Catalog 97, I-M
140. IRVING, John. The Water-Method Man. NY: Random House (1972). The uncorrected proof copy of Irving's second book. Spine-faded, with a short thin "skid mark" on the rear cover; near fine in wrappers. A very uncommon proof, preceding his breakthrough novel, The World According to Garp, by six years, and dating from a period when proofs were not commonly collected, so few will likely have survived.
141. IRVING, John. The 158-Pound Marriage. NY: Random House (1974). His third novel. Dust jacket blurbs by Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller and Stanley Elkin. Fewer than 2500 copies of this book were sold, although the book went into a second printing. Fine in a fine dust jacket with just a hint of edge-sunning to the rear panel. Inscribed by the author with a full page self-caricature in wrestling mode. A beautiful copy; we've never seen another with such a self-portrait.
142. IRVING, John. The Hotel New Hampshire. NY: Dutton (1981). The author's fifth book, and the first to follow his critical and commercial success with The World According to Garp. Like Garp, this was also made into a movie. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author. Irving has been declining to sign books, for the most part, in recent years, and signed copies of his earlier books are getting increasingly hard to find.
143. IRVING, John. The Cider House Rules. NY: Morrow (1985). The publisher's limited edition of this title, issued in beige and brown cloth, in a brown slipcase, in an edition of 250 numbered copies signed by the author. There was also a Book-of-the-Month Club limited edition of this title, in a similar format but with a different binding and a much larger limitation -- 795 copies. This, the publisher's edition, is considerably harder to find. Fine.
144. IRVING, John. A Widow for One Year. (London): Bloomsbury (1998). The true first edition of his latest novel, which was published in the U.K. prior to its release in the U.S. This is a limited edition that preceded the British trade edition. One of 1000 numbered copies, in a different binding than that of the trade edition. Clothbound, with pictorial label on front cover. Fine, without dust jacket, as issued. Although not called for, this copy has been signed by the author.
145. -. Another copy of the advance issue, unsigned. Fine as issued.
146. -. Same title, the first British trade edition. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
147. -. Another copy of the British trade edition, also signed by the author. A few faint smudges to foredge; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
148. -. Same title. The advance reading copy of the first American edition (NY: Random House, 1998). Fine in pictorial wrappers.
149. -. Another copy of the American advance reading copy. One page folded; else fine in wrappers.
150. -. Same title, this being the American signed limited edition (Media: Unicycle, 1997). Limitation not indicated, as of the time of this writing. The edition, which we haven't seen yet, was not ready at the time this catalog went to press. The books were slated for delivery in June, according to the publisher. The publisher announced that the limitation would be no greater than 1200; the books would be bound in calf, and numbered and signed by the author. The list price, as indicated by the publisher, is to be: (tentative)
151. (IRVING, John). "Interior Space" in Fiction, Vol. 6, No. 2. (NY): (City College of New York) (1980). This story was selected as a 1981 O. Henry Award winner. Other writers in this volume include Donald Barthelme, Italo Calvino, Adolfo Bioy Casares and Joseph McElroy, among others. Bumping to spine extremities; else near fine in wrappers. An uncommon appearance: Irving has published few short stories that were not part of novels-in-progress. This story was originally written in 1974.
152. IVINS, Molly. You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You. NY: Random House (1998). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of essays on "Politics in the Clinton Years" by the political columnist and commentator. Fine in wrappers.
153. -. Another copy. Near fine in wrappers.
154. JACKSON, Shirley. We Have Always Lived in the Castle. NY: Viking (1962). A novel of the macabre by the author of The Lottery and The Haunting of Hill House, and the last of her books published in her lifetime. Spotting to cloth; near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with foxing along the folds.
