Catalog 160, M-O
56. MARTIN, George R.R. A Game of Thrones. (London): Voyager/HarperCollins (1996). A special preview edition of the first British edition of Book One of Martin's fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, printing the opening chapters (123 pages). Signed by Martin. The British edition had an earlier publication date than the U.S. edition, and this advance copy predates the U.K. publication. Early copies of the U.S. edition that were given out at the annual booksellers convention may predate this. Still, one of the earliest, if not the earliest, version of this book to be presented to the public. The full book, when published, won the Locus Award for best novel of the year and was a nominee for the Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Awards. Fifteen years after its original publication, a television miniseries based on the book became a huge commercial and critical success, earning 13 Emmy nominations, and winning two. It also caused the reissued book to climb to No. 1 on the bestseller list for the first time. Hint of a lower corner crease to rear cover; else fine in wrappers. Scarce, especially signed.
57. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. The Snow Leopard. NY: Viking (1978). His National Book Award-winning volume, inscribed by Matthiessen in 1979 to an author who had previously won a National Book Award for fiction. Cloth mottled, foxing to edges of text block; a very good copy in a very good, mildly spine-faded dust jacket with a closed gouge to the lower front panel. A nice association copy.
58. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Men's Lives. (n.p.): (Rock Foundation) (1986). The deluxe edition of Matthiessen's tribute to the fishermen of eastern Long Island and a way of life that, in the late stages of the 20th century, appeared to be irretrievably dying away. One of 500 numbered copies (although in all likelihood far fewer than 500 copies of this were ever produced). One volume, the text, is signed by Matthiessen. In addition to the second volume, of photographs, there is also an original print of one of the photographs from the book laid into a folding chemise and signed by the photographer, Lynn Johnson. Never formally offered for sale, copies of this edition were given out to attendees of a $500-a-plate benefit dinner for the historical society attempting to preserve the record and legacy of the fishermen's lives. Matthiessen has spent much of his life on eastern Long Island, and once ran a charter fishing boat off the island, in addition to having worked for three years with commercial fishermen, so this sympathetic portrait was written from the perspective of one who had shared the life described. Fine, in a clamshell case. A similar edition, unsigned and without the signed print, was issued in a slipcase, and probably comprised most of the overrun of this edition -- i.e., a later issue, which was offered for sale via the University of Washington Press. One of the scarcest items in the Matthiessen canon.
59. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. In the Spirit of Crazy Horse. NY: Viking (1991). Inscribed by Matthiessen to his father prior to publication: "For Dad - The first copy of the new edition (out next month) - don't read it, whatever you do! Much love/ Peter/ Sanibel/ April, 1991." This "new edition" is the first printing of the 1991 reissue of Matthiessen's suppressed 1983 book about the confrontation between American Indian activists and the FBI in the early Seventies at Pine Ridge Reservation near Wounded Knee that left two federal agents and one Indian dead, and resulted in AIM activist Leonard Peltier imprisoned for life, convicted of the agents' murder in a case that as Matthiessen describes it was rife with government malfeasance. Matthiessen, his publisher, and even some bookstores who had stocked the book in 1983 were the targets of lawsuits brought by two government officials who claimed they were slandered by the hard-hitting book, which advocated the Indians' case. Until a landmark Supreme Court decision upholding Matthiessen's (and Viking's) First Amendment rights eight years later, the book was shelved, with remaining copies of it being pulped. This issue contains a 24-page epilogue that does not appear in the original edition, documenting the new evidence that AIM activist Leonard Peltier was railroaded in his conviction for the deaths of the two FBI agents, and an afterword by legendary First Amendment lawyer Martin Garbus, who defended Viking and Matthiessen in the lawsuits. Corners bumped, particularly the upper front corner; minor foxing to top edge; a very good copy in a near fine dust jacket with small corner chips. An excellent association copy, with a fine, humorous-but-telling inscription, penned at the time the author's landmark work was finally allowed to reach an audience, and as Matthiessen says, "the first copy."
60. MILLER, Henry. Painting. 1946. A fairly early painting by Miller: he had been painting since at least the 1930s and in 1943 earned $1400 from the sale of his paintings -- a not-insignificant sum. He had a large number of paintings in a show, presumably for sale, in London the following year. This is a watercolor of vaguely female serpentine figures around a chaotic center, veering toward the abstract as Miller frequently did, but with plenty of recognizable visual components -- a house, a moon, a star, etc. Signed "Henry Miller - 4/46." 10 1/2" x 11 1/4", matted and framed to 22" x 22 1/2". Fine. Most of the Miller artwork that appears on the market these days dates from the 1960s or 1970s; paintings from the 1940s are uncommon.
61. MILLER, Henry. Lithograph with Watercolor. 1973. An image of a figure labeled "Hoki Doki" (Miller's fifth and final wife was Hiroko "Hoki" Tokudo), next to a green visage inside a birdcage and above a fish out of water and a Japanese text. Issued in a limitation of 150 numbered copies, each watercolored by hand and signed by Miller. 7 3/4" x 10 3/4". Matted and framed to 17 1/4" x 20 1/2". Fine.
62. MILNE, A.A. The Hums of Pooh. London: Methuen & Co., (1929). Words by A.A. Milne (and Pooh); drawings by E.H. Shepard; music by H. Fraser-Simson; additional lyric by Eeyore. This is the limited edition, one of 100 numbered copies signed by Milne, Shepard and Fraser-Simson. An extremely scarce, early Winnie-the-Pooh edition, tied for the smallest limitation of any of the Pooh books (along with the When We Were Very Young limited). Some offsetting to endpages; light wear to corners and a bit of foredge sunning. Near fine in boards and cloth spine, with paper label and without jacket: the unsigned trade edition had a jacket; there is no indication that was true for the limited. Auction records show the last copy of this title appearing at auction in 1987.
