E-list # 130

London, Jonathan Cape, (1973). According to Ballard, "the first pornographic novel about technology"; one of Pringle's 100 best science fiction novels; filmed in 1997 by David Cronenberg. This copy is inscribed by Ballard to Christopher Evans, National Physical Laboratory psychologist, computer scientist, author of science writings, editor of science fiction anthologies, and, citing Ballard's autobiography, "the closest friend I have made in my life. In appearance he resembled Vaughan, the auto-destructive hero of my novel Crash, though he himself was nothing like that deranged figure....I was sitting in his office in the early 1970s when something in the waste basket beside his desk caught my eye...Seeing my eyes light up, Chris offered to send me the contents of his waste basket from then on. Every week a huge envelope arrived, packed with handouts, brochures, research papers and annual reports from university labs and psychiatric institutions, a cornucopia of fascinating material that fired my imagination." In 1969, Ballard published a story in the form of a computer printout (likely in collaboration with Evans) entitled "How Dr. Christopher Evans Landed on the Moon," noting columns of altitude, fuel use, and velocity of descent. According to an article in The Sunday Mirror, in 1968, Ballard, Evans, and the sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi were planning a play entitled Crash, with "all the horror and realism of an actual road smash," and including "a meta-commentary narrated by Evans." The play never happened, but the book, here, is inscribed, "Chris, All the best. Jim, and includes, stapled beneath the inscription, a black and white snapshot of Ballard, with the handwritten caption "Photo of J G Ballard by Chris Evans." Splaying to boards; foxing, mostly to the endpages and pages edges; rust and offsetting from the stapled photograph; a very good copy in a very good dust jacket with minor fading and modest edge wear and creasing to the lamination. There is no printed dedication in the book and therefore no possible "dedication copy" of it, so this may well be the best possible association copy of Ballard's most famous and highly acclaimed novel. [#032851] SOLD

NY, Farrar Straus Giroux, (1972). Inscribed by Barthelme to John Barth and his wife: "For Jack and Shelly with all best/ Don." With Barth's ownership signature ("Barth") written in the upper corner. In 1972, Barthelme won the National Book Award for his children's book The Slightly Irregular Fire Engine; Barth won the National Book Award the next year for his 1972 novel Chimera; both authors taught at Boston University for a time, and the two were linked for years in the 1960s and 70s as two of the foremost exponents of a new American fiction -- post-modern and playful, taking cues from Borges and other experimental writers from around the world, in opposition to the sturdy realism of most of the acclaimed American literature of the 20th century up to that point. Small penciled checks to contents page (although "The Sandman" gets an "x"). Minor fading to top stain and crown, else fine in a very near fine dust jacket with slight creasing to the top edge and the front flap. From the library of John Barth. An exceptional association copy. [#029571] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1964). An advance copy, in the form of comb-bound galleys, of the Nobel Prize winner's second National Book Award winner (of three). Signed by Bellow in 1968, with the comment "long time, no see" -- presumably an indication that, even at that early date, the proof was already extremely scarce. The text of this book was changed while the book was still in galleys, and approximately two dozen pages have new text pasted over the originals. There are also several hand corrections to both new and old pages, and a couple of marginal comments (e.g. "Moses Herzog as demented artist"). Even with the added pages of text and the corrections, variations still exist between this version and the final published text. 10" x 5-1/4" galleys, comb-bound in printed yellow cardstock covers; a bit handled and creased; very good. Scarce: we know of only two other copies of this proof surfacing over the years. A bibliographically significant copy of a key work by an American Nobel Prize winner. [#027540] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1975). His eighth novel, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the title published just before he received the Nobel Prize. Also nominated for the National Book Award. One of an unspecified number of copies signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf, done for Kroch's and Brentano's First Edition Circle. Fine in a fine dust jacket -- bright, unworn and unfaded. A poorly manufactured volume, which is perfectbound and uses cheap paper, making attractive copies of this title much scarcer than one would expect. [#911160] SOLD

NY, Simon & Schuster, 1959. His most famous book, basis for the classic Hitchcock film, deemed the most thrilling film of all time by the American Film Institute ("100 Years, 100 Thrills," #1), and one of the top 100 horror novels according to Jones and Newman (Horror: 100 Best Books, #57). Pages browning as is usual with this title; else fine in a lightly rubbed, very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket. An attractive copy of this classic horror novel. [#027857] SOLD

Garden City, Doubleday, Doran, 1945. Inscribed by the authors to poet and all-around rogue Max [Bodenheim], "the King of Greenwich Village." A June 13, 1945 inscription from Bontemps reads, "To Max - the kind of friend that sustains the weary traveler seeking a city - with warm regards and deep appreciation - Arna." To which Conroy has added, "& Jack/ who makes Max's pleasant joint his headquarters." A wonderful triple association, between one of the key figures of the Harlem Renaissance (Bontemps), one of the most highly regarded of the "proletarian writers" of the 1930s (Conroy), and the "king" of the Greenwich Village bohemians, and linking the three social movements they represented. A history of African-American migration in the United States; an updated edition was published in 1966 as Anyplace But Here. The inscription is on the front flyleaf; there is a small foredge tear on the half title. Minor edge wear to boards; a near fine copy, in a supplied, very good dust jacket with several small edge chips and one at mid-spine. [#032853] SOLD

Rome, (Nuova Stampa), [1981]. The screenplay by Amidei, Ferreri and Foutz (in English) for the 1981 film based on Bukowski's stories. Bukowski's collection Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions and General Tales of Ordinary Madness was published in 1972; there wasn't a collection entitled Tales of Ordinary Madness until 1983. Ben Gazzara starred in the well-received film, which won a number of awards in Italy where it was made: the screenplay won a David di Donatello award, roughly the equivalent of the Oscar, and Marco Ferreri also won a Best Director David, as well as a Golden Goblet and Silver Ribbon for Best Director, Italy's other major cinema awards. This copy is signed by Bukowski on the front cover. Velobound, with gray cardstock covers and a typed label on the front cover. Near fine. Scarce: we have never encountered another copy of it, let alone a copy signed by Bukowski. [#031344] SOLD

(n.p.), FreeThought Publications, (2000). FreeThought Flyer #10, but Number 1 in the "Me and Bukowski" series. This is stamped "Photographer's Copy" and is on blue cardstock, apparently a variant, as we believe the typical color is cream. Signed by King and by Michael Montfort, the photographer. One sheet, folded to make four pages; the cover has a photograph of Bukowski and King; the inner pages feature a 1974 poem by King about going out dancing even if it means it will cause Bukowski to drink. Fine. [#032855] SOLD

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1965. The first book by the author of the highly popular, Edgar Award-winning Dave Robicheaux mystery series, among other books. His early books were well-received critically but were seen as "regional" fiction and never enjoyed significant commercial success. His foray into genre fiction earned him high praise as one of the most "literary" of the mystery novelists, and his books soon became instant bestsellers upon publication. Like the Robicheaux books, this is set in the author's home state of Louisiana and is a tale of violence and the quest for redemption, revealing the underpinnings of Burke's later series and his attempt to develop the strands that would define a heroic character in contemporary terms. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with mild fading and rubbing to the spine. A nice copy of an important first book. [#914619] SOLD

NY, Crowell, (1971). The third of Burke's early novels, published by Crowell, who was not well-established as a publisher of fiction. Signed by the author. Small spot to lower rear board, a bit of offsetting to endpages; very near fine in a very near fine dust jacket with just a bit of loss of crispness to the edges. [#914621] SOLD

(n.p.), (n.p.), [c. 1910-1921]. A printed manuscript poem by Burroughs, his most famous, first published in Knickerbocker magazine in 1863, when Burroughs was 25; anthologized in Whittier's Songs of Three Centuries in 1875. At that time the poem had seven stanzas; over the years the weakest stanza (the sixth of seven) was dropped (by an unknown editor). "Waiting" appeared as the preface to Burroughs' Light of Day in 1900 with six stanzas, but even so the fifth stanza continued to trouble him. According to the Clara Barrus biography Our Friend John Burroughs, published in 1914, "a few years ago" Burroughs occasionally substituted a new fifth stanza, beginning, "The law of love binds every heart..." (Later renditions have this line reading "The law of love threads every heart.) But that too failed to satisfy him, and future renditions would have the original six (of seven) stanzas. This broadside has the six stanzas, with the short-lived "binds every heart" fifth stanza; it is printed in Burroughs' holograph, with an original water color of tree branches, and it is inscribed by Burroughs, for Barnard C. Connelly, and dated Feb. 9, 1921, the month before Burroughs' death. 7" x 9-3/4", bevel-edged on three sides; previously framed and sunned over most of the page; staining to two margins, touching only the date. A very good copy. Although Burroughs wrote "considerable poetry as a young man" (his words, from John Burroughs Talks), "a time came when I wrote no more poetry and destroyed most of what I had done previously...I am practically a man of a single poem." We have found reference to a smaller (4-1/2" x 6") leaflet of this poem being done earlier, by Alfred Bartlett, but have found no record of the printing history of this variation. [#031668] SOLD

1961. Unrecorded mimeograph typescript of a speech Burroughs gave at a meeting of the American Psychological Association, September, 1961, in New York City. Five pages, including personal and anecdotal experiences, arguing against the broad category of "narcotics" for both addictive sedatives and non-addicting consciousness expanding drugs. Together with a 1964 issue of Evergreen Review in which the speech is printed, with textual variations, including a change in the title, with "consciousness expanding" replacing "hallucigen." The talk/essay was included in two anthologies of writings about drugs, but the Maynard and Miles bibliography lists no separate printing of it, and this mimeograph would appear to be contemporary with the talk in 1961, making it several years earlier than any of the other appearances in print. Also, the term "halucigen" dates it as being prior to the point at which the term "hallucinogen" was settled on as the consensus descriptor. The magazine has a detached text block; the speech is stapled in an upper corner and fine. An unrecorded Burroughs typescript on one of the subjects that was most deeply embedded in his works. [#032856] SOLD

