Catalog 139, C-G
36. CARROLL, Jim. The Basketball Diaries. (Bolinas): (Tombouctou) (1978). The author's classic memoir of coming of age in the New York drug culture of the late 1960s, about which a Jack Kerouac blurb said: "at 13 years of age, Jim Carroll writes better prose than 89% of the novelists working today." One of the defining memoirs of the 1960s. Only issued in wrappers, this is the issue with silver lettering, which we have been told comprised some sort of "limited edition," although the original printed price on the book is the same as that of the issue with white lettering -- $4.00. Light creasing; near fine.
37. (CARSON, Rachel). "Silent Spring, Part Two" in Animals, Vol. 1, No. 5. Bristol: Purnell, 1963. The first British appearance of Silent Spring, which was first published in the U.S. in 1962 after portions were serialized in The New Yorker. In the U.K., portions of the text were serialized in Animals prior to publication by Hamish Hamilton. Five pages, including photographs. Also includes an introductory note by the editor briefly touching on the attacks by the U.S. chemical industry that Carson endured and passing on an endorsement of the book by Prince Philip. Very good in stapled wrappers.
38. CARVER, Raymond. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. NY: Knopf, 1981. Carver's second major story collection, and his first significant commercial success: the first of his books to be published by a mainstream literary publishing house, Knopf, and the first to go into multiple printings immediately after publication. Carver's relentless paring away of the excess in his stories, which earned him the label "minimalist" -- a designation he stridently rejected throughout his career -- is evident in this collection: two of the stories had been published earlier in the collection Furious Seasons but here are shorter and more spare (one of them also having been re-titled). Signed by the author on the title page and additionally inscribed by Carver on the half-title in 1984 to the President of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, at the Writers' Workshop. A nice association copy. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a tiny edge tear at the upper rear spine fold. An attractive copy of an important book, and scarce inscribed.
39. CARVER, Raymond. Ultramarine. NY: Random House (1986). His second collection of poems to be published by Random House. Inscribed by Carver to his daughter: "For my daughter, Christine -/ with my love always./ Dad/ January 1987/ Port Angeles." Underneath, in a child's hand, the words: "To Windy/ from/ Grampa/ Ray." This copy is also signed by Carver on the title page. Two ink words on the rear pastedown; otherwise a near fine copy in a good, edge-chipped dust jacket. A nice family association copy, especially as Carver's family played such an important role in his writings.
40. CARVER, Raymond. Those Days. Elmwood: Raven Editions, 1987. A collection of early pieces by Carver written prior to the publication of his first book, Near Klamath. William Stull turned these up in the course of bibliographic research, and he edited them and provided notes and an Afterword. Carver himself wrote an introduction. Perhaps the most attractive of the many limited editions of Carver's: designed and printed by Carol Blinn of Warwick Press, with marbled paper by Faith Harrison. There were three issues, two of which were offered for sale: 100 numbered copies in wrappers, 26 lettered copies in marbled paper boards; 14 "presentation" copies, bound in quarter-leather and marbled paper boards were hors commerce. This is one of 26 lettered copies signed by Carver. Fine, with the publisher's business card and prospectus laid in.
41. (CASTRO, Fidel). BAYO, Alberto. Fidel te Espera en la Sierra. Havana: Lex, 1959. Second edition of this book of poetry by one of the Generals in Castro's revolutionary army. The title poem ("Fidel Awaits You in the Mountains") alludes to the pre-revolution struggle. One of the earliest books of the Castro era, published in April, 1959; Batista, the former leader of Cuba, fled in January of 1959. This copy is signed by Fidel Castro on the title page. Pages foxed; a few check marks to text; some staining to covers; about very good in wrappers.
42. CHATWIN, Bruce. In Patagonia. London: Cape (1977). The uncorrected proof copy of the author's first book, a travel account which was an instant literary sensation and put the author in the forefront of the younger generation of British travel writers and, later, novelists. After the success of this book, none of Chatwin's other, later successes could truly be termed surprises; this, however, seems to have taken the literary world by complete surprise. The first printing of the trade edition was quite small; this proof is reportedly one of 55 copies. Creasing to spine from binder's glue; one rear corner crease; light general spotting; still a near fine copy in printed wrappers, in a custom clamshell box.
