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E-list # 149

New York Book Fair Preview

A selection of the books we'll be bringing to the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, March 8-11
click for a larger image of item #32730, Galley Sheets for Confessions of the Barbarian Santa Barbara, Capra Press, [1986]. Two sets of galley sheets, one bound and one unbound, for the small Capra volume, Confessions of a Barbarian, which was an advance excerpt of the book later published as The Fool's Progress. Two sets of sheets, each on legal-sized paper and printed on rectos only. 42 pages, including the "Editor's Introduction" in which Abbey recounts his first meeting with "Henry Lightcap," the narrator of the novel. The first set of sheets, unbound, has the alternate titles "Festival of Fools" and "A Fool's Progress" written at the top, with a question mark, and "read by E. Abbey 2/86" written across the bottom. The second set, comb-bound at the top, includes a pictorial cover and the text of "Red Knife Valley" by Jack Curtis, which was bound back-to-back with the Abbey piece in the finished book. This second set is marked as having been read by E. Abbey on 3/4/86. Both versions have been copy-edited. On several pages in the unbound version, Abbey has served as his own copy editor: on page 24 in the first version Abbey himself writes: "two pages of typescript missing here," and signs the comment, "EA." The two pages of heavily corrected (photocopied) typescript are inserted into the second version. And on page 29 of the first version, under the typeset message "NOTE! Manuscript pages 46 & 47 need to be inserted here. I did not receive them," Abbey again interjects: "Yes you did," and initials there, "EA." These additional two photocopied and corrected "missing" pages are also laid into the second version. In a few other places Abbey has corrected typos, although without signing his edits, and he has used the verso of one sheet to make a note, presumably to himself, apparently about a sizable bank deposit. Both sets of galleys are fine and laid into one custom clamshell case. A unique, working copy of one of Abbey's last books: he died shortly after the full-length version of The Fool's Progress was published. Working copies of his books and papers seldom appear in the marketplace; most have been sold or donated to institutions. [#032730] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #30669, Publisher's Archive of A Voice Crying in the Wilderness NY, St. Martin's, (1990). A Voice Crying in the Wilderness was ostensibly the first trade edition of the posthumously published 1989 Rydal Press limited edition Vox Clamantis in Deserto, but retitled and re-edited and with slightly different content, and with illustrations by Andrew Rush, A Voice Crying in the Wilderness is a separate Abbey "A" item. The archive includes:
  • the first draft contract between St. Martin's Press and Rydal Press for this edition, with emendations.
  • 81 page photocopied typescript, heavily copyedited.
  • a clean set of galley sheets, approximately 66 pages.
  • "master" galleys, heavily copyedited.
  • "master" page proofs dated January 12, 1990, heavily copyedited.
  • a second pass of the page proofs, undated, correcting errors caught in the first set, but still imperfect.
  • a "master" set of revised proofs, dated January 26, 1990, also copyedited.
  • eight additional "master" proof sheets correcting the errors remaining in the third set of page proofs.
  • heavily copyedited copy of the page featuring "Other Works By Edward Abbey."
  • blue proof of the title page.
  • composition specification sheet.
  • the mock up of the endpapers, featuring Andrew Rush art work.
  • a letter from St. Martin's to Clark Kimball of The Rydal Press, enclosing "some production materials" from the book they are "quite pleased to be printing. The materials include a mockup of the title page and two separate mockups of a single text page, each featuring a "blind men and the elephant" illustration by Rush, one of which is inscribed by Rush: "AR for CK."
  • an Andrew Rush biographical flyer, and
  • an autograph letter signed by Rush to Clark Kimball, in part transmitting a drawing that Kimball liked (not included here, but perhaps an original of the "blind men" drawing mentioned above). The letter is in a self-made Rush notecard, and the drawing tipped to the front cover is present but detached.
Some pages stapled or clipped; post-its throughout. Varying page sizes, from notecard to legal. Minor edge wear. A near fine archive all neatly assembled in a custom clamshell case, and showing the evolution of the book: the first draft contract gives the title as The West According to Abbey: Vox Clamantis in Deserto, which was never used. A post-it on a St. Martin's spec sheet seems to suggest that "An Isolated Voice" was under consideration as a title. Abbey finished the book only two weeks before he died, just 62 years old. Rydal published a limited edition, originally intended to be a signed limited edition; this first trade edition varies from the Rydal edition by virtue of the illustrations and also, according to the bibliographer, "deletions and additions," thus meriting its being identified as a separate "A" item from the Rydal edition. A unique archive of this compendium of writings by one of the most outspoken, influential and powerful advocates for wilderness in the American West. [#030669] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #30672, Night Dogs (Tucson), Dennis McMillan, 1996. The trade edition, in a trial dust jacket. Signed by the author. This particular copy of the long-awaited second novel by the author of Sympathy for the Devil has a different photograph on the rear panel of the jacket than the published edition, one showing a night-time storefront with a sign advertising "Liquor, Guns & Ammo," which later became the title of another of Anderson's books. The jacket flaps lack copy. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with creasing to the top edge. Rare, possibly unique. [#030672] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #31325, Typescript of Night Dogs 1993. Anderson's dot-matrix printout of a draft of what became the prologue and first chapter of his second novel. 24 pages, with extensive differences between this version and the published version. With a handwritten signed note by Anderson across the top of the first page, saying, in part, that he thinks the novel will be finished in another six weeks. Night Dogs was one of the most eagerly awaited novels of its time, but its publication was delayed as different publishers vied for it but no deal was reached for the publication rights. It was finally published in 1996 by Dennis McMillan, a small press/fine press publisher, primarily of limited editions. Later, in 1998, there was a publication by a major trade publishing house, Bantam, which had merged with Doubleday, the publisher of Anderson's first novel. This is a very early segment of the work-in-progress. Marked by a rusty paper clip, else fine. [#031325] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #33153, Living Theatre Program for The Heroes NY, Living Theater, 1952. The program for the performance of Ashbery's first play, at the Cherry Theatre in New York in August, 1952. Precedes Ashbery's first book, Turandot and Other Poems, by a year. Directed by Judith Malina, co-founder of the Living Theatre, with casting and costumes by her husband, Julian Beck, the other co-founder, who also plays Theseus in the play. Not listed in Kermani's bibliography. Bound back to back with the program for Alfred Jarry's Ubu the King. 8 pages, including covers. Stapled wrappers. Fragile, but near fine. Very early Ashbery, and quite early also for the Living Theatre, which was founded in 1947 and came to prominence in the 1950s. [#033153] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #17958, Charlie Chaplin - "His Last Day in America 1952" 1971. From the estate of Pauline Kael. An original Avedon print, titled and signed by the artist in 1971. Richard Avedon began his career as a fashion photographer in 1945, and he came to be known as the preeminent contemporary American portrait photographer. This image, of the one-time lovable Little Tramp posing as the Devil on his last day in the U.S., is one of Avedon's most famous, and one of the most famous images of Chaplin. Chaplin, who had long sought teenage girls as his lovers and wives, was hounded by years of persecution for his sexual proclivities and his left-leaning views. In 1944 he was involved in a high-profile scandal when he was indicted on charges involving a young actress he had brought to California and, although he was exonerated on all counts, the negative publicity began a series of events culminating in his voluntary exile from the U.S. eight years later. In addition, the FBI had stepped up its investigations of him as a result of his public statements in support of Russia and Soviet Communism. In 1952, when Chaplin left for England to promote his film "Limelight," the U.S. Attorney General used the opportunity to revoke his re-entry permit (Chaplin had never been an American citizen) unless Chaplin agreed to even more scrutiny of his private life. Chaplin opted to settle Switzerland with his third wife, Oona O'Neill (daughter of Eugene O'Neill). This Avedon image is the final image of Chaplin in America and a pointed reference to his demonization by the American press and government. Pauline Kael's first film review, in 1953, was of Chaplin's "Limelight." She didn't like it, and it launched her career. 19-3/4" x 15-3/4". Fine. [#017958] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #27540, Herzog 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
click for a larger image of item #31334, Herzog (London), Weidenfeld & Nicolson, (1964). John Fowles's copy of the first British edition of Bellow's Herzog, the Nobel Prize winner's second book (of three) to win the National Book Award. Fowles' bookplate front flyleaf. Foxing to page edges; a very good copy in a very good dust jacket. [#031334] SOLD
(Anthology)
click for a larger image of item #32264, California Sorcery (Abingdon), Cemetery Dance, 1999. A "Publisher's Copy" (PC) of the limited edition (26 copies) of this collection of original stories by the science fiction and dark fantasy writers who came to be known as the "California School," including Bradbury, Matheson, Beaumont, Nolan, Charles E. Fritch, Ray Russell, Jerry Sohl, John Tomerlin, and George Clayton Johnson, with additional classics by Harlan Ellison, Robert Bloch, and Chad Oliver. Signed by Bradbury, Matheson, Ellison, Nolan, Tomerlin, Sohl, Fritch, and others. Stamp of another author front flyleaf; fine in a fine dust jacket, in the publisher's printed tray case. [#032264] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #31662, Charles Bukowski [c. 1983]. Printed portrait of Bukowski by Crumb, a color version of which was used as the cover to the 1983 Black Sparrow edition of Bukowski's Bring Me Your Love. One sheet, folded to make four 8-1/2" x 11-1/4" pages; all but the cover page with the portrait are blank. Lower corner crease to front cover; several small stains, mostly on the three blank pages. Presumably some sort of production proof for the Black Sparrow edition. Near fine. [#031662] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #32856, Mimeograph Typescript of Points of Destinction [sic] Between Sedative and Halucigen [sic] Drugs 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
click for a larger image of item #33063, Cobble Stone Gardens (Cherry Valley), Cherry Valley Editions, (1976). The publisher's "silver print" or "blue proof" of this book dedicated to Burroughs' parents. Inscribed by Burroughs in 1984. Together with an undated autograph letter signed from the publisher, Pam [Plymell] offering the recipient manuscript material for the book (not here present) in exchange for money to alleviate financial difficulties. Also together with the softcover edition of the published book, which is fine in wrappers. The proof has some sunning to the rear cover and a 5-digit number written in ink on the front cover; near fine. A unique artifact of the publishing process, and an interesting letter that delineates the materials that were assembled to produce the book, and also sheds some light on the details of publication. [#033063] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #33065, Dead Fingers Talk London, John Calder/Olympia Press, (1963). The uncorrected proof copy of this drug novel, which consists of an amalgam of sections from The Naked Lunch, The Soft Machine and The Ticket that Exploded, as well as some material not reproduced elsewhere. Inscribed by Burroughs "For Richard Aaron" on the half title. Also on the half title, in another hand: "M. Farmer. Reading copy. Publication date: Oct. 31st, 1963." Published at the height of Burroughs' experimentation with the cut-up technique, this volume embodies that approach, as well as anticipating the later variation of it that we now call "sampling." A good association copy: Richard Aaron was, among other things, the person who negotiated the sale of Burroughs' literary archive to Robert Altmann of Liechtenstein. There was no U.S. edition of this title. Near fine in plain green wrappers, in a very good dust jacket, which differs from the published jacket by virtue of being trimmed to a shorter height and having had the flaps trimmed as well. [#033065] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #33085, Junkie London, Bruce and Watson, (1973). First hardcover edition of this title, published in an edition of 1500 copies. Variant brown cloth -- M&M describes black cloth, and olive green cloth has also been noted. Inscribed by the author to Bob Jackson in 1984. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. An uncommon edition, especially signed (and signed authentically). [#033085] $3,000
click for a larger image of item #33095, Naked Lunch (NY), Grove Press, (1959)[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. Inscribed by the author in 1984 for Bob Jackson. Fine in a near fine dust jacket but for creasing and a couple small chips along the top edge. A very nice copy in the original, pre-zip code, dust jacket. The first printing of the U.S. edition was only 3500 copies -- smaller even than the original Olympia Press paperback in Paris, which had a 5000-copy first printing. [#033095] $2,500
click for a larger image of item #33081, The Job London, Jonathan Cape, (1970). The uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition (following a French edition) of this interview with Burroughs by Daniel Odier. Inscribed by Burroughs to Richard Aaron. An excellent association copy: Aaron was the bookseller who helped negotiate the sale of Burroughs' archive to Roberto Altmann in Liechtenstein, and he was also involved in the sale that brought the archive back to the U.S., when Robert Jackson bought it from Altmann. Aaron also published Burroughs, under his Am Here Books imprint. Near fine in a near fine, proof dust jacket, which is crumpled at the crown from where it extends above the proof. Proof copies of this edition are scarce, let alone ones with a significant association. [#033081] $1,500
click for a larger image of item #24504, The Naked Lunch 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
