Catalog 93, C-D
68. CAPOTE, Truman. The Grass Harp. (NY): Random House (1951). His third book, second novel. This is the first issue, in rough beige cloth, which is foxed; thus only near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
69. CAPOTE, Truman. In Cold Blood. NY: Random House (1965). The advance reading copy of his most famous book, a bestseller that redefined the boundaries between fiction and nonfiction and helped define the New Journalism of the 1960s. Increasingly uncommon in the advance issue. This is a near fine copy in self-wrappers.
70. CAPUTO, Philip. Exiles. NY: Knopf, 1997. Uncorrected proof of this collection of three novellas by the author of A Rumor of War. One of the three novellas takes place in Vietnam during the Vietnam war. Fine in wrappers.
71. CARSON, Rachel. Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1962. Probably the single most important book ever published on environmental issues: Silent Spring single-handedly caused the banning of the pesticide DDT by documenting its deleterious side-effects on the natural food chain, and in so doing Rachel Carson engendered the consciousness that, today, has become a reflexive and pervasive concern. Throughout the writing of the book, Carson waged a personal battle against cancer; she died in 1964. Trace shelfwear at the base of the spine; fine in a near fine dust jacket with light corner rubbing and an edge tear at the lower front flap fold. A nice copy of a modern classic.
72. CARVER, Raymond. No Heroics, Please. (London): Harvill (1991). A posthumous collection, edited by William Stull and with a foreword by Tess Gallagher. This is the first hardcover edition; in the U.S. it was published only as a paperback original in the Vintage Contemporaries series. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
73. (CARVER, Raymond). "The Sturgeon" in Ball State University Forum. Vol. 8, No. 4, Autumn, 1967. A two-page poem by Carver and an early appearance in print for him, preceding his first book, Near Klamath. Also includes a contribution by John Gardner, among others. Very good in wrappers.
74. (CARVER, Raymond, ed.). Quarry. (Santa Cruz): (U. of California) (1972). Issue number 1 of this literary magazine for which Carver is listed as editor. Contributors include William Kittredge, Jon Jackson (preceding both of their first books by six years), Gordon Lish, Richard Hugo, Leonard Michaels and others. Small ink doodling on front cover, otherwise very good. An early, uncommon Carver item.
75. CATHER, Willa. Sapphira and the Slave Girl. NY: Knopf, 1940. One of an unknown number of advance copies of the first edition, with the Borzoi and "Complimentary Advance Copy" printed on the front flyleaf. Slight sunning to the cloth at the spine crown; otherwise a fine copy in a very good dust jacket with light wear to the crown and a small stain at the lower edge of the rear panel. The first printing of this title is not scarce-50,000 copies were done-but advance copies are decidedly uncommon.
76. CHATWIN, Bruce. The Songlines. Franklin Center: Franklin Library, 1986. The correct first American edition, published by the Franklin Library for subscribers as part of their Signed First Editions series. An attractively designed book, in black leather stamped in brown and gold, in a pattern suggestive of the Australian aborigines' "songlines" that give the book its title. With a special introduction for this edition, which does not appear anywhere else. Signed by the author. Chatwin's signature is uncommon. Fine, in original shrinkwrap.
77. CHEEVER, John. The Stories of John Cheever. NY: Knopf, 1978. A massive volume, which includes all the stories from five of his six previous collections (The Way Some People Live being the exception) as well as four stories that had never previously appeared in book form. Its publication was the literary event of the season, and the collection won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with two gutter nicks and a little edge-sunning. A nice copy of an important collection by one of the masters of the American short story.
78. CIARDI, John. Homeward to America. NY: Henry Holt (1940). His first book, winner of the Hopwood Poetry Prize in 1939. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Sunning to cloth and fading to spine; near fine, lacking the dust jacket.
79. CIARDI, John. Lives of X. New Brunswick: Rutgers U. Press (1971). A sequence of autobiographical poems. Inscribed by the author at Bread Loaf in the year of publication. Fine in a very good, spine-tanned dust jacket with only slight edgewear.
80. CLAMPITT, Amy. The Collected Poems of Amy Clampitt. NY: Knopf, 1997. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection by the author of The Kingfisher and What the Light Was Like. Fine in wrappers, with dust jacket art stapled inside the front cover. Foreword by Mary Jo Salter.
81. CLANCY, Tom. Submarine. NY: Putnam (1993). Nonfiction, a little-known book by the author of The Hunt for Red October, subtitled "A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship." This book was issued in a trade paperback format and a limited hardcover only, there having been no general trade distribution of a hardcover edition of this title. One of 300 copies signed by the author. Fine in slipcase.
