James Cummins Bookseller presents an online list of books and ephemera related to vice, in all its forms — from the generally frowned-upon to the psychically and physically devastating. With a focus on gambling and cards, cocktails and drinking, drugs and addiction. Highlights include the first cocktail manual, Jerry Thomas’s Bar-Tender’s Guide; Thomas De Quincey’s harrowing memoir of addiction, loss, and want, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater; one of the two earliest poker manuals, John Blackbridge’s The Complete Poker Player & Henry Winterblossom’s The Game of Draw-Poker. Enjoy responsibly!
Price: $2,500
London: Taylor and Hessey, 1822. First edition. The Classic of Opium Addiction. First edition of the first part of De Quincey's classic, the author’s first book, the complete text of which did not appear until Boston, 1850. “Thomas De Quincey began using opium in 1802 and continued to use it..... Read More Item Details for Confessions of an English Opium-Eater Add to Wish List
Item #309504
Price: $1,500
Chicago: M.A. Donahue, (1903). First edition. Scarce early 20th-century drinks manual with over 500 drinks recipes and 40 pages dedicated to toasts and after-dinner speeches. OCLC finds only 5 copies — all dated 1903. Noling suggests a 1902 date, possibly in error. Read More Item Details for The Complete Buffet Guide, or How to Mix All Kinds of Drinks … Add to Wish List
Item #314522
Price: $1,000
London: Printed for John Fairburn, Broadway, Ludgate-Hill et al, 1822. Cruikshank, George. First edition, with half-title. Cruikshank Plates, Riviere Binding. First issued in 21 parts, this is the first edition in book form. The Cruikshank plates are wonderful scenes of high and low life in Paris, obviously influenced by the..... Read More Item Details for Life in Paris; comprising the Rambles, Sprees and Amours of Dick Wildfire, of Corinthian Celebrity and his Bang-up Companion Squire Jenkins and Captain O'Shuffleton; with the Whimsical Adventures of the Halibut Family Add to Wish List
Item #313827
Price: $1,000
London: Rest Fenner, 1817. First edition. First edition of perhaps Coleridge’s most influential work — a jumble of autobiography, philosophy, criticism, and satire. The Biographia Literaria grew from Coleridge’s increasing estrangement from the poetics of Wordsworth, and as early as 1800 Coleridge began planning the work. Coleridge saw his book..... Read More Item Details for Biographia Literaria; or Biographical Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions Add to Wish List
Item #308407
Price: $750
Philadelphia: Way & Groff, 1800. First edition. The author argues that the class of medicines commonly known as 'sedatives' are actually stimulants. He considers the likes of digitalis, opium, nitre, and saccharum. Scarce: OCLC locates 5 copies. Read More Item Details for An Inquiry into the Modus Operandi of that Class of Medicines Called Sedatives ... Submitted, as an inaugual Dissertation ... to the University of Pennsylvania ... for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine Add to Wish List
Item #25312
Price: $500
New York: Blue Ribbon Books, (1940). First edition thus. 1940 reprint of the rare 1934 first edition published by Richard R. Smith (American publisher of the Savoy cocktail Book) and Ray Long. Read More Item Details for The Official Mixer's Manual Add to Wish List
Item #314525
Price: $450
Chicago: Frederick J. Drake, 1934. Second edition. Post-Prohibition second edition of this pocket drinks manual first published in 1904. Read More Item Details for Drinks as They are Mixed. A Manual of Quick Reference. Containing Upwards of 300 Recipes for Mixing and Serving Drinks … Add to Wish List
Item #314518
Price: $300
New York: House of Field, Inc, [1940]. First American edition. Inscribed. Inscribed, “To Col. Don Rockwell, with appreciation of his exploring — Grace Thompson Seton. /5/2/40.” Rockwell wrote an introductory note to the illustrations, "The Author Behind the Lens" (pp. 303-4). Read More Item Details for Poison Arrows. A Strange Journey with an Opium Dreamer through Annam, Cambodia, Siam, and the Lotus Isle of Bali Add to Wish List
Item #25531
Price: $75
New York: The Angostura-Wuppermann Corporation, (1950). Later printing. Pocket cocktail manual produced by Angostura, makers of the popular aromatic bitters used in so many classic cocktails. Read More Item Details for Professional Mixing Guide. The Accredited List of Recognized and Accepted Standard Formulas for Mixed Drinks Add to Wish List
Item #314519
Price: $75
New York: Pocket Books, 1966. First edition. Studies LSD, rehabilitation, hallucinogens, sedatives, marijuana and heroin and explains the nature of drug addiction and habituation for preventative actions. Read More Item Details for Nightmare Drugs Add to Wish List
Item #31519