43. COETZEE, J.M. Dusklands. Johannesburg: Ravan, 1974. The first book by this noted South African writer and two-time winner of the Booker Prize. This is the true first edition, preceding British publication by seven years and American by eleven. Signed by the author. Light spine tap; still fine in a slightly dusty, else fine dust jacket. A very nice copy of an uncommon and important first book, very scarce signed.
44. COETZEE, J.M. Waiting for the Barbarians. London: Secker & Warburg (1980). The first British edition and the true first edition of his second book, preceding its publication in South Africa. Signed by the author, who has also transcribed the first line of the book. Very slight upper corner tap; still fine in a fine dust jacket, which is completely unfaded on the spine. An extremely scarce book in any condition, and rare in fine condition, let alone signed by the author.
45. CUMMINGS, E.E. Artwork: "Nude Trio" aka "Dancer." Oil on cardboard, 8 1/2" x 11", framed. Dated "1940-05-07." In addition to being a poet, Cummings began drawing and painting at an early age and continued right up until his death. Early in his career he listed "Modern Artist" as his occupation on a passport application, and when he died he left over 1600 pieces of artwork. This little-known aspect of Cummings' life and work has been only occasionally documented, the most recent example being in The Jazz Age in France by Charles A. Riley III (NY: Abrams, 2004), in which this painting and four other works by Cummings are reproduced. It is also reported that the next revision of the Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature will have an updated essay on Cummings that includes his work as an artist as well as his writing. This painting shows the influence of the Fauvist movement, and even Kandinsky, and is one of the more striking images of Cummings' that we have seen, incorporating both abstract and representational elements. Framed. Fine.
46. DELILLO, Don. White Noise. (NY): Viking (1985). Winner of the National Book Award, an award for which DeLillo has been nominated twice since. Remainder stamping lower page edges; near fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
47. DIDION, Joan. A Book of Common Prayer. NY: Simon & Schuster (1977). The third novel, fourth book, by the author of Slouching Toward Bethlehem and Play It As It Lays. This is a novel of the intrigue at the heart of a fictional Central American country, in some ways presaging her later essay, Salvador, one of the most devastating portraits of the collapse of moral order in the Americas. Signed by the author. Partial price sticker front pastedown; very near fine in a near fine, slightly spine-faded dust jacket.
48. -. Another copy. A review copy Inscribed by Didion five days prior to publication: "For Burt/ who is the last & best extant reader -- / Thank you/ Joan Didion/ March 26 '77." Fine in a fine dust jacket. Laid in is the review slip, giving the date of publication as March 31, and an invitation to a private publication party on March 28. An exceptional copy of what many consider her best novel.
49. DIDION, Joan. Telling Stories. (Berkeley): Friends of the Bancroft Library, 1978. A small volume in wrappers, issued as number 26 in the series of keepsakes produced by the Friends of the Library. This constitutes the first book appearance of three early stories by Didion, as well as the first appearance anywhere of an essay by her recounting their history, and explaining why she never wrote any more stories. Although not called for, this copy is signed by the author. Fine in wrappers. Laid in is the ticket for the 2002 event at which the signature was obtained.
50. DIDION, Joan. The White Album. NY: Simon & Schuster (1979). Her second collection of the sometimes-astringent personal essays that have, in large part, established her considerable literary reputation. Signed by the author. Lower corner of prelims once dampened; near fine in a fine dust jacket.
51. DIDION, Joan. Political Fictions. NY: Knopf, 2001. Nonfiction; lengthy political essays, which originally appeared in the New York Review of Books. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
52. (DOCTOROW, E.L.). LONDON, Jack. The Call of the Wild. (NY): Vintage Books/Library of America (1990). First thus, with an introduction by E.L. Doctorow. Fine in wrappers and signed by Doctorow. Uncommon signed.
53. DOIG, Ivan. Early Forestry Research. A History of the Pacific Northwest Forest & Range Experiment Station, 1925-1975. (n.p.): (Forest Service) (1977). Doig's fourth book, preceding the award-winning This House of Sky by a year. A fine copy in stapled wrappers. Scarce; we've had only one copy previously.
54. EASTLAKE, William. Go in Beauty. NY: Harper & Brothers (1956). The uncorrected proof copy, in the form of bound galleys, of the author's first book, and the first novel in his highly praised New Mexico trilogy. With textual differences from the published book. Eastlake was born and raised in New York City but moved to a New Mexico ranch after serving in the Army and then living in Paris, and most of his fiction has been set in the Southwest, with the landscape and the cultures of New Mexico playing an integral part in his fiction. 6 1/2" x 11 7/16", printed on rectos only and perfectbound in plain wrappers with a label partially removed from the front cover. A very near fine copy, with a letter laid in from an editor to Paul Bowles, soliciting comment. A scarce proof, dating from an era in which the production of bound proof copies was the exception, not the norm: this is the only copy we've ever seen.