82. CLANCY, Tom. Debt of Honor. NY: Putnam (1994). Another in the author's ongoing sequence of bestselling technothrillers, featuring Jack Ryan, here being called out of retirement to act as National Security Advisor, and save the world from a devastating war. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
83. COCTEAU, Jean. Autograph Note Signed. 1 October 1945. One page written in French; folded in quarters; signed in full. Near fine. Cocteau writes a short note in reference to a work of Tennessee Williams he has just translated.
84. COETZEE, J.M. Foe. London: Secker & Warburg (1986). Review copy of this novel by the author of the Booker Prize-winning The Life and Times of Michael K, among others. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
85. COETZEE, J.M. Boyhood. (n.p.): Viking (1997). The advance reading copy of his most recent book, a memoir of his childhood growing up in South Africa. Fine in wrappers, with publisher's promotional sheet laid in.
86. CONROY, Pat. Beach Music. NY: Doubleday/Talese (1995). The most recent novel by the author of The Great Santini, Prince of Tides, and others, published with a huge first printing that shot it to the top of the bestseller lists immediately. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
87. COOPER, Dennis. Guide. NY: Grove (1997). The advance reading copy of this novel of drugs, sex and death by a young writer who is viewed as a latter day Genet. Fine in wrappers.
88. COOVER, Robert. The Origin of the Brunists. NY: Putnam (1966). The author's first book, winner of the Faulkner Foundation Award for best first novel of the year, an award also won in their respective years by Thomas Pynchon's V and Robert Stone's A Hall of Mirrors. A fine copy in a very good dust jacket with minor spotting on the rear panel and a couple of nicks, but very little of the spine-fading that one usually encounters in copies of this book.
89. CORNWELL, Patricia. Unnatural Exposure. NY: Putnam (1997). The advance reading copy of the latest Kay Scarpetta novel by the author of Postmortem and others. Fine in wrappers.
90. CROWLEY, John. Little, Big. NY: Bantam (1981). Crowley's landmark fourth book, winner of the World Fantasy Award and, according to Ursula LeGuin, "a book that all by itself calls for a redefinition of fantasy." Chosen as one of the hundred best fantasy novels by Pringle, who calls it "a novel of architectural sublimity...[which] beggars the words of criticism." Only issued in wrappers in this country, this is a very good copy, rubbed along the spine folds, as usual, and with a small spot at the upper edge of the first blank. Signed by the author.
91. -. Same title, first British edition (London: Gollancz, 1982). This is the simultaneous issue in wrappers. The hardcover was done in a tiny edition variously reported as 300, 600 or 900 copies. Signed by the author. A near fine copy with a few creases to the spine and a bit of soiling at the crown.
92. CROWLEY, John. Novelty. NY: Doubleday (1989). A collection of four long stories, including the award-winning "Great Work of Time." Finalist for the 1990 World Fantasy Award for Best Collection. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author. Three of Crowley's six novels were included in critic Harold Bloom's list of the essential works of the Western canon, an astonishing number for an author whose work is usually relegated to the category of genre fiction, and an honor that invites a critical reassessment of his writing.
93. CRUMLEY, James. Kent Anderson's Sympathy for the Devil. (n.p.): (Pride of Tacoma Press) (1993) [c. 1997]. A small pamphlet done in a limited edition of 150 copies, printing an introduction for Kent Anderson's first novel, which first appeared in the French edition of that novel in 1993. This is the only publication of it in the U.S. Fine in wrappers.
94. CURREY, Richard. Lost Highway. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Advance reading copy of the fourth book, second novel, by the author of Fatal Light. This is a tale of a country musician in the years after World War II. Fine in wrappers.
95. DANN, Jack. The Memory Cathedral. (n.p.): (n.p.) (1994). Bound photocopied typescript, issued prior to the uncorrected proofs. A fictionalized life of da Vinci. 8 1/2" x 11", 653 pages, doublespaced, printed on two sides. Fine.
96. DAVIES, Robertson. The Merry Heart. (n.p.): Viking (1997). The advance reading copy of this posthumous collection of reflections on "reading and writing and the world of books," most of which had never before been published. Fine in wrappers.
97. DEE, Jonathan. The Lover of History. NY: Tocknor & Fields, 1990. His first novel. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
98. DEE, Jonathan. The Liberty Campaign. NY: Doubleday (1993). The advance reading copy of his second novel. Fine in wrappers and signed by the author.
99. DELBANCO, Nicholas. Old Scores. (NY): Warner Books (1997). The advance reading copy of this novel. Fine in wrappers.
100. DeLILLO, Don. Americana. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1971. The author's first novel, now quite scarce. With the publication of his latest book, Underworld, DeLillo seems to have ascended to the very top rank of contemporary American authors. Some fading to top stain; else fine in a near fine dust jacket, with a few tiny tears to the crown of the spine.
