Dragon Books' Press

When it comes to holiday gifts, coffee-table books are about as original as fruitcakes (and almost as heavy). Demonstrate your impeccable taste, as well as your deep affection for the recipient, with a well-preserved volume from one of these rare book dealers…

DRAGON BOOKS 2954 Beverly Glen Circle, Bel-Air, California; dragonbooks.com.  Located just off Mulholland Drive, this wood-paneled shop is where multi-media entrepreneur Jay Penske moonlights as a bookseller.  Be sure to check out the erotica section upstairs.

 

            Emma by Jane Austen ($40,000). One of only 2,000 copies of the first edition of Austen’s last and arguably greatest novel, in three leather-bound volumes. The ultimate trophy for the literate socialite.

 

            High Adventure by Sir Edmund Hillary ($1,500). Why buy this memoir from the man who conquered Everest? Because it’s there, of course. This 1955 first edition, boldly signed by Sir Edmund on the half-title page, will be a thrill for the adventure seeker and social climber alike.

 

            Baby Doll  by Tennessee Williams ($450). A wonderful, near perfect copy of this 1957 favorite, with the vibrant original dust jacket designed by graphic designer Donald Green, who was the Chip Kidd of his day.

           

            The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde ($7,000). Wilde’s only novel was roundly criticized as immoral and caused a great scandal upon its release in 1891. This first edition, bound in gilt-stamped Moroccan leather, is beautiful enough for Lady Windermere’s drawing room.

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