Catalog 157, M
134. MALCOLM X as Malcolm Little. Christmas Card. [c.1940's]. 5-3/4" x 4-3/4". A Christmas card from the noted black activist, written long 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.
135. MALONE, Michael. Psychetypes. NY: Dutton (1977). His third book, a nonfiction volume on "experiential typology," a system of classifying individuals by their psychological types. Malone wrote two well-received novels that did not sell especially well, before writing this book. He went back to fiction writing afterward, again to substantial critical acclaim, and also achieved some renown as the lead writer for the television soap opera One Life to Live. Slight bump to crown, else a fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with minimal fading to the orange spine.
136. MARITAIN, Jacques. Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry. (NY): Pantheon Books (1953). Second printing. An extensive series of lectures on the relationship between art and poetry by the French philosopher, delivered at the National Gallery of Art as part of the A.W. Mellon Lectures in Fine Arts. Number XXXV in the Bollingen Series of publications. Warmly inscribed by the author, in French. Foxing to edge of text block; near fine in a good dust jacket with shallow wear to all edges and folds. Books signed by Maritain are fairly uncommon. Among his many accomplishments, Maritain was a prominent drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
137. MARITAIN, Jacques. Approaches to God. NY: Harper & Brothers (1954). A short book updating St. Thomas Aquinas' five ways to God for modern readers. Maritain, who was raised a Protestant, converted to Catholicism and became a Thomist, or a follower of Thomas Aquinas. He was also an advisor, friend and mentor to Pope Paul VI. Inscribed by the author: "To Doris Dana, with deep affection, Jacques Maritain." Offsetting to endpapers; near fine in a very good, modestly foxed dust jacket with minor edge wear.
138. MARITAIN, Jacques. Reflections on America. NY: Scribner's (1958). Warmly inscribed by the author, in French, approximately translated: "For Doris Dana, who carries in herself the admirable generosity of her country." The recipient was American, and Maritain in this book was reflecting on the nature of his adopted country, where he had lived for nearly a quarter century at that point. Dampstaining to boards; a very good copy in a good, worn dust jacket. A nice inscription.
139. MARTIN, Mary. My Heart Belongs. NY: Morrow, 1976. Inscribed by the author in 1976: [My Heart Belongs] To My darling Cheryl [Crawford] - who believed in me, who through the years gave so much of honesty, clarity, and stimulating thoughts that will belong in this heart for always! Your loving, Mary." Dated Feb. 27, 1976. Laid in is a handbill for the Mary Martin/Carol Channing show Legends!, which was produced by Cheryl Crawford's theatrical group, as well as two copies of a color photograph of Martin outside her house. A nice association copy between Martin, one of the greatest stage and film actresses of the 20th century, and Crawford, who not only produced numerous important plays on Broadway and elsewhere but was a co-founder of both the Group Theater and later the Actor's Studio, where such actors as Marlon Brando and James Dean trained. She was influential not only in Mary Martin's career but also those of Helen Hayes, Ingrid Bergman and many others. Near fine in a very good dust jacket.
140. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Race Rock. NY: Harper & Brothers (1954). His first novel, published just after he returned from Paris, where he helped found the Paris Review. Inscribed by Matthiessen to his brother-in-law, Kennett Love. The book is dedicated to Deborah Love; she and Matthiessen were married from 1963 until her death in 1972. Kennett Love was a former New York Times reporter, specializing in Middle Eastern affairs. His book Suez: The Twice-Fought War is considered the standard work on the subject. This is the issue in blue cloth and black boards; the priority has not been determined. Love's ownership signature on front flyleaf (and his hunting license inserted at page 112); offsetting from laid in review on pp. 42-43; spine cloth faded. Still about near fine in a supplied, very good dust jacket rubbed along the folds and with a replaced chip at the spine base. Also laid in is a postcard from a bookstore, quoting the book to Love for $5.00, in 1967. An excellent association copy, being inscribed to the brother of the dedicatee.
141. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. The Shorebirds of North America. NY: Viking (1967). A large folio edited by Gardner Stout and illustrated by Robert Verity Clem, with text by Matthiessen. Considered the standard book in the field. Signed in full by Matthiessen on the half-title page and inscribed "with love" to his brother-in-law, Kennett Love, and his partner on the front flyleaf. With Love's 1967 ownership signature. One spot to top edge of the text block, else a fine copy in a very good dust jacket with some edge creasing and a few spots to the rear panel. A nice association copy of a landmark book.
142. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Blue Meridian. The Search for the Great White Shark. NY: Random House (1971). A nonfiction account of an expedition in search of the Great White Shark, for a television documentary, illustrated with color photographs from the film production. Laid in are two autograph postcards signed by Matthiessen to a Long Island neighbor, one from the year of publication of Blue Meridian, the other 19 years later: both cards suggest getting together at an unspecified date. The cards are fine but for postal markings; the book is near fine, with sunning to the spine cloth, in a very good dust jacket with a small chip at the upper rear spine fold.
143. (Maya). SPINDEN, Herbert J. A Study of Maya Art, Its Subject Matter and Historical Development. Cambridge: Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, 1913. Based on Spinden's 1909 doctoral thesis at Harvard and here Published as Volume VI of the Peabody Museum's Memoirs, this is the seminal study of Maya art and archaeology. Spinden was the first to study the range of Maya art, delineate its subject matter, and identify themes and motifs within the art and architecture of Maya society, including religious and philosophical ideas and calendrical notations. Probably the most important single volume ever published on the Maya. This copy is rebound in green buckram, and extra-annotated and illustrated in at least two hands. A (bookseller's?) note on the front free endpaper suggests the possibility that the annotations were those of the author, and indeed many of them seem to be of the type that an author would do if he were preparing a revised edition of his book. Some of the annotations correct errors in the earlier text, while others add new drawings, commentary or analysis, presumably based on information not available at the time of original publication. No revised edition of A Study of Maya Art was ever produced, however, so there is no corrected or updated text against which to compare this. Spinden, after gaining his PhD at Harvard, became the Assistant Curator of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and from there went on to become the Curator of Mexican Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard's Peabody Museum, perhaps the most prestigious post in the country for a Mayanist. Spinden also developed a widely accepted correlation between the Maya calendar and the Western calendar, which was called into question by J. Eric S. Thompson, the British Mayanist. The controversy got heated, and Spinden spent much of the rest of his time devoted to the Maya defending his correlation. It may be this controversy that pre-empted a new edition of his classic study. Thompson's correlation, or one or two days off from it -- Spinden's and Thompson's were 260 years apart -- is widely accepted today, although the issue is not without controversy even now. In any case, this is an extra-annotated copy of the first important work of Maya scholarship and, by all appearances, a unique copy. A bit of wear to the edges of the cloth, overall near fine.
144. (Maya). VON HAGEN, Victor Wolfgang. La Fabricacion del Papel Entre los Aztecas y los Mayas. Mexico: Nuevo Mundo (1945). The first Mexican edition of Von Hagen's work on pre-Columbian papermaking, published a year earlier in the U.S. as Aztec and Maya Papermakers. With an introduction by Dard Hunter, the preeminent authority on handmade paper -- to whom this edition of the book is dedicated -- and a prologue by Dr. Alfonso Caso, the Mexican archaeologist, which does not appear in the American edition. One of 750 numbered copies. With 39 pages of photographs and two handmade paper samples tipped in. Also with a fold-out frontispiece reproducing four pages from the Maya Dresden Codex, on huun paper, the traditional paper of the Mayans since the Classic Maya period. Bookplate front pastedown; stamp to rear flyleaf; foxing to top edge. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with shallow chipping to the crown. An 1881 pamphlet on Mexican paper as an article of tribute is laid in; owner signature; otherwise the pamphlet is fine. An attractive and elaborate edition of this book.
145. McCARTHY, Cormac. Outer Dark. NY: Random House (1968). His second book, the total sales of which numbered 2705 copies. This copy has a contemporary presentation inscription from the author to Kentucky artist Joseph Petro Jr.: "To Joe Petro/ Best wishes/ Cormac McCarthy." Petro was a Kentucky native, artist, and later art teacher at a Kentucky university. One of his paintings, depicting "My Old Kentucky Home," was used as the image on the state's postage stamp celebrating the American bicentennial in 1976. In 1968, McCarthy, Petro, and wildlife artist Ray Harm participated in a joint lecture at Natural Bridge State Park in Kentucky, part of a state-sponsored series. After the lecture, Petro gave McCarthy a print of one of his paintings, entitled "Horse at a Watering Place," and inscribed it to Cormac and his then-wife, Anne. McCarthy gave Petro this copy of his recently published novel, Outer Dark, and inscribed it to him. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with a subtle hint of tanning to the spine letters and three tears at the upper edge of the front panel. An uncommon book in its first edition, particularly in nice shape; it is rare signed by the reclusive author, especially with a contemporary inscription. From the Estate of the artist.
