Catalog 111: B

30. BALL, Alan. American Beauty. (London): FilmFour (2000). The first British edition of the screenplay of the Academy Award winning film. Faint spine bump; still fine in wrappers.

31. BALLARD, J.G., ALDISS, Brian and PEAKE, Mervyn. The Inner Landscape. London: Allison & Busby (1969). A novella by each of the three authors. Ballard's contribution is "The Voices of Time." Fine in a near fine, spine-faded and rubbed dust jacket.

32. BALLARD, J.G. Myths of the Near Future. London: Cape (1982). A collection of stories, with settings as varied as his novels -- a decaying America, a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, a civil war in Britain in which the United States intervenes to fight the National Liberation, etc. Fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket.

33. BANKS, Russell. The Angel on the Roof. (NY): HarperCollins (2000). The uncorrected proof copy. Six previously uncollected stories; 22 previously collected stories, here revised; and three unpublished stories. With an introduction and an Author's Note by Banks, the author of The Sweet Hereafter, Affliction and others. Fine in wrappers.

34. BARNES, Julian. England, England. London: Jonathan Cape (1998). The first edition of a novel that was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine, first issue dust jacket.

35. -. Same title. The British advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers, with an invitation to the publication party laid in.

36. BARNES, Kim. Hungry for the World. NY: Villard (2000). The uncorrected proof copy of this highly praised memoir, the author's second book. Fine in wrappers.

37. BARTHES, Roland. Mythologies. Paris: Éditions du Seuil (1957). The first edition, in French, of this seminal work of applied semiotics. Very slight edge sunning and spine creasing; near fine in wrappers.

38. BASS, Rick. Colter. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. The author's latest book, a hunting tale and memoir of his dog, published to enormous praise. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

39. -. Same title, the advance reading copy. Bass is extremely prolific -- Colter is his 16th book in 15 years -- and is increasingly recognized as one of the finest writers on the natural world working today, combining a deep appreciation of the land with a profound literary sensibility. Fine in wrappers.

40. BAXTER, Charles. Chameleon. NY: Rivers Press, 1970. His first book, a collection of poetry only issued in wrappers, in an edition of 500 copies with illustrations by Mary Miner. Precedes his second book by four years and his first book of fiction by well over a decade. Baxter has written a number of well-received novels and story collections in recent years, including A Relative Stranger, Through the Safety Net, and others. Near fine. An extremely elusive title.

41. BECKETT, Samuel. Imagination Dead Imagine. London: Calder & Boyars (1965). The limited edition of this work of short fiction by the Nobel Prize-winning author of Waiting for Godot. One of 100 numbered copies signed by the author. Distributed in advance of the British trade issue. Translated from the French by Beckett. Mild spine fading; still fine in a fine slipcase.

42. BELLOW, Saul. Ravelstein. (n.p.): Viking (2000). The uncorrected proof copy of the latest book by the Nobel Prize-winning author. Fine in wrappers.

43. BERRY, Wendell. Nathan Coulter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1960. The first book, a novel, by this poet, novelist, essayist and activist, who has become one of the defining voices of our era as a critic of the excesses of our technology-infused lifestyle and the most well-known contemporary advocate of agrarian values. Signed by the author. Erasures to front flyleaf; else fine in a very good, spine-tanned dust jacket with long, internally tape-repaired tears along two folds.

44. BERRY, Wendell. Life is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint (2000). The uncorrected proof copy of Berry's rebuttal to E.O. Wilson's Consilience, in which Wilson advocates for a reconciliation between science and religion, but which Berry (and others) see as giving science, with its reductionist and materialist assumptions, the prerogative to set the boundaries for discussion of all religious and aesthetic questions. Shot from typescript. Fine in wrappers.

45. BLATTY, William Peter. The Exorcist. (Burbank): (Warner Brothers), 1974. Blatty's screenplay, from his novel. Labeled "Final. April 24, 1972," but with blue-paged changes with dates ranging from 6/22/72 to 12/1/72. The Exorcist, which has just been re-released in a "Director's Cut," is widely considered the best horror film of all time. It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in 1974 and won two, including an Oscar for this screenplay. Bound in edgeworn printed covers; the script is near fine, the covers worn but still very good. A nice copy of an award-winning script for an important movie.

46. BLINCOE, Nicholas. Jello Salad. (London): (Serpent's Tail) (1997). His second book, following Acid Casuals, by this highly regarded young British crime fiction writer. A paperback original. Fine in wrappers.

