Catalog 103, K-L
203. KAZIN, Alfred. Correspondence. 1984-1985, 1991. Seven typed notes signed, six from the period 1984-1985, one from 1991, all to an editor at Art & Antiques magazine. For the most part, these are brief, one-sided parleys in a charmingly cantankerous tone, e.g.: "I have to say I like you better than I like yr mag. I have carefully measured the bed in that page photograph of the Roosevelt house and what with the various Victorian bric a brac it comes to 276 inches longer than my poor piece, which has so much interior decorating added to it that it should have been signed by Emily Post..." One note is signed "Isaac," a joke on an earlier barb on Isaac Bashevis Singer having been misidentified in the magazine. Envelopes are included; other than mailing folds, the lot is fine.
204. KENNEDY, William. Typed Note Signed. January 18, 1984. A brief note declining to write a piece on Walter Launt Palmer, as Kennedy is "physically unable to take on one more assignment." Folded in thirds for mailing; else fine.
205. KEROUAC, Jack. On the Road. NY: Viking, 1957. His second novel, the quintessential "road novel" and the book that defined the Beat generation. Kerouac's fictionalized account of his exploits with his friend Neal Cassady -- here depicted as "Dean Moriarty" -- became a cultural landmark, helped promote the popularity of Zen Buddhism and other Eastern traditions in the West, and popularized the concept of "recreational" drug use, a novel idea in the Fifties but taken for granted a decade later. Unlike many self-consciously "hip" novels, both before and since, it continues to be read and admired today, retaining its freshness by virtue of the immediacy of its writing, the clarity of its youthful perceptions, and the authenticity of the characters' quests. All by itself, it ensures Kerouac's standing as an important American writer. Bookplate front pastedown; a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with trace foxing to the rear panel, light rubbing to the folds, and one tiny tear at the top edge. Bright top edge stain to the pages and a complete absence of fading to the spine make this a much-nicer-than-usual copy of this postwar classic.
206. KEROUAC, Jack. The Dharma Bums. NY: Viking, 1958. The novel that introduced Beat poet Gary Snyder to the world as "Japhy Ryder;" its characters became counterculture heroes with their distinctly American blend of Zen and fun. A classic of Beat literature and by consensus Kerouac's best-loved book after On the Road. A touch of fading to the top stain; still a fine copy in a lightly rubbed, very near fine, price-clipped jacket. A crisp, attractive copy of this book, which shows wear readily and is seldom found in better than "very good" condition.
207. KERSH, Gerald. An Ape, a Dog, and a Serpent. London: Heinemann (1945). A fantasy set in the world of the cinema. A fragile, cheaply made book, produced under the wartime restrictions in effect in England in 1945. Boards unevenly sunned through dust jacket; very good in a good dust jacket with several edge-tears, some internal tape-mending, and a couple small chips. Still, a copy that is more remarkable for having survived this well despite its cheap construction than for its various flaws.
208. KERSH, Gerald. Clean, Bright & Slightly Oiled. London: Heinemann (1946). Reflections on Kersh's army days. A fine copy in a very good, spine-tanned and edgeworn dust jacket. Despite its postwar publication date, this book still bears the notation that it is "produced in complete conformity with the authorised economy standards" -- i.e., a cheaply made book, produced when England was still suffering from the ravages of the recent war. A very attractive copy.
209. KERSH, Gerald. Sad Road to the Sea. London: Heinemann (1947). A collection of short stories which, like the above title, was produced under conditions of strict economy in the early postwar years and is thus quite fragile -- thin boards, cheap paper, etc. Near fine in a very good dust jacket.
210. KERSH, Gerald. Prelude to a Certain Midnight. London: Heinemann (1947). A novel published in the early years after the end of the Second World War. Near fine in a very good dust jacket.
211. KERSH, Gerald. The Thousand Deaths of Mr. Small. London: Heinemann (1951). A novel. Small bookseller's mark front pastedown; near fine in a very good dust jacket.
