Catalog 144, D-H
42. DELILLO, Don. Typescript of "The Airborne Toxic Event." 1984. A story by DeLillo that became the pivotal chapter of his 1985 National Book Award-winning novel White Noise. A later draft: 19 pages, 16 of them original typescript, 3 pages photocopied (apparently because there were no significant changes from an earlier draft). Several holograph corrections to text, along with a typed noted signed by DeLillo transmitting the story, apparently to Esquire: the note is addressed to "Tom" and refers to "Rust," presumably Tom Jenks and Rust Hills who, among other things, co-edited The Esquire Fiction Reader in the mid-1980s. Despite the apparent association with Esquire, we can find no evidence this text was ever published outside of the novel. In the note DeLillo writes "I have retained the last sentence, which Rust may not be happy about, but the ending seems flat without it," an interesting glimpse at the history of the piece. Varies markedly from the published text (Chapter 21 of White Noise), but for the most part the changes are of such a nature as to make the story free-standing. "Rec. 2/6/84" in pencil on title page; near fine. Several additional drafts exist at the Harry Ransom Center for the Humanities at the University of Texas.
43. DELILLO, Don. "On February 14, 1989..." (NY): (Rushdie Defense Committee USA)(1994). A flyer issued in support of Salman Rushdie on the fifth anniversary of the Iranian death edict issued against him in response to The Satanic Verses. DeLillo, himself a master of imagining the individual's fictive response to seeping cultural-political forces, asks us to imagine Rushdie's reality. One page folded to make four pages; the text is unattributed to DeLillo on the flyer, but DeLillo was named as author in a letter accompanying the initial distribution, and a photocopy of that letter is included. 450,000 copies of the flyer were printed but few are likely to have been preserved. This copy is signed by DeLillo. Fine.
44. DELILLO, Don. Readings and Conversations. (n.p.): Lannan Foundation, 1997. A program for this DeLillo appearance, printing one of the author's fabricated Lenny Bruce monologues from Underworld, presumably the only separate publication of this piece. Fine.
45. DESAI, Kiran. The Inheritance of Loss. NY: Atlantic Monthly Press (2006). The advance reading copy of the first American edition of her second novel, winner of the Booker Prize. Published in the U.S. almost eight months prior to its publication in the U.K. Scarce as an advance copy. Fine in wrappers.
46. DIDION, Joan. Vintage Didion. NY: Vintage Books (2004). A volume in the Vintage Readers series, intended to introduce readers to long-established authors by excerpting pieces from their earlier books. In this case, the excerpts are from Salvador, Miami, After Henry and Political Fictions. Also included is an essay on the aftermath of 9/11 that appeared in The New York Review of Books but has not been collected elsewhere. Signed by the author. Only issued in wrappers. Fine, and surprisingly uncommon signed.
47. DOCTOROW, E.L. Ragtime. NY: Random House (1975). His fourth book, a historical novel of America at the beginning of the twentieth century, peopled with such characters as Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, J.P. Morgan, Theodore Dreiser and others. Winner of the first National Book Critics Circle Award to be given and the basis for a highly successful film. Signed by the author on the half title. Owner signature front flyleaf, else fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a bit of fading to the red spine lettering.
48. DOCTOROW, E.L. Loon Lake. NY: Random House (1980). His fifth novel. Signed by the author. A little spotting to foredge; else fine in a near fine, spine- and edge-sunned dust jacket.
49. DOCTOROW, E.L. Lives of the Poets. NY: Random House (1984). The limited edition of his award-winning collection of six stories and a novella. One of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. Small "2/85" on title page; cloth mildly spine-sunned; else fine in a fine slipcase.
50. DOCTOROW, E.L. World's Fair. NY: Random House (1985). Second printing. Winner of the National Book Award. A title in his New York City sequence, this one focusing on the World's Fair of 1939. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine, spine-sunned dust jacket.
51. DOCTOROW, E.L. Billy Bathgate. Franklin Center: Franklin Library, 1989. A limited edition. Signed by Doctorow with a special introduction by him for this edition. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and the William Dean Howells Medal for the best work of fiction in a five year period. Leatherbound, all edges gilt, with a silk ribbon marker bound in. Fine.
52. DOCTOROW, E.L. The Waterworks. NY: Random House (1994). Set in New York City in the 1870s, this novel is both a story in itself and also a portrait of New York City at a particular moment in time. Like Gore Vidal with his series of historical novels of the American political experience, Doctorow has been creating a history of New York in fiction, from Ragtime and Billy Bathgate to World's Fair and The Book of Daniel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
53. DUBUS, Andre. Land Where My Fathers Died. (n.p.): Stuart Wright (1984). His first limited edition, a single story issued in an edition of 200 copies. Dubus was a contemporary master of the short story form and the most accomplished writer of novellas in the U.S.; he was compared on numerous occasions to Chekhov. Signed by the author. Clothbound, with paper spine label, issued without dust jacket. Covers splaying, as is common with this title; spine label faded; near fine.
54. DUBUS, Andre. Leslie in California. (Otisville): Birch Brook (1989). The first separate appearance of this story from The Times Are Never So Bad. A small, attractive letterpress limited edition. One of 300 numbered copies, signed by the author. Approximately 6" x 4 1/2". Mild spine fade, spine roll; near fine in wrappers. Despite its larger limitation than the above title, this is very scarce, possibly because the publisher had less experience with distribution than Stuart Wright did, and copies have not circulated widely.
55. DUBUS, Andre. Dancing After Hours. NY: Knopf, 1996. The advance reading copy of a collection of stories that was published to enormous critical acclaim and, for the first time, widespread public recognition and commercial success. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers and very near fine publisher's cardstock slipcase.
56. DURRELL, Lawrence. The Alexandria Quartet. NY: Dutton (1962). The American limited edition of this one-volume collection of the four parts of the Alexandria Quartet, Durrell's masterwork set in pre-World War II Egypt. Much scarcer than the U.K. limited edition, of which there were 500 copies, this is one of 199 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase. A very nice copy of a scarce and important book.
57. EGGERS, Dave. What is the What. The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng. (San Francisco): (McSweeneys) (2006). A novel based on the life story of Deng, one of the Sudanese "Lost Boys," as told to Eggers. Signed by both Eggers and Deng. The first issue, in pictorial brown boards without dust jacket, as issued, and with vertical wraparound band on rear cover printing blurbs from other writers rather than from magazines, as on the later issue. A highly praised "nonfiction novel," and scarce in the first issue, especially signed by both the author and subject of the book. Fine.
58. (EGGERS, Dave). Shiny Adidas Tracksuits and the Death of Camp. NY: Berkley Boulevard Books (1998). Essays from Eggers' Might Magazine, which preceded McSweeney's. Includes work by Eggers, David Foster Wallace, Jess Mowry, Heidi Pollock, Marc Herman and others. This copy is inscribed by Eggers: "To one of the girls who taught me my most important lesson. Color is too expensive. D. Eggers. P.S. Please don't cut this work to pieces." Only issued in wrappers. Fine.
59. EUGENIDES, Jeffrey. Middlesex. NY: FSG (2002). The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by this Granta 20 and New Yorker 20 author, whose first book, The Virgin Suicides, was widely acclaimed as well. Signed by Eugenides. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
60. FAULKNER, William. A Fable. (NY): Random House (1954). A review copy of Faulkner's Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner, a parable of the Passion of Christ, set in World War I. Full page "review slip" laid in, in the form of a letter from Bennett Cerf, president of Random House, saying, in part: "This is not only Mr. Faulkner's most important work but, in my opinion, the most important book of fiction that has been brought out in this country in the past ten years. Possibly even this is an understatement... just one book as good as A Fable seems to me to justify a publisher's existence." The letter is dated June 11; publication date is given as August 2. Top stain faded, otherwise a fine copy in a very good, spine-tanned dust jacket with modest wear to the crown and spine folds. Laid in is a newspaper clipping printing Faulkner's 1950 Nobel Prize speech. Not an uncommon book, but an important one in Faulkner's career, and seldom seen in an advance state.
61. FAULKNER, William. Flags in the Dust. NY: Random House (1973). A printer's proof copy of the first unexpurgated edition of his third novel, issued in much shorter form, at the insistence of Faulkner's publisher, in 1929, as Sartoris. Flags in the Dust is the version Faulkner originally intended. This copy has two printer's proof marks to the dust jacket signifying review of the jacket and/or book prior to completion of the print run. Offsetting to pastedowns and mild mottling to spine; near fine in a very near fine dust jacket with slight insect damage to the white spine letters.
62. FORD, Richard. The Sportswriter. NY: Vintage (1986). His third novel, a paperback original, and the first book in his Frank Bascombe sequence. Signed by the author. Owner name inside front cover; slight splaying; else fine in wrappers.
63. FORD, Richard. Rock Springs. NY: Atlantic Monthly (1987). His fourth book, first collection of stories. Signed by the author. Announcement of Ford's reading/signing laid in. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with mild fading to the spine lettering.
64. FORD, Richard. Independence Day. NY: Knopf, 1995. The second book in Ford's three-book Bascombe sequence. Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
65. FORD, Richard. "A parent's view of what's wrong or right with his kid..." Memphis: Burke's Book Store/Wing and Wheel, 1995. A broadside excerpt from Independence Day. One of 75 numbered copies signed by the author. 7 1/8" x 12 1/2". Uncommon, one of the most elusive editions of Ford's writing; we've only seen it twice before. Fine.
