Catalog 174

NY, Dodd Mead, (1956). Abbey's second and scarcest book, a contemporary western that was the basis for the film Lonely Are the Brave, starring Kirk Douglas in one of his iconic roles. This copy belonged to T.M. Pearce, author and professor of English at the University of New Mexico, where Abbey had been his student. Heavily annotated throughout, in pencil, by Pearce; the front flyleaf has a paragraph by him of recollections of Abbey, as well as newspaper clippings about Kirk Douglas buying the film rights. Pearce's ownership signature appears on the front pastedown. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket: an attractive, and noteworthy, copy of Abbey's scarcest book, the first to foreshadow the kinds of issues that would dominate his writings for decades to come. [#035562] $5,500

NY, Grove Press, (1964). His first novel, after several small press poetry collections. Brautigan's writings influenced an entire generation and, although he fell out of literary favor for a time -- culminating in his suicide in 1984 -- he has come to be seen as an American original whose whimsy, sensitivity and humor uniquely epitomized his time. A bit of staining to the joints and top edge; near fine in a very good, spine and edge-darkened jacket with a small corner chip at the crown. [#035635] $300

ca. 1986. The 7-page typescript of an essay by Buckley about the maritime paintings in the collection of the Insurance Company of North America, intended for Art and Antiques Magazine, although we are uncertain as to whether if it ever saw publication. Together with an autograph note signed conveying the typescript, and a signed contract (with a second signed by Guy Davenport, apparently included in the file in error). Four additional pieces of signed correspondence (1986-1992) are included in the file, one of them alluding to Buckley's forthcoming novel, Wet Work. Buckley once held a position as deckhand on a Norwegian freighter, as well as writing Steaming to Bamboola: The World of a Tramp Freighter, while serving as Vice President George H.W. Bush's speechwriter. This essay opens with a scene from Moby Dick, in which Ishmael ponders a painting of a ship, and a whale, at the Spouter Inn. Fine, with unstamped mailing envelope. [#035838] $300

Westport/Boston, Greenwood/Twayne, (1981)/(1986). Two titles by Holtsmark, each inscribed by the author, to the same recipient. Tarzan and Tradition is subtitled "Classical Myth in Popular Literature" and examines the first six Tarzan books and their parallels to Greek and Roman heroic sagas; Edgar Rice Burroughs is a volume in the Twayne Unites States Authors Series -- short single volume biographies of major American authors. Each is fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#035568] SOLD

Lanham, University Press of America, (1987). A compendium of the characters, concepts, and literary allusions contained in Burroughs' 77 published stories, compiled and inscribed by McWhorter, longtime curator of the Burroughs collection at the University of Louisville Library. Small, faint red spot near spine, else a fine copy, without dust jacket, as issued. Review copy, with publisher's prospectus and errata slip laid in. [#035569] $150

Cambridge, M.I.T. Press, (1970). First published in 1961, this is the fourth paperback printing of this collection of essays and articles by perhaps the foremost American avant garde composer of the 20th century. Inscribed by Cage, who has written "For" before an owner's signature and added after, "with best wishes, John Cage." Modest rubbing to covers; near fine in wrappers. [#035636] $250

1987. A reproduction of a Chuck Jones Bugs Bunny print, first issued in a signed limited edition of 500 by Warner Brothers and Linda Jones Enterprises, in a larger format. This copy (offset print?), features Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Pepe Le Pew, Marvin Martian, and an unnamed female bunny; measures 11" x 8-1/2"; and reproduces the limitation and the gold seal of Linda Jones' studio. Despite being a reproduction, it is signed by Chuck Jones and then inscribed by Linda (Chuck's daughter). Faint foxing, mostly marginal; near fine, with original mailing envelope included. [#035839] $750

NY, Collier, (1966). A story-poem for children by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Aiken, illustrated by Julie Maas. This is a "Beginning Reader" book. Minor foxing to boards and jacket: very good in a very good dust jacket. [#035634] $200

NY, Knopf, (1961). Later, but early, printing of one of Dahl's classics. Bound by Book Press, with a 4-line colophon, this is the issue in light blue boards with a darker quarter spine and an SBN on the rear jacket panel. Distinguished by its condition: light foxing to the top edge; slight mustiness; but a near fine copy in a fine dust jacket. [#035570] $350

NY, Macmillan, 1929. The Newbery Award winning story of the first hundred years in the life of a wooden doll. Signed by the author. From the library of Doris Dana, with her ownership signature on the front pastedown. Dana was the translator, and partner, of Chilean Nobel Prize winner Gabriela Mistral, as well as being friends with such figures as Thomas Merton, dramatist Cheryl Crawford, Thomas Mann, and others. Uneven sunning to covers; author's name circled in pencil there; bit of dampstaining to lower edges; a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket. Illustrations by Dorothy P. Lathrop. [#035571] $1,000

1939. Written to a fan of her Newbery Award winning book Hitty, explaining that first editions are hard to come by, "as with most children's books the first edition copies are not cherished very tenderly." Field explains she has only one first edition for herself, and suggests the recipient contact a bookseller. Signed, "Yours sincerely, Rachel Field." Folded in thirds, near fine. [#035840] $250