212. KERSH, Gerald. The Brazen Bull. London: Heinemann (1952). Short stories. Cloth a bit mottled; still near fine in a slightly spine-darkened, price-clipped dust jacket with rubbing at the folds; still about near fine. A nice copy.
213. KERSH, Gerald. Guttersnipe. London: Heinemann (1954). Short stories. Foxing to page edges; otherwise near fine in a very good, spine-faded dust jacket with a couple of small chips.
214. KESEY, Ken. Kesey's Garage Sale. (NY): (Viking) (1973). The scarce hardcover issue of this collection of shorter pieces, spanning the years of the Sixties, when Kesey's activities moved far from the strictly literary path he had been on when he wrote his first two novels. This was the first book Kesey published after Sometimes a Great Notion, almost a decade earlier. According to the author, the pieces were not conceived as a book but instead were drawn from various sources and put together, much as the title suggests, like the items in a garage sale -- thrown out to the reader for inspection, perusal, consideration. Between the publication of the two books, Kesey had led the Merry Pranksters on their famous bus trip, become a counterculture hero and advocate, and been a fugitive from the law, spending time in Mexico as a result of a drug bust. Other contributors to this volume include Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, Ken Babbs and Paul Krassner, among others. Introduction by playwright Arthur Miller. Heavily illustrated with sketches by Kesey, photographs, etc. Light corner bumping; near fine in a price-clipped dust jacket.
215. (KESEY, Ken). LEVON, O.U. Caverns. (NY): Penguin (1990). Collaborative novel written by Kesey and the students in his writing class at the University of Oregon. The "author's" name is an anagram of "U[niversity of] O[regon] Novel." Kesey wrote an introduction explaining the process of writing the novel and participated in the creation of the novel, as did his students. An iconoclastic project, not surprisingly. Signed twice by Kesey, once on the half-title and again on the cover. Fine in wrappers.
216. KIDDER, Tracy. Home Town. NY: Random House (1999). The advance reading copy of the new book by the author of House and the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning The Soul of a New Machine, among others. Fine in wrappers. Just published to substantial critical praise.
217. KINCAID, Jamaica. At the Bottom of the River. NY: FSG (1983). The highly praised first book, a collection of stories, by this Caribbean author. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
218. KING, Stephen. Storm of the Century. (NY): Pocket Books, 1999. Bound photocopied galley sheets for the paperback original of King's screenplay, published to coincide with the three-part television miniseries -- the first book he has written directly for television. Tapebound sheets, 8 1/2" x 11". Fine. Scarce.
219. KINGSOLVER, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible. (NY): HarperFlamingo (1998). The uncorrected proof copy of her most recent novel. A departure from her earlier books, which were located in the Southwestern U.S., this novel takes place in Africa, beginning in the Belgian Congo in 1959 and spanning three decades. Publication information altered on cover; fine in wrappers.
220. KINNELL, Galway. Typescript of "There Are Things I Tell to No One but to the Poem." Undated. Three page ribbon-copy typescript with holograph corrections in ink, presumably by the author. Heavily marked in pencil with copyeditor's instructions. Folded in sixths for mailing; near fine. Kinnell's Selected Poems won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award.
221. KRAKAUER, Jon. Into Thin Air. (NY): Villard Books (1997). His third solely authored book, selected as one of The New York Times' eleven best books of the year. Krakauer was sent to Everest by Outside magazine to report on the repercussions of the growing commercialization of the mountain and was party to the May 10, 1996 summit bid that cost five climbers their lives, in a season that claimed twelve. Fine in a near fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
222. KURZWEIL, Allen. Typescript of "Elegant Solutions." September 1990. An 8-page text, computer printout, on the life and work of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, the 18th century scientist. Edited, at times brutally, in pencil by another hand. Near fine. Kurzweil's first novel, A Case of Curiosities, published in 1992, earned him a place on Granta's list of the 20 best young American writers.