(NY), Grove Press, (1959)[c. 1962]. The first American edition of this classic novel of the Beat generation, which was not published in the U.S. until three years after its Paris publication, and until a legal challenge to its banning was successful. Such authors as Norman Mailer testified as to the literary value and accomplishment of Burroughs' work. Basis for the 1991 David Cronenberg film featuring Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, Julian Sands, and Roy Scheider. Slightly bowed, lower rear corner bumped, near fine with the topstain bright, in a fine dust jacket with a couple of tiny nicks at heel and a tiny bit of rubbing at the rear spine fold. [#911012] SOLD

Paris, Olympia, (1959). The first issue of the first edition of his second book, a high spot of Beat and postwar American literature -- one of the three key volumes of the Beat movement, along with Jack Kerouac's On the Road and Allen Ginsberg's Howl. Published only in paperback in Paris by Maurice Girodias' important and risk-taking small press, in an edition of 5000 copies, three years before it could be published in the U.S. Signed by Burroughs in 1996. Uneven sunning and a bit of creasing to the covers; rubbing to the folds. A very good copy in a supplied, near fine dust jacket with a small chip at the crown. Burroughs signed this for a bookseller in Lawrence, Kansas, where he lived during the last years of his life. [#024504] SOLD

NY, (Privately Published), 1979. Of a total edition of 50 copies, this is one of 25 unnumbered copies reserved for friends, and, although not issued as a signed edition, is inscribed by Burroughs to Bob Wilson, proprietor of the Phoenix Book Shop in New York City, a longtime hangout for the Beat writers and one of the small number of stores that promoted their work from early on. A fetchscrift for Burroughs, in his 65th year, compiled from the file drawers Bockris kept on Burroughs from 1973-1979, when Bockris worked at Andy Warhol's Factory and was in close, regular contact with Burroughs. A green plastic binder full of Bockris' photocopied typescripts and published interviews with Burroughs; photographs of Burroughs and at least one letter from him. A fine copy, in a fair, fragile, pictorial dust jacket, chipped at the edges and folds. A fine association copy between one of the Big Three Beat writers and one of the booksellers most noted for appreciating and promoting them, from the early 1950s until the store's closing in the late 1980s. We can find no record of a copy of this volume appearing at auction, and no copies are currently listed online. WorldCat lists 13 copies - a remarkable percentage of the 50 that were created, although it is not evident that any of the institutionalized copies are signed, let alone represent such a significant association, embodying a key element of the literary history of the Beats and their works. [#032859] SOLD

1988. An original drawing by Wilson for Burroughs' 1989 book Tornado Alley. This image was included in the exhibition "Ports of Entry: William Burroughs and the Arts" that was mounted by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1996, and it is reproduced on page 140 of the exhibition catalog. Interestingly, the illustration in the book does not show some of the work that Wilson did, as it was done using nonrepro blue pencil which does not show up when photographed: Wilson's edits didn't appear in Tornado Alley and they don't appear in Ports of Entry, but they are quite visible in the work itself. Wilson, one of the great artists of the underground comix of the 1960s and beyond, whom R. Crumb has said was a major influence on Crumb's own work, collaborated with Burroughs on a number of projects. This is not only a significant work of art, and a significant association with Burroughs, but it is also signed by Wilson, who has added, "To Nelson" next to his signature: Wilson gave this work to his friend Nelson Lyon, who loaned it to the exhibition and is listed in the book as one of the lenders to the exhibit. This is, in effect, a three-way association: Nelson Lyon was the co-producer of Burroughs' Dead City Radio, a 1990 album of Burroughs reading his work (including pieces from Tornado Alley) against a background of experimental music by various artists. 9-3/4" x 6-3/4". Matted and framed. Fine. A notable association copy, and an artifact of one of the great collaborations that Burroughs engaged in. [#028091] $7,500

1933. An autobiographical piece about Cain's family following his father's 1903 job change from St. John's College at Annapolis to Washington College at Chestertown, MD, and the culture shock that ensued from this move to a "hick place" from one of "smartness, competence, and class," a state of affairs that was partially redeemed by the actions of "a great man" on the occasion of a Washington College-Maryland Agricultural College football game. 23 pages, carbon typescript, with approximately three dozen changes made in Cain's hand, and more than a dozen additional small variations between this text and the published version. Published in American Mercury in November 1933, the year before his first novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice (and following Our Government in 1930, nonfiction based on Cain's column for New York World). Called "one of Cain's finest essays" by David Madden in James M. Cain: Hard-Boiled Mythmaker. Carbon paper a bit yellowed, some pencil rubbing, not affecting text; near fine. An early manuscript of a boyhood epiphany by a writer who gained a place in the literary pantheon for his famous first novel, which is still considered one of the high spots of American hard-boiled fiction. [#029577] $2,500

NY, Viking, 1933. His second full-length novel, with themes of union-busting, gold, murder, and sex, which was censored in New York and led to the author's arrest and prosecution on obscenity charges. Tiny bookstore label rear pastedown from the Gotham Book Mart and small rectangle of offsetting to front flyleaf; still a fine copy in a fine dust jacket, with just minuscule corner nicks. A beautiful copy, doubtless one of the finest, if not the finest copy extant. [#911018] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1959). An early American publication of one of the most inventive Italian writers of the postwar period. This copy is inscribed by Calvino to Susan Cheever: "For Susan and for the trees of her country/ Italo Calvino/ 27 March 1960." Calvino spent six months in the U.S. from 1959-1960, most of it in New York. Susan Cheever would have been 16 at the time of this inscription, presumably living with her family in Westchester, where her father, John Cheever, was writing stories about Italy for The New Yorker. The Cheevers had spent 1957 in Italy. Foxing to endpages; very good in a very good, spine-tanned dust jacket with tiny corner chips. Calvino inscriptions are uncommon, and good literary association copies like this one are extremely scarce. [#031670] SOLD

(Paris), Charlot, 1950. The limited edition of an essay on finding solitude in order to replenish the soul. "There are no more deserts. There are no more islands. Yet there is a need for them." Camus argues that one can find solitude in the city but not in the cities of Europe, which have too much history present at all times; he finds Oran, in his native Algeria, to be a city where one can find the needed solitude. The edition was 1343 copies in a number of issues: this is one of 120 copies reserved for the use of the author. Although issued as an unsigned edition, this copy is inscribed by the author: "a Nicole, et Jean Marie/ avec la fidele affection/ de leur vieux camarade/ Albert Camus." ["To Nicole, and Jean Marie/ with the faithful affection/of their old comrade/ Albert Camus."] The recipients were almost certainly Nicole and Jean-Marie Domenach, French intellectuals and friends of Camus, albeit with some philosophical differences. Jean-Marie was a noted left wing Catholic thinker, and while he and Camus were both vocal in protesting such activities as the French use of torture during the Algerian civil war, Domenach had considerably more sympathy for the socialist and communist governments of the time, which Camus found repugnant. It is interesting to note the comma in the inscription, as though the inclusion of Jean-Marie in the presentation was an after thought, or perhaps a necessity of politesse. Long after Camus had died, Jean-Marie Domenach provided a preface to a book of his thinking, Albert Camus and Christianity. Hope on Trial. This is copy number 848 of 120 copies in vellum, on Rives paper. The deluxe editions of this title turn up at auction with some regularity, but we were unable to find any instance of one of the author's copies in the market, and very few copies of this limited edition have ever turned up signed. Small chip to spine crown; very good in wrappers. A remarkable rarity, and a notable association copy. [#031349] SOLD

(Paris), Falaize, (1952). An out-of-series copy of this bilingual edition of 3000 numbered copies of Wilde's poem, printed here with Camus' "L'Artiste en Prison," which delineates Wilde's journey from themes of ideal beauty to existential suffering. Inscribed by Camus (in French): "to Sylvestre,/ a remembrance of Iguape/ and with the friendly thoughts/ of Albert Camus." While context does not give explanation to the reference to Iguape, one of Camus' last stories, "The Growing Stone" -- the final story in Camus' last collection, Exile and the Kingdom -- is set in Iguape, Brazil. It has been said that this story is the clearest manifestation of Camus' ideals: in it, the protagonist sacrifices himself to help a friend, and behaves morally despite his own understanding of the absurdity of the world. Camus won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957, the year Exile and the Kingdom was published, and the Prize committee cited his "clear-sighted earnestness [which] illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times." As best we can tell, this is the first appearance in print of "L'Artiste en Prison," which was translated into English and published in Encounter magazine two years later. A very near fine copy in French wraps. Books inscribed by Camus are uncommon; the author died in 1960 in a car accident, at the age of 46. [#030104] SOLD

(Queensland), University of Queensland Press, (1988). The uncorrected proof copy of the true first edition (Australian) of Carey's first Booker Prize-winning novel. Signed by the author. Based on the size of the Australian publishing industry, as compared to that of the UK and the US, the original Australian first editions of Carey's books, especially those published by University of Queensland, a relatively small Australian publisher, are relatively uncommon. Proofs, because of their much more limited quantities to begin with, are even more scarce. Despite our focusing on proofs as a specialty, we've only handled the proof of this edition once previously, and have never handled a signed copy before. Vertical spine creasing; age-toning to pages; very good in wrappers. [#032747] SOLD

(Queensland), University of Queensland Press, (2000). The advance reading copy of the true first edition of Carey's second Booker Prize winner, a fictional re-imagining of the life of Australia's most famous outlaw. Inscribed by the author. Light bumps to the front corners and mild rubbing; near fine in wrappers. An extremely uncommon advance issue: we have never seen another copy, nor have we found any auction listings for it. In addition to winning the Booker, it also won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for best overall book of the year, the Colin Roderick Award for best Australian book of the year, the Age Book of the Year Award, the Courier Mail Book of the Year, the Queensland Premier's Literary Award, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award, and numerous others. A modern classic, and an exceptionally scarce state of it, especially so signed. [#030105] SOLD

Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of the Interior, 1943. A 74-page booklet written by Carson in her position as aquatic biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The first of four such Conservation Bulletins Carson wrote, each focusing on a different geographic region. Small owner name (Leo Shapovalov) stamped to front cover. Shapovalov was at one point the editor of California Fish and Game. Shallow midline crease to booklet and a few edge tears; very good in stapled wrappers. [#029060] SOLD

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1962. An offprint from Silent Spring, printing Chapter 9 (pp. 129-152, plus footnotes). "Distributed as a public service by the National Wildlife Federation." Corner crease to one inner page, else fine in stapled wrappers. A scarce, ephemeral publication; we could find no listing for this in OCLC. Carson was posthumously inducted into the National Wildlife Federation's Conservation Hall of Fame. [#032638] SOLD

NY, Knopf, 1983. The uncorrected proof copy of his third collection of stories to be published by a major trade publisher, and a major literary event that confirmed Carver's preeminent place among American short story writers of the day, and signaled a full-fledged resuscitation of the short story in American literature. Signed by the author. In addition, Carver has made a change to the text in the last paragraph of the story "Careful" and initialed and dated the change on May 30, 1983. The changed text was incorporated into the published version of the story, so this was apparently a working copy of the proof. Fine in wrappers with a tinge of spine sunning. [#032754] SOLD

Northampton, Basement Press, 1985. Of a total edition of 15 numbered copies, this is Copy No. 10, and is signed by Catheryn Yum, the book's designer and printer. Laid into this copy is a photocopy of the original autograph letter from Yum to Carver's publisher, requesting permission to reprint two stories for a project for her typography class. Interestingly, she wrote to McGraw-Hill, publisher of Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?, for permission to use two stories that she did not end up using. At the bottom of the sheet, Carver has written his personal reply to her, which reads, in part: "You have my permission, and gladly, for you to use the above mentioned stories in the manner in which you describe." Yum has appended a note on the same sheet indicating that this was the only response that Carver wrote himself; the permission to use the stories she actually ended up using, which came from a book published by Knopf, came in the form of "your basic form letter from a secretary." Also laid in is a photocopy of a two-page letter she wrote to Carver after the book was finished (apparently enclosing a copy for him), thanking him for his stories and his permission, telling him a bit about herself, and identifying the tipped-in illustration as "a hand drawn lithograph printed on a hand press." Clothbound. A fine copy of one of the scarcest Carver items, with some background information about it. No copy has appeared at auction; OCLC locates only 4 copies in institutional collections. [#032755] SOLD

NY, Knopf, 1981. The uncorrected proof copy of Carver's second major story collection, and his first significant commercial success: the first of his books to be published by a mainstream literary publishing house, Knopf, and the first to go into multiple printings immediately after publication. Carver's relentless paring away of the excess in his stories, which earned him the label "minimalist" -- a designation he stridently rejected throughout his career -- is evident in this collection: two of the stories had been published earlier, in the collection Furious Seasons, but here are shorter and more spare (one of them also having been re-titled). Reproduces Carver's holograph corrections to the text, including a number of small word changes, excisions, and in one case the addition of a line to the end of a story. Signed by Carver. A remarkable glimpse of the stories as works-in-progress, up to and even after they had been typeset for publication. Several small spots to the covers; near fine in wrappers. [#032753] SOLD

(Santa Cruz), (Kayak Books), (1970). The rare white issue of Carver's first regularly published book (after Near Klamath, published by the English Club of Sacramento State College). Kayak Books was a small but established publisher, which produced a literary magazine as well as issuing books of poetry. Winter Insomnia is a collection of poems, designed and printed by George Hitchcock and illustrated with prints by Robert McChesney. Issued in an attractive edition of 1000 copies, the overwhelming majority (perhaps more than 99%) were issued in yellow wrappers. William Stull's Carver checklist said that three copies were known in the white wrappers. Since that checklist was published, we have seen three more copies in white wrappers, including this one, bringing the total number of known copies to six. Without knowing exactly how many white copies there were, we can say with assurance that this issue is exceedingly scarce; we've seen dozens, if not hundreds, of the issue in yellow wrappers. This copy is inscribed by Carver: "For Rush - with good wishes. Ray Carver. 3-3-83." Spine and edge sunning to covers; near fine. [#914629] SOLD

(Chico), (Chico State University), 1960. The first issue of the Chico State literary magazine, of which Carver was a founding editor. The biographical introduction to the included William Carlos Williams poem, "The Gossips," is, as far as we can tell, the first piece of writing Carver published other than a 1958 letter to the editor of the Chico State student newspaper. The introduction gives a brief summary of Williams' life, a capsule summary and analysis of his poetry, and a brief, partial listing of the honors and awards he had won. Carver's first work of fiction, "Furious Seasons," was published in a later issue of Selection that same year. A very uncommon, early appearance in print by Carver. This copy bears the ownership name and address of Raymond Carver's brother, James. This is the only copy we have ever seen. Near fine in stapled wrappers. [#032756] SOLD

Cape Town, University of Cape Town, 1958. Early publications by Coetzee, dating from two years before he received his undergraduate degree. Coetzee contributes three pieces to this assemblage: "The Love Song...," "Procula to Pilate," and "Attic." A 67-page stapled mimeograph production, collected by R.G. [Robert Gay] Howarth, whom Coetzee mentions in his fictionalized autobiography, Youth. Signed by Coetzee on the front cover. Light foxing, small foredge tear to front cover; near fine, and housed in a custom clamshell case, with the spine label titled "Attic/A Literary Miscellany." We have never seen nor heard of another copy of this; the format alone suggests that a very small number would have been done, and doubtless few have survived. Exceedingly scarce early writing by a Nobel Prize-winning author. [#031360] SOLD

Oslo, Tiden, (1973). The hardcover issue of the first Norwegian edition of the landmark second novel by the Canadian poet-folksinger, first published in 1966 in the U.S. and one of the key books of the 1960s. Inscribed by Cohen to Greg Gatenby, director of Toronto's annual International Festival of Authors and thus a nice association of Canadian literary figures. With Gatenby's signature dated 1996. Fine in a very good dust jacket with shallow edge wear. Signed copies of Beautiful Losers, in any language, are uncommon. Cohen, one of Canada's leading writers and singers, died in November 2016 at the age of 82. His 14th and final album had been released a month earlier. [#029913] SOLD

London, Heinemann, (1967). The dedication copy. Inscribed by Coward to the dedicatee of the book, Diana Cooper: "Darling Diana/ I can't add too much to the above [the printed dedication reads 'For Diana with my love'] except that it comes from the heart/ Noel." Bookplate of Duff Cooper taped to the front pastedown, although Duff had died in 1954 and by this point Diana was, as his widow, the Dowager Viscountess Norwich. This is a book of verse by the acclaimed playwright, composer, director, and actor. According to his introduction, Coward "automatically enjoyed verse as a means of gay communication with my intimates ever since I can remember." Spine faded; a near fine copy in a supplied, near fine dust jacket. [#032865] SOLD

NY, Morrow, 1968. His first novel, which had a first printing of only 4000 copies. Crews resuscitated the Southern gothic tradition in the late 1960s and 1970s, picking up the mantle from such writers as Flannery O'Connor and, earlier, William Faulkner. His string of novels that includes Karate is a Thing of the Spirit, Car, Naked in Garden Hills, This Thing Don't Lead to Heaven, The Gypsy's Curse, and others defined a sensibility at once rough-edged, sad, and hilarious -- steeped in the comic and grotesque tradition that had permeated southern fiction and had given it its distinctive flavor. Signed by the author in 1969 at Bread Loaf Writer's Conference. Fading to pastedowns, as is typical for this title; small label partially removed from front flyleaf; near fine in a fine dust jacket. A nice copy of the first book by one of the unique voices in American fiction. [#019439] SOLD

1980. Long galley sheets for Dick's novel VALIS (Vast Active Living Intelligence System), a 1981 paperback original. The VALIS galley sheets are dated 6-23-80: approximately 68 sheets of 25" in length, age-toned with minimal edge wear, in a custom folding chemise and slipcase. Casual inspection revealed one textual difference from the published version. Near fine. Also laid in is a very good copy of the proof of the Bantam covers, which differs from the final version by virtue of the absence of the Bantam logo on the front cover. A very scarce issue of the book that would become the capstone to Dick's literary career. Long galleys such as these are seldom produced in more than a couple of copies, and very seldom turn up for books that were issued as paperback originals. It's ironic that Dick's culminating novel, which transcends science fiction's usual boundaries, would be issued as a paperback original: Dick had so many books issued as paperback originals in the 1950s and 60s, before his books came to be regularly published in hardcover, that the Science Fiction Writers of America named an award after him, the Philip K. Dick Award, for the best SF novel issued as a paperback original. Dick spent the last several years of his life striving for recognition as more than a science fiction writer, and VALIS could have been that break-out novel, had it not reverted him to his former identity as a writer of paperback originals. A rare issue of a major Dick novel. As far as we can tell, unique. [#032867] $8,000

1975. A letter dated January 27, 1975 and written to Paul [presumably Paul Williams, Dick's close friend and eventual biographer] transmitting chapter one of Confessions [of a Crap Artist] (not included here) and, included here, two pages of "theological ramblings" related to Dick's "beginning to fashion a scientific theory about [his] theological experiences..." The letter covers a bit about the retrograde forces such as tachyons bleeding back at Earth due to the weakening field of time; one of the two pages of notes considers humans' (and Dick's) roles as avatars, with knowledge received from the Holy Spirit; the other page considers our inability to recognize God and postulates a "SF novel: Hefestus as VALIS" -- a very early mention of the acronym Dick developed for the "Vast Active Living Intelligence System" that he considered to be the nature of reality and the universe, after his psychological/religious epiphanies that he experienced in February and March of 1974. The theological writings are from the early pages of what came to be known as his Exegesis, which, by the time of his death in 1982, had reached over 8000 pages of religious and metaphysical insight and speculation. The letter, signed by Dick, runs about 225 words; the theological musings about 950 words. Near fine. [#032866] $8,500

NY, Harper & Row, (1977). Annie Dillard's own copy of this small book of poetic meditations, marked by her on nearly two dozen pages (roughly a third of the book). The great majority of the markings serve as a map, as though for a reading, including the instruction "pause." Perhaps two or three instances of editing. Holy the Firm was Dillard's third book, and her intention was to write about whatever happened on Lummi Island, where she was living, during a three-day period. When an airplane crashed on the island on the second day, it caused her to meditate on the problem of pain, and how a just and merciful God would allow natural evil to occur in the world. These meditations on pain, God, and evil continued to resonate throughout her work, particularly in her award-winning volume For the Time Being, published in 1999, more than 20 years after this book. Near fine in a very near fine dust jacket. "Ex Libris Annie Dillard" bookplate on the verso of the half title. A unique copy of one of the volumes that characterizes Dillard's unique place in our literature: Holy the Firm is only 66 pages long but took her 14 months of writing full-time to complete, and it embodies her concerns with philosophy -- in Greek, literally, "the love of wisdom" -- as well as religion, metaphysics, the natural world, and the place of human life and consciousness within and among all of these. [#032716] SOLD

Dillard, author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Holy the Firm, and For the Time Being, among many others, has painted a portrait of Primo Levi, author of Survival in Auschwitz and The Periodic Table. Dillard has reportedly stopped writing, dedicated her time to painting instead. Signed "Annie Dillard" in the lower left corner. No date, 6" x 8-1/2". Fine. [#032762] SOLD

NY, Harper & Row, (1982). The author's own copy of this collection of essays, her fifth book. Signed by the author, with her corrections to at least five pages of text, and with her markings and self-instructions for what appears to be a reading from the text. Dillard has taped a square of paper to the front board listing the pages with "Corrections," under her heading "be wise - write it down." Small sticker taped to the spine, with the fading word, "MINE." "Ex Libris Annie Dillard" bookplate on the front pastedown. One essay in this collection was chosen for the Best Essays of the Twentieth Century volume and another won New York Women's Press Club award for its year. Several page corners turned. Outer corner of text block stained. A very good copy, lacking the dust jacket and, with the author's own markings and changes. Unique. [#032717] SOLD

(Columbia), University of Missouri Press, (1974). Her first book, a collection of poetry, which begins: "Today I saw a wood duck/ in Tinker Creek." Inscribed by the author to her second husband, prior to their marriage: "For Gary/ from Annie/ February 13, 1976/ Lummi Island." Dillard and Gary Clevidence were married from 1980-1988. "Ex Libris Annie Dillard" bookplate on the half title, which we are told was applied by the author prior to a selection of her books going to auction. Mild foxing to the page edges and thin, flexible cloth boards; near fine in a near fine, spine- and edge-sunned dust jacket. A notable association copy: the book is dedicated to her first husband, Richard, and this copy is inscribed to her second husband, after her divorce but before her second marriage. [#032714] SOLD

[NY], [HBJ], [(1978)]. Ivan Doig's own set of page proofs of his first publication for the general book trade. Signed and titled by Doig on the dedication page (the first sheet present) and with several corrections in his hand. Numbered to 314 pages, printed on rectos only; roughly 7" x 9" sheets, in a 3-ring binder. With a signed letter of provenance from Doig, on his stationery, attesting to the set as being from his archives and with his corrections. A memoir of growing up in Montana with his father and grandmother, This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind was voted one of the five best books ever written on Montana; it won the Christopher Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Doig also received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Western Literature Association. Tape to copyright page and a few paper clips scattered throughout; else a fine set. A unique copy of a modern classic, with impeccable provenance. [#030111] SOLD

NY, Knopf, 1996. His final collection of stories, nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. This copy is inscribed to Kurt Vonnegut: "For Kurt/ old friend, soldier, with my love/ Andre/ 27 March 96." An excellent association. Dubus's calling Vonnegut "soldier" is telling: Dubus enlisted in the Marines in 1958 and spent six years in the military, and his service remained important to him throughout his life, helping to define his moral universe. Vonnegut's time as a soldier, specifically as a POW in WWII, obviously informed his own moral universe, as well as his masterwork, Slaughterhouse-Five. Dancing After Hours was Dubus's last book of fiction before he died in 1999. Small smudge to the foredge, near fine in a near fine dust jacket. On the rear panel, Vonnegut has written the phone number and an abbreviated address for the Indian Mountain School in Connecticut, where his daughter Lily was a student. He has also laid in a bank receipt as a bookmark. [#032869] SOLD

Boston, Godine, (1986). A collection of four novellas and two stories by one of the writers who helped to resurrect the short story as a literary form in America in the 1970s and 80s. This copy is inscribed by Dubus to Kurt Vonnegut: "For Kurt/ with gratitude to my old neighbor and with my deep love -/ Andre/ 1 February 1987." Additionally signed in full on the title page. Laid in is a carbon receipt for travel on the Eastern Airlines Shuttle on February 5th, signed by Vonnegut. Also laid in is a silent auction bidding form for two round trip tickets on Pan Am Airlines, to benefit The Friends of Andre Dubus Literary Series. Dubus was severely injured when he went to the aid of a disabled motorist and was himself hit by a car, causing him to lose one leg and the use of his other. A number of writer friends, spearheaded by Vonnegut, John Updike and several others, arranged a series of literary events to benefit Dubus and help offset his medical bills. Dubus and Vonnegut had gotten to know each other decades earlier, in the 1960s, at the Iowa Writers Workshop, where Vonnegut was teaching and Dubus was a student, at time Dubus refers to when he mentions his "old neighbor." An excellent association copy between two of the most highly regarded American writers of the second half of the 20th century. A fine copy in a good dust jacket, with several jagged tears. [#032868] SOLD

Undated. An 8" x 10" black-and-white glossy photo of the Nobel Laureate, taken during the Rolling Thunder Revue tour in late 1975 or early 1976, with Allen Ginsberg in the foreground. Ginsberg was on the tour for most of the 1975 dates but seldom performed his readings or recitations; he did typically join Dylan and others for the finale of Dylan's set, a performance of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land." Signed by Dylan. Signature in blue ink across the dark shadows on his face, not readily apparent. Fine. A nice memento of a legendary musical odyssey and, with Dylan's barely visible signature, perhaps another indication of the performer's famous ambivalence toward fame as well as toward his audiences, including the person for whom he autographed this photo. [#029870] SOLD

1935. Two pages from Eliot to literary critic F.O. Matthiessen ("Matty"), written "to put in a good word for the boy," Alfred Satterthwaite, at the behest of Satterthwaite's step-father, John Cournos. Satterthwaite was applying "for a scholarship on some foundation in which you [Matthiessen] are in a position of authority." Eliot puts in what good words he can ("although my knowledge of him is very meagre") and then switches subjects to Matthiessen's book, which, although unnamed, would have been The Achievement of T.S. Eliot: "Your book seems to have been earning commendations here, except from the critics in whose eyes the subject matter is enough to damn it. It is impossible for me to regard such a book objectively. All I can say is that I hope that much of what you say is true. By the way, that is a good point about Rose La Touche. Was that pure inspiration, or did we ever mention the subject in conversation?" He closes with a brief note about Ted Spencer and Bonamy Dobree. The letter is signed, "T.S. Eliot." Nice literary and biographical content. On Criterion stationery, with staple holes to the upper left corners, and folded in fourths for mailing; near fine. Mailing envelope included. [#028911] SOLD

Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University Press, 1996. Photographs of authors, artists, musicians and politicians, from the last quarter of the 20th century, emphasizing "individuals whose lives and works nourish America's historic dream of freedom, justice and human decency... [and] are not afraid of controversy or challenging the status quo." Subjects of the photographs tend to be from the counterculture or the artistic fringes rather than the mainstream, although a number of them such as novelist Kurt Vonnegut, naturalist and writer Peter Matthiessen, and environmentalist David Brower, became important forces in the mainstream culture. Many of the key figures of the Beat generation are included, and a large number of artistic and musical innovators as well. This copy is signed by a number of the subjects of the photographs, including Timothy Leary, Toni Morrison, David Byrne, and by Douglas Brinkley, who provides an introduction. In addition, signed three times by gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson (once with "Fear Shock & Awe! 2003" and once with "Fear Bush/2003"); signed twice by counterculture icon Ken Kesey; and also signed by folk music legend Joan Baez. Corners slightly tapped, else fine in a fine dust jacket. A unique copy. [#031739] SOLD

London, Blazer Films, 1967. Fowles' screenplay for the 1968 film of his second novel, set on a Greek island and involving a young expatriate Englishman who is drawn into the fantastic designs of a self-styled psychic. The film, with Anthony Quinn, Michael Caine, Candice Bergen and Anna Karina, gained a cult following in the Sixties. The cast included two of the best-known male leads of their time (Quinn & Caine), an up-and-coming young actress who had been nominated for a "Most Promising Newcomer" Golden Globe two years earlier (Bergen), and Anna Karina, a staple in the films of French avant garde director Jean-Luc Godard. The director was Guy Green, a former cinematographer, and while the material may have been a bit much for Green, whose previous movies had been more straightforward than the partly fantastic plot that Fowles' novel presented him with, the film was nominated for a British Academy award for cinematography. This script bears the name of David Harcourt and has revision sheets dated September 4, 7 and 12, and November 25, 1967. Harcourt is listed as a camera operator on a production schedule (laid in) dated August 15, 1967. Also laid in is the shooting schedule for November 11. These sheets are torn and sunned, but the script itself is near fine and claspbound in very good red covers. An early piece of writing by Fowles and likely the scarcest item in his bibliography. It is Fowles' only screenplay to have been produced, and we have never heard of another copy turning up. [#021498] SOLD

