Among the books in Gore Vidal’s large and varied library is a collection of first and later editions of his own work, which he has maintained for many years. Now, as part of downsizing his home in the Hollywood Hills, he has decided to offer these early editions for sale.

The first editions available here include several works from the 1950s, including Messiah, published in 1954, the novel that presaged the rise of cult leaders like Jim Jones and David Koresh by decades, as well as The Judgment of Paris, the novel, published in 1952, in which he once said he first found his true voice as a writer; Dark Green, Bright Red, a novel set against the backdrop of a revolution, published in 1950; and A Thirsty Evil, a collection of stort stories published in 1956.

Titles from the 1960s include Washington, D.C. (SOLD OUT), part of the Narratives of Empire series, published in 1967; and Three Plays published in 1962 — including “Visit to a Small Planet,” “The Best Man” and “On a March to the Sea.”

From the 1970s and 80s, titles include Myron, Vidal’s followup to Myra Breckinridge, published in 1975; 1876, another selection from the Narratives of Empire series, published in 1976; a collection of essays, Matters of Fact and Fiction, published in 1977; Kalki, a novel about an avatar of the end times, published in 1978; Views from a Window: Conversations with Gore Vidal, edited by Robert J. Stanton and Gore Vidal, published in 1980; Creation, a 1981 novel set in 5th century B.C.; and The Second American Revolution, a collection of essays published in 1982.