Catalog 146, N-R
214. (NABOKOV, Vladimir). PUSHKIN, Aleksandr. Eugene Onegin. (NY): Pantheon Books (1964). A four-volume work in the Bollingen series. A novel in verse by Pushkin, with translation and commentary by Nabokov. Fine books in fine jackets but for the slightest shelf wear to the crowns, in a very near fine slipcase. A beautiful set, with crisp, unfaded and virtually unworn dust jackets; seldom encountered this way.
215. (Native American). ARNETT, Carroll. Then. New Rochelle: Elizabeth Press (1965). Poetry by a writer of Cherokee-French descent, also known as Gogisgi. This is his first book. Stamped as having belonged to the literary magazine Epoch. Narrow dampstaining to both spine and foredge; thus very good in stapled wrappers. Scarce.
216. (Native American). JOHNSON, E. Pauline. The White Wampum. London: John Lane/Bodley Head, 1895. The first book by this half-Mohawk poet and performer, who was the most prominent Canadian Native poet of her time and was extremely popular during her lifetime. Her work fell out of favor after her death, and it has only been in the last 15 or 20 years that her reputation has been resurrected and her importance in the history of Canadian literature, and Native literature, has been recognized. Date stamp (Dec 25 1895) to front pastedown; touch of wear to spine extremities; still a bright, near fine copy of an important and uncommon first book, a landmark of Native literature and, in particular, of the literature of Native American women writers. This is far and away the nicest copy we have seen of this title.
217. (Native American). JOHNSON, E. Pauline. In the Shadows. (Gouverneur): (Adirondack Press) (1898). Her second book, being the first separate appearance of a single poem from The White Wampum, privately printed in an edition of 200 copies for Laurence C. Woodworth and his friends at the nineteenth annual meeting of the American Canoe Association. A small (approx. 3" x 5") volume, presumably issued as a keepsake and extremely scarce; we have never seen another copy. A fine copy, in saddle-stitched wrappers, tipped into a contemporary handmade folder.
218. (Native American). LEAST HEAT-MOON, William. Columbus in the Americas. (Hoboken): John Wiley (2002). A small volume by the author of Blue Highways among other works. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
219. (Native American). (LEAST HEAT-MOON, William). BOYER, Winston Swift. Rediscover American Roads. (Boston): Bulfinch/Little Brown (1989)[1992]. Photographs by Boyer, with an introduction by Least Heat-Moon. Issued in 1989 as American Roads, and apparently re-jacketed in 1992 as Rediscover American Roads, coinciding with the quincentennial of Columbus' arrival and offered as a giveaway volume by the Chrysler Corporation ("Compliments of Chrysler Corporation" printed on the front panel of the jacket). This copy is signed by Heat Moon. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a lamination crease on the rear panel. Beautiful photographs, and an unusual, interesting issue of the book.
220. (Native American). (NIATUM, Duane). McGINNISS, Duane. After the Death of an Elder Klallam. Phoenix: Baleen (1970). His first book, a collection of poems, and the only one of his books to be published under his given name. Niatum edited two of the most important anthologies of Native American poetry, and he has published numerous books in the years since this one. This copy is inscribed by the author to a professor in May, 1970 and signed as "Duane McGinnis." Fading to spine and a light corner bump; near fine in wrappers. There was also a small hardcover issue. Illustrations by Navajo artist Mary Morez. Scarce, especially with a contemporary inscription.
221. (Native American). PIERCE, M.B. Address on the Present Condition and Prospects of the Aboriginal Inhabitants of North America, with Particular Reference to the Seneca Nation. [Buffalo]: Steele's Press, 1838. An important address by Maris Bryant Pierce, a Chief of the Seneca Nation and Member of Dartmouth College, given at the Baptist Church in Buffalo NY in August 1828, which established him as a major spokesman for Seneca rights in particular, and Indian rights in general. Sixteen pages; owner name to front cover; rear cover detached; heavily foxed; fragile. A good copy. A second edition was printed in Philadelphia in 1839. A very early printed work by a Native American author.