101. DeLILLO, Don. End Zone. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1972. His second novel. Slight fading to top stain; else fine in a very near fine, black dust jacket with light rubbing at the corners and folds. A very nice copy of this novel which, because of the unlaminated black dust jacket, usually shows much more wear.
102. DeLILLO, Don. Great Jones Street. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973. His third novel. Some fading to top stain, else fine in a very good dust jacket with light wear at the corners and folds and a bit of rubbing on the spine.
103. -. Another copy. Small label front pastedown; near fine in a very good, spine-faded dust jacket with light rubbing and edgewear.
104. DeLILLO, Don. "BIRDWELL, Cleo." Amazons. NY: HRW (1980). The advance reading copy of this pseudonymous fictional memoir of the first woman to play in the National Hockey League. DeLillo's name appears nowhere on the book, but the text does feature Murray Jay Siskind, sidekick to the protagonist in White Noise. Wrappers a bit soiled, with a crease on front cover; very good.
105. DeLILLO, Don. The Names. NY: Knopf, 1982. A quintessential DeLillo novel, which throws into sharp relief the individual, the family, and language, amid the vagaries of international events. A few spots to the top edge of pages; near fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author. A very nice copy; books signed by DeLillo are somewhat uncommon.
106. DeLILLO, Don. The Day Room. NY: Knopf, 1987. The uncorrected proof copy of his first play, in which the figure and ground of unreality and reality repeatedly reverse. Originally published in American Theater in 1986. Small edge tear to upper edge front cover; else fine in wrappers.
107. DeLILLO, Don. Mao II. (NY): Viking (1991). A novel about the forces of, and relationships between, crowds and terrorists, individuals and novelists. Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Thomas Pynchon blurb.
108. DeLILLO, Don. "On February 14, 1989..." (NY): (Rushdie Defense Committee USA)(1994). A flyer issued in support of Salman Rushdie on the fifth anniversary of the Iranian death edict issued against him in response to The Satanic Verses. DeLillo, himself a master of imagining the fictive individual's response to dark and seeping cultural-political forces, asks us to imagine Rushdie's reality. One page folded to make four pages; the text is unattributed to DeLillo, but a photocopy of a letter in which DeLillo is named as author can be provided. 450,000 copies were distributed but few are likely to have been preserved. The publicity effort was organized, in part, by Paul Auster. Fine.
109. DeLILLO, Don. Underworld. (NY): Scribner (1997). The advance reading copy of the most recent novel by the National Book Award-winning author of White Noise and Libra; this novel has also been nominated for the National Book Award. A massive book, which has received extraordinary reviews from every quarter, more than living up to its publisher's hype, and confirming DeLillo at the front rank of contemporary American writers. There were reportedly 300 copies done of this advance issue, a small number for such a major book, and few have turned up on the market to date. Very shallow folds to the covers; else fine in wrappers.
110. DICKEY, Christopher. Innocent Blood. (NY): Simon & Schuster (1997). Uncorrected proof copy of the first novel by this award-winning reporter, a tale of a terrorist in war-torn Bosnia. Pat Conroy blurb mounted to front cover. Fine in wrappers.
111. DOBYNS, Stephen. The Church of Dead Girls. NY: Metropolitan Books (1997). The advance reading copy of the first American edition. Fine in wrappers with a Stephen King blurb. Laid in by the publisher is a photocopy of the three-page letter King wrote in praise of the book.
112. DOCTOROW, E.L. Welcome to Hard Times. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1960. His very scarce first book. Pages darkening with age, as usual-according to a note from Doctorow dating from the mid-Sixties, copies of this book were already showing their age through the browning of the paper; bottom corners a bit bumped. Still, a near fine copy bearing an agency stamp on the front flyleaf; in a very good dust jacket with the horizontal traces of a previous dust jacket protector along the top edge of the front panel. A presentable copy of the uncommon first book by the author of Ragtime, who has won every major literary award in this country and whose multi-volume fictionalized history of New York City is one of the most ambitious and successful ongoing literary achievements of our time.
113. DOIG, Ivan. Dancing at the Rascal Fair. NY: Atheneum, 1987. His fifth book, and the second novel in his McCaskill trilogy, this volume spanning three decades from 1889, when Montana became a state, to the 1920s. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
114. DUBUS, Andre. Broken Vessels. (London): Picador (1993). The first British edition of this well-received collection of essays, Dubus' first book of nonfiction. With an introduction by Tobias Wolff. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by both Dubus and Wolff.
115. DUNNE, John Gregory. Delano. NY: FSG (1967). The author's first book, an account of the California grape strike, ongoing at the time, and a portrait of Cesar Chavez, founder of the first labor organization for migrant farm workers. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with one gutter nick. With a complimentary card from the publisher laid in. A nice copy of the first book of one of the important writers of our era, who, together with his wife, Joan Didion, comprise the foremost literary couple of their generation.