155. JOHNSON, Joyce. Bad Connections. NY: Putnam (1978). The second book by the author of Come and Join the Dance (which was published under her maiden name). Inscribed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
156. KEROUAC, Jack. On the Road. NY: Viking, 1957. His second novel, the quintessential "road novel" and the book that defined the Beat generation. Kerouac's fictionalized account of his exploits with his friend Neal Cassady -- here depicted as "Dean Moriarty" -- became a cultural landmark. On the Road helped promote the growth in popularity of Zen and other Eastern religious traditions in the West in the last forty years at the same time that it popularized the concept of "recreational" drug use. It continues to be read and admired today, retaining its relevance and freshness by virtue of the immediacy of its writing, the clarity of its youthful perceptions, and the authenticity of the characters' quests. All by itself, it ensures Kerouac's standing as an important American writer. This copy is waterstained on the boards and page edges, not affecting the text; a good copy in a similarly affected, chipped dust jacket: because of the black spine and front panel, the waterstaining is mostly visible on the verso, the rear panel and the flaps; still only fair. An affordable copy of one of the high spots of postwar American literature.
KEROUAC, Jack. See Broadsides, at end of Catalog.
157. KING, Laurie R. The Moor. NY: St. Martin's (1998). The fourth in her series of Mary Russell novels, which have continued the Sherlock Holmes saga to great critical acclaim and popular response. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket bearing an "Autographed Copy" sticker.
158. LATTIMORE, Steve. Circumnavigation. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. The uncorrected proof copy of the author's first book, a collection of short stories that have been favorably compared to Raymond Carver's. Fine in wrappers.
159. LEWIS, Jim. Why the Tree Loves the Ax. NY: Crown (1998). The advance reading copy of this well-received novel, the author's second. Fine in wrappers.
LOPEZ, Barry. See Broadsides, at end of Catalog.
160. MAILER, Norman. Why Are We in Vietnam? NY: Putnam's (1967). A novel that comments on the war with only three mentions of it, including the title. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a chip threatening at the upper rear flap fold. This copy lacks a printed dedication page, a somewhat disputed issue point, it would seem. Signed by the author.
161. MAILER, Norman. Harlot's Ghost. NY: Random House (1991). The uncorrected proof copy of Mailer's massive novel about the CIA and contemporary America. This copy has been read; very good in wrappers.
162. -. Another copy. Cleaner than the above, but with the wrapper beginning to detach, as is common with this title. Also very good.
163. MAILER, Norman. The Time of Our Time. NY: Random House (1998). An omnibus collection, published on the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The Naked and the Dead. With a foreword by Mailer. This is one of an unspecified number of copies issued as "A Signed First Edition" (so printed on the dustwrapper). Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
164. MALOUF, David. The Conversations at Curlow Creek. NY: Pantheon Books, 1996. The advance reading copy of this Australian novelist's most recent book, a historical novel set in Australia in 1827. Malouf's previous novel, Remembering Babylon, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the Los Angeles Times Award for Fiction for 1994. Fine in wrappers.
165. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Far Tortuga. NY: Random House (1975). His first novel after At Play in the Fields of the Lord, an unusual novel which is almost an extended prose poem and is, in part, an elegy to the turtle fishermen of the Grand Cayman islands, written in their dialect. Matthiessen at one time ran a fishing boat off the coast of Long Island, and his affinity for the sea shows through repeatedly in his books -- in this book, Raditzer, the books on shore birds, and later, Men's Lives. A little edge-sunning to cloth as is common for this title; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. An attractive copy of a book that, because its pages are too heavy for the binding, doesn't wear well. In fact, this book was once cited in a prestigious New York publishing and book design course as an example of how not to design a book.
166. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. The Snow Leopard. NY: Viking (1978). A review copy of his National Book Award-winning volume, recounting a trip to the Himalayas with naturalist George Schaller in the hopes both of encountering a snow leopard in the wild and of coming to terms with his wife's recent death from cancer. Strips of sunning to the board edges and a vertical indentation to the spine; still about near fine in a dust jacket with several short, closed edge tears. Signed by the author. With review slip and promotional material laid in. One of Matthiessen's key titles, and very uncommon as a review copy, let alone signed as well.
MATTHIESSEN, Peter. See Broadsides, at end of Catalog.
