Catalog 101, C-D
69. CARROLL, Jim. 8 Fragments for Kurt Cobain. Louisville: White Fields Press. Broadside. 11" x 22". An extraordinary, sensitive, perceptive poem in tribute to Cobain, written from the perspective of one who has "been there," both in terms of his heroin addiction and in terms of the struggle with artistic integrity in the glaring light of celebrity. Of a total edition of 126 copies, this is one of 26 lettered copies signed by the author. Fine.
70. CARTER, Forrest. The Education of Little Tree. (n.p.): Delacorte (1976). His most famous book, which its publisher identified as "a true story" while it identified the author as a "part-blood Cherokee who is Storyteller in Council to the Cherokee Nations." A dozen years after its initial publication, The Education of Little Tree was chosen by independent booksellers as the book they most liked to sell and it became a word-of-mouth bestseller in a paperback edition published by the University of New Mexico Press. Later, Carter was discovered to be a white man from Alabama who had worked for right-wing politician George Wallace, writing racist propaganda. This revelation raised the question of "authenticity"--whose experience as a Native American is authentic enough to bestow proper authorial "authority?"--an ongoing issue in the Native American literary community. Carter was shown to have lacked the requisite credentials; however, in The Education of Little Tree, he endorsed humanist values of a high order, which he ascribed to Native American traditions such as respect for the land and one's family, honoring one's elders, promoting generosity and good faith, and abhorring brutality and, ironically, hypocrisy. Bound in the cheap "perfectbound" style, with the pages glued to the spine rather than sewn in signatures. Such bindings have proven extremely fragile over the years, which helps explain the scarcity of relatively recent titles such as this one. Slight foxing to top edge of book and rear panel of jacket; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
71. CARVER, Raymond. At Night the Salmon Move. (Santa Barbara): (Capra Press), 1983. The first separate edition of this poem. A small postcard issued as a New Year's greeting by Capra Press in anticipation of their publishing the collection Fires. The card prints the title poem from Carver's earlier Capra poetry collection, although the poem has been revised for this publication. The publisher reported 300 copies done; this is one of 25 numbered copies signed by Carver. Fine, and scarce.
72. CARVER, Raymond. Vitamins. (n.p.): Granta (n.d.)[c. 1984]. In 1984, Carver's story "Vitamins" appeared in Granta magazine. Granta produced offprints of the story for the author's own use. While the pages appear to be tearsheets from the magazine, the front cover bears no correlation to any page from the magazine, and thus would appear to set these offprints apart from actual tearsheets and identify them as an "A" item. There were reportedly 25 copies done. This copy is signed by Carver on the title page. Loose sheets, stapled in one corner. Corner crease to rear page; a couple tiny spots; very near fine.
73. CARVER, Raymond. The Toes. (Concord): (Ewert) (1988). A limited edition of this poem. Of a total edition of 136 copies, this is one of 36 copies specially bound in wrappers. Carver died before he was to have signed this edition. Fine in wrappers, with publisher's prospectus laid in.
74. CARVER, Raymond. A New Path to the Waterfall. London: Collins Harvill, 1989. The uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition of these posthumously published poems, many of them quite moving, and addressing his impending death quite straightforwardly, even bluntly, in his characteristic, plain-spoken manner. With an introduction by Tess Gallagher. Creasing to front cover; near fine in wrappers.
75. CASEY, John. The Half-Life of Happiness. NY: Knopf, 1998. The uncorrected proof copy of the new novel by the author of the National Book Award-winning Spartina and the highly praised An American Romance. Fine in wrappers.
76. CHATWIN, Bruce. The Songlines. London: Cape (1987). Chatwin's fourth book, and by general consensus his best--a "novel of ideas," as the publisher puts it, of Australian aborigines, and the questions about man that arise from the vast gulf that separates the culture of contemporary, Western civilized man from that of the wandering tribes of Australia, whose "dream tracks" or "songlines" delineate both a physical and a psychic geography. A landmark of the "literature of place" of recent years. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
77. CLEAVER, Eldridge. Eldridge Cleaver. NY: Random House (1969). "Post-prison writings and speeches," a collection of essays on various political subjects by one of the most outspoken Black activists of the 1960s, who later converted to Christianity and became an equally outspoken advocate of his faith. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
78. CLIFF, Michelle. No Telephone to Heaven. NY: Dutton (1987). The uncorrected proof copy of this Jamaican-American's novel about coming of age in contemporary Jamaica, and dealing with questions of race, myth, colonialism and political awareness. Toni Morrison and Tillie Olsen blurbs on a sheet laid in. Fine in wrappers.