222. OATES, Joyce Carol. My Heart Laid Bare. (NY): Dutton (1998). A novel of a family of 19th century American con artists. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
223. O'BRIEN, Edna. James Joyce. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1999). Second printing. Inscribed by O'Brien to Anthony Harvey in 2004. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
224. O'BRIEN, Tim. The Things They Carried. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. A collection of related stories that share a number of characters as well as the narrator -- a "Tim O'Brien" whose experience bears certain similarities to the author's own, as well as a number of differences. Selected as one of the best books of the year in all categories by the editors of The New York Times Book Review and recently named one of the best works of American fiction of the past 25 years in those same pages. A meditation on war and death, and on the place that storytelling has in bringing such unfathomable experiences within our grasp. Signed by the author. A few spots to boards; near fine in a near fine, first issue (spine lettering slightly off-center) dust jacket with a short tear to the upper front panel.
225. (O'CONNOR, Flannery). (STERN, Richard). Shenandoah, Vol. 16, No. 2. Lexington: Washington and Lee University, 1965. Stern contributes "Flannery O'Connor: A Remembrance and Some Letters." O'Connor died in 1964 and Stern recounts their acquaintance, supported by printing approximately a dozen letters to him from O'Connor. Inscribed by Stern (initialed) on the front cover. Near fine in stapled wrappers.
226. O'NEILL, Eugene. Strange Interlude. NY: Boni & Liveright, 1928. The limited edition of the third of his four Pulitzer Prize-winning plays. A large paper edition, one of 775 copies signed by the author. Vellum darkened with age, thus a near fine copy, without the original slipcase.
227. O'NEILL, Eugene. The Emperor Jones. NY: Boni & Liveright, 1928. The limited edition, published eight years after the first edition, with illustrations by Alexander King, and bound in an attractive Art Deco binding. One of 775 numbered copies signed by the author. Mild shelf wear to lower board edges; else a fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with shallow chipping to the spine extremities, lacking the slipcase. A very nice copy of this striking edition.
228. OPPENHEIMER, Joel. New Spaces. Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow, 1985. Inscribed by Oppenheimer to another poet in the year of publication. This is the simultaneous issue in wrappers. Dusty; else fine. A nice association copy.
229. (ORWELL, George). FENWICK, Gillian. George Orwell. A Bibliography. New Castle: Oak Knoll Press, 1998. The definitive bibliography, with all pertinent bibliographical history and points, and short essays about the publication of each book. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
230. OSBORNE, John. Look Back in Anger. London: Faber and Faber (1957). The most famous play by the first of the "angry young men" of postwar British literature., and a play which helped transform English theater. After initially negative reviews, high critical praise from Kenneth Tynan, then the most important drama critic in the U.K., saved the play, and Arthur Miller's endorsement of it when he saw it with Marilyn Monroe helped cement its success, and that of its author. A film version was released in 1958, with Richard Burton and Mary Ure, who had married Osborne a year earlier. Offsetting to each flyleaf; slight spine slant; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with sunning to the spine lettering and foxing to verso.
231. PARRISH, Robert. Hollywood Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Boston: Little Brown (1988). Inscribed by the author: "To Tony Harvey -- Old friend and new neighbor -- Best always -- Bob Parrish/ Watermill/ May, 12, 1993." A nice association: Parrish was an Academy Award-winning film editor as well as a sometime director; Anthony Harvey was an Oscar-nomination director who had also worked as an editor on such films as The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, The L-Shaped Room and Lolita. Foxed top edge; near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
232. PATCHEN, Kenneth. Red Wine and Yellow Hair. NY: New Directions (1949). The limited edition of this collection of poetry. One of 108 copies, "no two alike," of the New Directions text block bound by the author into oversize handpainted boards. The text block measures about 6" x 9" and the handmade covers measure approximately 9" x 9". The front cover has Patchen's painting -- a colorful abstract image -- and the inside rear cover has Patchen's hand-written colophon, in which he identifies the limitation and characteristics of the edition: "... 108 Copies The Covers Decorated by the Author/ no two alike/ Most Spine-Cloths & Binding-Papers are Different/ Largely Hand-Bound..." Signed by Patchen with this copy identified as Number 83. A little bit of blue paint loss on the front cover; near fine. An elaborate, unique production.
