R&R Vintage Books

09/11/2026

“The World is Round” by Gertrude Stein, illustrated by Clement Hurd. Young Scott Books, 1966. Hardcover, 94pp plus “About the Author and Artist” page. 10¾”x7⅜”. Beige pictorial boards, bright orange endpapers; black, white and orange illustrations throughout.

Lovely vintage edition of this children's book by Gertrude Stein, first published in 1939, that follows a young girl named Rose on a journey to understand her identity, using Stein's signature playful and repetitive prose. The story explores themes of selfhood through Rose's questions, like "Would she have been Rose if her name had not been Rose?"

Stein (1874-1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector; she hosted in her Paris home a salon where the leading figures of modernism in literature and art, such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, Ezra Pound, Sherwood Anderson and Henri Matisse, would meet.

Clement Gazzam Hurd (1908-1988) was an American artist best known for illustrations of children's picture books, especially collaborations with writer Margaret Wise Brown including Goodnight Moon (1947) and The Runaway Bunny (1942).

In excellent condition - boards show a bit of rubbing but very little wear to edges and corners, binding is tight, and pages are clean, bright, and unmarked as if unread. As always, feel free to message us if you want more details or photos.

This Childrens Books item is sold by RandRVintageBooks. Ships from San Leandro, CA. Listed on Sep 4, 2026

09/04/2026

“Cuba Before the World,” compiled and edited by Gral. (General) Dr. Manuel F. Alfonso and T. Valero Martinez. The Souvenir Guide of Cuba Co., 1915. Hardcover, 223pp. 8⅛”x11 ¼” (oblong). Blue cloth boards with full-color pictorial title pastedown to front. More than 300 b/w photos throughout.

Extremely rare souvenir guide “compliments of the Republic of Cuba on the occasion of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, California 1915.” It features “a comprehensive and descriptive account of the Republic of Cuba from the earliest times to the present day. Containing unembellished data for general information of history, system of government, education, sanitation, commerce, industry, agriculture, banking, society, touring, sports and notes of interest, superbly illustrated with over 300 original photographs.”

In very good condition - boards show wear and bumping to corners and top of bottom of spine, with some rubbing to the front pastedown. Binding is fragile but fully intact. Pages are clean, bright, and unmarked but for former owner’s name “A.B. Achinson) in cursive ink to front free endpaper, and some tape repairs to the front free endpaper and pages 157-160. As always, feel free to message us if you want more details.

This History Books item by RandRVintageBooks has 3 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from San Leandro, CA. Listed on Aug 27, 2026

08/27/2026

“The French Chef Cookbook” by Julia Child. Borzoi Books/Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1968 (stated 1st edition). Hardcover, 424pp plus index, A Note about the Author, and A Note on the Type. 8½”x6”. Bright red boards with black and white illustration spanning front, spine, and back, with black titles to spine. Dark blue endpapers. Publisher's top blue stain. 16 pages of b/w photos in center. Dust jacket in protective cover.

A very rare true stated first edition - NOT a later printing - of the iconic chef’s second book, published six years after the debut of her television show, “The French Chef,” from Boston’s WGBH.

“For the millions of Americans who have delighted in the superb culinary performances of ‘The French Chef,’ here at last is a complete collection of all the recipes that Julia Child has demonstrated on the hundred and nineteen programs that have been appearing on educational stations across the nation. The book is arranged according to the sequence of the television series and each show is reproduced - except for the ad-lib talk - as it appeared, from the preamble to the closing bon appetit. Thus if a devotee missed the half hour of ‘Vegetable Adventures’ or took inadequate notes, The French Chef Cookbook will make the record complete; or with it in one hand, one may follow the live action unhampered by the need to write down ingredients and directions. At the same time, The French Chef Cookbook is complete unto itself and may be used like any other cookbook; and there is a valuable subject guide in the beginning whereby a dish can be located according to familiar categories. As any Julia Child fan - and who isn’t - knows, the recipes are worked out to perfection and the selection is designed to introduce Americans to a wide range of French cooking.”