NY, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, (2001). An advance audio excerpt from his then-forthcoming novel The Corrections, along with excerpts of ten other books in FSG's Fall 2001 line-up. Cassette tape, signed by Franzen on a small label affixed to the printed cardstock sleeve. Fine. The Corrections won the National Book Award and is consistently cited as one of the top books of the 21st century's "new canon." An unusual advance issue for a literary novel, and likely the only signed copy. [#029924] SOLD

NY, Harper & Row, 1970. The first American edition of his masterwork, one of the most important novels of the century, which introduced magical realism to a wide audience and helped bring the boom in Latin American literature to this country. At the end of the 1970s this book was voted by the editors of The New York Times Book Review to be not only the best book published in the last ten years but the one most likely to still be read and still be important one hundred years hence. Garcia Marquez was awarded the Nobel Prize, among countless other literary awards. A fine copy in a second issue dust jacket that is very near fine, with just light shelf wear at the heel. [#914661] SOLD

London, Cape, (1977). The uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition of Garcia Marquez's first novel after the worldwide success of One Hundred Years of Solitude. An ambitious, experimental novel: 269 pages in six chapters, each of which is a single paragraph of extended sentences, with each of the chapters a retelling of the story of the power held by his fictional dictator. This copy is inscribed by the author on the half-title: "Para ____ Con todo mi afecto, Gabriel, 2001." Very modest dust soiling to covers; near fine in wrappers. An uncommon proof and especially so signed. [#027204] SOLD

San Francisco, Sound City Productions, [1966]. The first recording by the Grateful Dead, who, up until a month earlier, had been known as The Warlocks. A 7" 33 RPM promotional record, labeled "For Radio Play Only, Not for Sale," with excerpts from the Acid Test album that Sound City was producing. The recording was made at the Sound City studio which was the site of the seventh Acid Test: the Acid Tests were communal events/happenings that Kesey and others had developed that were open to the public and at which LSD -- aka "acid," which was still legal in California at the time -- was distributed to the attendees. The Sound City Acid Test, because it took place in a recording studio, was more of a private event than earlier, or later, Acid Tests. It was also the last one Kesey himself participated in. He had been arrested for marijuana possession for the second time two weeks earlier, and had had to show up in disguise at the sixth Acid Test a week earlier at Longshoremen's Hall in San Francisco, in order to avoid reporters and the police. Within a week of the Sound City Acid Test, with his court case pending, Kesey left the country and went into hiding in Mexico. The Grateful Dead had been the house band for the Acid Tests since they began in 1965, but under their earlier name of The Warlocks. By December 1965 they were starting to use their new name, and at the Acid Tests in January they were being billed as The Grateful Dead. This is the first time they were recorded as the Dead in a recording made for general release. The promo record was issued in March, 1966, and preceded the full length album released later that month. The only earlier recordings of the Grateful Dead are private ones that have made it into circulation as bootlegs or survive in their archives; this, and the Acid Test album from which it was excerpted, were not only intended for public release but were also covered by "a couple of radio stations and a photographer for Look magazine" according to the Sound City press release, although the Look article apparently never appeared. "The purpose of the recording was to produce an album of unusual sounds, mental manipulations of the sometimes considered genius of Mr. Kesey and his cohorts during the actual happenings of a 'sugar' [i.e., LSD] party. The results are different to say the least..." The Acid Test album itself is quite scarce; it was re-released in the 1980s in a limited edition. This promotional giveaway record is exceedingly uncommon, and a landmark for one of the most influential and long-lasting rock and roll bands to come out of the San Francisco Bay Area of the 1960s. The Grateful Dead went on to a 30-year career and became the most popular improvisational "jam band" of its time, triggering any number of similar jamming, touring bands in its wake, and capturing an essence of the hippie counterculture that has lived on long after its historical moment passed. Fine, in a plain white sleeve. A scarce recording from the San Francisco counter-culture, and a seminal recording of one of the great rock bands of all time. [#032693] SOLD

(n.p.), Sumac Press, [ca. 1971]. Broadside poem, 6" x 9", memorializing Yesenin, and dedicated "to D.G.," Harrison's co-founder of Sumac, Dan Gerber. This is the first poem in Harrison's collection Letters to Yesenin. One of 33 copies only according to Harrison, although Gerber has put the number between 80 and 100 copies; still, one of the rarest Harrison "A" items. Unmarked, but from the library of Peter Matthiessen, a longtime friend of Harrison. And together with Dan Gerber's own Sumac Press broadside, Sources. The Gerber broadside, also 6" x 9", has a little edge-foxing, otherwise both items are fine. [#032283] SOLD

NY, St. Martin's, (1988). The uncorrected proof copy of his highly acclaimed third novel, the first to have Hannibal Lecter as the central character, a figure that has become a cultural touchstone. Basis for the Jonathan Demme film with Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster, winner of five Academy Awards and one of the American Film Institute's top 100 Films of the Century. Upper outer corner crease to front cover; thus near fine in wrappers. The advance reading copy is fairly common; the proof is scarce. [#026554] SOLD

NY, Harper & Row, (1971). Hillerman's second book, a mystery set among political reporters in a fictional state capitol; Hillerman himself had been, according to the publisher, "a longtime political reporter." This is one of his only mysteries that is not a Navajo tale. Inscribed by the author to a Harper & Row sales rep: "To ___ _______ again - In hopes he can have similar success unloading this one, Regards, Tony Hillerman." Hillerman's first book, The Blessing Way, was published in 1970 and although he was a completely unknown author and the book had an unusual subject matter for the time -- a murder mystery set on an Indian reservation, and involving an Indian policeman as its protagonist -- it had sold well enough to go into at least five printings in the first year and be resold for a paperback edition. Clearly Hillerman was hoping for similar success here, although it would be more than a decade before he experienced much in the way of additional commercial success for his novels. Slight spine lean; very near fine in a near fine, mildly spine and edge-sunned dust jacket with slight wear to the spine extremities. [#028924] SOLD

[1976]. A 6-page ribbon-copy typescript (here untitled) of a story about his 22-year friendship with "Lucky Nellie," a mythical sea creature with parallels to the Loch Ness Monster, and their shared tales of lives as fugitives. With the name and address of the recipient typed as a header. Written by Hoffman, one of the leading activists of the 1960s counterculture, while he was living underground, having jumped bail after his conviction on drug charges. Unsigned, but beginning, "Hi, this is Abbie...." Published in Oui magazine in December 1976 as "Loch Ness Nellie Calls on Me: Two Fugitives Issue a Communique, a fable by Abbie Hoffman," and later, with textual variations, in Square Dancing in the Ice Age, a collection of his underground writings, as "In Search of Loch Ness Nellie." Stapled in the upper left hand corner, final page detached. "File: Abbie Hoffman" written in pencil in the upper margin. Near fine. Manuscript material by Hoffman is uncommon. [#032289] SOLD

[ca. 1978-1982]. Undated, ca. 1978-1982. 21-page typescript of a section of Hoffman's 1982 book, Square Dancing in the Ice Age, representing about 14 pages of the published book. Seven pages here are photocopied or at least on heavier paper than the onionskin typescript, but most of those, as well as most of the original onionskin pages, have numerous corrections in Hoffman's hand and in another, unknown, hand. Most of these changes were made prior to publication, and still this version has textual differences from the published version. Large paperclip marks on the first page, otherwise very near fine. A substantial manuscript from one of the key counterculture figures of the 1960s. [#032295] SOLD

(n.p.), G&J Productions, 1995. A handbill for the U.K. tour of the play version of Hornby's well-received first book, a collection of short autobiographical pieces published in 1992 and recounting, and reflecting on, the author's life as a fan of the Arsenal football (soccer) team. Later the basis for a U.K. film in 1997 in which Colin Firth played a character based on the author and a 2005 U.S. film in which the location was moved from London to Boston and the sport shifted from football to baseball. The play version was adapted and directed by Paul Hodson and was performed, as a one-man show, by his brother, Robin Hodson. The handbill is 5-3/4" x 8-1/4" and is signed by Hornby. Tour dates on verso. Fine. Scarce ephemera, and especially uncommon signed. [#029928] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1968). The first book by the author of such bestsellers as The World According to Garp and A Prayer for Owen Meany, among others. Unlike his later books which, after Garp, sold literally hundreds of thousand of copies -- millions, if one includes the paperback sales -- this book sold slightly over 6000 copies in two printings. Slight play in the binding; very near fine in a fine dust jacket but for a corner crease to the front flap. [#914668] SOLD

(London), Bloomsbury, (1996). The uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition of this title, which was incorporated into the U.S. edition of Trying to Save Piggy Sneed and had no separate U.S. printing. Inscribed by Irving. An uncommon proof (the British trade edition would have had a proportionally smaller printing than a U.S. one would have had, and the proof equally so), especially with the proof jacket, and even more so signed by Irving. Fine in a near fine, proof dust jacket, worn where it overlays the proof, with the price of £13.99 (later lowered to £9.99). [#029482] $1,000

NY, Viking, (1962). A novel of the macabre. This book was one of Time magazine's 10 best books of the year for 1962. Inscribed by Jackson to her [husband's] aunt and uncle: "For Aunt Anna and Uncle Henry. With love. Shirley." Some tanning to the spine cloth; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. An interesting association copy of the last of her books published in her lifetime, and in which, among other events, an aunt and an uncle are poisoned. Along with The Lottery and The Haunting of Hill House, this book is in part responsible for there being a set of annual literary awards named after Shirley Jackson, "for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic." [#030121] SOLD

