Catalog 140, M-N
125. "Malcolm X." (LITTLE, Malcolm). Holiday Card. [c.1940's]. 5-3/4" x 4-3/4". A Christmas card from the noted black activist, written decades before he converted to Islam and became the most outspoken and militant agitator for black civil rights in the early 1960s. Malcolm X's incendiary rhetoric in the early years of the Civil Rights Movement helped polarize the country around issues of race and also helped open the way for civil and legal reforms on an unprecedented scale. This card has a sleigh scene on the front and a standard Christmas and New Year's greeting inside. Signed in full as "Malcolm Little," with the additional sentiment, in holograph: "I hope you haven't forgotten me." Folded once, apparently to fit into a square envelope (not present). Very slight general wear; still near fine. Autograph material by Malcolm X is extremely scarce, particularly such an early example as this, preceding as it does his notoriety.
126. MATHESON, Richard. Born of Man and Woman. Philadelphia: Chamberlain Press, 1954. A review copy of the author's first book, a collection of stories with an introduction by Robert Bloch, later the author of Psycho. About 650 copies of this book had been distributed prior to a flood that destroyed the remaining bound copies, and a fire later destroyed the unbound sheets. Signed by the author and signed by Bloch at his contribution, with review slip tipped to the front free endpaper. Thin foredge stain, else fine in a near fine dust jacket with a small chip threatening at the top edge. Matheson's career began with placing short stories in the pulp magazines and he later became one of the most important script writers for "The Twilight Zone." Ray Bradbury has called Matheson "one of the most important writers of the 20th century" and Stephen King cited him as "the author who most influenced me as a writer." A nice copy of an important first book, seldom found signed (especially by both writers) and particularly scarce as a prepublication review copy.
127. MATHESON, Richard. I Am Legend. London: David Bruce and Watson, 1974. The first British edition of this classic vampire/science fiction novel, originally published in paperback in 1954 and the basis for the 1964 Vincent Price movie The Last Man on Earth and later the 1971 film The Omega Man with Charlton Heston. One of the defining novels of the horror genre, and named one of the 100 Best Horror Novels. Signed by the author. This UK edition is quite scarce, especially signed. Fine in a near fine, rubbed dust jacket.
128. MATHESON, Richard. Bid Time Return. NY: Viking (1975). An uncommon time-travel novel, which had developed a cult following even before it was made into the movie Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve. Signed by the author. Fine in a slightly spine-faded, near fine dust jacket and, because of the perfect-bound construction of the book, scarce in fine condition, let alone signed.
129. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Under the Mountain Wall. NY: Viking (1962). Nonfiction, recounting an expedition to New Guinea to study one of the last "stone age" tribes on the planet, which had been entirely free from contact with Westerners or the artifacts of industrial society. Inscribed by the author to his brother-in-law, Kennett Love, and bearing Love's ownership signature, notes on a rear blank, and a few marginal markings. The book is dedicated to Love's sister Deborah, Matthiessen's wife. This is the second issue, but the first published edition: virtually all copies of the first issue were withdrawn by the publisher prior to publication as the photo pages were in the wrong place and contrary to the Table of Contents. This copy, the published, corrected issue, is fine in a near fine, lightly edgeworn dust jacket.
130. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. The Shorebirds of North America. NY: Viking (1967). The extremely scarce signed limited edition of this title: one of 350 numbered copies signed by Matthiessen, editor Gardner Stout, painter Robert Clem and Ralph Palmer, who provided species accounts. A landmark volume; the definitive work on the subject, and one of Matthiessen's few signed limited editions. Bound in full leather. Some spotting to and near the spine; near fine in slipcase. Announcement of corresponding gallery opening laid in.
131. McCOURT, Frank. Angela's Ashes. (NY): Scribner (1996). His first book, a surprise bestseller with a relatively small first printing, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Award. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket. Laid in are two Angela's Ashes bookmarks, one advertising a book signing, one advertising the film, as well as a fold-out invitation to a signing to benefit the Providence Public Library.
132. McGUANE, Thomas. Live Water. (Stone Harbor): Meadow Run Press (1996). Essays on and tales of angling, by one of the most respected American novelists, who is also an avid angler. This is the deluxe limited edition, one of only 67 numbered copies, signed by McGuane and by the artist, John Swan. Quarterbound in blue leather and linen boards; fine in a fine clamshell box.
133. McMURTRY, Larry. Horseman, Pass By. NY: Harper (1961). McMurtry's first book, a breakthrough in Texas literature and in regional literature in general. One of A.C. Greene's "50 best books on Texas," and made into the movie Hud. Hastily inscribed by the author on the title page. Very faint foredge rubbing; still a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing to the folds and a tiny tear to the front flap.