47. BLOOM, Amy. A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You. NY: Random House (2000). The uncorrected proof copy of the third book, second story collection, by the author of Come to Me. Fine in wrappers.

48. BOGOSIAN, Eric. Mall. NY: Simon & Schuster (2000). The uncorrected proof copy of the playwright and performer's first novel. Fine in wrappers.

49. BORGES, Jorge Luis. Three Versions of Judas. Palma de Mallorca: Mossèn Alcover, 1958. A piece by Borges, translated by Anthony Kerrigan and, according to a statement on the cover, printed in homage to Borges after his death in November of 1957: Borges in fact died nearly 30 years later and one must take the very context of this piece as representing yet another of the author's engaging and challenging "fictions." Pages uncut; fine in stapled wrappers. A scarce item: we have never handled it before and it is not listed in Becco's bibliography.

50. BORGES, Jorge Luis. This Craft of Verse. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000. Advance reading copy of the text of lectures given at Harvard in 1967-68, tapes of which were only recently discovered. Fine in wrappers.

51. (BORGES, Jorge Luis). The Gaucho. NY: Crown (1968). Foreword by Borges to this book of photographs by René Burri, with text by José Luis Lanuza. Quarto; fine in a very good dust jacket missing some chips at the corners and the lower front panel at the spine fold.

52. BOWDEN, Charles. Red Line. NY: Norton (1989). Nonfiction, a haunting and grim view of the American Southwest that suggests a cross between Edward Abbey -- with his concern for the environment, specifically the desert southwest -- and Hunter Thompson, with his over-the-edge indulgence in various additives to normal brain chemistry. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

53. (BOWLES, Paul). CHOUKRI, Mohamed. Tennessee Williams in Tangier. Santa Barbara: Cadmus, 1979. Of the limited edition of 226 copies signed by the author and translator, this is copy "B" of 26 lettered copies that were reserved for use of the publisher and author and were not for sale. A trifle edge-sunned; still a fine copy in self-wrappers, in a near fine, spine-tanned glassine dustwrapper. A rare state of this small but important volume: Bowles and Williams were longtime friends and collaborated in the 1940s on several dramatic productions, with Bowles providing the musical scores for Williams' plays.

54. BOSWELL, Robert. Crooked Hearts. NY: Knopf, 1987. A review copy of his second book, first novel. Fine in a spine-faded, else fine dust jacket.

55. BRINK, André. An Instant in the Wind. NY: Morrow, 1977. The first American edition of this South African writer's second book to be published in the U.S., which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.

56. BUKOWSKI, Charles. The Day It Snowed in L.A. Sutton West & Santa Barbara: Paget Press (1986). One of 200 numbered copies signed by the author, the entire hardcover edition. A small, humorous book reproducing Bukowski's holograph text and illustrations. Fine in an acetate dust jacket.

57. BUKOWSKI, Charles. Septuagenarian Stew. Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1990. A collection of stories and poems, this being the limited edition, one of 225 numbered copies signed by the author and with an original signed silkscreen print by Bukowski bound in. Fine in an acetate dust jacket.

58. BUKOWSKI, Charles. The Last Night of the Earth Poems. Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1992. A long (over 400 pages) collection of poems. This is the limited edition, one of 750 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in an acetate dust jacket.

59. BURKE, James Lee. Purple Cane Road. NY: Doubleday (2000). The advance reading copy of Burke's latest mystery novel in his popular and award-winning series featuring Dave Robicheaux. Fine in wrappers.