Zurich, Rascher & Cie., 1919. The first German edition of Joyce's play Exiles and the first of his works to be published in translation in any language. One of 600 copies printed: Joyce was living in Zurich at the time and he paid for the publication of this book out of his own pocket. This copy is inscribed by the author: "To J.R. [sic] Watson, Jun / with grateful regards / James Joyce / 8. ix. 1919." J.S. Watson, Jr. was at the time the co-owner of the modernist literary journal The Dial, which he bought from Martyn Johnson with his friend and fellow Harvard graduate, Scofield Thayer. Watson became president of the magazine and Thayer became its editor. The "grateful regards" refers to a gift of $300 that Watson had sent Joyce earlier in the year at the urging of Thayer, who had himself sent Joyce $700. These sums bailed Joyce out of dire financial straits, allowed him to settle a court case against him, and helped him support the theater group that he had associated with in Zurich, the English Players. In 1920 The Dial published a piece by Joyce, and in 1921 Thayer was one of his most ardent and influential supporters in the censorship case in New York against Ulysses and its publication in the Little Review. A notable association copy of Joyce's first translation. Slocum & Cahoon D44. Pages browned and acidified, and covers strengthened at all the edges and spine with tape, with a hole cut in the spine for the title to show through. The first blank, on which the inscription appears, is also strengthened at the edges with tape. Fragile, and a candidate for de-acidification, but a significant association copy from a critical point in Joyce's life and career. [#029930] $10,000

1902. Written to Mr. [William V.] Alexander, editor of Ladies Home Journal, who had requested a series of articles from Keller that were later published as The Story of My Life. Keller humbly thanks Alexander for payment for the last article; in part: "I only wish I could have made the story of my life more worthy of the generous praise it has received...It has meant a great deal in my life, and in Miss Sullivan's too -- the thought of the happiness that she says my compliance with your request has brought her is sweeter even than the thought of the kindness shown me in the letters that come constantly from old friends long silent and new friends whose words go to the heart..." Two 5" x 8" pages, typed with blue ribbon and signed "Helen Keller." A very early letter by Keller, preceding her first book, with exceptionally good content. Fine. [#021174] $3,500

NY, Aardvark Press, (1960). Signed by the author. Apparently the fourth collection of poems by this Mohawk poet, who has also over the years become an important figure as a publisher -- particularly as a publisher of relatively unknown Native American writers -- as well as casting a high profile as both a Native American writer himself and as a gay writer. Near fine in self-wrappers. Scarce: we've only seen this title a small handful of times, and never signed. Kenny died earlier this year. [#032811] SOLD

NY, Aardvark Press, (1958). A very early "sheaf of poems" by this Mohawk poet, apparently his third collection. Published while he was still in New York City, in Greenwich Village. Kenny became an important figure in both Native American literature and also gay literature, by virtue of both his own writings and his small press, Strawberry Press, in the 1970s and 80s. Mild creasing to rear cover; near fine in stapled wrappers. [#030010] SOLD

Springfield, Springfield High School, 1950. High school yearbook, from Kesey's freshman year. Includes Kesey's freshman year photo and a picture of him in the Drama Club. Signed by Kesey in full, with an apparent self-caricature. Kesey's signature appears, upside down, on the verso of the rear flyleaf; there are more than 100 other additional signatures and inscriptions in the book. This is the earliest Ken Kesey signature we've ever seen, and the less-than-flattering self-caricature reveals both his sense of humor and, one might infer, his confidence. Rubbing to cloth covers; a very good copy. [#032882] SOLD

1986. Maximum Overdrive was a film written and directed by King (based on his short story "Trucks") and in which King appeared in the opening scene as the "asshole" at the bank machine. Offered here is a fake $100 bill torn by King and the bank receipt for a cash withdrawal "From the Account of Asshole." King has reportedly called this film the worst adaptation of his work: it won him a Raspberry nomination for worst director (he lost to Prince for Cherry Moon). Fine. Unique. [#029994] SOLD

Garden City, Doubleday, 1975. A later printing of his second novel, with the Q41 code on page 439. Inscribed by King in 1980 to the horror writer Stanley Wiater: "For Stanley - With good wishes and much respect. Keep writing; you're good, and will crack through. Best, Stephen King 11/1/80." Earlier in the year King had picked a story by Wiater as the winner of a Boston Phoenix short story contest (see below). As a writer, editor, interviewer and anthologist, Wiater has won the Horror Writers of America's Bram Stoker Award three times. Wiater's Gahan Wilson-designed bookplate on the front pastedown, the only bookplate Wilson ever designed; foxing to edges of text block; near fine in a very good, third issue ($7.95, "Father Callahan") dust jacket with shallow wear to the spine extremities. A nice association copy of an early edition of an early King novel. [#028936] SOLD

(NY), Scribner, (1999). A novel in which a lost girl channels the strengths (at the time) of Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Tom Gordon for comfort. Signed by King. With the bookplate of horror writer Stanley Wiater on the front pastedown; fine in a fine dust jacket. One of King's scarcest trade editions to find signed, presumably because of the difficult logistics of handling a Stephen King book signing in recent years, due to his extreme popularity. This copy was a gift to attendees at the dinner celebrating King's 25th anniversary as a published writer, which Wiater attended with his wife. A limited edition of this title was published several years later, and a pop-up edition of it was done as well. Signed copies of the trade first edition are exceedingly scarce. [#029993] SOLD

NY, Amulet Books, (2007). Both the first edition and the advance reading copy (marked "uncorrected proof") of the first book in the Wimpy Kid series, now at nine books (and counting) and three films (and counting), with 150 million books in print. The ninth book in the series was the second bestselling book of 2014, despite only being published in November; it sold more than 1.5 million copies in less than two months. Overall, the series has sales figures that outshine those of any other in recent years outside of the Harry Potter series. Kinney, a self-described failed cartoonist, spent eight years writing his novel in cartoons as a satiric nostalgic piece for adults; he was discovered at a comic book convention by an editor from Abrams books (of which Amulet is an imprint) who told Kinney his book was about to become a kids' book. The book is fine in pictorial boards, but for a thumb-sized corner chip on page 125, now laid in. The advance reading copy is fine in wrappers, and lays out the marketing plan for "Ages 8 and up." The first printing of the first book in this popular series is very uncommon now; the advance prepublication issue is even more so. No copies of either issue are currently listed online, and we have not seen any listed since we have been checking, more or less for the past year. Very scarce early issues of a first book, when the publisher had no inkling that the book would succeed, let alone provide an ongoing series of bestsellers. [#031706] SOLD

Garden City, Doubleday, 1980. One of the dedication copies of this pseudonymous work by the horror/thriller master. Inscribed by Koontz to Mary Ann Prencevic, one of the dedicatees: To Mary Ann, if you'll look ahead to the dedication page, you'll see that my pleasure in having you for a friend is set in cold type for everyone to see. Love, Brian Coffey alias Dean R. Koontz." Koontz is now one of the best-known and best-selling horror and thriller writers after Stephen King, but in 1980 he was much less well-known and had published most of his previous works only in paperback, many of them pseudonymously. This is a relatively early hardcover from Koontz, dating from before the days of his fame and celebrity. Small repaired scuff on the rear pastedown, lower corner bump; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light wear to the spine extremities. Scarce: dedication copies seldom turn up on the market, especially by so popular an author as Koontz. [#032795] SOLD

San Francisco, Level Press, (c. 1973). A "transmission" by Leary from Folsom Prison, timed with the arrival of the comet Kohoutek. This is a photocopy of nine pages of typewritten text on five stapled pages. The last page reproduces a hand-drawn yin-yang symbol with eight trigrams around it and references one of the hexagrams of the I Ching -- none of which appeared in the published version of this book, which was done by the Level Press and issued as a booklet; this version presumably preceded. According to Leary's bibliographer and the woman who typed Leary's manuscripts for him, including Starseed, this could have been made from Leary's own typescripts (she would have corrected the typos, she said) and issued in small numbers prior to the formal publication. A similar process took place for Neurologic, which was published in late 1973 but had a stapled, prepublication issue done in May of that year that the bibliographer called a "trial issue." Starseed was formally published in September of 1973, and this version -- if what the principals say is correct -- would likely have been done sometime around the time that the Neurologic "trial copy" was done (Neurologic was formally published slightly later in the year than the Level Press Starseed). In any case, an extremely scarce variant of one of Leary's scarcer books, unseen by the bibliographer or by Leary's typist. Near fine. [#030748] $1,500

NY, Delacorte, (1977). The dedication copy of this mystery. Inscribed by Leonard on the dedication page in the month before publication: "For son Peter Leonard with love, Elmore Leonard 5/77." The printed dedication reads simply, "For Peter." Peter Leonard would have been about 25 when this book was published; he wouldn't become a crime novelist himself for another 25 years. When Elmore Leonard died, in 2013, Peter first considered finishing his father's final novel, to be called Blue Dreams, but has reportedly abandoned that idea in favor of writing his own Raylan Givens novel as a tribute to his father, one that would bring Givens to Detroit. An early Leonard mystery, before he had firmly established his reputation as a mystery writer (his early novels were Westerns; his early mysteries were issued as paperback originals), and thus before his books were bestsellers upon publication, with large first printings. Slight spine lean and offsetting to the front boards; a very good copy in a very good dust jacket albeit with a little staining to the front flap fold and a long closed tear at the rear spine fold. The best possible association. [#032887] SOLD

(Milwaukee), (Gunrunner Press), (1968). Poetry by the legendary figure of the Cleveland underground and counterculture, author of The North American Book of the Dead, among others. Levy was a writer and, with bookseller Jim Lowell of the Asphodel Bookshop, a publisher and distributor of his own and others' writings. An outspoken anti-establishment writer, he committed suicide at the age of 26. This is the uncommon first edition of this title, one of 300 copies printed, although it appears scarcer than that: most of Levy's books were printed in Cleveland, and this one seems to have not survived in the quantities that some of the others, even with smaller limitations, did. It was later reprinted in 1974 and again in 1988 and in a bilingual French-English edition in 2011, with all of the later editions being more readily available than this first edition. Mild edge sunning, else fine in stapled wrappers. [#032302] SOLD

[NY], Doubleday, Doran, [1935]. An advance excerpt of Lewis' potentially prescient political novel, printing the first three chapters. 32 pages. A very good copy in stapled, glossy wrappers with promotional text on both covers. Scarce, ephemeral advance publication. [#032888] SOLD

