The firm of First Folio, a partnership of Dennis Melhouse and Dennis Hatman located in Paris, Tennessee, specializes in fine bindings, illustrated books, and general antiquarian and rare books – although they frequently claim that their real specialty is rare books in fine condition. They exhibit at about 16 book fairs annually coast-to-coast, and list their books on internet sites including their own website.
Among their selections you may find architecture books, miniature books, fore-edge paintings, author sets in leather bindings, books illustrated by the golden age illustrators such as Rackham, Dulac, Pogany or Kay Nielsen, or perhaps a rare Joel Chandler Harris book in a fine binding with original watercolor illustrations on the doublures:
Joel Chandler Harris. TALES OF THE HOME FOLKS IN PEACE AND WAR. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1898. First edition. [x], 417p. Illustrated with four inserted plates by E. Boyd Smith. Beautifully bound in full black crushed morocco with watered silk flyleaves, the spine with gilt titles and richly gilt panels, t.e.g., fancy dentelles and fancy corner ornaments surrounding doblures which are original watercolor drawings signed G.H.N. and depicting characters from the book. Original upper cover and spine bound in rear. Fine. A remarkable presentation with the fine binding and wonderful original art. BAL 7141.
You can contact First Folio directly for more on this title or with questions about other titles they might have in stock. And remember that you can see them on May 17, 2009, at the Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair from 11:00 AM until 5:00 PM in the ballroom of the Michigan Union on the University of Michigan Campus.