Catalog 100, W-Z
130. WALKER, Alice. Revolutionary Petunias. NY: HBJ (1973). The second collection of poems by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple, and one of her scarcest titles in hardcover as there was a simultaneous issue in wrappers. Several tiny nicks to the lower edges of the boards; else fine in a fine dust jacket. A very nice copy.
131. WALKER, Alice. You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down. NY: HBJ (1981). Her second collection of stories, published just before The Color Purple made Walker a bestselling author and a household name. Fine in a fine dust jacket with one tiny hairline tear at the crown. Signed by the author. A very nice copy of an uncommon book.
132. WELCH, James. Riding the Earthboy 40. NY: World (1971). First book by this author of Blackfoot-Gros Ventre heritage, and one of the most important and accomplished Native American writers of the post-1968 generation. Welch is a respected poet and an award-winning novelist. Riding the Earthboy 40, a collection of poems, was never properly distributed as the publisher folded at the time of publication. It was re-published five years later in a revised and expanded form by Harper & Row. This is the first edition. Fine in a fine dust jacket and inscribed by the author and signed "Jim," and with an autograph letter signed laid in, dated July 7, 1971. Welch thanks the recipient for inviting him to a writer's conference and apologizes in his letter if he seemed "hateful, it is because groups oppress and depress me." A nicely personal inscription in an important first book.
133. WELTY, Eudora. Women!! Make Turban in Own Home! (n.p.): Palaemon Press (1979). The galley proofs for this short piece issued as a limited edition, which describes Welty's foray into the creation of a tangible object and her deft retreat into creating words about the object instead. Printed on proofing paper, on rectos only. Fine. Scarce: it's unlikely that more than a mere handful of these proofs would have been done in the course of creating a small limited edition.
134. WELTY, Eudora. Bye-Bye Brevoort. Jackson: (Palaemon Press) (1980). The galley proofs of this skit, published for the New Stage Theatre in Jackson. Printed on proofing paper, on rectos only. Fine. Again, like the above, it is unlikely that more than a very few of these would have been created.
(WELTY, Eudora). See also item #147.
135. WESTCOTT, Glenway. A Calendar of Saints for Unbelievers. (Paris): Harrison of Paris, 1932. The deluxe edition of this title published by Harrison of Paris, an important expatriate fine press during the 1920s and 1930s. This is one of 40 roman numeraled copies bound in 3/4 brown morocco by Huser of Paris; top edge gilt, and gilt spine label. Signed by the author and the illustrator, Paul Tchelitchew. Fine in a very near fine slipcase. With a printer's copperplate of one of Tchelitchew's illustrations. Wescott, an important expatriate writer, lived in France from 1925-1933 and was a lifelong friend of Monroe Wheeler, one of the founders of Harrison of Paris. During his time in France, he was associated with the "lost generation" of expatriate writers, including Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway; a character in Hemingway's novel, The Sun Also Rises--Robert Prentiss--was based on Wescott. While the "regular" editions of Harrison of Paris books turn up with great frequency, the deluxe editions are very scarce, and copies in fine condition are extremely uncommon.
136. WHITE EAGLE, Chief. Autograph Letter Signed. May 30 [1921]. Written to Herbert Fay, Custodian of Lincoln's Tomb. Two pages: one 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of white lined paper, written on both sides. White Eagle was a Sioux chief from Wyoming, who was an expert horseman -- winning medals for his skill -- and also prided himself as a poet, having published The Dog Supper and Other Poems in 1918. This letter refers to his being in charge of an exhibit in Chicago for the Custer Battlefield Highway Association and to his efforts to contact an Apache named Dr. Montezuma, who lived in Chicago, in order to provide Fay with a photograph for his collection. Folded in sixths for mailing. Near fine.