The Best Edgar Rice Burroughs Archive in Private Hands

60. BURROUGHS, Edgar Rice. Archive. An extensive archive of over 2500 items including letters, documents, manuscript notes and materials, unique publications, photographs, and movie memorabilia, spanning the writer's entire life and documenting in great detail the period from the 1920s until his death -- an unparalleled collection that is a trove of scholarly research materials as well as a unique collection of original artifacts of the author's life and career. The only collection comparable to this is that of the author's estate in Tarzana, California, and this one is superior to that in a number of respects and contains the only copies extant of a large number of items that were destroyed by fire in Tarzana. The correspondence is heavy with intimate family and pointed business details; the documents and other memorabilia include personal and professional records, manuscripts and notes for his wartime publications, contracts and checks for his stories. The bulk of the collection is arranged chronologically, in 31 large loose-leaf notebooks. The first three cover the years from his birth to the late 1920s, by which time he was a successful and wealthy author. The other 28 cover the period from 1930-1950, documenting these years in great detail in both family and business matters.
       Among the notable items in the collection are: the $700 check Burroughs cashed for the first "Tarzan" story, which he has been quoted as saying was the payment that gave him the confidence to continue writing and to make it a career; one of the estimated half dozen original mimeograph prints Burroughs made of his eyewitness account of the bombing of Pearl Harbor; and a typewritten travel journal of a cross-country trip he took with his family in 1916, illustrated with snapshots. Burroughs was particularly fond of camping in the Canyon Country of the Southwest in the early days of the National Parks, and several such trips are recounted here in typescript, with original photos as illustrations. There's also a map of the layout of the first subdivision of the Burroughs ranch, Tarzana, which later became the town of Tarzana, California. There is great breadth and depth in the area of the author's correspondence, including many retained copies of his own letters which help put the replies in unambiguous context. In addition, there are many significant artifacts of the noted writer's work and career: a privately printed volume of memoirs by the author's mother, illustrated by the author's nephew, and inscribed by Edgar at Christmas, 1914; a set of journal notes from his first airplane flight, written while in flight and with drawings of the sights he saw; his file box from Honolulu, in which he filed his war correspondence, as well a field notebook from his time in the Pacific as a correspondent; and much more.
       Burroughs remained in close regular contact with his children even after they were grown, and much of their sustained correspondence is preserved in this collection. The letters not only recount factual information about family and other affairs but often veer into philosophical discourse on such subjects as religion, when the father felt a need or desire to clarify his position on a subject with one of the children. When Burroughs divorced his first wife, Emma -- the children's mother -- the rift in the Burroughs family is visible in the strained correspondence. Burroughs' ultimately successful efforts to reconcile the family can be seen in these years, especially when the Second World War throws all personal questions into a much larger context, and both Burroughs and his eldest son, Hulbert, are squarely in harm's way in the South Pacific theater. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Burroughs became actively involved in the question of the postwar fate of the interned Japanese-Americans. Originally a staunch supporter of the policy of internment, Burroughs changed his attitude over the course of the war as he realized the racism infecting such "patriotic" attitudes and strove to separate the security concerns from such prejudices. He became a strong advocate for the rights of Japanese-Americans -- a very public change of posture that can be seen to reflect, in its own way, on the question of racism within the Tarzan novels and other Burroughs writings.
       In the late 1920s, and especially in the 1930s when talking movies became standard, the Tarzan character reached a whole new audience, even larger than it had in the popular books. A radio series had started in the late 20s, and a comic strip in the 30s, and the archive admirably documents Burroughs' involvement in these enterprises -- sometimes from a distance, watching the studios compete to outdo each others' Tarzan movies, sometimes as a close critic, such as when he critiques a cartoon series his son Jack has gotten involved in with Bob Clampett, the Warner Brothers artist. He also was involved as a principal, being one of the producers of a movie, The New Adventures of Tarzan, shot on location in Central America in the 1930s, an effort fraught with almost unimaginable hardship and an ambitious attempt at realism at a time when the infrastructure of the Caribbean countries could scarcely support such an enterprise. The logistics and difficulties of the production are in abundant evidence in the archive, and ultimately Burroughs' decision to distance himself from the project in favor of letting the Hollywood studios produce Tarzan movies is documented. Numerous artifacts from the production form a part of the archive, as well as business correspondence relating to the funding of it and the production itself. Also, Burroughs' first meeting with Johnnie Weissmuller -- the most famous of the Tarzan actors -- and meetings with Buster Crabbe and other actors who played the role are documented in letters and photographs.
       Burroughs' marriage in 1934 to Florence Gilbert and their move to Hawaii are represented in great detail in the archive, both in letters and photographs. Their social life is shown in stark contrast to the their dwindling funds. Their separation and divorce, when Burroughs could no longer maintain the facade of high living, is documented touchingly: its effect on his state of mind is revealed -- subtly in letters and more tellingly in legal documents; and its effect on his health is revealed in ever-increasing correspondence with doctors, prescriptions for medication, and finally in the accounts of a series of heart attacks that left the writer, after the war, in a state of substantial debilitation.
       Burroughs' writing career is also in evidence throughout, albeit obliquely. He mentions the various books he is writing at different times; there are manuscripts he submitted for publication during the war; and the state of his finances is tied closely to his productiveness writing Tarzan stories as well as to the movies' adaptations of them. There are notebooks for one of his novels (Apache Devil) and the original typescripts of much of his war correspondence. There are unpublished interviews from that period, as well as the columns he wrote for a Hawaii paper.
       There are also long strings of correspondence with two fans, which show the author's affinity for, and loyalty to, his readers. Both correspondences began when his fans were young and continued through their entire adult lives, until the author's death. Many other fan letters are present in the archive, including a number from noteworthy or famous figures, such as military or political leaders or the occasional celebrity.
       Burroughs' ranch, Tarzana, figures prominently in the archive. Artifacts from the period -- photographs; books from Burroughs' library, including his dictionary and the thesaurus he used throughout his writing career -- are included in the collection, as well as a number of other books about him -- the first bibliography, the first biography, the definitive biography, which this collection augments in a number of significant matters.
       Burroughs incorporated himself at the height of his success as a writer and in so doing established a precedent for franchising fictional characters that has today become part of the mainstream of literary life and integral to the Hollywood motion picture industry. While he was not the first writer to have his characters appear in numerous other media contexts and commercial tie-ins, he brought a modern-day marketing sensibility to the process that has helped shape the way literary and other intellectual properties are viewed today.
       The final chapter of Burroughs' life -- the end of the war, his return from Hawaii, his declining health, his failing finances as paper shortages and strikes limit his ability to publish his books -- is all documented poignantly. The family's reconciliation and reunion is documented, as is the author's continued status as a celebrity, despite his personal hardships.
       The popularity of Tarzan is phenomenal: Burroughs is one of the best-selling authors of all time, largely on the strength of the Tarzan series. But even more surprising than its popularity is the longevity of the series and its main character -- a longevity rivaled only, perhaps, by that of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Virtually all of the material present here is unpublished, and unseen by earlier biographers and bibliographers. This archive offers a view of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the man and the writer, that would be impossible to assemble from any other single source today. Please inquire

