Catalog 158, M
122. MAYS, Willie. Say Hey. NY: Simon & Schuster (1988), The autobiography of the Hall of Fame baseball player, by consensus one of the greatest to ever play the game. Written with Lou Sahadi. Signed by Mays on the dedication page. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a light crimp at the crown. Channel 2 (PBS) auction tag laid in.
123. McCARTHY, Cormac. Script for The Gardener's Son. c. 1975-1976. McCarthy's script for the 1976 PBS film, his first script to be produced, two decades before the play was published in book form. 140 pages, photocopied, with text that varies from the trade edition published by Ecco in 1996: significant changes in both dialogue and camera directions throughout, and including four scenes that do not appear in the published version. This copy with notable provenance: from McCarthy's bibliographer, and in an envelope with a label that reads "Cormac McCarthy - The Gardener's Son / Duplicate copy." The script of this play that was institutionalized as part of McCarthy's literary archive at Texas State University was itself a photocopy: presumably no "original" exists anymore, and probably hasn't since the time of the original production in the 1970s. Copied slightly off center, such that the last few letters of many words are missing; overall near fine. One of the rarest McCarthy items we have seen -- there being only two known copies -- and the only opportunity to see this version of the script other than by visiting the author's archive in Texas. Together with a copy of the first trade edition [Hopewell: Ecco Press, 1996], which is fine in a fine dust jacket.
124. McELROY, Joseph. Lookout Cartridge. NY: Knopf, 1974. An advance review copy with review slip, author photograph, and complimentary slip from the author laid in. A fine copy of the issue bound in cloth and boards (there was also a full cloth issue, priority not having been determined, although this being a review copy certainly would suggest it is an early state); in a fine dust jacket. Inscribed by McElroy.
125. McEWAN, Ian. In Between the Sheets. London: Cape (1978). His second book, and second collection of stories. Signed by the author. Slight foxing to edges of text block; else fine in a fine dust jacket. McEwan's books have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize six times, and he has won the award once. He was recently named one of the 50 greatest British authors since 1945 by The Times.
126. McEWAN, Ian. The Cement Garden. London: Cape (1978). The first British edition of his third book, first novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
127. McEWAN, Ian. Other Minds. (London): Bridgewater Press (2001). Of a total edition of 138 copies, this is one of 100 numbered copies signed by the author. Clothbound; fine, without dust jacket, as issued.
128. McINERNEY, Jay. Autograph Letter Signed. August 27, 1985. An autograph letter signed, written on St. Moritz hotel stationery, the month prior to the publication of his second book, Ransom. McInerney declines to write a piece on the Bronze Works for Art & Antiques magazine, claiming a lack of time caused by the throes of moving and because "Random House has booked Sept. & October almost solid, and I am committed to introductions on two forthcoming books." Approximately 100 words; folded in thirds for mailing; else fine, with hand-addressed envelope.
129. (McPHEE, John). McPHEE, Laura and BEAHAN, Virginia. No Ordinary Land. Encounters in a Changing Environment. (NY): Aperture (1998). Six-page afterword by John McPhee to this book of photographs taken collaboratively by Laura McPhee, his daughter, and Virginia Beahan, using a fifty-pound, 40 year-old, Deardorff camera. McPhee's and Beahan's photographs concentrate on the ways in which people interact with the landscapes around them, and the images are striking, often startling, in their content, while the camera used gives them a degree of vividness and detail that seems almost preternatural. Signed by John McPhee. Introduction by Rebecca Solnit. Oblong quarto; fine in a fine dust jacket, with the publisher's promotional material laid in. The epigraph for the book is a quote from Barry Lopez's Arctic Dreams -- which apparently has affected landscape photography as well as writing.
130. (McPHEE, John). The Princeton Anthology of Writing. Princeton: Princeton University Press (2001). The hardcover issue of this 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. A fine copy, without dust jacket, as issued. There was a simultaneous issue in wrappers; both issues are uncommon.
131. MILLER, Henry. Tropic of Capricorn. Paris: Obelisk Press, 1939. Miller's fourth book to be printed by Jack Kahane's Obelisk Press in Paris, which had also published Tropic of Cancer as well as work by such writers as Anais Nin, James Joyce, Cyril Connolly, Lawrence Durrell, and others. This is a variant unrecorded by Miller's bibliographers, with the sheets of the variant first edition (Shifreen & Jackson A21b) and the binding conforming to such on all points but 175 00 price on the back wrapper and no price on the spine. Small edge and corner tears, crease on rear cover; near fine in wrappers. Tropic of Capricorn, like Tropic of Cancer, could not be published in the U.S. until nearly three decades later because of its frank depiction of sexual matters, but it wielded an enormous influence from afar, and helped usher in the modern era of literature, in which traditional barriers to the artist's self-expression were abandoned.
132. MILLER, Henry. Signed Henry Miller Postcards. Alhambra: Museum Reproductions (n.d.). Eight unused postcards, each reproducing a Miller watercolor from the 40s or 50s, and each signed by Miller on the verso. The paintings included are: "Val's Birthday Gift," "Deux Jeunes Filles," "Marine Fantasy," "Banjo Self-Portrait," "A Bridge Somewhere," "Girl with Bird," "The Ancestor," and "The Hat and the Man." Previously framed, the frames darkened the back of the cards, but the signatures were protected. The lot is near fine.
133. MILLER, Henry. Art & Outrage. London/NY: Putnam/Dutton, 1959/1961. A review copy of the American edition, consisting of the true first (British) edition, copyedited on the title page and front flap to reflect changes to be made in the American edition, with a pencil note on the front flyleaf about the projected change in size. With review slip laid in. Correspondence about Miller between Lawrence Durrell and Alfred Perles, with interjections by Miller. Miller met both Durrell and Perles in Paris in the Thirties. Dusty top edge; fine in a very near fine dust jacket. Together with a copy of the American edition, as issued. Fine in a fine dust jacket. For both:
134. (MILLER, Henry). BAXTER, Annette Kar. Henry Miller: Expatriate. (Pittsburgh): University of Pittsburgh Press (1961). A critical work on the meaning of exile to Miller and its effect on him. Inscribed by Baxter to Miller's muse and second wife, June, in the year of publication: "For June/ who deserves a book about her/ with gratitude and much affection. Annette." Laid in is an autograph letter signed by Baxter from the preceding Christmas season, thanking June for a gift, updating her on the progress of the book, and adding "Will let you know when we hear from him [Henry]." The letter is folded in half and lightly edgeworn where it overhangs the book; the book is mildly sunned and spine-creased, with a small nick at the crown and small abrasions; both items about near fine.
135. (MILLER, Henry). GORDON, William A. Writer & Critic. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press (1968). A volume of correspondence between Miller and Gordon, triggered by Miller's having read in manuscript a volume of criticism by Gordon, and objecting to Gordon's interpretations of a number of elements of Miller's work. This copy is inscribed by Gordon to June: "To June, Hope you enjoy this. Best regards. Bill Gordon." Fine in a very good, rubbed and edgeworn dust jacket.
136. MILLHAUSER, Steven. We Others. NY: Knopf, 2011. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of new and selected stories by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Martin Dressler, among others. Faint crease to front cover, else fine in wrappers.
137. MONTESSORI, Maria. The Formation of Man. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1955. A posthumously published volume by the groundbreaking educator, issued by the Theosophical Society in India; Montessori had been association with the Society since the early part of the century, and her views on education were implemented in India by the Nobel Prize-winning author Rabindranath Tagore, who founded a number of Tagore-Montessori schools. A couple faint stains and splaying to covers; very good in wrappers.
138. MORRISON, Toni and WALKER, Kara E. Five Poems. [Las Vegas]: [Rainmaker Editions][2002]. A proof sheet from the limited edition of five poems that was published in an edition of 425 copies, with poems by Morrison and illustrations by Walker. A notable collaboration between two of the most highly regarded African-American women in their respective arts -- Morrison a Nobel Prize winner in Literature and Walker a visual artist using the silhouette as a form, who was the youngest recipient ever of a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" when she received one in 1997 at the age of 28. The two are from different generations -- Walker was born the year before Morrison's first novel was published -- but similar themes and issues permeate their work -- questions of racial and gender identity, in particular. Walker was selected by Time magazine in 2007 as one of the 100 most influential figures of our time, and her artwork is widely collected both by individuals and institutions: the original silhouette for one of the images in her collaboration with Morrison sold at auction for over $30,000. Two leaves only: the third stanza of "Eve Remembering," blank on verso as in the published book, and the title page of "The Perfect Ease of Grain," with Walker art work on verso, also as published. 8 1/2" x 14". "Proof" in pencil in bottom margin. Slight corner crease to the leaf with text; else fine. The edition for which this is a proof sheet was limited to 399 copies; it is safe to guess that there were far fewer proofs done -- probably a tiny handful. Scarce.
139. -. Same title, the "untrimmed proof sheet," so noted in pencil in the lower margin. Same leaves as above, only joined at the spine, and as such out of order from their appearance in the published text. Fine. Again, scarce.
140. 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. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with a small abrasion on the rear panel and a shallow scratch and faint stain on the front panel. This is the first issue, without the Governor General's Award label.