click for a larger image of item #33096, The Naked Lunch London, John Calder, (1964). The first British edition. Inscribed twice by Burroughs, first to Richard Aaron, undated, and then to Bob Jackson in 1984. As such, a double association copy: Jackson purchased Burroughs' literary archive, the so-called "Vaduz archive," from Roberto Altmann of Liechtenstein, when Altmann's plan to use Burroughs' work as the basis for an avant garde art institute in Vaduz had fallen through; Aaron had negotiated the sale to Altmann. Presumably Jackson bought the copy already inscribed to Aaron, and then had Burroughs inscribe it again to him. Since they are the two people most involved in the sales of Burroughs' papers, and the preservation of his archive, it is a copy that resonates with literary history. The first printing of this edition was 4000 copies. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#033096] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #33218, The Nova Convention NY, Entermedia, 1978. The program for three days of performances, film, readings and discussions honoring Burroughs' and his writings in 1978, when he first returned to the U.S. after many years of living in London and Tangier. Signed by William Burroughs and by Phillip Glass. Glass performed "New Piece for Electric Organ," which a teenage attendee -- Thurston Moore, later of Sonic Youth -- described as "idiosyncratic high-speed minimalist pianistics [which] was natural, gorgeous and sublime." Other participants included a virtual Who's Who of the American avant garde and underground: Brion Gysin, Patti Smith, Laurie Anderson, Kathy Acker, Timothy Leary, John Giorno. Ed Sanders, Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, Merce Cunningham, John Cage, Terry Southern, Robert Anton Wilson, filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow and others. Keith Richards was listed but didn't appear; Frank Zappa filled in by reading "The Talking Asshole" from Naked Lunch. Robert Palmer reviewed the event for the New York Times and wrote that the Glass piece was "as conservative in its language and as rigorous in its organization as Mr. Burroughs's first novel, 'Junkie,'" and that Patti Smith's "was more in the tradition of the cut-ups; it celebrated attitude, style, and the kind of 'holy accidents' that visionary artists have long cultivated." At least two films of the event have been released, and one record album and cassette, and portions of it have been restaged over the years: it was self-consciously understood by the participants to be a landmark of its time. The cover prints a seven-line quote from Burroughs, which as usual seems to anticipate the future -- our present -- in terms practically no one but he would have come up with, about surviving the age of Nova, "with Nova conspiracies, Nova criminals, and Nova police" and a "new mythology in the Space Age, where we will again have heroes and villains, as regards intentions towards this planet." Twelve pages; fine in stapled wrappers. An uncommon and ephemeral piece documenting a major cultural event, seldom found signed by the central figure of the convention, and here also signed by one of the performers, himself a major American composer. [#033218] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #33109, The Soft Machine Paris, Olympia, (1961). The true first edition, published in Paris by Maurice Girodias' press five years before it came out in the U.S. This copy is inscribed by Burroughs: "For Bob Jackson/ all the best/ William Burroughs/ for Brion Gysin." Gysin designed the dust jacket. Modest foxing to pages edges and endpages; near fine in a near fine, mildly tanned dust jacket with rubbing to the folds. The first issue, with the 15 New Franc price on both the rear cover of the book and the front flap of the dust jacket. An influential book, part of the sequence that includes The Naked Lunch and The Ticket That Exploded. [#033109] $1,750
click for a larger image of item #33083, Junkie. Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict NY, Ace, (1953). Burroughs' pseudonymous first book, a paperback original bound back-to-back with Maurice Helbrant's Narcotic Agent. Inscribed by Burroughs: "To Bob Jackson/ William S Burroughs/ for William Lee/ April 12, 1984." Junkie was a straightforward narrative of Burroughs' experiences with drugs; the publisher chose to release it couched in an anti-drug context, as a first person example of the horrors of drug use, and bound with a narcotic agent's memoir. Mild rubbing and creasing to the corners and joints; age toning to pages; very good in wrappers. Maynard & Miles A1. The beginning of one of the most influential literary careers of the second half of the 20th century. [#033083] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #33092, Mugwump 1990. A sketch by Dupuis of Burroughs' Mugwump creature, from his book Naked Lunch, but never brought to life until David Cronenberg's 1991 film version, for which Cronenberg had Dupuis design the Mugwump with Burroughs' posture and the visage of a junkie. Dupuis had won an Academy Award for Makeup for his work on Cronenberg's film The Fly. A signed sketch by Dupuis, matted together with William Burroughs' signed unicorn bookplate. The sketch is roughly 8" x 10"; the bookplate 4" x 5"; matted to 13" x 21-1/2". Fine. Unique. [#033092] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #33146, Photograph 1984. Photograph by Frajndlich of Burroughs in a three-piece suit sitting behind a table in a public space, smoking. Frajndlich is known for his portraits of photographers, and of others involved in the arts. Copyrighted, signed and dated by Frajndlich in ink at the right of the image in the margin, and titled, copyrighted, signed and dated in pencil by Frajndlich on the verso. Black and white. 11" x 14" Marginal crease to an upper corner, else fine. [#033146] $1,000
click for a larger image of item #33074, The Exterminator (San Francisco), Auerhahn, 1960. A collaboration by Burroughs' with his longtime friend, Brion Gysin. This copy is inscribed by Burroughs to Ted Berrigan in New York in "1953" -- we're guessing he meant 1963. Also signed by Gysin, who designed the cover and illustrated the book, in addition to providing his own texts. Printed by Dave Haselwood, who later reissued this title under his own imprint in 1967. This edition is estimated by the bibliographer at 1000 copies. Covers and four illustrations by Gysin. Very good in wrappers. Seldom found signed by both, and an excellent association copy. [#033074] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #33128, Die Wilden Boys [The Wild Boys] Frankfurt, Zweitausendeins, 1980. A unique author's copy of the first German edition of The Wild Boys, bound in full leather with a snakeskin onlay, and inscribed by Burroughs to the illustrator, S. Clay Wilson. Also signed by Wilson, with a note about the binding. Embossed initials of W.S.B. on the rear cover, with samples of the materials used in the binding tipped-in at the rear endpaper. Several scratches to the leather on the rear cover, else fine, in a folding cloth chemise. [#033128] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #28091, Original Drawing for Tornado Alley 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
click for a larger image of item #24022, Typed Letter Signed and Book Review 1982. A typed letter signed by Butler to poet Tom Clark, regarding Clark's review. In 1981, Butler, who would later win the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for his collection A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, published his first book, The Alleys of Eden. It was reviewed by Clark in the February 11, 1982 Los Angeles Times, with the headline "Vietnamization of a Deserter's Mind." On May 12, Butler wrote to Clark, saying, in part: "I have received twenty major reviews of the book but none of them was more sensitive or insightful than yours. The best literary criticism actually explains an author to himself. That's what your review did. I understand my own book better after reading your review and I want to thank you for that." The letter is signed "Bob Butler." Also included here is Clark's original, 3-page manuscript review, signed by Clark: "...Desertion, Butler seems to say, is an inevitable act, made necessary by the human state. Every small movement is an abandonment of the past, with death looming over everything as the greatest desertion of all..." Clark's review makes it clear that Butler's protagonist -- an Army intelligence officer who ends up deserting out of self-disgust over his involvement in the torture and death of a Viet Cong prisoner -- is an analogue for the larger society, which deserted both Vietnam and those who fought there, leaving both the Vietnamese and the veterans as "displaced persons," in both countries. Clark's review is penned on the back of copies from a book about Celine and folded in half; near fine. A photocopy of the published review is included. Butler's letter is folded for mailing; else fine in a near fine envelope. With a copy of Alleys of Eden [NY: Horizon (1981)], which is fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a short edge tear. An insightful review of one of the best novels to come out of the Vietnam war, and the author's appreciative response. [#024022] $1,500
click for a larger image of item #29577, Original Typescript of "Tribute to a Hero" 1933. 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, "Tribute to a Hero," is an autobiographical piece about the Cain family following the 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" (with an assist from Cain's father) on the occasion of a Washington College-Maryland Agricultural College football game. Published 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
On Sale: $1,875
click for a larger image of item #30104, La Ballade de la geôle de reading [The Ballad of Reading Gaol] (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
click for a larger image of item #32747, Oscar and Lucinda (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
click for a larger image of item #30105, True History of the Kelly Gang (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
click for a larger image of item #32637, Parker River: A National Wildlife Refuge Washington, D.C., Fish and Wildlife Service, 1947. Issued as Conservation in Action No. 2, a 14-page illustrated booklet written by Carson. Uncommon; only the second copy we've handled. Light creasing and spotting to cover; near fine in stapled wrappers. [#032637] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #32638, Rivers of Death 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
click for a larger image of item #32754, Cathedral 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
click for a larger image of item #32755, Glimpses 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
click for a larger image of item #32753, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love 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
click for a larger image of item #914629, Winter Insomnia (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] $3,000
click for a larger image of item #32756, Selection. No. 1, Spring 1960 (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
click for a larger image of item #31672, In Patagonia London/NY, Jonathan Cape/Summit, 1977/1978. A hardcover advance proof copy of the American edition of Chatwin's first book, created from a first British edition, with the addition of a U.S. proof dust jacket, featuring quotes from British publications (including Paul Theroux, writing for the London Times). The British trade edition has had its free endpages excised and pasted over the pictorial pastedowns; and the photographs that graced the text of the British edition have also been excised, in keeping with the appearance of the American edition. This copy was obviously sent out and used for review: reviewer's marks and comments in text, and the blank jacket flaps have been filled with the reviewer's notes. The book, apart from the intended excisions and notes, is fine; the proof jacket (again, apart from the reviewer notes), is spine and edge-sunned, with the title and author handwritten on the spine, largely faded; overall near fine. An uncommon issue, presumably done prior to the issuance of an American proof copy and different from the U.K. first edition in ways that parallel the eventual U.S. edition (and U.S. proof). [#031672] $750
On Sale: $525
click for a larger image of item #31360, A Literary Miscellany by Members of the Staff and Students of The University of Cape Town, South Africa 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
click for a larger image of item #31677, The Master of Petersburg (NY), Viking, (1994). The first American edition. Signed by Coetzee for the poet Alfred Corn and dated October 26, 1994 in St. Louis. Beneath Coetzee's dated and located signature, Corn has written: "John Coetzee kindly inscribed this book to me during an international writer's conference at Washington University, devoted to the topic 'The Writer and Religion' in October 1994. Of course I value Coetzee as one of the greatest fiction writers of our time. Alfred Corn." Corn was a visiting professor at Washington University at the time of the conference. A bit of spotting to the spine cloth, else fine in a fine dust jacket. Coetzee's signature is uncommon; the association is unique. [#031677] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #19439, The Gospel Singer 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
click for a larger image of item #32867, Galley Sheets for VALIS 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
click for a larger image of item #33009, Typed Letter Signed and Life Chronology 1978. A full-page typed letter signed from Dick to Hazel Pierce, author of the Philip K. Dick Starmont Reader's Guide (1982), in which Dick directs her how to get permission to quote from his work; agrees to meet with her; confesses the project appeals to his vanity; and divulges that a speech of his to which she apparently has access was intended for a French audience, and "When I write something for France, or am interviewed by the French, I always make startling claims which I can't back up, knowing that French scholarship does not require the empirical validation of the Anglo-Saxon world's methodology." Included is the original mailing envelope: Dick has written his phone number on the back. Pierce's reply is included, in which she sent Dick a 3-page chronology of his life for correction and an additional page of 14 questions for him to answer, in a fill-in-the-blank style. Dick's handwritten corrections and responses, approximately 30, are included. For example, he fills in the last names of his wives, some significant dates, answers that the Western writer Will Cook was an influence on his writing, and notes that his work in progress is "VALIS." This chronology was included in Pierce's guide, which was published shortly after Dick's death. The letter appeared in Dick's Selected Letters. Stray pen mark on the text of Dick's letter; mailing folds and mild age-toning; otherwise the lot is fine. A notable piece of what might be called Dick-iana. Unique. [#033009] $5,000
click for a larger image of item #32866, Typed Letter Signed and Notes for a Scientific Theory of Theological Experiences 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
click for a larger image of item #33008, Typescript of "Faith of Our Fathers" ca. 1965. The first draft typescript of Dick's story "Faith of Our Fathers," published in 1967 in the collection Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison. 39 pages, on onion skin paper, with Dick's holograph corrections throughout. Together with both the manuscript page and the carbon of page 43, representing the final page of Dick's second draft (which was longer than the first draft after emendations). Nearly 100 changes evident in Dick's hand, plus his handwritten insertion of the title after the typing. Dick would change the ending once again prior to publication. This manuscript, and the additional sheets, were given to Ray Nelson by Dick during their collaboration on The Ganymede Takeover in 1966. In 1986, Nelson gave the pages to Dick's widow, Anne Dick. That mailing envelope is included. Several years later, Anne Dick gifted the manuscript to PKD scholar Sam Umland, from whom it came to us. Anne Dick's autograph note signed to Umland is included. All items, except the mailing envelope from Nelson to Anne Dick, are fine. "Faith of Our Fathers" was nominated for the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. Since his untimely death at age 53 in 1982, Philip K. Dick has gained the reputation he sought throughout his life -- that of a writer who transcended the science fiction genre. His works are seen as social commentary as much as genre fiction, and his struggles with drugs and with altered states of consciousness -- to the point where reality itself was in question -- have been seen as metaphors for the predicament of humanity in the modern era: alienated, deceived by our leaders and our politics and our religions, and grasping for some measure of understanding in a hall of mirrors. Many of Dick's manuscripts have been institutionalized, and manuscript material by him seldom shows up on the market. [#033008] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #32761, Democracy (n.p.), (n.p.), [ca. 1983]. Photocopied typescript of Didion's 1984 novel, with significant textual differences from the published book. An early typescript, reproducing some editorial annotations and her agent's stamp (Ziegler Associates, Los Angeles), with no publication information provided. Democracy was Didion's first novel in seven years, with two books of nonfiction in between. A post-Vietnam story involving the CIA, it could be seen as a fictional counterpart to her 1983 nonfiction book, Salvador: both tracked the underside of American involvement in Third World conflicts. Democracy was praised for its reportorial accuracy -- something Didion had cultivated in her nonfiction pieces -- but Didion challenged fictional convention by introducing herself as the narrator, the storyteller, and giving the novel a self-consciousness and reflectiveness more often found in her nonfiction than her fiction. 8-1/2" x 11" three-hole punched sheets; light green cardstock covers with title and author handwritten on the front cover; title written on bottom page edges; bound with two brass brads; near fine. An unusual, early state of a major novel by one of the most acclaimed writers of her era, winner of a Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation in 2007. [#032761] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #32762, Original Painting of Primo Levi 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
click for a larger image of item #32280, Billy Bathgate London, Peters Fraser and Dunlop, 1990. Stoppard's "Revised First Draft" screenplay for the film based on Doctorow's novel, released in theaters in 1991, directed by Robert Benton and starring Dustin Hoffman, Bruce Willis, Loren Dean, and Nicole Kidman. Included is a Paramount Pictures internal memo from the year before, summarizing the novel and weighing the challenges of bringing it to the screen, and concluding, "Despite the difficulties here, if a way can be found to bring Billy's journey to the screen with even some of its force and vision intact, this could make a compelling, classy, big film." Paramount, however, ultimately passed on the idea: the film was released, with a Stoppard screenplay, by Touchstone Pictures. The memo is stapled once and folded once; near fine, laid into the screenplay, which is bradbound in plain blue cardstock covers with a small abrasion on the front and a wrinkled corner on the back; near fine. The title is written on the spine and foredge. An interesting look at Hollywood's take on a classic literary novel, and a look at an early version of the film: difficulties in adapting the material to the screen -- as suggested in the Paramount memo -- led to changes in the storyline that caused Doctorow to distance himself from the film, and presumably contributed to the film's relatively poor critical reception and commercial success. Uncommon. [#032280] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #30111, This House of Sky [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
click for a larger image of item #32869, Dancing After Hours 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
click for a larger image of item #32868, The Last Worthless Evening 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
click for a larger image of item #914648, Mystery Girls' Circus and College of Conundrum Ames Lake/Portland/Washington, D.C., M. Kimberly Press, 1991. An artist's book by the author of Geek Love, among others. One of 125 copies printed for the National Museum of Women in the Arts as the 1991 Library Fellows Artists' Book, the second volume in that prestigious series. Of each title produced, the artist received 25 copies and the Library Fellows each received a copy, leaving only a very small number available for sale. Signed by Dunn and by Mare Blocker, a highly praised book artist and Dunn's collaborator on this project. Elaborately printed and bound, with numerous woodcuts, color illustrations, fold outs, etc. Fine. [#914648] $1,500
click for a larger image of item #29870, Signed Photograph 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
click for a larger image of item #16192, Go in Beauty NY, Harper & Brothers, (1956). Bound galleys of Eastlake's first book, the first novel in what became (with The Bronc People and Portrait of an Artist with Twenty-Six Horses) his Bowman Family Trilogy. This copy was sent to Paul Bowles: a letter laid in from an editor at Harper's announces the book and solicits comments from Bowles. 6-1/2" x 11-7/16", printed on rectos only and perfectbound in plain wrappers with a label partially removed from the front cover. In a custom clamshell case. A very near fine copy of a scarce proof, dating from an era in which the production of bound proof copies was the exception, not the norm: this is the only copy we've ever seen. With notable provenance, having come from Paul Bowles's library, and with textual differences from the published book. [#016192] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #32949, Original Art (n.p.), McSweeney's, (2000). A painting of a wolf by Eggers, executed on the previously blank dust jacket of Timothy McSweeney's Issue No. 5. Signed (initialed) by Eggers. With an additional drawing by Eggers on the front flyleaf, of a scarf, which is captioned "I hate this guy." Eggers, known for his memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, his novels and nonfiction works with themes of social justice, his founding of the McSweeney's empire, and his nonprofit work with childhood education, has at various junctures also been a painter, a cartoonist, or an illustrator. He often pairs animals with simple, or Biblical, text: in 2010 he published a collection of these entitled It is Right to Draw Their Fur. Issue No. 5 was the first hardcover issue of Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, and it was issued in three variant bindings and four variant dust jackets. This is the Ted Koppel binding with the previously blank white front. In addition to Eggers' artistic contributions, it is signed by Susan Minot, Ben Marcus, Ben Greenman, Sarah Vowell, and Paul LaFarge. Tiny lower board nick, else fine in a very near fine dust jacket. [#032949] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #32951, Original Art (n.p.), McSweeney's, (2000). An ink drawing by Eggers of a malformed human, captioned "Things have changed since then, executed on the previously blank dust jacket of Timothy McSweeney's Issue No. 5. Signed (initialed) by Eggers. With an additional ink drawing by Eggers on the flyleaf, of an amoeba shape, captioned, "At one time they were all like this." Eggers has been selling his captioned paintings and prints of captioned animals to benefit ScholarMatch (which he also founded), an organization that funds college educations. Additionally signed by Ben Greenman. Issue No. 5 was the first hardcover issue of Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, and it was issued in three variant bindings and four variant dust jackets. This is the Ted Koppel binding with the previously blank white front. Two tiny spots to foredge and small lower board nicks; near fine in a very good, mildly dusty jacket with a couple of closed tears. [#032951] $850