55. ECO, Umberto. The Aesthetics of Chaosmos: The Middle Ages of James Joyce. Tulsa: University of Tulsa (1982). The first American edition, which includes one section not in the original Italian. Published as Number 18 in the University of Tulsa's monograph series. Near fine in spine-tanned wrappers. Considerably scarcer than the 1989 edition.
56. EGOLF, Tristan. Skirt and the Fiddle. NY: Grove (2002). The second book by the author of the highly praised Lord of the Barnyard, who committed suicide in May, 2005. This copy is signed by Egolf. A posthumous third book will be published in 2006. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
57. ELLISON, Ralph. Invisible Man. NY: Random House (1952). His first book, winner of the National Book Award and one of the most celebrated African-American novels of all time. In a poll conducted in 1965, 200 critics, authors and editors judged Invisible Man to be "the most distinguished single work" published in the previous 20 years. Trace foxing to the upper cloth edge; still a fine copy in a near fine, modestly rubbed dust jacket with very shallow chipping at the spine extremities. A high spot of 20th century American literature -- both a classic of African-American fiction and a book that transcends such a racial identification to stand as a literary landmark on its own terms. A very attractive copy.
58. ELLISON, Ralph. Shadow and Act. NY: Random House (1964). The second book by the author of the classic Invisible Man, by consensus the most important African-American novel of the 20th century. This is a collection of essays, and is inscribed by Ellison to the author Nicholas Delbanco: "For Nick Delbanco/ with pleasure at Bennington/ Sincerely/ Ralph Ellison." Delbanco was the head of the Writing Program at Bennington College. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with trace wear to spine ends. A nice literary association.
59. FAULKNER, William. These 13. NY: Cape & Smith (1931). A collection of stories, Faulkner's first volume of short fiction, published after the critical successes of The Sound and the Fury, Sanctuary and As I Lay Dying. Slight sunning to the spine cloth; else a fine copy in a very good, spine-tanned dust jacket with light chipping at the corners and crown and a couple stray ink lines on the rear panel of the jacket.
60. 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. 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. A near fine copy in a bright pictorial first issue dust jacket with some chipping at the extremities of the spine and some rubbing mid-spine, and a small piece missing from the rear panel.
61. 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, which is very uncommon for this title; a bit of offsetting to the front free endpaper and front jacket flap; still a fine copy in a very close to fine dust jacket. A beautiful copy of a Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone title.
62. FAULKNER, William. Collected Stories of William Faulkner. NY: Random House (1950). The first issue of this collection, with "The Collected Stories of William Faulkner" stamped on the spine, a blue background behind the title on the title page and blue top stain. Includes stories from Faulkner's early collections, which at the time had been long unavailable, and also seventeen previously uncollected stories. Bit of a shadow from the binder's glue in the front joint; still a fine copy in a near fine, faintly spine-tanned dust jacket with two edge tears at the rear flap fold and a couple very small corner chips. A very nice copy of an important collection which, because of its bulk and the thin paper jacket, is usually found quite worn. Winner of the National Book Award, and published the year after Faulkner won the Nobel Prize for Literature. More uncommon than it might seem, as the book club edition is often taken for a first, and states "first printing" just as this does.
63. FISHER, M.F.K. The Gastronomical Me. NY: Duell, Sloan & Pearce (1943). Trace foredge foxing; near fine in a very good, lightly rubbed, price-clipped first issue dust jacket that is fragile at the folds, with modest chipping to the spine ends and a small stain to the front flap. Still, an attractive copy of this book, uncommon with the first issue dust jacket, which has a photograph on the rear panel of the author reclining in a languorous attitude by glamour photographer George Hurrell; the photograph was quickly replaced with a more staid portrait of the author on later copies.