233. PATON, Alan. Too Late the Phalarope. NY: Scribner, 1953. The first American edition of this novel, which explores South Africa's racial situation. Inscribed by Paton to Van Wyck Brooks, "At your home" in 1954. Additionally, signed by Brooks. Between the publication of Cry, the Beloved Country and this book, Paton founded the South African Liberal Party, which opposed apartheid and presented a non-racial alternative to government policy, although such a change in South Africa's political system was still decades away. Dusty top edge and a little rubbing to spine; near fine in a very good, tanned dust jacket with modest edge wear. Books signed by Paton are notably scarce, and significant literary associations even more so.
234. PELECANOS, George. Hell to Pay and Right as Rain. Boston: Little Brown (2002). The advance reading copy of both the first edition of Hell to Pay and the Warner Books paperback of Right as Rain, bound back-to-back. Pelecanos is one of the most highly praised hard-boiled novelists of the past decade or more. He has also written for television and been a producer as well as a sometime writer for the HBO series The Wire. Signed by the author. An unusual edition. Fine in wrappers.
235. PHILLIPS, Jayne Anne. Counting. (NY): (Vehicle) (1978). Her second book, a collection of short prose poems. Of a total edition of 500 copies, this is one of 474 copies in wrappers. Inscribed by the author in 1979. Slight rubbing to the spine folds, else fine; a very nice copy.
236. PINTAURO, Joe. Beside Herself. NY: Broadway Play Publishing (1990). A play by this poet, playwright, essayist and novelist. His novel Cold Hands was chosen as New York Times Notable Book. Inscribed by the author: "Tony [Harvey] -- Thanks for lunch. Joe." Near fine in wrappers.
237. PINTER, Harold. The Birthday Party. London: Encore (1959). An early play by the recent Nobel Prize winner, and one of his most famous. Originally produced in 1958, this acting edition was published in 1959, a year before the trade edition published by Methuen. Owner name and 1960 date on title page; mild rubbing to covers; near fine in stapled wrappers. Letter laid in to the book's owner, also from 1960.
238. PINTER, Harold. A Night Out/Night School/Revue Sketches. NY: Grove (1967). Light foxing to top edge; else fine in a fine dust jacket. A particularly nice copy of the uncommon hardcover issue of this volume of early plays.
239. PINTER, Harold. Party Time. London: Faber and Faber (1991). The hardcover issue. Mild top edge foxing; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
240. PINTOFF, Ernest. Always Help a Bird (Especially with a Broken Leg). NY: Harper & Row (1965). A children's book by this writer and Academy Award-winning film producer. Inscribed by the author to film director Anthony Harvey: "To my good friend, Tony. Ernie." Pintoff has added a drawing of a bird. Oblong quarto; offsetting to rear endpages where a review is laid in; board edges rubbed. Near fine in a good, spine-faded and edgeworn dust jacket with a large corner tear threatening to chip at the lower outer corner of the front panel. Pintoff won an Oscar for the 1963 animated short The Critic, which he produced and directed, and which was written and narrated by Mel Brooks. A nice association copy.
241. (Presidential Aspirations). ROMNEY, George. "When Did You Stop Wanting to Be President of the United States?" c. 1974. Romney's typescript response to this question posed for Harper's Magazine "unscientific poll of interested parties," which was published in the March 1975 issue. Romney -- father of former governor of Massachusetts and current Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney -- was the governor of Michigan and a candidate for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination. He lost to Richard Nixon after publicly withdrawing his support for the Vietnam War, and (even more damaging to his campaign) explaining his change of heart by saying "When I came back from Vietnam [after a 31-day gubernatorial tour] I had just the greatest brainwashing that anybody can get when you go over to Vietnam." His response to the question of when he stopped wanting to be President consists of one sentence: "I aspired, and though I achieved not, I was satisfied." Added in an editorial hand: "George Romney has no regrets." Original typescript (likely dictated), on verso of Harper's stationery. Unsigned; copyedited in pencil for publication; tiny puncture in the upper corner; near fine. An interesting footnote in the annals of father-son Presidential politics.