61. BURROUGHS, William S. and S. Clay Wilson Archive. 1979-1991. In 1980, S. Clay Wilson created the cover art, endpapers and illustrations for Die Wilden Boys (Frankfurt: Zweitausendeins, 1980), the first German edition of Burroughs' The Wild Boys. This archive includes this edition, signed by Burroughs and Wilson; a trial edition, rejected by Wilson, who was displeased with the endpapers, signed by Wilson; and Wilson's own copy, bound in Niger goat and snakeskin, signed by Wilson and inscribed by Burroughs to Wilson. The first two copies have a bit of edge-rubbing and are otherwise fine in the publisher's slipcases; the third copy is fine in a custom folding chemise. Also included is Die Stadte der Roten Nacht (Frankfurt: Zweitausendeins, 1982), the German edition of Cities of the Red Night, also illustrated by Wilson and signed by Burroughs and Wilson. Fine in slipcase. Together with correspondence related to this and other collaborations between Burroughs and Wilson, as follows: from 1979 to 1982, six items from the publisher to Wilson; from 1979 to 1985, three items from Burroughs' associate James Grauerholz to Wilson; and from 1985 to 1995, eleven items from Burroughs to Wilson. The earlier items, from the publisher and from Grauerholz, generally solicit drawings, convey approval for ideas, and give progress updates. The later items, from Burroughs himself (one typed note signed; four autograph postcards signed; six autograph cards signed), tend to be more personal, frequently conveying gratitude for a gift or appreciation of Wilson's work. In one, Burroughs (according to a pencil note by Wilson, he is referring to The Chequered Demon) says "vintage Clay Wilson hilarious, horrible disgusting as life itself...Its fine its swell itsa gawdy taste of Hell." In another, in a card picturing a unicorn, Burroughs asks, "Did you see the Barnum & Bailey unicorn? I suspect it to be a goat." Several of the cards are holiday cards, and in one Burroughs wishes "All the best for 1986 and the time remaining to us all." In the last two items, Burroughs thanks Wilson for, respectively, the Graham Greene stories and for a cat book. He also complains about the heat: "Over 100 now for a week. Can't do anything but sit in my air conditioned house." This last card is signed "Bill Burroughs." All of the Burroughs' correspondence items (excepting the postcards) have envelopes; one of the postcards is near fine; the others are fine; many depict Burroughs' artwork. For the archive: