Catalog 174

Hadley, Ken Lopez Bookseller, 2000. In a 4-page introduction to a catalog of nature writing, Lopez takes the measure of the field to argue that it is "that strain of American literature that, more than others now, is pursuing the ancient discourse on human fate," and that "like any worthy literature it should continue to undermine complacency, resist definition, and induce hope." An interesting essay, on a subject close to the writer's heart, and not reprinted elsewhere that we're aware of. Fine in wrappers. [#035676] $45

San Francisco, W.H. Freeman, (1978). Later printing of a textbook on the human species, from evolution, to anatomy, to gene theory: this was a gift by Lopez to his stepfather. Inscribed by Lopez on a card that has been taped to the front pastedown: "Dear Dad, to wish you a very good 77th. Our love/ Barry & Sandy." By our calculations, this would have been 1983, when Lopez would have been starting work on Arctic Dreams. Boards bowed; a very good copy, without dust jacket, as issued. [#035677] $200

NY, Simon & Schuster, (1998). The author of The End of Nature and co-founder of the climate organization 350.org here makes an environmental argument for having only one child. Since this book was published, in 1998, the world population has increased 33%, from 6 billion to 8 billion. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#035596] $125

NY, Putnam's, 1930. A conservationist, zoologist, and aquatic biologist, Morgan taught at Mount Holyoke College and authored three books, this being her first, which went into at least 15 printings. She was one of three women listed, of 250 entries, in the 1933 edition of American Men of Science. Owner name and second owner blindstamp on flyleaf; light shelf wear to cloth; near fine in a very good dust jacket with minor wear to the edges and folds. Uncommon in the first printing, especially in dust jacket. [#035876] SOLD

(Toronto), McClelland & Stewart, (1990). The Canadian author of Never Cry Wolf, among many others, here interviews environmental activists including Ron Burchell (The Sierra Club); Monte Hummel (World Wildlife Fund); Stephen Best (International Wildlife Coalition); and others, including David Suzuki, Peter Singer, and Elizabeth May. Inscribed by Mowat in the year of publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#035603] $125
On Sale: $81

Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University Press, (2011). The naturalist's second book and first collection of essays. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with some very modest staining and a stray pen mark. Ouchley won the 2023 John Burroughs Medal for Bayou D'Arbonne Swamp. [#035679] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1974). His first collection of essays, winner of two National Book Awards (for Arts and Letters and for Science). Signed by the author. Foxing to top edge, small spot to foredge; about near fine in a very good, price-clipped and dusty dust jacket with light wear to the edges and folds and a couple of stray pen marks on the rear panel. A surprise bestseller, which went into at least 10 printings in its first year of publication: first printings are scarce, and signed firsts especially so. [#035681] $400

NY, Viking, (1979). His second collection of essays, after The Lives of the Cell won two National Book Awards in 1975. This copy is inscribed by the author prior to publication: "To Jack White/ with great respect/ Lewis Thomas." Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with slight edge wear. [#035682] SOLD

Boston, Faber & Faber, (1987). The first book by the longtime staff writer for The New Yorker and author of The Orchid Thief and The Library Book, among others. This is a collection of her columns for the Boston Globe Magazine, with an introduction for this collection by the author. Signed by Orlean. Slight wear to covers; near fine in wrappers. Scarce, particularly signed. [#035683] $200

[Mount Vernon], (Walpole Printing Office), [1941]. Prospectus for the "regular edition" of 295 copies, after a deluxe edition of 50 copies. Three paragraph statement about the book by Patchen; blurb by Henry Miller; and the names of some of the subscribers that made publication possible (Maxwell Perkins, E.E. Cummings, Wallace Stevens, James Laughlin, Louis Untermeyer, William Carlos Williams, Stephen Vincent Benet, etc.) One sheet, folded to make four pages. Slight edge-sunning; near fine. Uncommon ephemeral piece for what is perhaps Patchen's best-known book. [#035684] $100

(Arlington), Bogg, 1989. Poetry by this poet/collagist who was associated with the San Francisco Beat poetry scene and the hippie counterculture that emerged from it in the 1960s. Plymell was the publisher of the first issue of Zap! comix, the underground comic that introduced R. Crumb and S. Clay Wilson to the counterculture, and according to Allen Ginsberg he was the inspiration for the "Wichita Vortex Sutra." This copy is inscribed by Plymell on the front cover: "Hey Jim, hand on the doorknob [a reference to the cover photo]. Can't find nowhere to go!/ Charles Plymell. Getting into the the [sic] new." Fine in stapled wrappers. [#035607] $100

