Catalog 108, E-F
97. ELKINS, Aaron. Skeleton Dance. NY: Morrow (2000). The uncorrected proof copy of the award-winning author's latest mystery novel featuring forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver. Tiny corner crease; fine in wrappers.
98. FAULKNER, William. Absalom, Absalom! NY: Random House, 1936. One of Faulkner's most important books, which encapsulated the failure of the old South in the doomed ambitions of one dynastic family. Contemporary critics found Faulkner's style convoluted and difficult, but this novel has come to be considered one of the classics of American literature. Hinges professionally (and invisibly) strengthened; slight bowing to front board; near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with light rubbing and modest edge wear.
99. FAULKNER, William. The Hamlet. NY: Random House, 1940. The first book in the Snopes trilogy, a Yoknapatawpha County sequence which is considered one of Faulkner's great accomplishments. This copy has a faint crease on the front flyleaf, but is still fine in a very near fine, first issue dust jacket, with a short tear at the bottom of the front flap fold and just a touch of the rubbing at the folds that is usually endemic to this title. By far the scarcest of the Snopes novels, the other two of which were written in the 1950s, after he had won the Nobel Prize, and had first printings much larger than this title did. Because of the unlaminated paper used in the dust jacket, and the colorful image that shows wear readily, this title is exceedingly difficult to find in fine condition, and this is one of the nicest copies we have seen offered on the market in recent years.
100. FAULKNER, William. Go Down, Moses and Other Stories. NY: Random House (1942). First edition, in later binding of tile red cloth, without top stain. Faulkner intended this as a novel, or sequence of related stories, and later editions removed the phrase "and other stories" from the title. One of the most important books in the Faulkner canon, which includes perhaps his most frequently anthologized story, "The Bear." The various colored bindings of this title are considerably scarcer than the first issue black binding; Serendipity Books, in cataloguing the Petersen collection, estimated that the first issue was more common than all the later issues combined by a factor of 20 to 1, with the tile red being the most common of the secondary bindings. Faint age-toning to page edges; fine in a very good dust jacket with small chips at the edges and folds.
101. FAULKNER, William. Intruder in the Dust. NY: Random House, (1948). By most accounts, this novel -- which deals with the legacy of black-white relations in the South -- was the book that cinched Faulkner's Nobel Prize, which he won in 1949. Gilt completely intact; the hint of a bump to the crown; still a fine copy in a fine dust jacket with a quibbling bit of dustiness to the rear panel. A beautiful copy of a Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone title.
102. FOOTE, Shelby. Tournament. NY: Dial Press, 1949. The author's first book, which, like several of his other novels, is set in the fictional town of Bristol, Mississippi, based on his home town of Greenville. Foote's novels of the changing South were highly praised, and his three-volume history of the Civil War is considered a classic. He received perhaps his greatest public recognition as the narrator of Ken Burns' 11-part television series about the Civil War. This copy is inscribed by the author in 1975. Narrow dampstaining to the front flyleaf and spine base; near fine in a near fine, lightly sunned dust jacket with one edge tear.
103. FOOTE, Shelby. Love in a Dry Season. NY: Dial Press, 1951. His third novel, also set in the fictional town of Bristol, Mississippi. Inscribed by the author in 1974. Light rubbing to lower board edges; else fine in a near fine dust jacket. A very attractive copy, and uncommon signed.
104. -. Same title, the second edition. NY: Random House (1979). Fine in a fine dust jacket.
105. FOOTE, Shelby. Shiloh. NY: Dial Press, 1952. His fourth book, a novel of the Civil War told in the voices of six soldiers whose stories recreate the battle of the title. When first published, many critics considered this the finest Civil War novel ever written, on a par with Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage. It was just after finishing this novel that Foote undertook his monumental history of the Civil War, on which he worked for 20 years. This copy was inscribed by the author in 1972. Near fine in a very good, spine-sunned and price-clipped dust jacket with modest edge wear and a small tear at mid-spine.
106. FOOTE, Shelby. Jordan County. NY: Dial Press, 1954. A collection of seven related narratives, set in the same Mississippi county and extending backwards in time from 1950 to 1797. Inscribed by the author in 1974. Trace rubbing at the spine extremities, else fine in a very good, lightly rubbed dust jacket with minor edge wear. Uncommon, especially signed.
107. FOOTE, Shelby. Three Novels. NY: Dial Press, 1964. Collects Follow Me Down, Jordan County, and Love in a Dry Season, three early novels that had been out of print at that point for a number of years. Inscribed by the author in 1978. A small amount of dampstaining to the pastedowns the upper portion of the cloth covers near the spine, and a stray pen mark on the foredge; near fine in a very good, rubbed dust jacket shallowly chipped across the crown and back top edge. An uncommon edition, and scarce signed.
108. FOOTE, Shelby. September September. NY: Random House (1977). A novel, his first in over twenty years, during which time he had written his massive Civil War history. Remainder stamp on top edge; else fine in a fine dust jacket with a corner crease on the front flap.
109. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Signature on front cover, along with the annotation "office copy," else fine in tall wrappers. Scarce.
110. FOOTE, Shelby. Follow Me Down. NY: Random House (1978). A review copy of a later edition of his second book, originally published in 1950. Publisher's promotional information indicates the printing size as 4000 copies and reports the rather remarkable fact that it sold 500,000 copies in paperback when it was first reprinted in the 1950s. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a small, faint dampstain at the base of the spine.
111. FOOTE, Shelby. The Novelist's View of History. [Winston-Salem]: Palaemon Press (1981). An essay printed as a limited edition. Of a total edition of 140 copies, this is one of forty numbered copies for distribution only. Signed by the author. Fine in saddle-stitched wrappers and cardstock dust jacket.
112. -. Same title. One of 100 numbered copies. Signed by the author. Fine in saddle-stitched wrappers and cardstock dust jacket.
113. (FOOTE, Shelby). New Short Novels. NY: Ballantine Books (1954). A paperback original collecting four short novels by Foote, Jean Stafford, Elizabeth Etnier and Clyde Miller. Foote's contribution, "Ride Out," is a revised and expanded version of a story that first appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in 1947 under the title "Tell Them Good-by." Stafford's contribution, "A Winter's Tale," debuts here. Page edges darkening; near fine in wrappers.
114. FORD, Richard. The Sportswriter. NY: Vintage (1986). His third novel, a paperback original, and his breakthrough book. Publication as a paperback original in the Vintage Contemporaries series gave Ford a chance to reach a readership many times larger than he would have had the book been published in hardcover. The novel was hugely successful, being reprinted numerous times and eventually, years later, being reissued in a hardcover format -- an extremely scarce occurrence in U.S. publishing. Ford's success, and his obvious talent, also lent credibility to what was at that time a fledgling paperback series and, in reality, a publishing experiment. Crease at upper front corner. Near fine in wrappers and signed by the author.
115. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. A very scarce proof: proofs in the Vintage Contemporaries series seem to have been done in much smaller quantities than those of their counterparts slated for hardcover publication, and seem to have received much more limited distribution: many review venues -- including newspapers and magazines -- have policies precluding the reviewing of paperback publications. Covers evenly and lightly dust-soiled; possibly re-glued at front hinge (or possibly just crude production, as is commonplace with proofs); near fine in wrappers.
116. FORD, Richard. Rock Springs. NY: Atlantic Monthly (1987). His fourth book, first collection of stories. After the critical and commercial success of The Sportswriter, Ford's next book was published by the newly launched fiction imprint of the Atlantic Monthly, with considerable fanfare and promotion. Inscribed by the author. Slight splaying to the front board; else fine in a fine dust jacket. Laid in is a front page review from The New York Times Book Review by award-winning author John Wideman.
117. -. Same title. An advance reading excerpt. Prints the story "Children," which was changed significantly by the author prior to the publication of the book, making this the only appearance of this version of the story. Signed by the author. One light corner bump, else fine in stapled wrappers.
118. FORD, Richard. Communist. Derry/Ridgewood: Babcock & Koontz (1987). Ford's first limited edition and the first and only separate appearance of this story, which was originally published in Esquire and later collected in Rock Springs. Of a total edition of 240 copies, this is one of 200 copies in wrappers numbered and signed by the author. Creasing to the top edge; else fine in saddle-stitched wrappers.
119. FORD, Richard. Wildlife. NY: Atlantic Monthly (1990). His fifth book, a novel. Signed by the author in the month of publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
120. -. Same title, the first British edition. London: Collins Harvill, 1990. "A Harvill Paperback Original." Fine in wrappers and signed by the author.
121. -. Same title, the first British hardcover edition. London: Collins Harvill, 1990. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author. It has been reported that there were only 600 copies of this title printed in the U.K., although we don't know how reliable that figure is.
122. FORD, Richard. "And I thought about the matter of trust..." Berkeley: Black Oak Books, 1991. A broadside excerpt from Rock Springs, printed on the occasion of a reading by the author. Approximately 6 1/2" x 13 1/4". Although not called for, this copy is signed by the author. Fine.
123. FORD, Richard. Independence Day. NY: Knopf, 1995. A sequel to The Sportswriter and winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award, a rare literary "double." Signed by the author in the month of publication and also signed by the dedicatee. Front free endpaper separating from the hinge near the bottom; near fine in a fine dust jacket.
124. FRAZIER, Charles. Cold Mountain. NY: Atlantic Monthly (1997). A Civil War novel, the author's first book, and a publishing phenomenon: after a modest 25,000 copy first printing, the book went into dozens of additional printings, eventually selling more than a million copies in hardcover and winning the National Book Award -- a rare combination of literary and commercial success for any work of fiction, let alone a first novel. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket, with the John Berendt blurb attached on a label to the front panel of the dust jacket (not exactly an issue point, as some copies had this affixed on publication day, while others didn't).