63. MORRISON, Toni and WALKER, Kara E. Five Poems. [Las Vegas]: [Rainmaker Editions][2002]. Proof sheets, consisting of two frameable leaves, from the limited edition of this collection of five poems by Morrison with illustrations by Kara Walker. Two leaves only: the first carries the third stanza of "Eve Remembering" and is blank on the verso; the second features Walker's art work, with the title page of "The Perfect Ease of Grain" on the verso. "Proof" in pencil in bottom margin. Slight corner crease to the leaf with text; else fine. 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 grant when she received one in 1997 at the age of 28; she was selected by Time magazine in 2007 as one of the 100 most influential figures of our time The original silhouette for one of the images in this collaboration with Morrison sold at auction for over $30,000. The edition for which this is a proof sheet was limited to 425 copies; it seems safe to assume that far fewer proofs were done -- probably a tiny handful.
64. MORTENSON, Greg and RELIN, David Oliver. Three Cups of Tea. (NY): (Viking)(2006). The advance reading copy of the inspirational and controversial account of Mortenson, who, in response to kindnesses bestowed on him by locals when he was lost in Pakistan after an unsuccessful ascent of K2, vowed to return to that village and build a school -- a project that led to his founding the Central Asia Institute and to an ongoing effort that resulted in the building of, reportedly, more than 170 schools (mostly for girls) in impoverished regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to Mortenson's repeatedly being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The hardcover edition sold only 20,000 copies; the paperback sold over four million copies in more than 40 countries and stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for more than four years, until it was revealed, first by author Jon Krakauer and later 60 Minutes, that Mortenson and Relin had taken liberties with the narrative and, in Mortenson's case, possible liberties with his financial relationship to the CAI. This advance reading copy is signed by Mortenson and also by David Relin, who at one point claimed sole authorship of the book, saying it was published with Mortenson as co-author over his objections. The promotional text boasts of a planned 6-city author tour: in the four years before the controversy hit, Mortenson's itinerary included more than 500 speaking engagements. Fine in wrappers and custom clamshell case. This is the only signed advance copy we have encountered.
65. (Native American Art). BERNIKER, Jane. Original Artwork for Duane Niatum's A Cycle for the Woman in the Field. [Laughing Man Press, 1973]. Six pen and ink and collage drawings for Niatum's second book, a poetry chapbook. Each illustration is on 8 1/2" x 11" card stock and is titled and signed by the artist. Unsigned color drawing also included. Working copies -- i.e., these were the copies used for the production of the book and include printer's notations for layout; near fine, in an envelope addressed to Niatum. Unique.
66. (Native American Art). Art and Indian Individualists. Flagstaff: Northland Press (1975). An extra-annotated copy of the limited edition of this profile of the art of seventeen southwestern artists and craftsmen, with a statement by each about their work, and heavily illustrated. One of 150 numbered copies signed by the editors, Guy and Doris Monthan, and 15 of the artists, including R.C. Gorman, Fritz Scholder and Allan Houser. Also signed by Lloyd Kava New, who provides a foreword. Additionally, this copy includes several items that were given to the former owner by the artists. As such, this copy is additionally inscribed by Douglas Hyde; includes both a signed invitation and a signed greeting card from Jerry Ingram; an additional inscription by Charles Loloma, with photographs of him with friends and also of his work; a clipping of Lloyd Kava New's obituary; a promotional card signed by Preston Mononge; an inscription by Tony Da's mother, Anita (Tony Da was ill during the signing); and an autographed note signed by Earl Biss (who is not included in this volume). A beautiful production, and a unique copy of the first major book to recognize the individualist trend in Indian art. Large quarto bound in quarter leather. Fine in a fine slipcase.
67. O'BRIEN, Tim. Speaking of Courage. Santa Barbara: Neville, 1980. The dedication copy, inscribed by O'Brien to his brother: "To Greg, Love, Tim." The printed dedication page reads, "For Greg O'Brien, my brother." The printed colophon page, which is also signed by the author, reads, "This is Greg O'Brien's copy." Speaking of Courage was O'Brien's first limited edition and contains a chapter that was excised from Going After Cacciato and later appeared, in a much reworked version, in The Things They Carried. Bound in full leather. Fine. Unique.
68. O'CONNOR, Flannery. The Violent Bear It Away. NY: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1960. Signed by O'Connor in Atlanta on March 18, 1960, the month after publication. The Violent Bear It Away was O'Connor's second novel and the last of her books published in her lifetime; signed copies are of almost legendary rarity, as the author was quite ill by the time it was published. This is a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with some minor spine sunning and trace wear to the crown, with faint spotting to the rear panel. In a custom clamshell case. A beautiful copy of an uncommon book, and rare signed.
69. ORWELL, George. Down and Out in Paris and London. NY: Harper & Brothers, 1933. The first American edition of Orwell's first book, in the rare dust jacket. An account of life among the poor in Paris and London, with whom Orwell lived for a number of months in order to experience their plight first-hand; it set the stage for his further nonfiction, which was marked by sympathy for the underdog and a disdain for dogma -- the exact elements that informed his best fiction. Mild bowing to the boards, with some foxing to the text and a few tiny spots to the rear cloth; a very good copy in a very good dust jacket with multiple short edge tears, a thumb-sized spot to the front panel, and a few very small chips to the edges and folds. Rare in jacket.