Julia Carolyn Child (1912-2004) was an American chef, author, and television personality recognized for having brought French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs and books.

In excellent condition - boards are clean and bright with only the very faintest wear to top and bottom of spine; binding is tight; and pages are clean, bright and unmarked. There’s a bit of foxing to the bottom of the textblock. Unclipped dust jacket (original price: $6.95) shows a bit of rubbing and staining but virtually no wear to edges. As always, feel free to message us if you want more details or photos.

This Cookbooks item is sold by RandRVintageBooks. Ships from San Leandro, CA. Listed on Aug 23, 2026

08/23/2026

“Pooh Project Book,” drawings by E.H. Shepard, text by A.A. Milne. Determined Productions Inc. by arrangement with E.P. Dutton & Co. Inc., 1964. Cardstock boards, pages not numbered. 17”x12” (oversized).

Rare and lovely Winnie-the-Pooh collectible! “This is an ‘activity’ book featuring the characters from A.A. Milne’s ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ series… Christopher Robin, Pooh Bear, Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit, Owl, and Kanga. You’ll find Pooh party decorations, valentines, crossword puzzles, a pin the tail on Eeyore game, connect-the-dots, coloring pages, Christmas cards, book marks, Easter basket, the growing stick, letter sheets - post cards - Pooh stamps, Wise Owl cookie recipe, Pooh hand puppet patterns, mobile, song sheet and charades. You will need a pencil or pen, crayons, paints, scissors, push-pins, paste, brads, cookie ingredients and whatever is required for the puppets… have fun!”

In excellent condition - all pages are fully intact and unmarked! As always, feel free to message us if you want more details or photos.

This Childrens Books item is sold by RandRVintageBooks. Ships from San Leandro, CA. Listed on Aug 23, 2026

06/07/2026

“The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam” from the third edition, translation by Edward Fitzgerald, with illustrations by Jerome Laudermilk. Regan Publishing Corporation, 1925. Softcover, 22pp. 7¾”x4¼”. Tan, orange, and black cardstock wraps with black title to front and publisher’s logo to lower right corner of rear. Six b/w illustrations including frontispiece.

A very rare edition of this poetry classic, the quatrains attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), dubbed "the Astronomer-Poet of Persia,” as translated from Persian to English in 1859 by Edward Fitzgerald.

Laudermilk (1893-1956) was a Missouri-born chemist who took up art after moving to California in 1921, and worked as an artist from 1923 to 1934; after recovering his health, he was a research associate in geochemistry at Pomona College. His Art Deco-inspired illustrations are a rarity among various editions of the Rubaiyat.

In very good condition - wraps are clean with some bumping to corners and top and bottom of spine, and a bit of sun-toning to rear. Binding is tight and pages are clean, bright, and unmarked. As always, feel free to message us if you want more details. https://www.etsy.com/listing/4518073302/the-rubaiyat-of-omar-khayyam-vintage

05/29/2026

Two vintage 1950s pictorial books on German churches and castles!

“Deutsche Dome des Mitetelalters” (German Churches of the Middle Ages) by Wilhelm Pinder. Königstein im Taunus: Karl Robert Langewiesche, 1955. Softcover, 112pp. 10⅜”x7½”. Black wraps inside blue dust jacket with white titles and b/w photo on front. B/w photos throughout.
A German-language pictorial review of Germany's grandest Gothic churches, inside and out. Introduction by Pinder, followed by outstanding full-page black and white photos.
In excellent condition - wraps are clean and unworn, binding is tight, and pages are clean, bright and unmarked but for former owner’s name in ink at top right corner of title page, dated 1957. Dust jacket is clean and unworn.

