123 Fine Leather-Bound Franklin Press Signed First Editions

fourth quarter 20th century, including signed first editions of Anthony Burgess, Michael Crichton, Joseph Heller, John Hersey, John Irving, Norman Mailer, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Philip Roth, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Muriel Spark, Irving Stone, John Updike, Gore Vidal, Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Wolfe, and many others.
h. 8-1/2" to 9-1/2"

Notes: The Franklin Press was a division of the Franklin Mint founded in 1973 in Philadelphia, known for its fine full leather bindings, characterized by their unique design, gold stamping, fine papers and silk register ribbons. The Press offered many subscription series, one of which was the Signed First Edition series. This series, made possible by agreements between the Press and publishers and authors, gave the Franklin Press the authority to publish the limited, true first edition (in advance of the first trade edition) of works by some of the most prominent, popular and critically acclaimed authors of the 1980s and 90s, finely bound and signed by the author. Among these first editions were Gore Vidal's Lincoln, John Irving's Cider House Rules, Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, Joyce Carol Oates' Mysteries of Winterthurn, Norman Mailer's Tough Don't Dance, John Updike's Witches of Eastwick, and Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities (all included in the present lot). The Press went out of business in 2000, ending this unusual and singular experiment in American book publishing.

A detailed list of titles and authors included in this lot is available on request.