Catalog 137, H-J
103. HARRISON, Jim. A Good Day to Die. NY: Simon & Schuster (1973). His second novel, which has long been considered the scarcest of his volumes of fiction. Signed by the author. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a touch of shallow creasing to the front panel and crown. Without the remainder line on the bottom edge of the text block that frequently afflicts this title.
104. HARRISON, Jim. Farmer. NY: Viking (1976). The first issue of Harrison's third novel. Because of binding problems, the first printing of this book was withdrawn and reprinted; the first issue measures 5 1/16" from spine cloth to board edge; the second issue measures 4 7/8". Foxing to foredge; thus near fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a tiny spot at the top edge. Signed by the author. Laid in is a flyer for a 2005 reading and book signing by Harrison. The first issue is scarce; most were destroyed by the publisher, leaving mostly author's copies and review copies to circulate in the trade.
105. HARRISON, Jim. Legends of the Fall. London: Collins, 1980. The first British edition of this collection of three novellas, Legends of the Fall, The Man Who Gave Up His Name and Revenge. Two of these novellas were made into Hollywood films. Fine in a near fine, sunned dust jacket.
106. HARRISON, Jim. Warlock. London: Collins, 1981. The first British edition. Signed by the author. Shallow sunning to cloth at crown; still a fine copy in a fine dust jacket. Uncommon signed.
107. HARRISON, Jim. Sundog. London: Heinemann (1985). The first British edition. Signed by the author. Like most U.K. editions, this is considerably scarcer than the U.S. edition (the size of the potential market dictates that), and is especially uncommon signed: while Harrison frequently has done author tours to promote a new book in the U.S., the size of the British market for his books doesn't justify that kind of expense on the part of his U.K. publishers. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
108. HARRISON, Jim. The Road Home. NY: Atlantic Monthly Press (1998). The uncorrected proof copy of his first full-length novel in a decade. Signed by the author and dated May 29, 1998, almost five months prior to publication of the book. Slight spine sunning and even slighter crown bump; very near fine in wrappers.
109. HARRISON, Jim. The Beast God Forgot to Invent. NY: Atlantic Monthly (2000). The advance reading copy of this well-received collection of three novellas. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
110. HELLER, Joseph. Catch as Catch Can. NY: Simon & Schuster (2003). The uncorrected proof copy of this posthumous collection of both published and unpublished writings by the author of Catch-22. Fine in wrappers.
111. HEMINGWAY, Ernest. A Moveable Feast. London: Jonathan Cape (1964). The uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition of Hemingway's posthumously published account of his times in Paris in the Twenties. Spine creasing, more likely from the underlying glue than from reading; near fine in wrappers, in a near fine, proof dust jacket a bit worn from where it overlays the proof. The proof itself says "Movable Feast," the jacket, "Moveable." Uncommon, especially with the proof dust jacket.
112. HIAASEN, Carl and MONTALBANO, William D. A Death in China. NY: Atheneum, 1984. The third of their mystery collaborations, all of which precede Hiaasen's acclaimed series of comic South Florida mysteries. Signed by Hiaasen. Fine in a very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with just a little loss of crispness to the top edge.
113. HIAASEN, Carl. Stormy Weather. Blakeney: Scorpion (1995). The limited UK edition, bound from the sheets of the Macmillan edition but including a two-page appreciation of Hiaasen by award-winning mystery writer and editor Maxim Jacubowski that is not in the trade edition. Hiaasen's darkly comic South Florida mysteries, which use the genre to skewer the politicians, scam artists, and despoilers of the environment who abound in the state, are bestsellers upon publication these days. Continuing a tradition started by John D. MacDonald with his Travis McGee mysteries, Hiaasen has helped make the South Florida mystery a sub-genre unto itself, and has shed light on serious environmental concerns via his satirical novels. Of a total edition of 100 copies, this is one of 15 deluxe copies quarterbound in leather and marbled paper boards and signed by the Hiaasen and Jacubowski. The scarcest issue of any Hiaasen limited edition. Fine without dust jacket, as issued.
114. HILLEBRAND, Laura. Seabiscuit. NY: Random House (2001). The uncorrected proof copy of the publishing phenomenon of the year, later the basis for the award-winning movie. The proof copy precedes the more common advance reader's edition and although hard figures are difficult to come by for advance copies, the number of proofs issued would likely have been a tiny fraction of the number of advance reading copies. Fine in wrappers.
115. HILLERMAN, Tony. The Dark Wind. NY: Harper & Row (1982). The uncorrected proof copy of Hillerman's seventh book, the second mystery featuring Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police. With his series that began in 1970 with The Blessing Way, Hillerman not only painted the most accurate, nuanced portrait of Navajo life that had appeared in American fiction to that time, but also expanded the arena in which the mystery genre could be used as a vehicle for exploring little-known aspects of the world -- a movement that has by now extended not only to other cultures and other times but also such phenomena as blindness and other disabilities, and, as in the novels of Carl Hiaasen, Nevada Barr and others, environmental awareness and issues, many of them with overarching moral and metaphysical implications. Faint spotting and creasing to front cover; near fine in wrappers. An uncommon proof, from the period before Hillerman's novels were automatic bestsellers.
116. HOMES, A.M. The End of Alice. NY: Scribner (1996). Her controversial third novel, written from the point of view of a pedophile serving his twenty-third year in jail for the brutal murder of a young girl. Foxing to foredge; else fine in a fine dust jacket. Together with a typed letter signed conveying the book and "babbling," as she puts it, about a book tour and other, more personal concerns. Two pages; adhered as one long page. Folded in fourths; else fine.
117. -. Same title, the advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers, with publisher's wraparound band joined with a Band-Aid.