137. WILLEFORD, Charles. A Guide for the Undehemorrhoided. (Boynton Beach): (Star Publishing) (1977). One of the scarcest books by the author of Cockfighter and the Hoke Moseley mysteries, among others, privately published by the author, presumably in very small numbers, and consisting of outtakes from his autobiography, which was then in progress. Endpages foxed; near fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
138. WILLEFORD, Charles. The Way We Die Now. (n.p.): Ultramarine, 1988. A Hoke Moseley novel, this being the limited edition, issued by Ultramarine Press using the sheets of the publisher's trade edition. Of a total edition of 99 copies, this is one of only ten lettered copies, bound in full leather and signed by the author. Fine.
139. WILLIAMS, Tennessee. Battle of Angels. Murray, UT: Pharos, 1945. The first book by the author of such classics of American drama as A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie and Night of the Iguana, among others. This is a play, written with a grant Williams received in 1940, and published as Pharos Numbers 1 and 2 in the spring of 1945. In an afterword to the play, Williams recounts the disastrous opening it had in Boston in 1940. His first success came later in 1945, with The Glass Menagerie, and his reputation continued to grow from there. This copy has the first page (the half title) corner clipped but is otherwise an extremely bright, fine fresh copy in wrappers and very scarce thus.
140. WILLIAMS, Tennessee. Sweet Bird of Youth. (n.p.): Two Rivers Enterprises, 1959. Production script for this play that starred Paul Newman and had music composed by Paul Bowles. Other actors in the production included Rip Torn, Geraldine Page and Bruce Dern. Stage management directions handwritten throughout -- i.e., this was a working copy, used by one of the production crew. Unbound (once bound) sheets, laid into a cardstock cover stamped with the title. Substantially edgeworn from use, but still very good.
141. WILLIAMS, Tennessee. Dragon Country. (NY): New Directions (1970). A review copy of the hardcover issue of this title, which collects eight short plays, most of them previously unpublished. Signed by the author. Bump to upper board edge; else fine in a near fine dust jacket with a short edge tear and a horizontal crease to the upper edge of the front panel.
142. WOLFF, Tobias. Ugly Rumours. London: Allen & Unwin (1975). The uncorrected proof copy of the author's first novel, set in Vietnam, about a Special Forces lieutenant and a sergeant serving as advisor to a Vietnamese Infantry Division. One of the scarcest books of the war: not published in this country, and the author has pointedly refused to list it among his "previous publications" on his later books or allowed it to be reprinted. His memoir, In Pharaoh's Army, alludes somewhat disparagingly to the novel he was writing while he was serving in Vietnam, presumably Ugly Rumours. The first printing of the trade edition was reported to be only 1000 copies. Wolff is one of the most highly regarded short story writers in America and a novel by him on the war, regardless of the author's opinion of its quality, is still a notable contribution to the literature. Inscribed by the author: For ___ ____: (Please destroy this book)/ Tobias Wolff." Near fine in wrappers. Rare.
143. WOLFF, Tobias. The Liar. (Vineburg): (Engdahl Typography), 1989. Limited edition of this story, attractively printed and bound, with marbled endpapers. The entire edition consisted of 200 numbered copies, of which the first 50 were signed by the author. This is copy #41. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
144. (Woodstock). Promotional Poster. (n.p.): (n.p.) (1969). An early design, by David Byrd: "Woodstock Music & Art Fair presents/ An Aquarian Exposition/ Wallkill, New York/ August 15, 16, 17." Precedes the decision of The Wallkill Concerned Citizens Committee prohibiting the gathering, which forced the fair to Bethel. 13 1/2" x 22 3/16". Four color, with an Eve as Aquarian Water-bearer/Cupid in Eden theme -- a much more elaborate and attractive design than the final poster that was produced -- the famous dove-and-guitar, "three days of peace and music" -- which was done on short notice after the venue was changed. Fine. Woodstock represented the apotheosis of the 1960s counterculture and this memento gives an indication of the obstacles that the festival had to overcome on its way to becoming a cultural milestone.
145. WOOLF, Virginia. Monday or Tuesday. NY: Harcourt Brace, 1921. First American edition of this early collection of short fiction, in which Woolf explores the stream of consciousness technique that she used to great effect in her more famous, later novels. One of only 1500 copies. Owner name and date front flyleaf, trace shelfwear at lower corners; very near fine in a near fine dust jacket shallowly chipped across the crown. A very nice copy of an early Woolf title.