134. McMURTRY, Larry. Leaving Cheyenne. NY: Harper & Row (1963). His second novel, another of the "50 best books on Texas," according to A.C. Greene. McMurtry's first two books are both quite scarce. Inscribed by the author. Very mild foxing, else fine in a price-clipped dust jacket with faint sunning to the spine.
135. McPHEE, John. Giving Good Weight. NY: FSG (1979). A collection of essays and articles from The New Yorker. Inscribed by McPhee to Gloria Emerson, "my professor-in-law/ with all best/ John McPhee/ Princeton 1981." A nice association copy: Emerson won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for her reporting from Vietnam; McPhee, with his lengthy profiles for The New Yorker, virtually invented the genre of "literary nonfiction." Both have been the Ferris professor of journalism at Princeton University. Foxing to top edge; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with trace shelf wear.
136. McPHEE, John. Outcroppings. Salt Lake: Peregrine/Gibbs Smith (1988). Photographs of the West and Southwest by Tom Till, one of the premier nature photographers working in the U.S. today, accompanied by selections of McPhee's writings. With a five page introduction by McPhee for this volume, explaining why he writes about the West. Signed by McPhee and Till. Quarto. Fine in a fine dust jacket with one of the two printed prices clipped (the book was to sell for $29.95 in 1998; $34.95 thereafter).
137. McPHERSON, James Alan. Hue and Cry. Boston: Little Brown (1969). His first book, a collection of stories that defied the mold of late 1960s black writing by refusing to yield to the easy temptation to substitute political diatribe for literary accomplishment. Inscribed by the author "with love" and signed "Jim McPherson." Fine in a very good, rubbed and price-clipped dust jacket with one externally tape-mended edge tear. McPherson is an extremely private author, and books signed by him are uncommon.
138. MILLER, Henry. Autograph Note Signed. Undated. A 5" x 3" card: "June -/ Tell me what/ you have read/ and I'll know/ better what to/ send!/ Henry." A short but nice sentiment, not only linking Miller with June, his muse, but also with the literary dimension of their lives together. Near fine.
139. MILLER, Henry. Order and Chaos Chez Hans Reichel. (Tucson): (Loujon Press) (1966). One of the most elaborately produced volumes in the elaborate history of the Loujon Press -- hand printed and bound by Jon and "Gypsy Lou" Webb in a dazzling array of colored papers and hand made sheets, with an original photographic portrait of Miller bound in. This is the Black Oasis Limited Issue, quarterbound in black leather and gray cloth boards. The limitation of this issue was 11, with one copy lettered with each of the letters from the name "Henry Miller." This copy is lettered "L" -- presumably one of two with that letter. Signed by the author on 6/6/66, with two signed postcards to the Loujon Press bound in, one of which concerns the health of Kenneth Patchen. Shifreen & Jackson A157e. One other issue of this title had a limitation of 11; only the Orange Oasis issue (with a limitation of 3) is more scarce. Fine in a near fine, mildly spine-sunned dustwrapper with a small foredge stain and a shallow crown chip, in a fine slipcase.
140. (MILLER, Henry). Henry Miller. (Hamburg): Rowohlt (1961). Text in German. Inscribed by Miller to June in the year of publication: "Dear June -/ We made it/ at last! (From/ 1924-1961)/ Now I can take/ a walk on the/ wild side!/ Henry." Miller's inscription would suggest that this was the first full-length biography of him, and it includes photographs of June. Front cover and first two pages (including the inscription page) are detached. A fair copy only, and although apparently a first edition, the bibliographer states that the spine is white, lettered in black. This copy has a pink spine lettered in white.
141. MILNE. A.A. Winnie-the-Pooh, Now We Are Six and The House at Pooh Corner. NY: Dutton (1926, 1927, 1928). The American limited editions of the classic children's books. Winnie the Pooh was published in October 1926 and has never been out of print since. These limited editions, published just after the U.K. editions, were done in limitations of 200 numbered copies for the first two titles and 250 numbered copies for Pooh Corner. Each title is signed by the author and also by E.H. Shepard, the illustrious illustrator. Winnie-the-Pooh is fine in a fine dust jacket and near fine glassine dustwrapper and publisher's box, also near fine. Now We Are Six, pages uncut, is fine in an acetate dust jacket and near fine publisher's box. The House at Pooh Corner, pages uncut, is fine in a fine pictorial dust jacket and near fine publisher's box. The boxes are slightly dusty, with occasional slight abrasions, but overall solid and attractive. The books inside are preserved in near-immaculate condition: the glassine jacket on the first book is almost never intact and here is very near fine, over a fine paper jacket; the acetate jacket of the second volume is likewise seldom found in good condition and here is near fine, with the exception that is has over time shrunk slightly and the rear flap has cleanly separated (easily repaired at the discretion of the purchaser). Probably the nicest set extant of these modern classics. For the three:
142. MORRISON, Toni. Beloved. NY: Knopf, 1987. Her fifth novel, which won the Pulitzer Prize and was the basis for the award-winning 1998 film by Jonathan Demme. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
143. MUNRO, Alice. Dance of the Happy Shades. (Toronto): Ryerson (1968). Her first book, a collection of stories that won the Governor General's Award, Canada's highest literary honor and an award Munro has won three times. Signed by the author. Slight foredge bump and top edge foxing; near fine in a near fine, first issue dust jacket (without the Governor General's Award seal) with light wear to the edges and spine folds. Newspaper clippings pertaining to Munro's receiving the award laid in.