[London], [Self-published], [1950]. Poetry by the Dominican writer best-known for her novel The Orchid House. Inscribed by the author on the inside front cover, under the dustwrapper flap: "For Nelia, never a dried herb, despite our intervals. From PSA with love." Saddle-stitched wrappers, some foxing to pages; a very good copy in a near fine dust jacket. Laid in is a postcard with publication information on one side and "Gift copy sent at request of author" on the other. [#035686] SOLD

NY, National Book Committee, 1967. An advance copy of Auden's acceptance speech upon receiving the 1967 National Medal for Literature. 4 pages, stapled, printing the text of the speech with the heading, "Advance - Hold for Release," with the date and time of the ceremony. Light marginal stain on the first page; very good. Together with "Homage to W.H. Auden," presented by the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program, printing the Auden poem "Anthem," and dated months after his death. [#035882] SOLD

Austin, Write Bloody, (2014). Choi's first book, only issued in wrappers. This copy is inscribed by the author: "___! Thank you for holding these poems. Wow wow grateful/ Franny Choi." Fine. Uncommon signed. [#035883] $125
On Sale: $81

London, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1974. Catalog of an exhibition in the Ideas Gallery of Whitechapel of poems by this avant garde writer, known as a practitioner of concrete and sound poetry, and in most of the poems in this exhibition as a collaborator with visual artists. Signed by the poet. Chopin also founded the literary journal Cinquiame Saison, which morphed into the journal OU in 1964, and published a record of sound poetry with each issue. Six pages; fine. [#035638] $250

(Madrid), Editorial Plutarco, 1930. Arabic-Spanish poetry from Andalucia. An early book by the prominent Spanish Arabist critic, poet and translator. A friend of Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, his translations inspired Garcia Lorca's Divan del Tamarit, published posthumously in 1940. Copy No. 976 of an edition of 1000. Owner name on flyleaf; mild edge-chipping; front joint weakening. Very good in wrappers. [#035641] $125

Mexico, Editorial Seneca, 1940. The most famous poem by the prominent Spanish poet, who was killed by fascists during the Spanish Civil War. This is the first Spanish-language edition, published a few weeks after the bilingual edition done in the U.S., and the first illustrated edition, with four original drawings by the author, two of them printed in color. Two owner names and a comment in the prelims; tape shadows to the endpages; upper and lower edge tears at the front joint. A good copy in wrappers, with less of the darkening and chipping that frequently afflicts the wrappers of this title. [#035642] $750

NY, W.W. Norton, [1940]. The first edition of this collection of poems originally written when Garcia Lorca lived in New York and attended Columbia University, in 1929-1930, but not published until after he had died and the Spanish Civil War had ended. Spanish text, and English translation by Rolfe Humphries. A very near fine copy in a very good dust jacket with chips at the spine extremities and flap folds and a tear at the lower front panel. [#035643] $1,500

Oxford, Dolphin Book Co., 1975. Copy No. 440 of 1000 copies. 87 poems and three prose works reproduced in facsimile, with transcriptions and notes by Rafael Martinez Nadal. Fine in wrappers, in a fine dust jacket and a lightly rubbed, near fine slipcase. [#035644] $300

Manuscript poem, signed by Guest. Four stanzas; the poem's first line, "The fish arrives," is the same as her published four-line poem "Fish Quilts." Lower corner stain, not affecting text; very good. [#035884] $200

Wesleyan University Press, 1968. Manuscript poem. Publication information (Honig's book Spring Journal, published by Wesleyan University Press) is written across the bottom. Signed by Honig. The word "Spring" is smudged by water; the poem and signature remain near fine. [#035885] $150

Manuscript poem entitled "Subjunctive Tense," but eventually published, with significant changes, as "If We Could Be Brought" (first line). Signed by Ignatow. Undated. Lower corner stain, not affecting text; very good. [#035886] $150

Williamsburgh, Heron Press, 1971. Copy No. 168 of 200 numbered copies. Nine poems by Lavin illustrated with woodcuts by Bruce Chandler, who also designed and printed the book. Folio, 12" x 16", in light brown cloth boards with gilt-stamped red leather spine label. Small, 1" mark at upper board edge; else fine, without jacket, as issued. [#035608] $125