146. WORDSWORTH, William. The Excursion. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1814. A long poem (400+ pages) intended to be the second of a three-part poem but, as it turned out, the only portion published in Wordsworth's lifetime. Together with his autobiographical poem, The Prelude, published after his death, it is widely thought of as the masterwork in the career of the poet who is called the father of the Romantic movement, and whose critical writings did much to define modern thought on the subject of the relationship of poetry, and by extension literature, to the rest of life. An enormously important and influential poem by a writer who helped shaped the sensibilities that still define our attitudes toward art and the artist. This is a large paper copy, with modest foxing and with previous owners' name, date and bookplate on the first blank. Recently rebacked in attractive three-quarter calf, preserving the original marbled paper boards and marbled endpapers. A high spot of 19th century literature.
Unpublished Jack Kerouac and Ayn Rand (and Others)
147. (Writers and Writing). Archive on Literary Symbolism. (n.p.: n.p.) (1964). Sixty-nine authors' holograph and typewritten responses to a questionnaire on the uses of literary symbolism in writing, sent out by a high school student in 1964, who later became an award-winning science fiction writer.
In 1964, Bruce McAllister was a high school student who had just become one of the youngest writers ever to publish in the science fiction and fantasy field, having written a story -- "The Faces Outside" -- that was published in a national magazine and then included in the annual SF anthology, The Year's Best Science Fiction. Having been exposed to the issue of the presence of symbolism in literature, and having seen the kind of "symbolism hunting" that took place in high school English classes, he determined to try to find out how writers, not teachers and literary critics, saw symbolism. He composed a questionnaire on symbols and symbolism, asking writers if they consciously used symbolism? if they felt they sub-consciously used it? how they responded to readers who found symbolism in their writing, where it wasn't intended? whether they thought "the great writers of classics consciously, intentionally planned and placed symbolism in their writing?" or if they did so subconsciously? and finally soliciting any additional comments the writers might want to make.
McAllister sent the mimeographed questionnaire out to a long list of nationally and internationally recognized writers he found in such reference works as Twentieth Century Authors, about one-third of them being science fiction and fantasy writers (including such "heavyweights" in the field as Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury) and two-thirds of them being "mainstream" writers, including Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, Jack Kerouac, Ayn Rand, John Cheever, Ralph Ellison, and many others. About half the mainstream writers responded and some ninety percent of the science fiction authors did. And while the questionnaire reflected the youth of its author, many writers showed great interest in the subject and great generosity of spirit in responding thoughtfully and at some length to the questions.
McAllister had clearly expected (actually wanted) most authors to respond that "symbol hunting is for literary scholars, not for real writers," but instead received an astonishingly wide array of answers, which ranged from a belief in the Freudian and Jungian ideas of the subconscious and the archetypal unconscious, to the conviction that there is no such thing as the subconscious. Some popular authors took the position of "I write about people; it's that simple" while other, more literary authors took the opportunity to criticize scholars for not finding symbols they had, in fact, consciously placed in their work (John Updike, William Golding). In all, the diversity of the voices that comprise the literary community is readily apparent, and taken together the questionnaires offer insight and irony that no single set of answers could: one writer remarks, for example, "For a conscious symbol user, simply look at Ray Bradbury," while Bradbury himself, in his response, explains how unconscious he is as a writer, and how strange he feels when critics charge him with writing symbolic fables.
Among the writers whose autograph or typed questionnaires, most of them signed, are included are: Saul Bellow, John Cheever, Ralph Ellison, William Golding, Joseph Heller, Jack Kerouac, Mary McCarthy, Wright Morris, Iris Murdoch, Ayn Rand, Henry Roth, John Updike, Eudora Welty, Herman Wouk, Brian Aldiss, Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, James Gould Cozzens, L. Sprague de Camp, Walter Edmonds, Sumner Locke Elliot, Harlan Ellison, Howard Fast, Richard Hughes, William Melvin Kelley, Fritz Leiber, John D. MacDonald, John Masters, Judith Merrill, Theodore Morrison, Frederick Pohl, J.F. Powers, Conrad Richter, William Shirer, Clifford Simak, Mary Stewart, Niccolo Tucci, Joan Williams, and others. The file is carefully preserved in a loose-leaf binder, with each response separately protected, together with any accompanying envelope and a typed transcript of the response. The whole is housed in an attractive custom cloth slipcase.