AND

“Deutsche Burgen und Fest Schlosser” (German Castles and Fortresses) by Wilhelm Pinder. Königstein im Taunus: Karl Robert Langewiesche, 1957. Softcover, 112pp. 10⅜”x7½”. Black wraps inside blue dust jacket with white titles and b/w photo on front. B/w photos throughout.
A German-language pictorial review of Germany's castles and fortresses, inside and out. Introduction by Pinder, followed by outstanding full-page black and white photos.
In excellent condition - wraps are clean and unworn, binding is tight, and pages are clean, bright and unmarked. Dust jacket shows light wear to top edges.

This Art & Photography Books item by RandRVintageBooks has 2 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from San Leandro, CA. Listed on Feb 28, 2026

02/23/2026

“Gardens in Color” by Richard Pratt, full color photographs by Edward Steichen. Garden City Publishing Co. Inc., 1944. Hardcover, 143pp. 10½”x 8¼”. Red boards with gilt titles to spine. Color photographs throughout. Dust jacket in protective cover.

Handsome vintage gardening guide illustrated by one of the world’s most famous photographers of his day. “The lovely gardens in this book are not ‘show places.’ They were grown especially for you. They were grown to be photographed in color and to reveal the glories of pigment and design which any intelligent gardener may achieve. Edward Steichen’s camera and Richard Pratt’s expert gardening knowledge have combined to produce the gardens, the pictures, and the text of this beautiful book. Here are some of the gardens the reader may reproduce on his own land: wire gardens, jungle gardens, spring gardens, gardens without flowers, annuals on parade, four season window gardens, picasso gardens, indoor gardens.”

Pratt (1892-1973) was architectural and garden editor for The Ladies Home Journal for 26 years, from 1936 until his retirement in 1962.

Steichen (1879-1973) was a Luxembourgish-American photographer, painter and curator and a pioneer of fashion photography. His gown images for the magazine Art et Décoration in 1911 were the first modern fashion photographs to be published. From 1923 to 1938, Steichen served as chief photographer for the Condé Nast magazines Vogue and Vanity Fair, while also working for many advertising agencies; during these years, Steichen was regarded as the most popular and highest-paid photographer in the world. During World War II Steichen was invited by the United States Navy to serve as Director of the Naval Aviation Photographic Unit; in 1944, he directed the war documentary “The Fighting Lady,” which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 17th Academy Awards.

In excellent condition – boards are clean and unworn with spine gilt still brilliant and only a bit of bumping to the top and bottom of the spine. Binding is tight and pages are clean, bright, and unmarked. Price-clipped dust jacket shows wear to corners and edges but has no tears or losses.

This Guides & How Tos item is sold by RandRVintageBooks. Ships from San Leandro, CA. Listed on Feb 5, 2026

02/06/2026

“The Cream of Europe for the Motorist” by Charles L. Freeston. The Automobile Association and Cassell and Company Ltd., 1928. Hardcover, 216pp. 8½”x5”. Green-gray boards with black titles to front and spine. 24 b/w illustrations including frontispiece, plus 11 b/w maps and sketches including endpapers. Dust jacket in protective cover.

Very rarely found with a dust jacket, a vintage member copy for members of the U.K.’s Automobile Association. “This guide – issued under the auspices of the Automobile Association – is for the motorist touring Europe. It selects the best in the various countries of the Continent and deals in lucid detail with every interest. Thus is placed at the disposal of the motorist, the amenities of a wide range of touring grounds, their scenic beauties, their historical associations and local colour. There is, too, every information to assure ease of progress in these strange but charming areas. On the practical side it explains how to see things, how to conveniently get from place to place, routes, distances, and every useful information possible; as well as providing maps, regional plans, and a full index, further to promote the success of any tour.”

Charles Lincoln Freeston (1865-1942) was a British travel writer, journalist, and magazine editor; a member of the Royal Geographic Society, he wrote several books about touring various parts of Europe.

In excellent condition – boards are clean and unworn, binding is tight, and pages are clean, bright, and unmarked. Dust jacket shows some wear to edges, particularly at corners and top of bottom of spine, but is completely intact. As always, feel free to message us if you want more details or photos.