Boston, Circlet Press, 1992. Two volumes: both an uncorrected proof copy (i.e., "Press Copy") and an inscribed copy of Tan's first book, an early volume from her own Circlet Press, an independent press devoted to erotic science fiction and fantasy that has continued to publish over the past three decades. (They were acquired by Riverdale Avenue Books in 2020.) Both the press copy and the signed copy state "second printing": the original release, in 1991, was in electronic form. Publishing notes and page numbers written on the press copy (despite the published version being unnumbered). The inscription reads: "To Bob - May you treasure this little volume as much as I do! Thanks & enjoy." Each is fine in wrappers. [#035572] $100

Seattle, Incunabula, 2021. One of 2800 copies of the trade edition of this large and elaborate edition of Crowley's fourth book, which was first published as a Bantam paperback in 1981, winning the World Fantasy Award and becoming a landmark of contemporary fantasy. This edition features "the Author's Preferred Text for the novel"; art by Peter Milton; and an Afterword by Harold Bloom, entitled "Reflections on Little, Big as Paradiso." Bloom, one of the preeminent American literary critics of the 20th century, included this title on his list of the books comprising the Western canon. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#035842] SOLD

[NY], [Harper's Magazine], 1978. One full 36 page draft, plus 30 earlier draft pages, of Gilder's 1978 article for Harper's Magazine, here provisionally titled "The Riches of Risk: An Essay on the Feasibility of Freedom." Together with a typed letter signed by Gilder to Lewis [Lapham], discussing the article and saying he will have a later draft the following week. Gilder's published article was quoted at length in Jack Kemp's book An American Renaissance: A Strategy for the 1980s, and Gilder's 1981 book, Wealth and Poverty, became a best-selling cornerstone for advocating the supply-side economics that defined the Reagan administration. Massive changes in evidence throughout: many cross-outs, deletions and emendations, some cut-and-taped. Condition: a working copy, messy by design, thus still near fine. An historic essay. [#035843] $500

NY, Metropolitan Books, (2001). Ehrenreich's best-known work, a report on attempting to live solely on the paychecks of a series of minimum wage jobs in different American cities. Inscribed by the author. Underground journalism by the political activist, reminiscent of George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London, more than 60 years earlier. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with blurbs by Studs Terkel and Naomi Klein, among others. [#035844] ON HOLD
$150

(London), (Faber and Faber), (1991). Copy No. 64 of 250 numbered copies, signed by the contributors. Twenty-six writers contribute to this AIDS fundraiser, with drawings by David Hockney. Edited by Stephen Spender. Signed by Hockney and Spender. This copy is also signed by: Joyce Carol Oates, Iris Murdoch, Normal Mailer, Seamus Heaney, Martin Amis, Erica Jong, Ian McEwan, Nigel Nicholson, Margaret Drabble, Craig Raine, William Boyd, V.S. Pritchett, Doris Lessing, William Golding, Arthur Miller, Ted Hughes, Kazuo Ishiguro, Julian Barnes, John Updike, Susan Sontag, Douglas Adams, and Patrick Leigh Fermor. Four living contributors declined to sign this edition -- Paul Theroux, Ted Hughes, Anthony Burgess and Gore Vidal. This copy, however, is from the collection of Vidal's bibliographer, Steven Abbott, and Vidal did sign this copy, the only copy of this edition he signed. Blue boards bound in quarter vellum. Fine in a fine slipcase. [#035645] $7,500

(London), (Faber and Faber), (1991). Twenty-six writers contribute to this AIDS fundraiser, with drawings by David Hockney. Edited by Stephen Spender. Signed by Hockney and Spender. This copy is from the collection of Steven Abbott, Gore Vidal's bibliographer, and is also specially signed by Gore Vidal, the only copy of this issue of the book that he signed. Other contributors include Joyce Carol Oates, Iris Murdoch, Paul Theroux, Normal Mailer, Seamus Heaney, Martin Amis, Erica Jong, Ian McEwan, Nigel Nicholson, Margaret Drabble, Craig Raine, William Boyd, V. S. Pritchett, Doris Lessing, William Golding, T. S. Eliot, Arthur Miller, Ted Hughes, Kazuo Ishiguro, Julian Barnes, John Updike, Susan Sontag, Douglas Adams, and Patrick Leigh Fermor. Fine in a fine slipcase. [#035646] $3,500

London, Deutsch, 1968. An advance copy of the British edition of his fourth book, a reflection on the forces that shaped the writers of the Beat Generation. This advance format seems to have been created from a disbound American first edition [NY: Dutton, 1967]; it is stamped "Advance American Copy/ Probable Publication Date June 1968 (entered by hand)/ Approx. Price (not filled in)/ Andre Deutsch/ 105 Great Russell St/ London W.C. I." Beneath the stamp, there are what appear to be initials, and we'd like to say they are those of renowned editor Diana Athill (based on her "D" often being made like a vertical ichthys), but we're uncertain. Holmes's first novel, Go, has been called the seminal novel of the Beat Generation, predating Kerouac's On the Road by five years. Holmes is also credited with inventing the phrase "beat generation." Modest foxing to edges and covers; very good in wrappers. [#035581] $200