167. MAXWELL, William. The Château. NY: Knopf, 1961. A novel set in France in the aftermath of World War II by this writer who has been a longtime contributor to, and editor at, The New Yorker and who was called "the greatest living American writer" by one influential book trade publication. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
168. (MAXWELL, William). Stories. NY: Farrar Straus Cudahy (1956). A collection of stories by William Maxwell, John Cheever, Jean Stafford and Daniel Fuchs. This copy is inscribed by Maxwell to Harold Brodkey in December, 1956: "For Harold and Joanna/ with my love/ B." Near fine in a very good, modestly edgeworn dust jacket. An excellent association copy: Maxwell was an editor at The New Yorker, where Brodkey published most of his stories, and was the dedicatee of Brodkey's first book, which was published the following year.
169. MAYLE, Peter. Chasing Cézanne. NY: Knopf, 1997. The uncorrected proof copy of this novel by the author of the bestselling A Year in Provence. Hint of a cover crease; still fine in wrappers.
170. McCANN, Colum. This Side of Brightness. NY: Metropolitan Books (1998). First American edition of the highly praised third book by this award-winning young Irish writer. Jim Harrison, Frank McCourt blurbs, among others. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
171. McCARTHY, Cormac. All the Pretty Horses. NY: Knopf, 1992. The uncorrected proof 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. All the Pretty Horses sold ten times as many copies in hardcover as all five of his previous novels combined. This is the second state of the proof, which consists of the first state with the following changes made in pencil on the front cover: "A Border Trilogy" has been changed to "The Border Trilogy" and the publication day of "4" has been added to the month of May. There was a later state that made these changes in print. Fine in wrappers.
172. -. Same title. The first separate publication of any portion of the Border Trilogy, an offprint of the excerpt published in the March 1992 issue of Esquire. Fine, with four-color illustrations. An ephemeral piece, which was given away at the time of publication but has since become scarce.
173. McCARTHY, Cormac. The Crossing. NY: Knopf, 1994. The sequel to his award-winning All the Pretty Horses, and the second novel in the "The Border Trilogy." This is one of an unspecified number of copies of the trade edition signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf. Fine in a fine dust jacket. McCarthy's signature is uncommon.
174. McCARTHY, Cormac. Cities of the Plain. NY: Knopf, 1998. The uncorrected proof copy of the third volume in The Border Trilogy. Rumor has it that at the author's behest, fewer proofs were done than was the case with the earlier books in the series. Estimates are at 100 copies or fewer. Fine in wrappers.
175. -. Same title, the publisher's limited edition. One of 1000 (unnumbered) copies signed by the author on a leaf tipped into the trade edition. Again, relying on rumor, we are told that, like The Crossing, fewer than the stated limitation were actually signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
176. -. Same title, an advance reading copy of the British edition (London: Picador, 1998), 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.
177. McMURTRY, Larry. Cadillac Jack. NY: Simon & Schuster (1982). The uncorrected proof copy of this novel about an antique dealer, reportedly based on a legendary book scout, by the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lonesome Dove, among many others. "McMurtry" written on the lower page edges; else fine in wrappers.
178. McMURTRY, Larry. The Late Child. NY: Simon & Schuster (1995). The uncorrected proof copy of this novel that returns to one of the characters of The Desert Rose. Fine in wrappers.
179. McPHEE, John. A Roomful of Hovings. NY: FSG (1968). McPhee's fifth book, and the first collection of his excellent New Yorker "Profiles" -- a format he virtually made his own for a time, and whose possibilities he expanded notably. This is a very near fine copy in a very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket, and extremely uncommon thus: the grey cloth of this title is almost always slightly faded on the edges, even in copies which are otherwise fine. This copy is unfaded. An extraordinarily nice copy of this early McPhee title.
180. McPHEE, John. Encounters with the Archdruid. NY: FSG (1971). Three essays in which McPhee orchestrates a dialogue/confrontation between "archdruid" David Brower -- a former head of the Sierra Club and founder of the more radical environmental group, Friends of the Earth -- and several advocates of development and the responsible exploitation of the earth's resources. An engaging look at a complex subject, rendered accessible through McPhee's luminous prose and his choice of articulate subjects. Bookseller's mark on rear pastedown, otherwise very near fine in a fine dust jacket.
