Catalog 107, S-T
326. (SALINGER, J.D.). "The Hang of It" in The Kit Book for Soldiers, Sailors and Marines. Chicago: Consolidated Book Publishers (1943). Salinger's first book appearance, this being the second issue (1943). Light rubbing to boards, otherwise a fine copy, in the mailing box. Although the book itself is not uncommon, especially the second issue, it is extremely prone to showing wear, and very few of the original mailing boxes have survived over the years. In this case, the box -- a rarity in itself -- has also served to preserve the book in remarkable condition.
327. SALTER, James. Dusk. Berkeley: North Point, 1988. A review copy of his first collection of stories; winner of the PEN Faulkner Award. Fine in a fine dust jacket. John Irving blurb, among others.
328. SHERWOOD, Robert. The Petrified Forest. NY: Scribner, 1935. A play by a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who later became a speech writer for Franklin Roosevelt. Sherwood won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1936, 1939 and 1941. Owner name of Barrett Clark (author, critic, publisher) on front flyleaf; foxing to endpages and jacket flaps; near fine in a very good, foxed dust jacket with slight edgewear.
329. (SINGER, Isaac Bashevis). "Isaac Singer's New York" in New York News Magazine. (NY): (New York Sunday News), Feb. 3, 1974. Singer's affection for his adopted city is the cover article in this issue. Signed by the author "with greetings" on the front cover. Fragile, acidifying quarto, splitting at the spine. Very good.
330. (SINGER, Isaac Bashevis). "A Visitor to Our Century and to These Shores" in The National Jewish Monthly. (NY): (B'Nai B'rith), February 1974. An interview. Signed by Singer. Pages separated from the spine; fair.
331. SKINNER, Robert. Skin Deep, Blood Red. (NY): Kensington Books (1997). The author's well-received first mystery novel, set in New Orleans in 1936. Signed by the author in December, 1996, the month prior to publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
332. SPARK, Muriel. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. London: Macmillan, 1961. Her most famous novel, in part because of the movie adaptation for which Maggie Smith won an Academy Award as the title character, a progressive Edinburgh schoolteacher in the 1930s. Fine in a fine dust jacket. A very nice copy.
333. STEGNER, Wallace. The Spectator Bird. Garden City: Doubleday, 1976. The first trade edition of this novel. Winner of the National Book Award. Signed by the author. Boards mildly edge-sunned; near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with light wear at the corners and extremities. An attractive copy of a not-particularly-well-made book.
334. STEINBECK, John. The Moon is Down. NY: Viking, 1942. The first issue of one of his more common books, a short novel published during the war and essentially a piece of propaganda art. Offsetting to front endpages from a review of both the book and the play laid in. Owner bookplate on first blank. Boards a bit dampstained and splayed; very good in a very good, spine-tanned and price-clipped dust jacket with one edge chip.
335. -. Same title, the first Australian edition. London/(Melbourne): Heinemann (1942). Spine-cocked; one page chipped at foredge; very good in a good, edge-chipped and fragile dust jacket. An uncommon edition.
336. STEINBECK, John. Cannery Row. London/(Melbourne): Heinemann (1946). The first Australian edition of Steinbeck's homage to the people of Monterey county, where he was born and where he spent much of his life. Edge-darkened boards; near fine in a fair dust jacket with the front flap detached, but present.
337. STONE, Michael. The Low End of Nowhere. (NY): Viking (1996). The author's well-received first mystery, a takeoff on the noir genre. Nominated for a Shamus Award in the first novel category. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
338. STONE, Robert. Outerbridge Reach. NY: Ticknor & Fields, 1992. His first bestseller. Chosen by the New York Times Book Review as one of the dozen best books of the year, covering all categories, and nominated for the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award. Fine in a fine dust jacket and inscribed by the author in the month of publication.
339. -. Another copy. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
340. STONE, Robert. Bear and His Daughter. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. The author's highly praised first collection of stories, spanning the years 1969 to 1997. Stone won the National Book Award in 1975 for his novel Dog Soldiers. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Signed by the author.
341. STONE, Robert. Damascus Gate. (London): Picador (1998). The advance reading copy of the first British edition of his most recent novel, a densely plotted political and metaphysical thriller set in contemporary Jerusalem and as close to a millennial novel as we are likely to get. Stone tackles the religious hatreds, political intrigues, and spiritual aspirations and malaise that intersect in one of the most historically significant, and volatile, places on earth. Faint corner crease; else fine in wrappers.
342. (STONE, Robert). "We Are Not Excused" in Paths of Resistance. The Art and Craft of the Political Novel. Boston: Houghton Mifflin (1989). The uncorrected proof copy. With contributions also by Isabel Allende, Charles McCarry, Marge Piercy and Gore Vidal. Light sunning at and near the spine; else fine in wrappers. An uncommon book, which had a small first printing in hardcover and a larger simultaneous paperback printing; the proof, of course, being scarcer than either trade issue.