64. FOER, Jonathan Safran. The Unabridged Pocketbook of Lightning. (London): Penguin (2005). Published as Pocket Penguin 11 and including the short story "A Primer for the Punctuation of Heart Disease," first published in The New Yorker; three excerpts from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; and an Author's Note, which explains the title of this item. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
65. (FORSTER, E.M.). SEWELL, Mrs. Children of Summerbrook. London: Jarrel and Sons (n.d.). A book of verse for children. This copy belonged to E.M. Forster and bears his ownership label and a note in Forster's hand: "In my mother's room, West Hackhurst. 1946." The book apparently had been Forster's mother's previously, and has her ownership signature, "Lily Whichelo," on the front endpaper. Forster lived with his mother until her death in 1945; presumably he annotated this copy as he went through her belongings after she died, and decided to keep the book. It's interesting to wonder whether the book dated from his own childhood or from his mother's; her signature is that of an adult, suggesting she may have read this book to the young Edward when he was a boy. Rear cover soiled and tenuous; a good copy in wrappers.
66. FOWLES, John. The Magus. London: Blazer Films, 1967. Fowles' screenplay of his second novel, set on a Greek island and involving a young expatriate Englishman who is drawn into the fantastic designs of a self-styled psychic. The film, with Anthony Quinn, Michael Caine, Candice Bergen and Anna Karina, gained a cult following in the Sixties in spite of (and perhaps partly because of) harsh critical reviews. Fowles wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of his novel, and the entire production was an ambitious one: the cast included two of the most well-known male leads of their time (Quinn & Caine), an up-and-coming young actress who had been nominated for a "Most Promising Newcomer" Golden Globe two years earlier (Bergen), and Anna Karina, a staple in the films of French avant garde director Jean-Luc Godard. The director was Guy Green, a former cinematographer, and the film was nominated for a British Academy Award for cinematography. (The novel was recently chosen as one of the best 100 novels of the 20th century.) This script bears the name of David Harcourt and has revision sheets dated September 4, 7 and 12, and November 25, 1967. Harcourt is listed as a camera operator on a production schedule (laid in) dated August 15, 1967. Also laid in is the shooting schedule for November 11. These sheets are torn and sunned; the script itself is near fine and claspbound in very good red covers. An early, complete piece of writing by Fowles -- his first novel had been published four years earlier -- and perhaps the scarcest item in his bibliography. We have never heard of another copy turning up; it is Fowles' only screenplay to have been produced, as best we can tell.
67. GAINES, Ernest J. Catherine Carmier. NY: Atheneum, 1964. The first book by the African-American author of A Lesson Before Dying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, which was made into a highly praised television movie that won nine Emmy Awards and became, partly as a result of the film, an ongoing bestseller. This title, a love story about a young black man who falls in love with the daughter of a Creole sharecropper, was reportedly printed in an edition of only 1000 copies. Gaines was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University in 1958. Fine in a very good dust jacket with light wear to the corners and spine extremities.
68. GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ, Gabriel. Los Funerales de la Mamá Grande. Xalapa: Universidad Veracruzana, 1962. The first edition of his first collection of short fiction, the title work of which first introduced the element of magical realism that serves to identify much of his later work. Ownership signature of a Venezuelan journalist and date (1966) and small Caracas bookstore label on front fly; tape shadows on endpages; else near fine in wrappers. A very attractive, crisp copy of this uncommon collection, with little of the rubbing that typically shows up. The entire first edition was 2000 copies, and according to García Márquez, fewer than 700 copies of it were sold in all and he never received any royalties from the sale of this book. A scarce and important volume by the Nobel Prize winner.
69. GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ, Gabriel. Todos los Cuentos de Gabriel García Márquez. (Havana): Casa de la Américas (1977). The first Cuban edition of García Márquez's collected stories. Inscribed by the author on a leaf now free from the binding. Exportation stamp on verso of last page; page edges foxed and paper browning with age; Cuban books are, in general, cheaply produced and the climate there is hard on such books. Nonetheless, these are interesting copies in that they were signed by the author while he was visiting Cuba: García Márquez's friendship with Cuban leader Fidel Castro is well-known, and his sympathy for Cuba and left-leaning politics put him on a U.S. State Department restricted list, limiting the time he could spend visiting the U.S. and the kind of visa he could apply for. As a result, he has spent more time in Cuba than he has in the United States over the past two decades. Books inscribed by García Márquez are uncommon; Cuban books inscribed by him are extremely uncommon. Overall, very good in wrappers and darkened glassine.
70. GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ, Gabriel. El Otoño del Patriarca. (Havana): (Ediciones Huracan/Editorial Arte y Literatura) (1978). The first Cuban edition of The Autumn of the Patriarch. Inscribed by the author. Pages browning with age and heavily foxed; insect damage to spine; a good copy only in wrappers. A fragile and cheaply produced book, indicative of a publishing industry operating in a Third World economy.
71. GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ, Gabriel. Relato de un Naufrago. Havana: (Ediciones Huracan)/Editorial Arte y Literatura, 1981. The first Cuban edition of The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor. Inscribed by the author in 2003. One half-title detached (there are two). Exportation stamp on verso of last page; covers rubbed and dampstained; a good copy in wrappers.
72. GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ, Gabriel. Crónica de una Muerte Anunciada. (Havana): (Casa de la Américas) (n.d.)[1981]. The first Cuban edition of Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Lengthily and humorously inscribed by the author in 1982, covering most of the front blank: [roughly translated] "For Arquimedes, who submerged in a liquid displaces an amount equal to his volume, with a hug, Gabriel." A nice inscription. Exportation stamp on verso of last page; pages acidifying; spine-sunned; about very good in wrappers.
73. GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ, Gabriel. El Amor en los Tiempos del Cólera. (Bogotá): Editorial La Oveja Negra (1985). The "rustic" issue of the Colombian trade edition. According to the copyright page, printed by Editorial Printer Colombiana, Ltda., with boards measuring 5" from spine to foredge. This copy is inscribed by the author on the dedication page. Exportation stamp to rear endpaper; owner signature on title page; foxing to endpages and page edges; small price sticker on flyleaf; shelf wear to lower board edges; still a very good copy in a very good dust jacket with dampstaining to the lower edge.
74. GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ, Gabriel. El General en Su Labertino. (Madrid): Mondadori (1989). The Spanish first edition of The General in His Labyrinth, which was published simultaneously with the Colombian and Mexican editions. Inscribed by the author in 2002. Exportation stamp to rear endpaper; owner signature on flyleaf; boards dampstained; a good copy in a very good, internally damp-stained dust jacket with some lower edge wear.
75. GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ, Gabriel. Doce Cuentos Peregrinos. (Madrid): Mondadori (1992). Second edition. Inscribed by the author in 2002. Exportation stamp to rear endpaper; owner gift inscription on half-title. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with faint dampstaining to lower edge.
76. GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ, Gabriel. El Coronel No Tiene Quien le Escriba. Mexico City: Diana (2002). The 25th edition of his second book, with a movie tie-in cover. The film adaptation of No One Writes to the Colonel was a finalist for the Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999 and won the Latin American Cinema Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000. Inscribed by the author. Slight rubbing; else fine in pictorial boards.
77. GARDNER, John. The Resurrection. NY: New American Library (1966). Gardner's first work of fiction, one of the handful of significant literary first novels that were published by NAL under the editorship of David Segal. NAL was primarily a paperback publisher, with an emphasis on mass market paperbacks and a strong commercial focus. Publishing such writers as Gardner, William Gass, Cynthia Ozick and Michael Shaara was a fairly daring step; given the scarcity of all those first novels, it would seem that such publishing daring was counterbalanced with caution in the form of short print runs: this novel, for example, had a 2500 copy first printing and a high percentage of those would have been earmarked for libraries. Signed by the author on the dedication page. Slight wear at the spine extremities, and bowing to the boards; about near fine in a dust jacket with mild spine fading; foxing on verso; a narrow, shallow crease to the front panel; and both flaps corner clipped (but not price-clipped).
78. GARDNER, John. Grendel. NY: Knopf (1971). The uncorrected proof copy of Gardner's third novel, which many think his best. A retelling of the Beowulf legend from the perspective of the monster, this novel allowed Gardner to incorporate his knowledge as a scholar of old English literature into his contemporary fiction in a way no other of his books did. This proof is in tall wrappers, reproducing page numbers in holograph, and with the title page and cover reproduced from typescript. Small price and publication month written in ink on the front cover. Fine in a custom slipcase. A very scarce proof.
79. GORDIMER, Nadine. Face to Face. Johannesburg: Silver Leaf Books (1949). The first book by the Nobel Prize winner, a collection of stories that was only published in her native South Africa, and precedes her first book outside of South Africa by three years. A small, fragile book, this is a fine copy but for a tiny corner tap, in a near fine, lightly rubbed dust jacket with a touch of wear to the spine ends. An attractive copy of an uncommon and important first book.