvious, and it is quite true that many learned men seem to have lost that power. There are many modern theories whose origins we can understand only on the hypothesis that their authors have spent their whole lives in one room."

Quotes:

"When the world goes wrong, it proves rather that the Church is right. The Church is justified, not because her children do not sin, but because they do."

"The truth is that when critics have spoken of the local limitations of the Galilean, it has always been a case of the local limitations of the critics."

PRICE: $350.00

THE PROBLEM OF PAIN

C.S.LEWIS

Geoffrey Bles, The Centenary Press 1940

1st Edition/1st Printing

An extremely rare Lewis first edition, particularly in its jacket. Black cloth binding with light rubbing to head and heel of spine and spotting on outer page edges.  The paper label on spine which is secure and very white. Ownership inscription dated November 1940 on free front endpaper. A few light (and easily erasable) pencillings in the margins, otherwise text is clean throughoutThe unclipped dustjacket has edge wear and chipping. It also has split along the rear spine seam about 4 inches and has rubbing along edges. The white portion of jacket has aged and has the usual soiling; all this said, it is unusal to find jacket in any state and so this is to be treasured. It is now in a new Brodart protective sleeve to prevent further damage. Ownership inscription dated November 1940 on free front endpaper.

PRICE: $595.00

RARE 1ST EDITION

MERE CHRISTIANITY

A revised and amplified edition, with a new introduction, of the three books ‘Broadcast Talks’, ‘Christian Behaviour’ and ‘Beyond Personality’.

C.S. LEWIS

Macmillan, New York,1952, first printing

Hardback in original dust jacket. Book that has blue cloth boards with silver lettering to spine, is in very good condition. Internally in excellent condition, with no marks or inscriptions although there is a small address label of previous owner. The binding is tight and there is no foxing.Boards clean and unmarked with light fading at top of spine due to chip at top of spine.Jacket is unclipped and in exceptional condition for age; there is only light edge wear and color is virtually unfaded. A highly collectible book in exceptional condition.

PRICE:$755.00

Rehabilitations & Other Essays

C S Lewis

 Oxford University Press, Amen House, London First Edition 1939

THIS IS NOT AN EX-LIBRARY BOOK

A very scarce First edition hard back with facsimile of original jacket. 197 pp. The binding is the publisher's original black cloth which shows light rubbing, gilt lettering to the spine is still intact, top edge dyed black. Light discoloration on ffep, Small name and date on paste down. There are no markings to text and pages show very little toning. This is a wonderful book for the collector.

Contents

Shelley, Dryden, and Mr. Eliot

William Morris

The Idea of an 'English School'

Our English Syllabus

High and Low Brows

The Alliterature Metre

Bluspels and Flalansferes:A Semantic Nightmare

Variation in Shakespeare and Others

Christianity and Literature

PRICE: $600.00

ESSAYS PRESENTED TO CHARLES WILLIAMS

With a Memoir by C.S.Lewis

Oxford University Press 1947

First Edition in an impossible to find jacket that is in quite exceptional condition.Book is near mint; it has clean blue boards, the gilt on spine is bright and there is hardly wear to spine or tips. Book is free of foxing and except for a neat signature, there are no markings or odor. I have been looking for this book with a jacket for years and this is the first that I have been able to find. It is in remarkable condition with some minor edge wear and chipping on spine head and heel. This book is a treasure for any Inking fan.

This volume of essays was intended to be presented to Williams upon the return of the OUP staff to London with the ending of the war. However, Williams died suddenly on May 15, 1945, and the book was published as a memorial volume. Lewis' deep affection for his close friend Williams, is most apparent in his memoir.

CONTENTS

...And Telling you a Story': a note on The Divine Comedy by Dorothy Sayers

 'On Fairy-Stories' by J.R.R. Tokien

 'On Stories' by C.S. Lewis

 'A Poetic Diction and Legal Fiction' by A.O.Barfield

 'Marriage and Amour Courtois in Late-Fourteenth-Century England' by Gervase Mathew

 'The Galleys of France' by W.H. Lewis

PRICE: $755.00