146. McCARTHY, Cormac. Child of God. NY: Random House (1973). His third book, which, like his first two, received good critical reviews but sold poorly. Some spotting to the upper page edges; very good in a very good dust jacket, slightly faded on the spine and price-clipped, both of which are typical for this title. Still, a scarce, early book by McCarthy, especially so without the remainder mark that many copies were stamped with when they failed to sell at the retail price.
147. McCARTHY, Cormac. Blood Meridian. NY: Random House (1985). His fifth book, a powerful novel of the Old West, based on an actual series of events in 1849-1950 in Texas and Mexico, and rendered with an eye to bringing to life the surreal violence of the time and place. Voted one of the five best works of American fiction of the last quarter century in a survey conducted by The New York Times Book Review in 2006. McCarthy's first five books sold fewer than 15,000 copies total -- this title selling only 1883 copies before it was remaindered. Since the success of All the Pretty Horses in 1992, his novels have had first printings in excess of 100,000 copies. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with a bookplate signed by the author laid in.
148. McCARTHY, Cormac. All the Pretty Horses. NY: Knopf, 1992. The advance reading copy of the first volume of the Border Trilogy, a landmark novel that won both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award and propelled its author to "instant" literary celebrity -- after nearly three decades of writing well-received literary novels in relative obscurity. Issued in wrappers and publisher's folding box, signed by the author, it was sent out in advance of publication to promote the book. Rumor has it that approximately 400 were to be done but the author quit after about 200, and declined to do any more. Fine in a very near fine folding box with rubbing to the folds.
149. McCARTHY, Cormac. Cities of the Plain. (London): Picador (1998). The advance reading copy of the first British edition of the third volume in The Border Trilogy. With a photograph of the author on the front cover that differs from the dust jacket art used for the published book. Fine in wrappers.
150. McCORMICK, James. Bravo. London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1965. Inscribed by the author to two writer friends: "First from the press, with embraces to Andrew and Carol/ Jim." Near fine in a near fine, spine-tanned dust jacket.
151. 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 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, as issued.
152. 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. Inscribed by the author. Very small glue bump under the rear spine cloth; else a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing to the folds, a tiny tear to the lower front flap fold, and the price lightly changed in pencil.
153. McPHEE, John. Autograph Note Signed. Undated. c. 1976. One sentence, handwritten on an index card: "This is super." Signed "J." Together with unsigned penciled notes, in McPhee's hand, on Farrar Straus & Giroux stationery, drafting an acknowledgement of William Shawn: "and were developed with the encouragement and invaluable counsel of William Shawn [...] of The New Yorker." McPhee then changed "encouragement and invaluable" to "editorial." All of his words were then crossed through in red editorial pencil; four page numbers have been added in the lower margin. This acknowledgement to Shawn appeared in The John McPhee Reader in 1976, as well as in some editions of The Pine Barrens. Both items bear paperclip imprints and are otherwise fine.
154. McPHEE, John. In the Highlands and Islands. London: Faber & Faber (1986). First thus, a paperback original collecting "The Crofter and the Laird," "Josie's Well," "Pieces of the Frame," and "From Birnam Wood to Dunsinane." Age toning to page edges and trace rubbing to the spine; near fine in wrappers. One of McPhee's scarcer titles.
155. McPHEE, John. Assembling California. NY: FSG, 1993. An extended essay on the geology of California, part of the sequence of works compiled in Annals of the Former World, for which McPhee won the Pulitzer Prize. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
156. -. Another copy. Inscribed by McPhee to Al and Winnie Fischer in the month of publication: "For Winnie and Al Fischer - a northerly traverse, with all best, John McPhee." Alfred Fischer is an emeritus professor of earth sciences at the University of Southern California and formerly Princeton, with specialties in the cycles of massive volcanism and the diversity of life. Dampstaining to lower board edges, not affecting the text block; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch of wear to the spine ends and a bit of bleeding visible on verso. A nice association copy.
157. McPHEE, John. The American Shad. (Far Hills): Meadow Run Press (2004). An attractive limited edition, consisting of selections from McPhee's 2002 book The Founding Fish. One of 500 copies signed by McPhee. With illustrations by John Rice. Fine in a fine slipcase.