223. KURZWEIL, Allen. Typescript of "French Automata: Turn-of-the-Century Turn-of-the-Key Dreams." Undated. [1990.] Six pages, computer printout, on a subject Kurzweil investigated while researching his first novel, A Case of Curiosities. Folded in thirds; edited in two pens, with the mark of one paperclip. Near fine. Together with a typed note signed, posted several weeks later, requesting payment.
224. KURZWEIL, Allen. Birth Announcement. January 4, 1994. A bilingual (English and French) announcement of the birth of Kurzweil's son, Maximilian. Unsigned. With baby photo. Fine, with envelope. Together with an autograph note signed from 1991 which says "Thought this might interest you." The note is sealed into the mailing envelope; the "interesting" contents have been removed.
225. LaBASTILLE, Anne. Mama Poc. NY: Norton (1990). An account of the cultural causes behind the extinction of the giant grebe, a flightless diving bird of Guatemala. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
226. LAMOTT, Anne. Traveling Mercies. NY: Pantheon Books (1999). Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf. Lamott's book, Operating Instructions, was selected for the Modern Library's list of the 100 best nonfiction books of the century.
227. LEAVITT, David. Equal Affections. NY: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1989). A review copy of his second novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a spine-faded; else fine dust jacket.
228. LE CARRÉ, John. Single & Single. (London): Hodder & Stoughton (1999). The advance reading copy of his most recent novelissued in a numbered edition of 1500 copies and, although not called for, signed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
229. -. Same title, the first state of the above, with 342 rather than 336 pages. One of approximately 150 copies. This copy is unnumbered but is signed by the author with the added words "wrong, inaccurate proof." Fine in wrappers.
230. -. Same title, the British trade edition. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author. An attractive production, with cloth ribbon marker bound in.
231. -. Same title, the advance reading copy of the first American edition (NY: Scribner, 1999). Fine in wrappers.
232. LEHANE, Dennis. Gone Baby Gone. NY: Morrow (1998). The author's fourth mystery featuring Boston detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro; winner of the Dilys Award. Lehane's first book featuring Kenzie and Gennaro, A Drink Before the War, won the Shamus Award. Signed by the author. Bumped at the crown; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
233. LEITHAUSER, Brad. Typescript of "In Praise of the Haunted." 1985. A four-page ribbon-copy typescript in which Leithauser discerns the "rules of modern ghosts" from a study of Japanese woodblock prints. Together with two typed letters signed, one transmitting the document and an earlier letter, dated 1984, in which Leithauser initially postpones taking an assignment for the magazine (Art & Antiques) as his first child has just been born and he is revising a novel for Knopf. Also together with an autograph letter signed, from Iceland, in which he approves the galleys, although objects to a change in the title. Items are folded for mailing; else fine, with two envelopes included.
234. LEITHAUSER, Brad. Typed Letters Signed. December 16, 1987 and August 19, 1992. In both letters, Leithauser updates the recipient on his life -- address change, teaching assignments, child expected, novels expected (Hence and Seaward, respectively). In each letter, he suggests the recipient attend a gallery showing of his brother's artwork. Included here is an announcement of Mark Leithauser's January 1988 opening. One letter folded for mailing; one envelope included; fine. For both:
235. LEITHAUSER, Brad. Typescript of "The Future Belongs to the Painters of the Tropics." Undated. [c. 1988]. An eight page photocopied typescript, with six pages of ribbon-copy revisions, on the subject of Paul Gauguin in Tahiti. Together with the typed note signed that accompanied the revisions. The manuscript is heavily edited; else fine, with envelope. Also together with the typed note signed in which Leithauser first agreed to do the piece (dated January 1987 but postmarked 1988). Folded for mailing; else fine, with envelope.
236. LEONARD, Elmore. Speech. 1985. Ribbon-copy typescript, 11 pages, for a speech given at the ABA convention in 1985, unpublished. A bit of faint spotting to the first page; else fine. Signed by the author. Leonard manuscript material seldom shows up on the market, let alone unpublished pieces.