NY, Harper & Brothers, (1917). The first issue of his third book under his own name and his first attempt, he later said, to write a serious novel. The Job was controversial for its realistic depiction of a woman in the workplace and laid the groundwork for Lewis' great novels of social realism in the 1920s. Offsetting to endpages from jacket flaps and slight wear to board edges; near fine in a price-clipped dust jacket professionally restored to near fine. An extremely scarce book in jacket. [#019198] SOLD

NY, Harcourt Brace, (1928). Lewis' novel of Lowell Schmaltz, "friend of Babbitt and constructive citizen." One-third of the story was first published in "that volcanic magazine, The American Mercury." The Man Who Knew Coolidge is one of Lewis' lesser known titles but followed on the heels of some of his greatest successes. In the 1920s, he published Main Street, which his biographer called "the most sensational event in twentieth-century American publishing history" to that point, followed by Babbitt in 1922, Arrowsmith in 1925, and Elmer Gantry in 1927. Babbitt was awarded the Pulitzer Prize but Lewis declined the honor. In 1929, Lewis published Dodsworth, and in 1930 he became the first American writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Fine in a fine dust jacket; a beautiful copy of one of the books that laid the foundation for his Nobel award. [#030751] SOLD

(Boston), (Self-Published), [1978]. A dedication copy of this self-published collection of poems and stories. Dedicated "to my parents, to my brothers, to my friends, and to Jean," this copy is inscribed by Lightman to his parents: "Dear Mother and Dad, Turning thirty has been agony, but expressing myself has made it a little easier. There's a lot of me in this book, and it's a joy to share it with you. Love, Alan/ 10/20/78." Apparently a computer printout, rectos only, on various paper stocks, and at least one holograph correction. 56 pages; hardbound by A.M. Sulkin Company a custom and short-run bookbinder in Boston, MA. Author and title gilt-stamped on the front cover, along with his parents' names: "Dick and Jeanne." A fine copy. The original ribbon copy typescript of one additional poem, "Sonnet 4," folded and laid in. No copies listed in OCLC. [#031714] SOLD

(Princeton), (Self-Published), (1970). The author's first book, poems written over the preceding five years and collected by him during his senior year at Princeton. Arranged in three sections: "Time-like," "Space-like," and "In-between," and as such evidence of his early interest in combining his studies of literature and of physics -- preceding his acclaimed book Einstein's Dreams by nearly a quarter century. 83 pages, including a two-page Foreward [sic] by the author. Photocopied typescript, printed on rectos only; hardbound with author and title gilt-stamped on the cover. Covers mildly splayed; near fine. No copies listed in OCLC WorldCat. [#031713] SOLD

1981-1983. Lopez's Crow and Weasel, a fable in the style of North American Indian tales, with beautiful water color illustrations by Tom Pohrt, was published by North Point Press in 1990. This archive predates publication by 7-9 years, and represents a path not taken, documenting the guidance of Lopez, the painstaking work by Pohrt, and the over-arching influence of designer Joel Schick, who amassed this collection during the collaboration, but who did not ultimately serve as the book's designer. According to Lopez, worked stopped on this title in 1983 and began again in 1989, by which time David Bullen had replaced Schick as the designer. Much of the groundwork for the finished product remains visible however, in over 60 pages of text and images, including three signed letters from Lopez to Schick; three copies of letters from Lopez to Pohrt; 6-1/2 (one page missing) letters from Pohrt to Schick; nine retained copies of letters from Schick to Pohrt, Lopez, or both; one retained letter from Schick to Lopez's agent, Peter Schultz; and approximately 15 pages of sketches by Pohrt. Included are meticulously detailed discussions on how to involve the reader; how to anthropomorphize the characters; the characters' motivations at the points of illustration; the overall aesthetic of the book; the smoothing over of the personalities collaborating; etc., all carried out via the primitive means of type, pen, and postal service. As just one example, of Schick writing to Pohrt: "You give up a lot in order to avoid drawing that fore-shortened muzzle and the farther eye. An aspect of composition that we should probably not discuss in front of Barry. Better that our motives always be pure, or at least seem to be, even if misguided...Barry's note about the horse concerned about himself may be handled by facing him away from the action, and toward the edge of the book...Back Cover: No Dead Things!..." Again, when the book was published, in 1990, David Bullen was named as designer. However, included here is a copy of the first edition, (second state, without the gold stamping on the front cover that was removed by request of the second designer, Bullen), inscribed by Lopez to Schick, "with gratitude and affection, and a sense of delight in our long friendship." It's worth noting that Schick was Lopez's designer on his 1979 John Burroughs Medal winning book, Of Wolves and Men. All items fine. [#032889] SOLD

Chicago, University of Chicago, 1976. One of the most sought-after titles in recent American fiction, two long interrelated stories of a family for whom "there was no clear line between religion and fly-fishing." Published by the university press as a favor to a retiring professor, the book became a surprise success, first gaining readership through word of mouth recommendations and eventually necessitating many later printings, illustrated and gift editions. Basis for the Robert Redford film featuring Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt and Emily Lloyd. First issue points: typo page 27 and mismatched ISBN numbers. Slight foxing on top edge, else fine in a price-clipped, else fine dust jacket with very subtle spine fade. [#911063] SOLD

[c.1940's]. 5-3/4" x 4-3/4". A Christmas card from the noted black activist, written long before he converted to Islam and became the most outspoken and militant agitator for black civil rights in the early 1960s. Malcolm X's incendiary rhetoric in the early years of the Civil Rights Movement helped polarize the country around issues of race and also helped open the way for civil and legal reforms on an unprecedented scale. This card has a sleigh scene on the front and a standard Christmas and New Year's greeting inside. Signed in full as "Malcolm Little," with the additional sentiment, in holograph: "I hope you haven't forgotten me." Folded once, apparently to fit into a square envelope (not present). Very slight general wear; still near fine. Autograph material by Malcolm X is extremely scarce, particularly such an early example as this, preceding as it does his notoriety. [#006735] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1965). His fourth novel, which was nominated for the National Book Award in 1966 and filmed nearly thirty years later. This copy is inscribed by Matthiessen to his parents: "For Mom & Dad/ Much love/ Pete." A tale of various Americans with widely divergent aims whose actions all have unintended effects on a tribe of Stone Age Amazonian Indians. This was the first novel to incorporate one of the themes that dominated Matthiessen's writings, both fiction and nonfiction, for the next 50 years -- the environmental and cultural costs of Western colonial hegemony. Foxing to page edges and endpages, staining to boards; at best a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket. [#031719] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1984). Matthiessen's two working copies of this collection of essays on various issues related to American Indians, especially those issues having to do with the culture clash between corporations looking to exploit natural resources and tribes asserting their rights to control their land and its uses, while retaining a connection to the traditions by which they lived in harmony with their environment and held the land sacred. According to published reports at the time, it was during the course of researching this book that Matthiessen came upon the story that evolved into In The Spirit of Crazy Horse, which effectively sidelined this work for several years. Two copies from Matthiessen's library: one, marked by Matthiessen, "PM Copy," and with his corrections to (mostly) Chapter 5, "Akwesasne." A very good copy in a very good dust jacket, each of which bears a couple of coffee stains. The second copy is even more extensively marked by Matthiessen with underlinings, cuts, rewrites, and coffee stains. Laid in are a brief tribute to Maezumi Roshi and a two-page, heavily hand-corrected outline for a 2006 "Dharma Talk," in which Matthiessen mentions, among other things, the passing of William Styron and the passing of Craig Carpenter, who appears in Indian Country and to whom the book is dedicated. First ten pages of text detached, heavily corrected, and laid in; as mentioned, coffee-stained and also dampstained; a fair copy in an edgeworn dust jacket heavily stained, predominantly on the verso. For the two heavily marked author's copies, talk manuscript, and short tribute. [#032349] SOLD

(n.p.), (n.p.), (1983). Matthiessen's own working copy of the samizdat edition of his controversial and suppressed 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 being imprisoned for life, convicted of the agents' murder in a case that Matthiessen describes as rife with government malfeasance. Matthiessen, his publisher, and even some bookstores who had stocked the book were the targets of lawsuits brought by two government officials who claimed they were slandered by the hard-hitting book, which made no bones about its advocacy of the Indians' case. Until a landmark Supreme Court decision upholding Matthiessen's (and Viking's) First Amendment rights nine years after the lawsuits were filed, the book was shelved with remaining copies of it being pulped; paperback publication, as well as foreign publication, were blocked for nearly a decade. This edition was pirated during the years that the book was unavailable through normal channels. This copy has dozens of Matthiessen's corrections throughout. Plain white printed wrappers, with just the title and author indicated; comb-bound in an acetate cover. The acetate has yellowed; the binding is broken; the title page and prelims have suffered insect damage in the lower outer corners. Mediocre condition, but probably, in every other respect, the best copy of this book extant. [#032348] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1990). Matthiessen's own copy of the first book in his highly acclaimed trilogy, later published in 2008 as the edited single-volume Shadow Country, which won the National Book Award and the William Dean Howells Medal. With a handful of passages marked by Matthiessen, most of which mention the character Henry Short. In a New York Times interview, after the publication of Shadow Country, Matthiessen said, "I brought some characters forward, and gave them a voice. Like Henry Short, a black man who probably fired the first shot." Indentation to spine; near fine in a good dust jacket, with some lamination separation on the rear panel and dampstaining, mostly visible on the verso. [#032350] SOLD