242. PRICE, Reynolds. Love & Work. NY: Atheneum, 1968. Inscribed by the author to another North Carolina writer in 1969: "_____ - with strong thanks for his comprehending kindness w/ this. from Reynolds 21 Mar 69." Based on the inscription and the underlinings and marginal notations to text, the recipient may have reviewed the novel when it came out, or in some other way made his response to it known to Price. Apart from review notes, this is a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with a closed corner tear on the upper rear panel.
243. PRICE, Reynolds. Noble Norfleet. NY: Scribner (2002). A novel, spanning thirty years in the life of a character who is traumatized in the late 1960s by a family catastrophe and by the overwhelming societal events of those years, including the political assassinations and the character's time serving in Vietnam. Inscribed by the author to Virginia Spencer Carr in the year of publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with a program from the event where the book was signed laid in, along with a seating note and a review of the novel from the New York Times Book Review.
244. PROULX, E. Annie. The Shipping News. NY: Scribner (1993). Her second novel and third work of fiction, which won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize -- a rare literary double. Signed by the author. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with just a hint of spine fading.
245. -. Same title. Publisher's promotional packet to accompany the hardcover release of The Shipping News and the simultaneous paperback release of Postcards. Includes: review slips of each; publisher's info sheet on each; author's biographical information; reprints of four reviews of Postcards and one of The Shipping News. All elements fine in a near fine publisher's folder, which is signed by Proulx on the front cover. Uncommon publishing ephemera for two highly praised, award-winning works of fiction.
246. PULLMAN, Philip. The Golden Compass. NY: Knopf (1996). The advance reading copy of the first American edition of the first book in his acclaimed "His Dark Materials" trilogy, which was recently filmed. This title was published in the U.K. as Northern Lights and while the U.S. edition is more common than the U.K., the advance reading copy is quite scarce. Fine in wrappers.
247. PYNCHON, Thomas. Gravity's Rainbow. NY: Viking (1973). Pynchon's landmark third novel, winner of the National Book Award as well as the William Dean Howells Medal for the best work of fiction by an American over a five-year span. Gravity's Rainbow became the benchmark for postmodern American fiction upon publication and secured its reclusive author's place in the postwar American literary pantheon. There was a small hardcover first printing of 4000 copies; the balance of the first edition, 15000 copies, was issued in softcover. This is a fine, exceptionally tight copy of this book, with the top edge stain completely unfaded, in a very near fine dust jacket with some creasing at the spine crown and a tiny bit of wear at the upper front flap fold. A beautiful copy of a book that, solely because of its size and bulk, is difficult to find in fine condition.
248. RANKIN, Ian. Wolfman. London: Century (1992). The very scarce third novel in the author's acclaimed Inspector Rebus series. This book was issued simultaneously in softcover and hardcover, this being the hardcover issue -- presumably done in smaller numbers than the softcover, although both are now scarce. Several years after this title was published, when the Rebus series became a huge critical and commercial success, it was reissued as Tooth and Nail. This copy is signed by the author on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
249. RANKIN, Ian. Strip Jack. (London): Orion (1992). The fourth Inspector Rebus novel, this being the simultaneous issue in wrappers; there was a tiny hardcover print run and a softcover issue that the author reportedly stated was 3000 copies -- itself quite a small print run. Signed by the author. A very fine copy.
250. RANKIN, Ian. Black & Blue. (London): Orion (1997). The simultaneous issue in wrappers of this Rebus novel that won the Crime Writers' Association Macallan Gold Dagger Award for Fiction, and was a finalist for the U.S. Mystery Writers' Association's Edgar Award for best novel. Signed by the author. Spine slant; near fine.
251. RANKIN, Ian. Dead Souls. (London): Orion (1999). The 10th Rebus novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with the publisher's introductory price sticker on the front panel.