(Hailey), Limberlost Press, (1985). The author of the first Beat novel (Go, 1952) reflects on his two decades of friendship with Kerouac. This copy is inscribed by Holmes. Modest foxing and handling to covers, but wormholes and creasing have made the front joint tenuous at best, thus only a good copy in wrappers. [#035582] $175

London, Faber and Faber, (1985). Three novellas. Inscribed by the author to Alison Lurie: "For Alison/ From Rachel/ with memories of good company in Manchester & a clear view to London." Assuming the year of publication to be the year of inscription, Lurie would have won the Pulitzer the preceding year for Foreign Affairs; the year following, 1986, the British Book Marketing Council named Ingalls' Mrs. Caliban as one of the 20 best novels by living American writers after World War II. Fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket. Provenance: the Lurie estate. A nice association. [#035583] SOLD

NY, The New Yorker, 1968-1988. Kael's own copies of 190 of her "Current Cinema" columns for The New Yorker, which she wrote for over two decades. All but two of these (one from 1968 and one from 1970) date from 1980 forward, after her leave of absence to try her hand in Hollywood. Included here are 20-26 columns for each of the years 1981-1987; 9 from 1980; and 13 from 1988. Several copies of each issue are present, which Kael has clipped together. Kael has also written the date on the majority, which tend to lack a printed date; and approximately a dozen columns bear Kael's corrections, markings or comments, in addition to one or two showing a copy-editor's changes. The first issue present, November 16, 1968, reviewing the forgettable Sean Connery vehicle Shalako, has Kael's note attached, which says, "Ugh." The lot is near fine. [#035647] $2,500

NY, Holt Rinehart Winston/Dutton, (1980-1985). Three of Kael's books of film criticism from the 1970s and 1980s: these are author copies, from the Kael estate. All are first printings and fine in fine dust jackets, but for the slightest hint of foxing to the edges of the text blocks. Unmarked, but accompanied by a mailing label from one of the boxes they were shipped to her in. [#035649] $150

Boston, Little Brown, (1977). From the library of Pauline Kael, and with her notes in the text. There are several instances of marginal notes, one of them approving of a turn of phrase; and about 50 words by Kael written on the front flyleaf...none of them complimentary. Clearly, Kael was a close reader, and not just of her own writing. Very good in a very good, edgeworn dust jacket. [#035651] $150

(La Jolla), Alti Publishing, (1990). Introduction by Fuentes to this book of Calderwood's aerial photographs of Mexico, featuring dramatic photos of natural landscapes, Mayan and Aztec ruins, modern cityscapes and villages, coastlines and marine formations. Signed by Fuentes. Heavy quarto. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#035658] $125

NY, Seaver Books, (1986). The first American edition of this collection of short pieces on various writers and artists. Signed by the author. Includes pieces on Walt Whitman, William Carlos Williams Andre Breton, Dostoevski, Solzhenitsyn, Luis Bunuel, Jorge Guillen, and others. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a touch of wear to the spine base. [#035662] SOLD

NY, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, (1991). A review copy of the first American edition of this collection of essays by the 1990 Nobel Prize winner for Literature. Signed by the author. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket. Laid in is a review slip, promotional material, and an invitation to a reception in honor of the author at the Pierpont Morgan Library, in 1994. [#035663] SOLD

Barnet, Stellar Press, 1968. The souvenir book of the Savile Club, published on the occasion of the club's centenary and including work by Le Carre, Compton Mackenzie and J.B. Priestley, among others. Sunning to covers, with corner creasing to the rear cover; about near fine in saddle-stitched wrappers, with the dinner menu laid in. An early, ephemeral appearance in print for Le Carre. Uncommon. [#035846] SOLD

NY, Holt Rinehart Winston, (1977). Crisp's autobiography. First published in the U.K. in 1968, this is a first printing of the first American edition, following the 1976 television movie. Inscribed by Crisp to Doris Dana, perhaps best-known as the partner and translator of Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Crisp was an iconic figure in the history of gay literature, and this is an especially good association copy. Foxing to the edges of the text block; near fine in a very good dust jacket. [#035664] SOLD

NY, McCall, (1970). The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition (published simultaneously with the Canadian edition) of her second book, a lesbian novel set in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Born in the U.S., Rule emigrated to Canada in her 20s. Her first novel, Desert of the Heart, was made into the 1985 film Desert Hearts. Long bound galleys, 6-1/2" x 11", printed on rectos only. Very good in sunned wrappers, with a small edge tear near the crown. An uncommon proof, and a landmark of lesbian literature. [#035584] $200

NY, Greenwood Press, (1991). An 850+ page biographical dictionary of exiled writers, including a section discussing groups as a whole, such as "Gay and Lesbian Writers in Exile," "Iranian Writers in Exile," "Francophone African...," "Romanian..." etc. Trace foxing to top edge, else fine, without dust jacket, as issued. A massive, invaluable reference work on the forced movement of writers in the 20th century. [#035585] SOLD