144. NAIPAUL, V.S. An Area of Darkness. NY: Macmillan (1965). The first American edition of his second book of nonfiction, and the first of his three books on India. Inscribed by the author, with a photograph of Naipaul and the recipient, the former President of Dartmouth College, laid in. Near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with light edge wear. Books signed by Naipaul, the winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize for Literature, are scarce.
145. NAIPAUL, V.S. Guerrillas. NY: Knopf, 1975. The first American edition of a novel that The New York Times Book Review called the best novel of the year. Inscribed by the author. Slight corner bumping; very near fine in a fine dust jacket with a small crimp at the crown.
146. NAIPAUL, V.S. The Return of Eva Perón. NY: Knopf, 1979. The first American edition of this volume comprising two long nonfiction pieces, the title piece and "Michael X and the Black Power Killings in Trinidad." Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a tiny gutter nick on the front panel. Laid in is a photo of Naipaul with the recipient.
147. NAYLOR, Gloria. The Women of Brewster Place. NY: Viking (1982). Her highly praised first book, a novel constructed in seven stories. Winner of the American Book Award for best first novel of the year, and later the basis for a television miniseries. Inscribed by the author, "in sisterhood." Top boards edge-sunned; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket with slight wear to the crown and corners.
148. NERUDA, Pablo. Plenos Poderes. Buenos Aires: Losada (1962). Inscribed by the author to noted scholar, writer and art historian, Selden Rodman in 1966: "Selden/ Rodman/ here awaits/ your house/ and friend/ Pablo." Rodman was the foremost expert on Haitian art, and a specialist on art in the Americas for over sixty years. He wrote numerous books that explained the relationships between art in the Americas -- particularly the Caribbean and Latin America -- and the folk traditions of those countries. He founded the Centre d'Art in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as well as the Haitian Art Center in New York. Pages uncut; colored scuffs to covers; still about near fine in self-wrappers. A very nice association copy between two of the towering figures of Latin American culture.
149. NERUDA, Pablo. La Barcarola. Buenos Aires: Losada (1967). A long poem by the Chilean Nobel Prize winner, printed on different-colored pages. Inscribed by the author: "a Selden [Rodman]/ un abrazo/ de Pablo/ 1969/ 2 I." A nice inscription: "a hug from Pablo," indicative of the closeness of the two friends. Light foxing, rubbing and creasing to covers, with one tear at the lower front joint. Still very good in self-wrappers.
150. NERUDA, Pablo. Fin de Mundo. Buenos Aires: Losada (1969). A collection of poems, written shortly before he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. Inscribed by the author to Selden Rodman in 1970, in Valparaiso, Chile. Stamp to first blank under inscription; note written (by Rodman?) on rear cover, which is heavily creased; otherwise very good in wrappers.
151. NIN, Anaïs. Cities of the Interior. Denver: Swallow (1959). The first edition of this massive volume, which collects five of her novels and is illustrated with line engravings by her husband, Ian Hugo. Inscribed by Nin to her therapist: "For Dr. Inge Bogner/ with devotion and/ admiration for your unusual insight and/ sustained objectivity -- / and patience!/ Anaïs Nin." After her celebrated relationship, and dramatic breakup, with the psychiatrist Otto Rank, Nin began seeing Bogner, a New York psychiatrist whom she continued to see over the next three decades, up until her death. Nin wrote at one point that of all her therapists, Bogner was the one who gave her the most help in understanding her own psyche. Spine darkened and creased; very good in white wrappers.
152. NIN, Anaïs. The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vols. 1-3. NY: Harcourt, Brace, World, 1966-1969. The first three volumes of Nin's diaries, inscribed by the author to Robert Cromie, a Chicago-area talk show host. Nin's diaries were an enormously influential sequence of books which, despite some retrospective questioning of their factuality, became a benchmark for women's autobiographical writings just as the feminist movement was coming into existence. Volume 1 is near fine in a near fine dust jacket; the latter two volumes are fine in near fine jackets.