237. LEONARD, Elmore. Introduction to The Big Bounce. 1986. Photocopied typescript of Leonard's introduction to the first American hardcover edition of his first mystery, reissued by the Armchair Detective Library in 1989, 20 years after its original publication as a paperback original. Six pages, with a touch of foxing to the first page; else fine. Signed by the author.
238. LEWIS, Wyndham. Apes of God. London: Arthur Press, 1930. A massive satirical novel in which Lewis skewers the British liberal literary culture of the 1920s, in particular the Bloomsbury group. This is one of 750 numbered copies, done for subscribers, and signed by the author. Endpages and page edges foxed, a stray pen mark to lower edges and a bit of soiling to the page edges at the lower corners from the bulk of the book; still a near fine copy in a good dust jacket with multiple internal tape repairs and strengthenings and heavily rubbed folds. Ezra Pound called this novel the most important book of the 20th century, ahead of James Joyce's Ulysses and all other contenders.
239. LINDSEY, David L. Heat from Another Sun. NY: Harper & Row (1984). The uncorrected proof copy of the author's second thriller featuring homicide detective Stuart Haydon. Faint streak to rear cover; else fine in wrappers. An early title by this author who has since gained a large and passionate following.
240. LISH, Gordon. Typed Note Signed. July 7 (no year). On two sides of Esquire notepaper. In part, "Me and Harold, we'd do it in a minute, but that Dickey feller would never respect us not ever again." Lish closes with "I caress your earlobes." Near fine.
241. LISH, Gordon. Autograph Note Signed. Undated. On Esquire notepaper. "Lucky you! Yeah, his King Kong business was falling-down funny. Love, Gordon." Folded once, paperclip imprint; else fine.
242. LOPEZ, Barry Holstun. Giving Birth to Thunder Sleeping with his Daughter. Kansas City: Sheed McMeel (1978). The author's second and scarcest book, a retelling of Native American tales of Coyote the Trickster, subtitled "Coyote Builds North America." Lopez revivifies the tales, restoring their humor and vitality, and thus their power to affect the contemporary reader, rather than recounting them in the dry manner of an anthropologist dissecting a "subject." Like Jamie D'Angulo's Indian Tales and Howard Norman's translations of Swampy Cree Indian tales, this book helped to forge a link between the oral narrative traditions of Native American tribes and the realm of written, and printed, literature -- a fusion that is ongoing and is producing some of the most subtle and energized writings of recent years. Tiny spot on foredge; otherwise a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with several tiny edge nicks, the ones at the spine extremities being inexpertly touched up.
243. LOWELL, Robert. Day by Day. (NY):(FSG)(1977). Printer's sample pages. One sheet, folded in half, printing the text of pp. 45-47 and adding one page of specs. Fine. Scarce publishing ephemera.
244. LOWELL, Robert. The Oresteia. (NY):(FSG)(1978). Printer's sample pages. One sheet, folded in half, printing the text of pp. 45-47 and adding one page of specs. Fine. Scarce publishing ephemera.
245. LURIE, Alison. The Nowhere City. London: Heinemann (1965). The first edition of her second novel, published in the U.K. prior to being released in the U.S., although the author is American. Lurie won the Pulitzer Prize in 1985 for her novel Foreign Affairs. Light bowing to boards; else fine in a fine dust jacket and inscribed by the author. A very nice copy.
246. LURIE, Alison. Typescript of "J.J. Grandville: The Court of Flora." 1985. Six pages, computer printout, on Grandville's animated flowers. Together with three typed notes signed: one transmitting the piece to the editor of Art & Antiques magazine; an earlier note from 1984 declining to do a piece on toys and suggesting, in her place, Antonia Fraser; and a third note from 1986 in which Lurie says that she never received written confirmation on the receipt of the article nor payment. Mailing folds; else fine, with one envelope included.