343. TEVIS, Walter. The Hustler. NY: Harper (1959). The author's scarce first book, basis for the Paul Newman/Jackie Gleason movie that became a cultural milestone in the early Sixties. Bookplate front pastedown and very slight edge-sunning to the cloth; else a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with a couple tiny spots and trace edgewear. An attractive copy of an elusive book.
344. -. Same title, the first Dell paperback. (NY): Dell (1961). Modest rubbing and creasing; near fine.
345. TEVIS, Walter. The Queen's Gambit. NY: Random House (1983). A novel by the author of The Hustler and The Man Who Fell to Earth. Light foxing to top edge and slight splaying to boards; near fine in a fine dust jacket.
346. -. Same title, the first British edition. London: Heinemann (1983). Small sticker shadow front pastedown, light foxing to top edge; near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
347. TEVIS, Walter. The Steps of the Sun. Garden City: Doubleday, 1983. His last book, a novel set in the year 2063. Tevis died in 1984, less than a year after this book was published. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
348. THEROUX, Alexander. An Adultery. NY: Simon & Schuster (1987). The uncorrected proof copy of his third novel. Reportedly there are a number of differences in the text between this and the final published book. Publication information written across covers; paper clip impression to front cover and first several pages; else fine in wrappers.
349. THOMAS, Dylan. 18 Poems. London: Fortune Press (1934)[actually c. 1942]. The second issue of the Fortune Press reissue of Thomas' first book. Signed by the author. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with some faint, even dust soiling. In a custom clamshell box.
350. THOMAS, Dylan. Collected Poems 1934-1952. London: J.M. Dent (1952). The English edition. Inscribed by the author: "Signed by the English/ edition of Dylan Thomas,/ for John, for ever,/ May 1953." Dampstaining to upper corner and foredge (wine?), affecting margins but not text; rippling to paper covering boards; about a very good copy in a similar dust jacket with light edgewear but fragile at the front spine fold.
351. THURBER, James. Alarms & Diversions. NY: Harper & Brothers (1957). Writings and drawings, much of which had never been published in book form. Inscribed by Thurber: For/ ____ ____,/ One of the good/ friends of our friend." The inscription is in pencil; the recipient's ownership signature appears in pencil on the same page. A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with slight edgewear and fading to the bottom (red) third of the spine.
352. TODD, Charles. Wings of Fire. NY: St. Martin's Press (1998). The author's second book, featuring Inspector Ian Rutledge, as did his highly praised first novel, A Test of Wills. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
353. TOLSTOI, Count Nicola. Childhood and Youth. London: Bell and Daldy, 1862. The first English edition, and the first English language edition of any of Tolstoy's books, preceding the publication of his masterpiece, War and Peace, which was published in Russia several years later. At the time of this book, Tolstoy was a respected short story writer but had not yet published any of the novels that would earn him his lasting reputation. The Cossacks appeared (in Russia) in 1863; War and Peace in 1865-69; and Anna Karenina not until 1875-77. Translated from the Russian by Malwida von Meysenbug. Gilt-stamped plum cloth, all edges gilt. Fading to spine, foxing to prelims, pen mark (initials?) on front endpages, rear hinge starting. Very good. A nice copy of an early book by one of the literary giants of the 19th century.
354. TRAVEN, B. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. NY: Knopf, 1935. The first American edition of the second book published here by the mysterious German writer who took up residence in Mexico and wrote a series of scathing political novels about the oppression of the indigenous peoples and the greed of the European interlopers. This book is by far his most famous, as a result of the award-winning 1948 John Huston movie, which starred Humphrey Bogart. Foxing to page edges and endpages; near fine in a very good dust jacket, which has had a small amount of professional restoration and is rubbed on the spine. An attractive copy of a scarce book. In a custom clamshell box.
355. TROCCHI, Alexander. Cain's Book. NY: Grove Press (1960). The very scarce hardcover edition of this book, a landmark of drug literature and a book linking the fiction of the Beat era with the literature of the Sixties. Inscribed by the author: "For Dick/ who was nice enough/ to be indignant at my/ persecution./ Alexander Trocchi." Presumably the recipient is Richard Seaver, Trocchi's long-time friend, co-founder with him of Merlin magazine, co-editor with him of the anthology Writers in Revolt, photographer of the dust jacket art (though not the author photo). Trace edge-sunning at the lower board; else fine in a near fine dust jacket with light edgewear, particularly at the spine crown.
356. TYLER, Anne. Ladder of Years. NY: Knopf, 1995. One of an unspecified number of copies signed by the author on a tipped-in sheet. Fine in a fine dust jacket.