158. McPHEE, John. Uncommon Carriers. NY: FSG (2006). McPhee looks inside the transportation industry, in his inimitable style -- riding thousands of miles in the engine of a coal train; hanging out with long haul truckers; etc. McPhee explicates and demystifies his subjects; his essays reveal whole worlds -- and fascinating ones -- that have gone unnoticed, and under-appreciated, by those of us not involved in the pursuits he writes about. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
159. (McPHEE, John). The Princeton Anthology of Writing. Princeton: Princeton University Press (2001). A collection of nonfiction co-edited by McPhee and with a preface by him that has not appeared elsewhere, explaining the origins of Princeton's focus on literary journalism. This anthology is ample evidence of the success of that focus, including such writers as Jane Kramer, Jonathan Schell, Leslie Cockburn, Larry L. King, Richard Gilman, Victor Navasky, Jeremy Bernstein, Geoffrey Wolff, James Gleick, Gloria Emerson, and many more, all of whom passed through Princeton. Also includes McPhee's "Travels of the Rock" from his collection Irons in the Fire. This is a fine copy of the issue in wrappers.
160. (Mexican Codex). LOUBAT, Joseph Florimond de, Duc. and PASO Y TRONCOSO, F. del. Codice Messicano Vaticano no. 3773. Roma: Stabilimento Danesi, 1896. An 1896 facsimile of a Precolumbian Mexican codex produced by the Duke of Loubat from the original housed in the Vatican library. Joseph Florimond Loubat, whose title was conferred on him by Pope Leo XIII in recognition of his large gifts to the Catholic Church, was an American philanthropist who had, among other things, an interest in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican history and archaeology. In particular, he studied and wrote commentaries on a number of the surviving pre-Columbian codices, including this one. In 1896, to correct an error in an earlier description and transliteration of this particular codex, he commissioned a facsimile edition to be done using photochromography, reproducing the entire 48 leaves of the folding codex, as well as reproducing the wooden binding of the codex. Fifty copies of the facsimile were created, each housed in a folding wood-and-leather box along with three pamphlets about the codex, one in English, one in Italian, and one in Spanish. The facsimile codex and the three pamphlets are here present and complete as issued; each bears ex-library markings from a no longer extant Catholic school. A rare edition: OCLC locates only three copies. In original quarter leather wooden box (damaged). Otherwise, very good.
161. MILLMAN, Lawrence. A Kayak Full of Ghosts. Santa Barbara: Capra Press (1987). Inscribed by the author to Annie Dillard: "For my dear friend Annie, kindred spirit, in hopes that Greenland, most beautiful country in the world, will be in your future." Millman has attached a photo of Greenland to the half title. Fine in wrappers. A nice association: Millman and Dillard had a friendship and correspondence that extended over more than two decades, and she wrote a blurb for one of his books.
162. MORRISON, Toni. The Collected Novels: The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, Beloved, Jazz. NY: Knopf (1994). The uniform slipcased edition of these six novels, issued after Morrison won the Nobel Prize. The Bluest Eye has a new afterword by Morrison and is inscribed by the author. The books are fine, without dust jackets, as issued, in a fine slipcase. A very attractive set, issued in a relatively limited quantity.
163. MURAKAMI, Haruki. Pinball, 1973. (Tokyo): Kodansha (1985). The first English language edition of his second book and the second book in the "Trilogy of the Rat," following Hear the Wind Sing and preceding The Wild Sheep Chase. A small, pocket-sized paperback, in the Kodansha English Library series, a series intended to allow Japanese readers to read Japanese books in English; the notes in the back -- themselves an unusual feature in a book of fiction -- translate English colloquialisms into Japanese characters. Owner name and date inside the rear cover under flap; otherwise a near fine copy in wrappers in a near fine dust jacket nicked at the crown and with a corner crease to the front flap.
164. MURAKAMI, Haruki. Norwegian Wood. NY: Vintage Books (2000). The advance reading copy of the first American edition, which was published as a Vintage International paperback original. Signed by the author. Trace rubbing to rear cover, else fine in wrappers.
165. MURPHY, Yannick. Tian's Music [The Sea of Trees]. [Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997]. Bound photocopied typescript of his first novel, set in Indochina in the 1940s, and based in part on the author's family history. 274 pages, double-spaced and double-sided. No publication information. In yellow cardstock covers with the early title Tian's Music. Fine.