The True First Edition, in Contemporary Binding
118. HUGO, Victor. Les Misérables. Bruxelles: A. LaCroix, Verboechhoven, 1862. The true first edition of one of Hugo's masterworks, and one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. Precedes the Paris publication by three days. Les Misérables was an instant popular success and was quickly translated into a number of languages. A novel of character and redemption, it is structured as a detective novel, with the police Inspector Javert relentlessly tracking the hero, Jean Valjean, through multiple identities over decades, only to himself be saved by Valjean when caught in a violent revolutionary uprising in Paris. While Edgar Allan Poe is credited with inventing the detective genre with the story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," the first full-length novel in the genre is generally considered to be Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White, published in 1859. Hugo's novel, considered in this context, is widely considered to be the second full-length mystery novel published anywhere. Collins and Hugo are said to be the first writers to inject the detective genre with literary standards: heretofore the main vehicle for crime writing was in the form of fictionalized "memoirs" of great detectives. Hugo's novel has stood the test of time and is still widely taught in schools, both in this country and abroad. Jean Valjean, the hero of the novel, is a suitable Everyman for a secular era: his redemption comes through his own moral choices, unmediated by religious or other social dogma; his quest is to live up to the generosity that was shown him at a point in his life when he had few prospects and little conscience; over the course of his life, Hugo shows, he more than lives up to the ideal of what it means to be a good man. Ten volumes, in a contemporary French binding of three-quarter leather and marbled paper boards. Foxing to pages; boards a bit rubbed; one small chip to the rear flyleaf in one volume; one tiny spine corner repair; a very near fine copy of one of the great novels in human history.
A Nice Association Copy
119. IRVING, John. The World According to Garp. NY: Dutton (1978). The advance reading copy of his fourth novel and breakthrough book, which went into numerous printings, became a multi-million copy bestseller and a National Book Award winner in its paperback release. Basis for a well-received movie, albeit one that by consensus fell short of the book's magic. The first printing of Garp was reported at 35,000 copies; none of Irving's previous books had sold even 5,000 copies, with one of them having had sales under 2000. Irving switched publishers for this book, and his new publisher decided to promote the novel heavily. After issuing two sets of proofs in small numbers for early readers and reviewers, Dutton printed this advance reading copy for wide distribution to the book trade. It worked in bringing attention to Irving's novel, which became a bestseller; since then, Irving's books have had six-figure first printings and his reputation as a major American novelist is secure. The publisher's risk, in producing such a large first printing, and their marketing efforts -- including creating this advance copy -- played no small part in this transformation. Warmly inscribed by the author: "For ___,/ in memory of/ 'that' night; we should never/ be ashamed./ Love. John Irving." A very intimate and personal inscription for Irving, and a nice association copy of a book one seldom finds even signed. Spine faded and creased; covers spotted, with one corner crease; very good in wrappers.
120. IRVING, John. A Prayer for Owen Meany. NY: Morrow (1989). The first trade edition of what may be Irving's best-loved book (a substantial claim for a book by the author of The World According to Garp), and the novel from which the movie Simon Birch was adapted. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
121. ISHIGURO, Kazuo. The Remains of the Day. London: Faber & Faber (1989). His third book, winner of the Booker Prize and the book that established Ishiguro as a major literary figure in contemporary England. Basis for the 1993 film with Anthony Hopkins that was nominated for eight Academy Awards. Signed by the author and dated in the year of publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
122. ISHIGURO, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go. NY: Knopf, 2005. The advance reading copy of the first American edition. Fine in wrappers, with publisher's review slip laid in.
123. JIN, Ha. War Trash. NY: Pantheon (2004). The uncorrected proof copy of his novel of Chinese POWs held by Americans during the Korean War. Ha Jin is one of the most acclaimed writers of the last decade; his books have won the National Book Award, the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award, among others. Fine in wrappers.
124. JOHNSON, Denis. Angels. NY: Knopf, 1983. His first novel, a tale of drifters that is reminiscent of the noir fiction of Robert Stone. Foxing to top edge; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
125. JOHNSON, Denis. The Veil. NY: Knopf, 1987. His fourth collection of poetry, this being the hardcover edition; there was also a simultaneous softcover. Foxing to top edge; boards slightly splayed; near fine in a fine dust jacket.
126. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Small stain on lower rear cover otherwise fine in wrappers.
127. JOHNSON, Denis. The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly. (NY): HarperCollins (1995). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of poems, some reprinted from his earlier volumes and some new. Corner crease rear cover; else fine in wrappers.
128. JOHNSON, Denis. Already Dead. (NY): HarperCollins (1997). A well-received novel, subtitled "A California Gothic," a tale of various existential misfits in northern California. Signed by the author. Foxing to top edge; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a faint lamination scratch.
129. JOHNSON, Denis. The Name of the World. (NY): HarperCollins (2000). One of an unspecified number of copies of the first edition that has been signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
130. JOHNSON, Diane. Fair Game. NY: Harcourt Brace World (1965). Her uncommon first novel. Slight top edge foxing; very near fine in a lightly edgeworn dust jacket with a couple very small chips and tears.
Original Photographs of Joyce's Dublin
131. (JOYCE, James). PHILLIPS, Phil. Camera Notes of Joyce's Dublin. (n.p.): (n.p.) [1951]. A handmade production: 18 period photographs of Dublin plus a title page. Black & white photos, 7" x 6", each mounted to 9" x 11" cardstock; numbered in pencil in the lower right corner and annotated in pencil on verso: Eccles Street, Bachelor's Walk, the statue of Thomas Moore, Trinity College, Kildaire Street, Chapelizod, etc. 1951 gift inscription on the title page and some insect damage there and in the margins of several other pages. All loosely laid into a ribbon-tied chemise.