Since 1964, Bruce McAllister has become an important writer in the science fiction and fantasy field, his 1989 novel, Dream Baby, having garnered substantial critical acclaim, and his stories being regularly nominated for awards and appearing in the annual "year's best" anthologies. This archive represents a unique collection of writers' thoughts and impressions, all of them otherwise unpublished, on a subject of substantial literary significance.
148. WYNDHAM, John. Re-Birth. NY: Ballantine (1955). A novella by the author of The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos (later filmed as Village of the Damned), about a post-nuclear holocaust society and a group of mutant children who are telepaths. Lines were taken from this book to become the Jefferson Airplane's counterculture anthem, "Crown of Creation." One of the very scarce Ballantine hardcovers of the period, with pages browning as usual from the acidity of the paper used, otherwise a very good copy in a dust jacket that has been internally reinforced in spots with tape. A nice copy of a scarce, fragile book which had impact far outside of the field of science fiction.
149. YATES, Richard. Revolutionary Road. Boston: Little Brown (1961). The author's highly praised first book, which was nominated for the National Book Award. Inscribed by the author in 1964. Recipient's penciled signature on flyleaf; a near fine copy in a price-clipped dust jacket with one small corner chip and two small and unnecessary pieces of tape externally applied: one strengthening the spine base, one the upper outer corner. Except for the tape, near fine. Books inscribed by Yates are quite uncommon, especially those with contemporary, or early, inscriptions.
150. YATES, Richard. Eleven Kinds of Loneliness. Boston: Little Brown (1962). His second book, generally considered his scarcest, a highly regarded collection of short stories. Inscribed by the author to publisher Seymour Lawrence in the year of publication, an excellent association: Lawrence was Yates's publisher through most of his career, and Yates moved to different publishing houses when Lawrence did, eventually ending up with his books being published under Lawrence's own imprint. Near fine in a near fine, spine-tanned dust jacket with light wear at the crown. A very attractive copy.
151. YEATS, William Butler. Typed Note Signed. (n.p.: n.p., n.d.). A brief typed paragraph signed by Yeats, conveying an autograph the correspondent had requested; in part: "I always mean to answer all letters, but sometimes my correspondence gets too great for an unmethodical man." Yeats has also appended a holograph postscript: "Your bit of ancestral history is very interesting, - our streams join somewhere in Butler stock." One sheet, folded in eighths, with some faint offsetting and a bit of light chipping to the bottom edge, not affecting any text; very good.
152. ZAPPA, Frank. 200 Motels. (n.p.): (Gut City Press) (1972). Tapebound mimeographed sheets of the musical script by Zappa, printed on rectos only. With hand-lettered and -colored cardstock covers and a photograph tipped to the front cover. An unusual, handmade production. Laid in is a letter to "Carl," written in German, from "W. Wolke, on behalf of Gut City Press" along with an interview with Zappa printed in German. Foxing to covers; thumbed; near fine. Zappa founded the music group The Mothers of Invention and was one of the most iconoclastic figures associated with the counterculture of the Sixties. The script has two pages of mimeographed afterwords in German, one of which indicates this is the second printing, and identifies the writers of the appendices. Given the format of the production, the printings must have been extraordinarily small; we have never seen another copy like it.
153. ZELAZNY, Roger. A Rose for Ecclesiastes. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1969. First hardcover edition of this collection of four novellas, one of which won a Nebula Award and another of which was a Hugo nominee. Zelazny's two novels prior to the publication of this collection had each won either a Hugo or a Nebula as well, and his Amber series of novels is considered a high spot of modern fantasy. One tiny spot to board and some mild foxing to page edges; near fine in a fine dust jacket. A very nice copy of a very scarce book.