Sevenoaks, (Privately Published), 1967-1968. Sisson writes to Edith Heal, author of William Carlos Williams/I Wanted to Write a Poem: The Autobiography of the Works of a Poet, which was published in the U.K. in 1967. Sisson shares his thoughts on Williams, and on Heal's book, and transmits to her two chapbooks of his own work, which are included here: Roman Poems and The Discarnation. The letter is two pages, with hand corrections, and is signed by Sisson. Folded; near fine. The chapbooks are near fine in stapled wrappers. [#035888] $125

(Various), (Various), 1986-2003. An extensive collection of audio renditions of Rice's long-running Vampire series, with 41 recordings of 13 titles, most of which are Random House audiobooks or Books on Tape, but also including works by Recorded Books and Isis Audio Books. The majority of the recordings are on cassette tape, with a dozen in CD format. 18 of the recordings are unabridged, with at least one unabridged audio of each title present, with the exception of Memnoch the Devil (and The Vampire Chronicles, which is itself an abridgment). The titles (and the number of recordings) are as follows: Interview with the Vampire (4); The Vampire Lestat (4); The Queen of the Damned (2); The Vampire Chronicles (1); The Tale of the Body Thief (3); Memnoch the Devil (1); The Vampire Armand (4); Pandora (3); Vittorio the Vampire (4); Merrick (3); Blood and Gold (3); Blackwood Farm (5); and Blood Canticle (4). The audios are presumed to be in fine condition. Vittorio's CD case has been replaced; otherwise the cases and boxes are fine or near fine, but for an indentation to an Interview cassette box. Will ship at cost. [#035610] $350

[Wheeling], Innovation, (1991). The hardcover issue of the first collected edition of Innovation's twelve-part graphic novel based on Rice's second book in her Vampire Chronicles, adapted by Perozich and painted by Daerick Gross. Very slight bump to top edge, still fine in a fine dust jacket. [#035611] $150

(Wheeling), Innovation, (1991-1993). Six of the twelve issues (#s 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8) of Innovation's graphic serialization of the first book in the Lestat series, "not intended for children." Nos. 2 and 5 have light rubbing and are near fine; the others are fine in stapled wrappers. Uncommon now. [#035612] $120

(Wheeling), Innovation, (1991-1993). Ten of the twelve issues (#s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11) of Innovation's graphic serialization of the third book in the Vampire Chronicles. All are fine in stapled wrappers. [#035613] $200

NY, Farrar Straus, (1989). The uncorrected proof copy of the Pulitzer Prize winner's second book and first work of nonfiction, following the much-acclaimed novel Housekeeping. Mother Country (later Mother Country: Britain, the Welfare State, and Nuclear Proliferation) examines the environmental, economic and social impacts of the Sellafield nuclear power plant in Great Britain, an investigation gaining renewed relevance as nuclear energy gains traction as a "green" alternative to fossil fuels. Two pages (142, 194) have blacked-out edits; small "x" and publication information inked in on front cover; fine in wrappers with a brief author bio laid in. Mother Country was a finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction. [#035889] $250

(France/NY/CA), (n.p.), 1987-1992. Thirteen pieces of correspondence (five autograph letters signed, seven typed letters signed, one autograph note signed), and one 7-page typescript, all sent from Roditi to an editor at Art & Antiques magazine over the years 1987-1992. Roditi, a Jewish, American, homosexual, poet, translator, and Surrealist author born in France, was also well-known for his interviews with modernist artists. The correspondence here begins with a reference to an article he has submitted to A&A on Paris' Camondo Museum, and talks of research he's done on 19th century American artists and of having recently seen proofs of a book of his on the topic. The second letter (written from his post at Bard College) discusses the illustrations he'll need for his proposed article on the Russian Romantic painter Ivan Aivazovsky's visit to America, and suggests articles on Brussel's Horta Museum and on the Italian painter Giorgio Morandi. Roditi's 7-page untitled typescript (signed in type, with holograph corrections, and several penciled editorial comments) about his interactions with Morandi 30 years prior, is included here. Subsequent letters discuss meeting with the recipient in New York City; the need for minor surgery, which will send him to convalesce in California; Bedford Press bringing some of his writings back into print; cataracts; aging (turning 80, and then, in a later letter, 81, a period that saw four or five of his books being published); a Breton show in Paris; a Chagall show near Lausanne; his increasing disability; and lastly, less than four months before his death, final queries about his still-unpublished Aivazovsky article and a proposed article on Andre Breton. All pieces are generally in fine condition, but for mailing folds. Envelopes are included. [#035614] SOLD