click for a larger image of item #32950, Original Art (n.p.), McSweeney's, (2000). A drawing by Eggers of a broken bird-like creature, executed on the previously blank dust jacket of Timothy McSweeney's Issue No. 5. Signed (initialed) by Eggers. Additionally initialed by Eggers in 2001 and signed by Lydia Davis, Susan Minot, Ben Greenman, Lawrence Weschler, Paul LaFarge, Ann Cummins, and Sarah Vowell Issue No. 5 was the first hardcover issue of Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, and it was issued in three variant bindings and four variant dust jackets. This is the Ted Koppel binding with the previously blank white front. One tiny corner tap, else fine in a very near fine dust jacket. [#032950] $1,000
click for a larger image of item #28911, Typed Letter Signed 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
click for a larger image of item #33165, The Wild Palms NY, Random House, 1939. A review copy of Faulkner's elaborately structured novel, which consists of two distinct stories presented in alternating chapters. The rare review slip, in addition to title, author, price, and publication date, carries a 100+ word synopsis of the novel's themes, in language that differs from that of the jacket copy, and concludes that The Wild Palms is "the most absorbing tale that the author has ever told." The binding is the first state, with the front and spine stamped in gold and green. But for tape shadows to the edges of the boards, a near fine copy in a good dust jacket with the edge tape-strengthened on the verso but still vulnerable with wear and tears at the folds. Very uncommon as a review copy, and a rare glimpse of the marketing of the novel in its own day. [#033165] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #31739, Angels, Anarchists & Gods 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
click for a larger image of item #33012, The Case Against the Little White Slaver. Volume 1 Detroit, Henry Ford, 1914. Ford provides the foreword to this pamphlet published by him; it is addressed, "To My Friend, the American Boy," and begins with a story of being in discussion with Thomas Edison and John Burroughs about the evils of smoking cigarettes. Burroughs' name doesn't reappear, but Edison's portrait provides a frontispiece, along with a reproduction of a brief letter by him explaining the science behind the harm cigarettes cause. There follows a two-page rebuttal, so to speak, by the President of the American Tobacco Company, followed by a dozen pages of counterpoint apparently compiled by Ford's secretary and covering the effects of cigarettes on the brain, the heart, athleticism, efficiency, morality, and the soul, among other things. 22 pages, stapled pictorial wrappers. Small ink stamp on flyleaf, and what looks like a partial erasure of same on the front cover. Near fine. Over the next two years, Ford published three more volumes of this Case, but the original, Volume 1, is extremely scarce: OCLC locates only one copy. [#033012] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #911202, Bright Angel (n.p.), (n.p.), 1988. A 120-page screenplay by Ford for a 1991 film adaptation he did from stories in his collection Rock Springs. Signed by Ford. An unknown number of copies were produced; Ford signed seven of them at a reading in 1990. Photo-reproduced sheets on 3-hole paper. In this copy, page 120 was typed on a different typewriter than the first 119 pages. A fine copy, bound in a flexible blue binder. The film was directed by Michael Fields and starred Dermot Mulroney, Lili Taylor, Sam Shepard and Valerie Perrine. [#911202] $1,000
click for a larger image of item #911203, Bright Angel (n.p.), (n.p.), 1988. A 120-page screenplay by Ford for a 1991 film adaptation he did from stories in his collection Rock Springs. The film was directed by Michael Fields and starred Dermot Mulroney, Lili Taylor, Sam Shepard and Valerie Perrine. Apparently a later generation photocopy, as the text is less sharp; also the rectos of the pages tend to stick to the versos of the pages preceding. This copy is signed by the author. Near fine, in maroon binder. [#911203] $1,000
click for a larger image of item #911204, Independence Day London, Harvill, (1995). An advance copy of the first British edition of Ford's Pulitzer Prize- and PEN/Faulkner Award-winning novel, with printed text on the front cover that indicates that the "text is not the final version," and, in fact, this text does seem to be an earlier state than that of not only the British trade edition but the U.S. edition as well. The text does seem to match that of the British advance reading copy. Approximately 8-3/8" x 11-3/4" tapebound sheets in printed cardstock covers. Signed by Ford. Photoreproduced name on the front cover; dusty rear cover; else fine. An uncommon view of an earlier state of the text of the second book in his Frank Bascombe series, which now runs to four volumes. The photocopied name on the front cover, together with the style of binding, give an indication that the proof was likely one of a very small number, hand-produced by the publisher in-house rather than printed and bound by a full-fledged printer, which would have been done in larger quantities. [#911204] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #911206, Privacy (n.p.), (Grenfell Press), (1999). A fine press limited edition: one of 35 copies of the first book publication of this story, which first appeared in the New Yorker and was later published in Ford's collection A Multitude of Sins, with several small changes to this text. An elaborate and elegant production by one of the premier fine presses in the country, with seven etchings by artist Jane Kent. This is Copy No. 21 of 35 copies, and is signed by both Ford and Kent. Unbound folios, 10-1/4" x 15-1/2", with tissue guards protecting each of the etchings, and all laid into the publisher's clamshell case, which was made by Claudia Cohen. A fine copy, offered at the publisher's price. [#911206] $5,000
click for a larger image of item #21498, The Magus 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
click for a larger image of item #29924, "The Corrections" in The World of FSG 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] $125
click for a larger image of item #33014, Cien Años de Soledad [One Hundred Years of Solitude] (Santafé de Bogotá), Editorial Norma, (1997). The thirtieth anniversary edition of the Nobel Prize winner's masterwork, one of the most important novels of the 20th century, which introduced "magical realism" to a wide audience and helped bring the boom in Latin American literature to this country when it was published in the U.S. in 1970. 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 previous ten years but the one most likely to still be read and to still be important one hundred years hence. Copy #XLV of 100 Roman-numeraled copies signed by the author. Bound in full leather with raised spine bands. Fine in slipcase, still shrinkwrapped. A true high spot of twentieth century world literature, an uncommon signature (Garcia Marquez limited his travels to the U.S. after a State Department ban imposed on him because of his friendship with then-Cuban leader Fidel Castro), and a rare edition of one of the defining books of the century: the only signed limited edition of this title. [#033014] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #27204, The Autumn of the Patriarch 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
click for a larger image of item #33173, Porgy and Bess. An Opera in Three Acts NY, Random House, 1935. Composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward, and libretto by Heyward. This is the limited edition: one of 250 numbered copies in full red morocco. Signed by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, and by Rouben Mamoulian, director of the 1935 Broadway premiere. Near fine (labels missing, as is often the case), in a very good, original straw-covered slipcase. An attractive copy, with the spine slightly darkened but the hinges strong and the slipcase with some wear but still very good, and uncommon thus. With two metal die stamps to recreate the two spine labels. [#033173] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #31395, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Promotional Mobile London, Jonathan Cape, 2003. A promotional cardboard mobile with five Volkswagens: 2 red, 1 blue, 1 black, 1 yellow; therefore, according to the code of the book, signifying neither a Good Day nor a Black Day. Fine. The only such mobile we have seen. [#031395] $150
click for a larger image of item #33017, Neopostmodernism: Gabberjabb Number 6 (Mt. Horeb, WI), Perishable Press, (1988). Hamady's Interminable Gabberjabb series, begun in 1973 and comprising eight books by its end in 2005, is considered to have "changed the face of contemporary book arts in the United States" (Univ. of Arizona Poetry Center). This, the sixth book in the series, was published seven years after the fifth, and the limitation was reduced for this book from 200 to 125 copies. An eclectic and elaborate production: attempting to "read" the book sequentially involves carefully discovering how each page or gathering "works" and discovering the surprises the book has in store. This is copy number 87, date-stamped December 7, 1988. Signed by Hamady, his assistant Kent Kasuboske, and the binder Marta Gomez. Additionally annotated by Hamady on December 8: "Fore edged and embellished yesterday wrappered today by WH (sunny but cold 20 degrees)(F)." Fine. [#033017] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #32283, Sergei Yesenin 1895-1925 (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
click for a larger image of item #26554, The Silence of the Lambs 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
(Physical Fitness/Natural Movement)
click for a larger image of item #33038, Guide Pratique d'Education Physique Paris, Vuibert at Nony, (1909). The first edition (1909) of this 500+ page illustrated tome by the French naval officer who developed the Natural Method of training that led to the development of the parcours du combatant (military obstacle course). Both the method and the courses fueled the compulsions of a Vietnamese-French orphan turned Paris fire fighter named Raymond Belle, whose legendary physical prowess inspired his son, David Belle, to turn the methods of "parcours" into the practice of parkour. Now, more than a century after Hebert's insistence that fully functional training involve walking, running, jumping, climbing, lifting, throwing, swimming, balance, and techniques for defense and rescue, the fitness world has complied with Crossfit, Tough Mudder, Spartan Races, Hyrox, etc. As best as we can tell, this was Hebert's first book, and it was followed by a series of volumes on the Natural Method. Here presented in original wrappers, foxed at the edges, pages uncut, and for all practical purposes already separated at the spine into five signatures. [#033038] $750
click for a larger image of item #33175, We Bombed in New Haven NY, Knopf, 1968. The second book, a play, by the author of Catch-22. Inscribed by Heller to Dick Seader, the General Manager of the play's Broadway debut, in the month of publication and two months prior to opening night: "To Dick Seader, with thanks and very high hopes -- for all of us. Joe Heller 8/15/68." After an initial production by the Repertory Company of the Yale Drama School, the play moved to the Ambassador Theater on Broadway, to open on October 16: it ran for 85 performances. Mild offsetting on the inscription page; greater offsetting on verso. Near fine in a very good, spine and edge-tanned dust jacket with a bit of dampstaining on the verso, at the lower spine. A nice association, and an early inscription. [#033175] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #28924, The Fly on the Wall 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
click for a larger image of item #32877, The Quality of Hurt, with Photograph of Ossie Davis Garden City, Doubleday, 1972. Himes's autobiography, inscribed to Ossie Davis, who co-wrote and directed the 1970 film Cotton Comes to Harlem, based on Himes's novel of the same name. Inscribed: "For Ossie Davis, Salut et Fraternite/ Chester Himes." Himes's series of hard-boiled crime novels featuring Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson used the genre to explore and reveal little-known aspects of the black culture of postwar Harlem in much the same way that Walter Mosley's novels have done for the black subculture of postwar Los Angeles. Because Himes lived most of his adult life in France, books signed by him are relatively uncommon. Significant association copies of books by Himes are genuinely rare. Here offered together with an original photograph of Davis on the set of the film, with actors Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jacques. The book is stamped "Property of Ossie & Ruby Davis" on the first blank, below the inscription; a near fine copy in a supplied, near fine dust jacket. The 5-1/2" x 7" silver gelatin print of Davis by John Rodriguez is dated 8/1969 and is matted and framed. [#032877] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #32289, Typescript of "In Search of Loch Ness Nellie" [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
click for a larger image of item #32295, Typescript of "The Farmer Snows the Fugitive, Or, Square Dancing in the Ice Age" [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
click for a larger image of item #33219, Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid NY, Basic Books, (1979). A massive book that became an unlikely bestseller, linking the mathematician Kurt Godel, the visual artist M.C. Escher, and the composer Johann Sebastian Bach, and finding symmetries and connections in their works that shed light on cognition, systems, and meaning itself. Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication to Arthur Levenson, a mathematician and cryptographer who worked on the German Enigma code during WWII; Levenson was also an early supporter of the Washington Bach Consort. Mild foxing to the edges of text block; near fine in a very good dust jacket, with the usual fading from peach to pale yellow, especially on the spine. Uncommon signed. According to online inventories at Stanford, Levenson had corresponded this same year with Hofstadter's father, Robert, who was a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics. An interesting association copy of a book that became a cultural touchstone. [#033219] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #29928, Signed Handbill for Fever Pitch (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
click for a larger image of item #27375, Setting Free the Bears 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. Very near fine in a very near fine dust jacket with some modest mottling to verso, a corner crease to the rear flap and a small price sticker over the original price on the front flap. [#027375] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #29480, The Cider House Rules (n.p.), Garp Enterprises/Radio-Telegraphic Company, 1991. A very early draft of the screenplay that won Irving an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay, based on his sixth novel. Signed by Irving. This is the earliest copy of the script we have seen: the film was released in 1999; this version is dated "June 14, 1991, Revised." Hand-numbered "42." There are substantial textual differences between this early version and the final version. 130 pages, stringbound, with one remaining brad. Foxing to pages; near fine. A glimpse of an award-winning script as a work in progress. [#029480] $3,500
click for a larger image of item #29482, The Imaginary Girlfriend (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. 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). 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. This is the first signed copy of it we have handled. [#029482] $1,000
click for a larger image of item #32782, The World According to Garp NY, Dutton, (1978). The second issue of the uncorrected proof copy, in tall green wrappers. Erasures and label removal shadow on the front cover; small label affixed to spine; near fine. Not as scarce as the mustard-colored proof, but many times scarcer than the white advance reading copy. [#032782] $1,000
On Sale: $700
click for a larger image of item #32297, James Jones Boston, Twayne, (1981). One of the dedication copies of this critical study of Jones's fiction. Inscribed by Giles to Jones's widow, Gloria, and their children, Kaylie and Jamie: "In the hope that this reveals my respect and admiration for Jim and my affection for you." The book is dedicated to "Three Beautiful People: Wanda, Morgan, and Kaylie." Kaylie Jones is mentioned in Giles's Acknowledgments for her "rare kind of courage in talking about her father and taking me to places on the Island that evoked him because they had been special to him. She also took me to James Jones's grave." From the library of Peter Matthiessen; Jones and Matthiessen were friends, and lived nearby each other in eastern Long Island. Boards foxed; a very good copy, without dust jacket, presumably as issued. [#032297] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #29930, Verbannte [Exiles] 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
click for a larger image of item #24745, I Lost It at the Movies London, Jonathan Cape, (1966). The uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition of her first book. Kael revolutionized film criticism with her opinionated, colloquial reviews, her wit, her enjoyment of popular culture, and her impatience with pretentiousness. A generation of admirers and imitators has never quite succeeded in matching the engaging informality and authority of Kael's reviewing voice. A bit of white out inside front cover and penciled name on flyleaf; light foxing; near fine in a very good, proof dust jacket with tape-mended chips at the spine ends. An uncommon book, and an even more uncommon proof. [#024745] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #30739, No Rest for the Wicked (Stockholm), Imaginary Worlds, (2001). Keene's virtually unfindable first book, a collection of stories published by a short-lived specialty press in Sweden, whose books were printed in quantities measured in the hundreds. Warmly inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Keene has since gone on to win two Bram Stoker awards, including one for his first novel in 2003, The Rising, an early novel in the zombie craze that has pervaded pop culture in recent years. Bookplate of the recipient, another author, on the front flyleaf. A couple of small spots to the cloth; near fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a couple of tiny nicks along the folds. Laid in is the brochure for Keene's instructional program on Guerilla Marketing. Scarce. [#030739] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #21174, Typed Letter Signed 1902. September 22 [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
click for a larger image of item #33023, Cycle of the Werewolf (Westland), Land of Enchantment, (1983). Inscribed by King to his editor at Doubleday, Samuel Vaughan: "For Sam - Thanks for making something that could have been so hard so easy - and so successful. Quite a fall, huh? Your friend, Steve King/ 11/30/83." Vaughan had edited King's Pet Sematary, which had been published on 11/14/83 with a first printing announced as 500,000 copies. Cycle of the Werewolf is a single story by King, issued with illustrations by Berni Wrightson, who had collaborated with King on Creepshow. There was a signed limited edition of 250 copies; the trade edition, this one, had 7500 copies -- a tiny fraction of the numbers for Pet Sematary and King's other trade publications at that time. While the limited edition is scarcer in sheer numbers, our experience is that genuine Stephen King association copies are much rarer than his signed limiteds. Slight corner taps, else fine in a near fine dust jacket with one very small edge chip and some minor edge wear. [#033023] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #29994, Prop from Maximum Overdrive 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
click for a larger image of item #32795, The Voice of the Night 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
click for a larger image of item #30748, Starseed 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
click for a larger image of item #23675, The Corolla, 1947 and 1948 Tuscaloosa, University of Alabama, 1947-1948. Two volumes of the yearbook of the University of Alabama, where Harper Lee studied law between 1945 and 1949. The 1947 Corolla shows Lee as editor of the humor magazine Rammer Jammer; sitting on the Board of Publications; voted one of the "campus personalities"; pictured as a student of law; and as a member of Chi Omega and of Triangle, an honor society of seniors who guide freshmen. In all, at least a half dozen pictures of Lee. Wear to the edges, rubbing to the joints; near fine. The 1948 Corolla pictures Lee only as a campus personality: before completing her degree requirements, Lee left law school for New York City, where she worked as an airline reservations clerk (and wrote To Kill A Mockingbird). From Lee's campus newspaper, as quoted in the book Harper Lee by Kerry Madden: "[Lee] is a traditional and impressive figure as she strides down the corridor of New Hall at all hours attired in men's green striped pajamas. Quite frequently she passes out candy to unsuspecting freshman; when she emerges from their rooms they have subscribed to the Rammer Jammer." Check marks in text; board edges worn; very good. [#023675] $1,000
click for a larger image of item #31708, A Phenological Record for Sauk and Dane Counties, Wisconsin, 1935-1945 Madison, University of Wisconsin, 1947. The first separate appearance; reprinted from Ecological Monographs, January, 1947. 40 pages of phenological records and reporting covering a decade of wild plants, birds, and mammals of the region. Leopold died in 1948, and A Sand County Almanac was published posthumously in 1949. The first paragraph of the introduction of this title is (with one change) the first paragraph of the "January Thaw" section of A Sand County Almanac. Bound in blue buckram, this copy is from the library of Joe Hickey, author of A Guide to Bird Watching, who met Leopold in 1941; took over Leopold's teaching duties in Wisconsin's Department of Game Management upon Leopold's death; and helped to organize the posthumous publication of A Sand County Almanac. Rubbing to boards; offsetting to front pastedown from a 1980 newspaper article laid in (presumably by Hickey) about the historic dates (1852 on) when Wisconsin's lakes close (i.e. ice over). A very good copy, without dust jacket. Scarce. [#031708] SOLD
click for a larger image of item #32302, Prose: On Poetry in the Wholesale Education and Cultural System (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
click for a larger image of item #33029, Apologia Eugene, Lone Goose Press, 1997. A limited edition of an essay from Crossing Open Ground, which was, after this edition, issued in a trade edition by the University of Georgia Press. Here issued with twenty-three 11-3/4" x 11" woodblock images by Robin Eschner, hinged in a continuous presentation almost 22 feet long, encompassing the text. An elaborate production, involving a number of individuals prominent in the book arts, in addition to Lopez and Eschner: Charles Hobson, the designer, whose work is included in the collections of the Whitney Museum and the National Gallery of Art, among others; Sandy Tilcock, the publisher and boxmaker; Susan Acker, the letterpress printer; Nora Pauwells, the relief edition printer; and John DeMerritt, the binder, who is President of the Hand Bookbinders of California. Of a total edition of 66 copies, this is Copy No. 20, one of 50 numbered copies signed by Lopez and including a unique tire-tread print from Lopez's Toyota 4-Runner, the vehicle used in the journey from Oregon to Indiana that is described in the story. Fine, in a clamshell box. [#033029] SOLD
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Catalog 174 Spring List