66. FORD, Richard. Women with Men. NY: Knopf, 1997. The first trade edition of this collection of three novellas. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
67. -. Same title, the first British edition. London: Harvill (1997). Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
68. FORD, Richard. Great Falls. (n.p.): Evil Companions, 2004. The Evil Companions 2004 Literary Award broadside, printing an excerpt from Rock Springs. Signed by the author. 11" x 17", illustrated. Fine.
69. FORD, Richard. The Lay of the Land. (London): OSCAR/Random House, 2004. An advance excerpt, published to accompany the author's 2004 UK reading tour. This is the first appearance in print of Ford's sequel to Independence Day, and it precedes the full novel's publication by almost two years. Signed by the author. Fine in stapled wrappers with publicity flyer laid in.
70. (FORD, Richard). YATES, Richard. Revolutionary Road. (London): Methuen (2001). The advance reading copy of this reissue of Yates' 1961 novel, published here with a new 12 page introduction by Richard Ford. Near fine in wrappers.
71. FRAZIER, Charles. Thirteen Moons. NY: Random House (2006). The limited edition of the second novel by the author of the National Book Award-winning Cold Mountain, which was one of the publishing phenomena of the past decade -- a first novel by an unknown young writer that went on to sell over 4 million copies. That helped earn Frazier a reported $8 million+ for this novel, one of the highest dollar figures ever for a literary novel, if not the highest. This is one of 1600 copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
72. (FROST, Robert). "Locked Out" in The Forge, No. 2. Philadelphia: (Colonial Press), 1917. An early poem by Frost in an obscure and apparently erratically published literary magazine. Not included in Mountain Interval; "Locked Out" did appear in the 1930 edition Collected Poems. A bit of rust to the spine staples; otherwise an unexpectedly fine copy in wrappers of what must be one of the most elusive appearances of Frost's early work.
73. GASS, William H. Omensetter's Luck. (NY): New American Library (1966). His first book, one of the extraordinary literary debuts published in the mid-1960s by NAL -- normally a mass-market paperback house -- under the editorial direction of David Segal. This copy belonged to the writer Jonathan Carroll: laid in is an autograph letter signed, dated October 4, 1973, in which Gass agrees to visit Carroll's class. Carroll is a highly regarded author these days, whose books -- including The Land of Laughs and The Panic Hand, among others -- have been nominated for, and won, the Bram Stoker Award for fiction and the World Fantasy Award. The book is fine in a near fine dust jacket with light wear to the corners; the letter is fine, written on 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" Washington University stationery, folded in thirds for mailing, with hand-addressed envelope.
74. GILCHRIST, Ellen. Drunk with Love. Boston: Little, Brown (1986). A collection of stories. Signed by the author. One previously dampened corner; near fine in a near fine, slightly spine-sunned dust jacket with one tiny edge tear and faint dampstaining to an upper corner.
75. GORDIMER, Nadine. Three in a Bed: Fiction, Morals, and Politics. (Bennington): (Bennington College) (1991). A chapbook, printing lecture thirteen in the Ben Belitt Lecture Series, which was delivered on October 4, 1990. One of 1000 copies. Gordimer was awarded the Nobel Prize in October of 1991. Trace edge-sunning and a tiny crown nick; very near fine in stapled wrappers, with a card laid in indicating this was given to a donor to the college. Uncommon.
76. GREEN, Norman. Shooting Dr. Jack. (NY): HarperCollins (2001). The first novel by one of the most highly acclaimed of the "neo-noir" writers. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
77. GRUEN, Sara. Water for Elephants. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 2006. The advance reading copy of the first American edition of this highly praised novel, which was nominated for two Quill Awards, for Book of the Year and Best Novel. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
78. HALL, Donald. Jane at Pigall's. (Highland Park): (Red Hanrahan Press) (1973). A broadside by Hall, with text about the poet Jane Kenyon. Hall and Kenyon were married in 1972 and remained married for 23 years, until Kenyon's death from leukemia. In 1998, Hall published Without, a book of poems about Kenyon's death; in 2006 he published The Best Day the Worst Day, a memoir of their marriage. This broadside dates from their first year of marriage. 8" x 12". Fine.
79. HARRISON, Jim and KOOSER, Ted. Braided Creek. (Port Townsend): Copper Canyon Press (2003). The lettered limited edition of this collection of poetry exchanged in correspondence between Harrison and Kooser, the recent Poet Laureate and the winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. One of 26 lettered copies signed by both authors and with a holograph passage from the book by each poet. Fine, without jacket, as issued. An attractive production.