NY, Modern Library, (2008). Matthiessen's own copy of the uncorrected proof copy of the single volume "rendering" of the "Watson Trilogy." The trilogy (Killing Mr. Watson, Lost Man's River, and Bone by Bone) had been a publishing idea that Matthiessen never quite made his peace with, causing him to rework the book back into the single volume Shadow Country, a "director's cut" of sorts, which won the National Book Award and later the William Dean Howells Medal, an award that is given by the American Academy of Arts and Letters only once every five years "in recognition of the most distinguished American novel published during that period." It also led to Matthiessen's becoming the first writer to have won the National Book Award for both fiction and nonfiction. This edition includes an Author's Note about the process of rewriting the trilogy, with a half dozen of Matthiessen's corrections to the text. Matthiessen has also corrected the spacing of the fragmented prose on the final page and noted several other pages where he has corrected typos. A bulky proof, more than 900 pages, and with some spine creasing and a bit of sag to the text block. A very good copy in wrappers and, in our experience, a very uncommon proof. [#032369] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1978). Matthiessen's own copy of the limited edition issued by the trade publisher. One of 199 copies, bound in coarse blue cloth stamped in silver, different from the trade binding, in publisher's printed acetate jacket. This title's scarcest issue, which was never released commercially but distributed only to friends of the author and publisher, or in this case, to the author himself. Foredge foxed, lightly bowed, near fine in a near fine acetate dust jacket. Salon Magazine's top travel book of the century. [#032372] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1978). A second printing of his first National Book Award winner, which recounts 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. From Matthiessen's own library and with more than a dozen passages marked in pen by Matthiessen, all having to do with the porter and camp assistant Tuktken. There are a couple of other passages marked in pencil, with page notations in the prelims. Rear blank excised, else a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket. [#032371] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1978). His National Book Award-winning volume, which recounts 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. Unmarked, but one of Matthiessen's own copies. Very good in a very good dust jacket. [#032370] SOLD

NY, Viking, 1959. The dedication copy of his first book of nonfiction, which raises many of the issues that became the author's lifelong concerns and the subjects of many of his writings -- the impact of humans on the animals and plants of the ecosystems that we invade and then inhabit. The book was dedicated to his parents (by their initials), and is inscribed there by Matthiessen: "Sept. 18/ The very first copy of this book, taken, with its glue still wet, from the binder's warehouse on W. 20th [?] St. some five days before its publishers received their copies: [For E.C.M. and E.A.M. with love and many thanks] from Pete." That binding, which apparently hadn't dried when Matthiessen first picked up the book, is now cracked at the hinges; modest staining to boards; a good copy, lacking the dust jacket. [#032381] SOLD

NY, Harper, (1961). McMurtry's first book, one of A.C. Greene's "50 best books on Texas," basis for the movie Hud, and winner of the Jesse H. Jones Award from the Texas Institute of Letters for the best novel of the year. Horseman, Pass By, which takes its title from the closing lines of William Butler Yeats's poem "Under Ben Bulben" (as did Mary McCarthy's first novel, Cast a Cold Eye), was a breakthrough in Texas literature and in regional literature in general: by telling a raw, unadulterated story entirely fitting to its contemporary West Texas setting, McMurtry not only brought the regional novel out of its quaint gentility but gave it a universality it could not have had otherwise; it has been called a West Texas Catcher in the Rye, with the caveat that the lives of Texans in general were a little more crude than those of the Easterners in Salinger's novel. Faint foxing to foredge and endpages; still a very near fine copy in a very near fine, lightly rubbed, price-clipped dust jacket. [#024130] SOLD

Worcester, Metacom, 1983. The first book publication of this piece by a writer whose early work in The New Yorker was largely responsible for creating the field of literary journalism and creative nonfiction. This piece first appeared in The New Yorker and was eventually reprinted in the 1985 collection, Table of Contents. Of a total edition of 176 copies, this is copy number 77 of 150 numbered copies, signed by the author. Fine in saddle-stitched marbled paper self-wrappers. Quite scarce these days. [#031725] SOLD

NY, Harlem Friendship House News, [c. 1941-1948]. A broadside poem by "Tom Merton." Published by the Friendship House, a missionary movement dedicated to interracial justice where Merton volunteered for two weeks in 1941 before journeying to the Abbey of Gethsemani. The Friendship House News became the Catholic Interracialist in 1949, hence the above date range. Fragile and edge-chipped, not affecting text. "Holy Communion" was collected in In the Dark Before Dawn: New Selected Poems of Thomas Merton in 2005, but it is not mentioned at all in Dell'Isola's Thomas Merton: A Bibliography, which was published seven years after Merton's death. We have never seen another copy. OCLC lists only one copy, at SUNY Buffalo, albeit with an incorrect estimated date. Rare. [#030125] SOLD

[c. 1960]. In 1960, photographer Shirley Burden, who had shot the cover photo for Merton's Selected Poems in 1959, published God is My Life, a photographic study of the Abbey of Gethsemani, where Merton lived. Merton provided this preface, which is far more an extrapolation of the lessons he derived from the book than a mere introduction: "Places, like persons, lose the sense of their own identity. They tend to fabricate for themselves a character, and it is with this unconscious substitute for reality that they go out to meet other men...What a lesson is in this simple fact: Our partial, fabricated self: the self that wants to be at the same time angelic and up to date, is pitifully imaginary...." Four pages, with Merton's holograph corrections, beginning with changing the title to "Preface" from his initial, descriptive title, "A Question of Identity." Four other instances of word changes and a few corrections of spacing, punctuation, or typos. The Christogram "jhs" appears on the first page. Three-holed paper; folded in thirds; near fine. By the following year (if not sooner), Merton had himself taken to photographing the Abbey. Manuscript material by Merton is extremely uncommon in the market, and this is an especially rich example as he reflects on the meaning and beauty of the monastery where he had been living for nearly two decades at that point, so long that until he saw Burden's photographs he no longer even saw the Abbey or recognized its beauty. [#030128] SOLD

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. [#027431] SOLD

Norfolk, New Directions, (1939). Miller's first book to be published in the U.S., after the acclaim that his earlier books -- Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn and Black Spring -- had achieved in Paris. One of 2000 copies printed, this copy is a review copy (so stamped on the front flyleaf, with a publication date). Inscribed by Miller to Roger Richards, a legendary New York bookseller whose store, Greenwich Books, was a hangout for many of the Beat writers including Gregory Corso, Herbert Huncke, Ginsberg and Burroughs, and even Carl Solomon. Richards also published one of the last things Miller wrote, a 1978 chapbook called Love Between the Sexes, issued in an edition of 276 copies. This was one of the early books published by New Directions, which had been founded in 1936. Darkening to endpages and spine cloth, a very good copy of the first issue in a very good, first issue dust jacket with several small edge chips and two small contemporary reviews taped to the front flap. Very uncommon as an advance copy, and an excellent association copy. [#032894] SOLD

(Paris), (Lecram Servant), [1935]. A small, early volume by Miller, self-published with money he earned from Tropic of Cancer, according to the bibliography. Shifreen & Jackson A10a. "By Henry Miller" penned on the first blank by the author, also according to the bibliographers. Shifreen & Jackson's comment on the first and second editions: "Miller's name is signed in The First Edition but printed in [the] Second." There is no printed author name in this volume. Roughly 15 pages of text by Miller, intent on soliciting 25 francs a week to send Alfred Perles to Ibiza to finish a novel. Slight surface soiling; very near fine in stapled wrappers. Approximately 3-3/4" x 5". Because of its size and fragility, one of Miller's scarcest "A" items. [#017150] SOLD

NY, Viking, 1946. The first American edition of this novel by Giono, a writer whom Miller had come to admire while in France and whom he had long worked to get published in the U.S. Inscribed by Miller to his muse and former wife, June: "For June/ from/ Henry, Lepska & Val/ Xmas 1947." Lepska was Janina Martha Lepska Miller, Henry's third wife, and Val was their two year-old daughter. Henry and June had not been in regular touch for several years at this point, but she had recently contacted him and was destitute. He arranged for a friend to send her some money (he was still broke in the U.S.; his books had sold well in France and he had a substantial amount of money there but no way, under postwar regulations, to get it out of the country). His renewed contact with June, however, sparked his getting back to work on the Rosy Crucifixion, which he saw as his masterpiece-to-be, but which had been languishing. The part he was about to embark on -- dealing with his time with June and Jean Kronski -- was full of painful memories that Miller would have to relive in order to write it. The contact with June -- with whom he maintained contact thereafter -- allowed him to revisit that time and those experiences, and to finally bring to fruition the long-contemplated work. The cloth is heavily and unevenly faded; corners bumped; a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket. An excellent association copy, representing numerous strands of Miller's life over the prior two decades. [#012914] SOLD

NY, Knopf, 1974. The Nobel Laureate's second novel, which uses the theme of the friendship between two African-American women to explore issues of race, conformity and expectations within the black community, and within the larger white society. Inscribed by Morrison in 1978 to author, historian, and English professor Saunders Redding and his wife: "To the Reddings from Toni Morrison. Warmest regards and my very best wishes." With Saunders' signature on the title page. Saunders Redding was a pioneering critic of African-American literature and is believed to have been the first African-American to teach at an Ivy League university, when he was a visiting professor at his alma mater, Brown University, in 1949. He wrote a number of books focusing on African-American literature and history, and in the 1970s he was a member of the influential Haverford Group -- an informal think tank of accomplished African-American men who met to strategize about ways to defeat segregation and racism. An extraordinary association copy between the Nobel Prize winner Morrison and one of her most accomplished African-American literary forebears. Fine in a fine dust jacket but for two tiny edge tears on the back panel. In custom clamshell case. [#032896] SOLD

NY, Vanguard, (1959). The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of the Nobel Prize winner's first novel, published two years after its appearance in the U.K. Naipaul is a Trinidadian author of Indian descent, one of the giants of contemporary English literature, and one of the most astute, if acerbic, Western commentators on Third World issues. Spine and a bit of the lower rear edge darkened, apparently from binder's glue rather than sun; some light dustiness to covers and a few gentle turns to page corners; very good in wrappers. An exceedingly scarce proof, by all appearances produced from the text block of the U.K. edition, bound in plain blue wrappers, with the U.S. publisher's label affixed to the front cover. This proof dates from the period when proofs were not routinely produced, which explains the use of the U.K. edition as an "American proof." Bound proofs in that era were little-known publishing artifacts, and were seldom saved, let alone filtered into the rare book market. We've only ever seen one other copy. [#028479] SOLD