181. McPHEE, John. Autograph Note Signed. [May, 1980]. A short note to another writer, thanking him for sending his latest book and saying he looks forward to reading it. "I hope it outsells Cosmos," he adds. 4 1/2" x 7", on New Yorker stationery. Folded once for mailing, splitting and taped at fold. Very good, with original hand-addressed New Yorker mailing envelope.
182. (McPHERSON, James Alan). PANCAKE, BREECE D'J. The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake. Boston: Little Brown (1983). Foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner McPherson (Elbow Room) to this collection of short stories by a promising young writer who was, at one time, McPherson's student and who committed suicide before this book was published. A strong collection of stories, set in the author's native Appalachia. Afterword by National Book Award-winning author John Casey (Spartina), who was also the author's teacher at one time. Fine in a slightly spine-faded, but very near fine dust jacket.
183. MILLER, Henry. Tropic of Cancer. Paris: Obelisk, 1934. The correct first edition of Miller's first novel, his first regularly published book, and the book for which he would gain literary immortality. Tropic of Cancer is a fictionalized autobiography of Miller's first year in Paris, living as an expatriate vagabond writer on the fringe of society. Its outspoken frankness regarding sexual matters caused it to be banned in the U.S. for nearly three decades, during which time it attained the status of legend. The book was published with money that the writer Anaïs Nin borrowed from psychologist Otto Rank; Miller and Nin remained lifelong friends and sometime lovers. The first printing was 1000 copies, which took three years to sell out. Since then, however, dozens of editions have been published, with sales totaling in the millions. One of the most influential books of the twentieth century, for its depiction of the life of an artist's dedication to free expression, both in his life and in his work, and for the impact that its publication had on the interpretation of issues surrounding obscenity and art. With this book, Miller not only found his own voice but became the voice of a new generation of writers, free of the strictures that had bound previous generations, and open to new experiences and the vitality of living. It is hard to imagine, for example, the poets and writers of the Beat generation without their having had Miller as their antecedent and model. The first edition was only issued in wrappers, and is exceedingly fragile. This copy has one spine crease and a small tear at the base, a couple of speckles to the rear panel; very near fine in wrappers. A very attractive copy of one of the key books of the modern era.
184. MINOT, Susan. Monkeys. NY: Dutton (1986). Her first book, a well-received novel that was quickly reprinted. Trace foxing to top edge; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
185. MOODY, Rick. The Ring of Brightest Angels Around Heaven. Boston: Little Brown (1995). The uncorrected proof copy of the third book by the author of The Ice Storm and Purple America, and his first collection of short fiction. Fine in wrappers.
186. MOORE, Lorrie. Birds of America. NY: Knopf, 1998. The uncorrected proof copy of the newest collection of short fiction by the author of Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? and Self-Help, among others. Fine in wrappers.
187. MORRIS, Mary. Vanishing Animals & Other Stories. Boston: Godine (1979). Her first book, a collection of stories that won an award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
188. MORROW, Bradford. Trinity Fields. (n.p.): Viking (1994). The advance reading copy of his third book, a novel of America in the post-war and Vietnam eras that Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Olen Butler called "magnificent, a masterpiece... one of the finest books I've read in a long, long time." Fine in wrappers.
189. MUNRO, Alice. The Moons of Jupiter. Toronto: Macmillan (1982). The correct first edition (i.e., Canadian) of her fifth book, a collection of stories that was chosen as one of the best books of the year by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. Fine in a fine dust jacket with the hint of a crease at the spine base. Signed by the author.
190. MURAKAMI, Haruki. A Wild Sheep Chase. NY: Kodansha (1989). The advance reading copy of Murakami's American debut. Spot to extreme lower page edges; else fine in wrappers.
191. MURAKAMI, Haruki. The Elephant Vanishes. NY: Knopf, 1993. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of stories by the bestselling and award-winning Japanese author. Fine in wrappers.