80. HARRISON, Jim. Returning to Earth. NY: Grove Press (2007). The uncorrected proof copy of Harrison's recent novel, which has the same title as a poetry chapbook he published in the 1960s. Fine in wrappers.
81. HEMINGWAY, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. NY: Scribner, 1926. The first edition, first issue, with "stoppped" on page 181, line 26. The total first printing of this novel was 5090 copies, and by all appearances the first issue was much smaller than the corrected second issue. Hemingway's breakthrough book, which established him as a major author, conveyed the disillusionment of the American and British expatriates in Europe after the First World War; and the Gertrude Stein comment that he used as an epigraph -- "You are all a lost generation" -- stuck: his book came to be viewed as the one that defined and embodied the Lost Generation. Spine cloth sunned, with some minor wear to the boards; a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket.
82. HEMINGWAY, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. NY: Scribner, 1952. The last of Hemingway's books published in his lifetime, a novella that won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and earned him, two years later, the Nobel Prize for literature. A short novel that has been characterized as a fable, it deals with a Cuban fisherman's struggles to land a giant marlin that he has hooked, and reflects Hemingway's concern for life as a struggle of man against nature, including his own nature. Owner name and offsetting to front endpages; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light sunning to the top edge of the rear panel and slight wear at the spine extremities, with tape shadows on verso, also some offsetting to the front flap and a few pencil marks to the rear flap.
83. HESSE, Hermann. Steppenwolf. NY: Henry Holt (1929). The first American edition of the Nobel Prize winner's classic novel of the dark side of an artistic personality. The book is very near fine; the jacket only good, with several small edge chips and longer edge tears, internally tape-mended. An important book that seldom turns up in any dust jacket at all. Hesse was rediscovered in the U.S. by the Beat writers of the 1950s and the 1960s counterculture; most of his books deal with individuals struggling to reconcile the physical and spiritual dimensions of their lives, and he infused many of his novels with elements of eastern religious philosophy and mysticism. Steppenwolf is a darker novel than most of his, and it apparently arose out of despair at the failure of his marriages and his attempt to drown that despair in alcohol and socializing in the bars and dance halls of Zurich; as such, the tenor of the novel is bleaker than usual, the possibilities for redemption more elusive.
84. HILLERMAN, Tony. The Shape Shifter. (NY): HarperCollins (2006). The advance reading copy of this mystery featuring retired Navajo police officer Joe Leaphorn, part of a series going back to 1970 that redefined and reinvigorated the mystery genre, turning it into a venue for exploring social and cultural issues as well as police procedures themselves. Signed by Hillerman. Fine in wrappers. Oddly uncommon: while Hillerman advance copies usually abound, this is the only copy of this one we have seen, and we've heard of only one other, which came from Hillerman himself.
85. HOAGLAND, Edward. The Peacock's Tail. (n.p.): (n.p.)(n.d.). c. 1965. The typescript of Hoagland's third novel, published in 1965 by McGraw-Hill. Hoagland won a Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award in 1956 for his first novel, Cat Man, and followed that with two more novels before turning his hand to nonfiction. He has since become known as one of the best essayists of our time, and has written a well-received memoir as well as returning to fiction and receiving high praise for his novel Seven Rivers West. The Peacock's Tail is a coming-of-age story of a middle class youth who loses his cultural and racial prejudice as he comes into contact with the urban poor. Hoagland's first three novels were generally well-received critically but did not sell well. This typescript is mostly carbon-copy, with about 30 pages of photocopy. With numerous holograph changes, mostly small but some of significance, in pencil and ink. Some are spelling changes or corrections of typos, but others are vocabulary changes or the excision of whole sentences and their replacements. Claspbound in the binder of Hoagland's agent, Harold Ober Associates (famous for having been F. Scott Fitzgerald's agent). The typescript is fine; the binder has some edge wear. Unique.
86. HOAGLAND, Edward. "The Colonel's Power." (n.p.): (n.p.)(n.d.). c. 1968. The author's typescript of this story, a combination of ribbon-copy and carbon copy sheets, with the author's holograph corrections on almost every page. First published in New American Review and later collected in The Final Fate of Alligators, his 1992 collection of early writings. 32 pages, in the binder of Hoagland's agent. Fine.
87. (HUNCKE, Herbert). Herbert E. Huncke, 1915-1996. (NY): (n.p.)(1996). A memorial compilation from a service held at Friends Meetinghouse in New York City on November 30, 1996. Includes material by Huncke as well as pieces by his friends and colleagues, including John Wieners and Jerry Poynton. Also includes the program for the memorial service including the list of speakers, etc. String-tied cardstock covers with a snapshot of Huncke tipped in on the inside rear cover. An attractive and fairly lavish production, and presumably quite scarce: we've never seen another, and it was probably only given to those who attended the memorial. Fine.