252. RANKIN, Ian. Beggars Banquet. (London): Orion (2002). The hardcover issue of this collection of 21 stories, seven of which involve Inspector John Rebus. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
253. RANKIN, Ian. The Lost Years. (London): Orion (2003). Omnibus edition collecting Let It Bleed, Black & Blue, and The Hanging Garden, three novels published before he reached the kind of commercial success he currently enjoys, where his books are bestsellers immediately upon publication. The three titles reprinted here had modest printings and modest sales when first published. Only issued in wrappers. Fine.
254. RIEFENSTAHL, Leni. Life. (n.p.): Kyuryudo, 1992. Text in Japanese, but primarily a book of photographs. Inscribed by actor Anthony Quinn to film director Anthony Harvey: "Dear Tony, the man at the bookstore asked me if my friend could speak Japanese. I said you spoke photo language. Here is [sic] some wonderful photos to last you the following wonderful New Year. A. Quinn." A nice Hollywood association: Harvey directed Quinn in the television movie This Can't Be Love, which also starred Katharine Hepburn, who won an Oscar working for Harvey in The Lion in Winter. Tall quarto; spine crease, else fine in wrappers and near fine dust jacket, lacking the wraparound band.
255. ROBBINS, Tom. Another Roadside Attraction. Garden City: Doubleday, 1971. The uncorrected proof copy of his first novel, one of a handful of contemporary novels that became bestsellers slowly, by word of mouth, primarily on college campuses, long after the paperback editions came out. Never reprinted in hardcover, but never out of print in paperback. Inscribed by the author: "To ___ ___/Dodging comets, Tom Robbins." Some modest sunning and staining to the cardstock covers; still near fine in tall, ringbound wrappers. Uncommon, especially inscribed.
256. ROBINSON, Marilynne. Housekeeping. NY: FSG (1980). Her first book and her only novel until Gilead, which won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize. Housekeeping won the Ernest Hemingway Foundation Award, a Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Award, and was the basis for a well-received movie; it was also named one of the best works of American fiction of the last quarter century in a survey by The New York Times Book Review. This copy has the typical edge sunning to the board but is otherwise a fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with several tiny edge nicks.
257. ROREM, Ned. The New York Diary. NY: Braziller (1967). A memoir by the noted composer, a follow-up to his highly praised Paris diary. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
258. ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. (London): Bloomsbury (1997-1999). The uncorrected proof copies of the first three Harry Potter books. The first volume is white with a yellow stripe; 224 pp.; and lists "Joanne Rowling" on the copyright page and "J.A Rowling" on the title page. The second volume is blue with white; 252 pp. (although it claims on the rear cover to be 256 pp.); and leaves the Dedication page blank beyond the word "Dedication." The third volume is purple with white (there was also a green and white issue) and 315 pp. (although it also claims to be 256 pp. on the rear cover); the dedication page reads "? dedication." The first volume is slightly dusty and has a small, faint erasure in the yellow stripe; the first and second volumes each have a slight corner crease to the lower front cover; else the set is fine in wrappers. Housed together in a custom clamshell case. These were the only titles for which there were proof copies done: after the third book, Bloomsbury did not print or issue prepublication proofs. There were reportedly 200 copies only of the proof for Philosopher's Stone; and reportedly there were only 50 copies of the purple proof for Prisoner of Azkaban, which means that no more than 50 sets such as this could ever be assembled, making this perhaps the rarest set of Harry Potter items possible. The seven book series has worldwide sales in excess of 350 million copies.
259. ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. (NY): Irvine/Scholastic (1998). The advance reading copy of the first American edition of the first Harry Potter book, retitled from the British edition because the U.S. publisher did not think the American audience would be familiar with the concept of a "philosopher's stone." The Harry Potter series has been an unprecedented publishing phenomenon: whereas the first book had a first printing in the U.K. reported to be 500 copies, the seventh and last book in the series had a first printing reported at 16 million copies, in the U.S. alone. The American edition of the first book came in the wake of the success the novel had in England, and we have been told that there were 3500 copies of the advance reading copy done. Even so, this is a tiny number compared to the later books. Fine in illustrated wrappers.