This Guides & How Tos item is sold by RandRVintageBooks. Ships from San Leandro, CA. Listed on Jan 2, 2026

01/24/2026

“The World in Your Garden” by Wendell H. Camp, Victor R. Boswell, and John R. Magness, with a foreword by Melville Bell Grosvenor. Paintings by Else Bostelmann. From the National Geographic Natural Science Library. National Geographic Society, 1957 (stated 1st edition). Hardcover, 232pp. 10¼”x7¼”. Beige and green boards with red rose decoration to front and gilt titles to front and spine. Color world map endpapers. Color paintings and b/w photographs throughout. Dust jacket in protective cover.

Handsome rare first edition of this richly illustrated volume on the origins of your garden plants. “Gardening takes on a new dimension in this unusual book. Its colorful pages will move your horizons out beyond the garden border to leap the seas and centuries and reveal the exotic origins of our gardens and orchards. Never again will you see just pretty flowers, fruits, and vegetables in your yard, at florist or supermarket. Eighty pages of delightful paintings by Else Bostelmann portray them in their faraway birthplaces. The text - by experts - tells of their journeys, entwined with man’s saga of exploration and adventure, to take root in our soil.”

Camp was head of the University of Connecticut’s Botany Department; Boswell was head of vegetable crops research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Magness was head of fruit and nut crops research at the USDA; and Grosvenor was president and editor of the National Geographic Society.

Else Winkler von Röder Bostelmann (1882–1961) was a German-born American artist best known for joining the New York Zoological Society (now the Wildlife Conservation Society) in 1929 to paint marine life during William Beebe's bathysphere oceanographic expeditions at Bermuda's Island (1930–1934).

In excellent condition - boards are clean and unworn with gilt still brilliant; binding is tight; and pages are clean, bright and unmarked as if unread. Unclipped dust jacket (original price: $6.50) shows a faint price-tag-removal abrasion to upper right of front and slight wear to edges. As always, feel free to message us if you want more details or photos.

This Reference Books item is sold by RandRVintageBooks. Ships from San Leandro, CA. Listed on Oct 18, 2025

01/16/2026

“Chinese Houses and Gardens” by Henry Inn, edited by Shao Chang Lee. Bonanza Books, 1950 (revised edition). Hardcover, 148pp. 12¼”x9¼”. Red paper over red cloth boards with black chinese characters to front and black English title to spine. B/w pictorial endpapers. 260 b/w illustrations (147 photographs and 113 line drawings) throughout. Dust jacket in protective cover.

Lovely vintage midcentury volume on Chinese architecture and landscaping. “Henry Inn of Honolulu, art collector, designer, and photographer, has here produced a collection of Chinese architectural pictures that is extraordinary. Probably it is the only record of its kind. Though photographed as recently as 1936, many of these houses and gardens are no more, for they have been bombed out of existence by Japanese invaders. Even more distinctive is the range of subject matter, for as a veteran traveler to his ancestral homeland, Mr. Inn was fortunate in an extraordinarily wide acquaintance, which gave him an entree into many of the best and most representative private homes throughout China. The combination of artistic skill with unusual opportunity has brought us a record of the architectural forms and traditions which are the cultural expression of the modern Chinese family. Supplementing the illustrative material are several fine treatises on Chinese philosophy and culture and their influence on the form of the Chinese dwelling.”

Henry Chow Inn (1898-1994) and his father ran a Chinese antique shop in Honolulu, and his photographs appeared in several books and magazines.

Professor Shao Chang Lee (1891-1977) was head of the Michigan State University Department of Foreign Studies from 1943 to 1960; earlier, he worked as a professor of Chinese Languages and Literature at the University of Hawaii from 1922 to 1943.

In excellent condition – boards are clean and unworn, binding is tight, and pages are clean, bright and unmarked. Price-clipped dust jacket shows some wear to edges and corners and slight sun-fading to spine. As always, feel free to message us if you want more details or photos.

This History Books item by RandRVintageBooks has 2 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from San Leandro, CA. Listed on Jan 2, 2026