79. (CODRESCU, Andrei). The Day Book. (San Francisco): (Momo's Press) (1975). Issue #5 of Shocks Magazine. Written by Stephen Vincent, Jessica Hagedorn, Susan Griffin, Beverly Dahlen, Roberto Vargas and Andrei Codrescu. This copy is inscribed by Codrescu in 1977. Also includes a one sentence reply to the editor by Gary Snyder. Faintly spine-tanned; else fine in wrappers.
80. CONROY, Frank. Autograph Letter Signed. Undated [circa 1981]. 6" x 7". A short letter to another writer, thanking him for his note, and reporting on his health. He then comments on D.M. Thomas's The White Hotel: "Yes its [sic] odd how many people were fooled by the clever surface of White Hotel. I guess it shows how eager we all are for good stuff, stuff that seems fresh and daring. We all wanted it to be good, so much so that we didn't really see what it was. A scam!" After a sarcastic comment on Thomas' handling of the publicity, he closes, signing the letter "All best, Frank." Fine.
81. CONROY, Frank. Autograph Letter Signed. Dated June 20, no year specified. Conroy thanks the recipient, another writer, for sending his book and comments, "You were a damn good writer to begin with, and its exciting to watch you get better and better." Folded in thirds for mailing; else fine.
82. CREELEY, Robert. Photograph. (1976). A black and white photograph, 8" x 8", of poet Robert Creeley smoking and reading. Creeley, along with Charles Olson, was one of the key figures at Black Mountain College in the 1950s. Fine.
83. CROWLEY, John. Beasts. Garden City: Doubleday, 1976. The second book by the author of Little, Big, which won the World Fantasy Award and was selected as one of David Pringle's 100 best fantasy novels of all time. Crowley is also the author of the Aegypt, which was nominated for the World Fantasy Award and was also chosen as one of Pringle's 100 best. One of his other novels, Engine Summer, was selected by Pringle for his list of the 100 best science fiction novels ever, and three of his six novels were chosen by Yale literary critic Harold Bloom for his controversial list of the works comprising "the Western canon." An important author who is still relatively little-known outside the fields of science fiction and fantasy, except among the cognoscenti of contemporary literature. Remainder speckling bottom page edges and a very slight bump to the spine base; else fine in like dust jacket.
84. CROWLEY, John. Little, Big. NY: Bantam, 1981. The uncorrected proof copy of his landmark fourth book, winner of the World Fantasy Award and, according to Ursula LeGuin, "a book that all by itself calls for a redefinition of fantasy." Chosen as one of the hundred best fantasy novels by Pringle, who calls it "a novel of architectural sublimity...[which] beggars the words of criticism." The trade edition was only issued in wrappers in this country. This proof, in pink wrappers, shows the faintest wear and fading, and is otherwise fine. Signed by the author. A very nice advance copy of one of the key works of modern fantasy.
85. CROWLEY, John. Aegypt. NY: Bantam (1987). A review copy of his fifth novel, and the first book in a projected and ambitious tetralogy, the second book of which is Love and Sleep. A finalist for the World Fantasy Award. Crowley calls upon the historical figures of John Dee and Giordano Bruno, Renaissance alchemists, among others, to make the case that there is more than one history of the world. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with light wear at the spine crown. Promotional sheet and review laid in. Signed by the author.
86. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Signed by the author. Laid in is a variant dust jacket, which carries more gradations of color than the final jacket. The proof has a short, clean slice to the wrapper near the spine and some light creasing; near fine in wrappers. According to the author, there were textual differences between this proof and the final published book. The jacket is folded and creased; very good.
87. CROWLEY, John. Novelty. NY: Doubleday (1989). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of four long stories, including the award-winning "Great Work of Time." Finalist for the 1990 World Fantasy Award for Best Collection. Fine in wrappers.
88. CRUMB, R. Jack Kerouac. Sudbury: Water Row Press, 1985. A broadside portrait of Kerouac by Crumb, Number One in the Meet the Beats poster series. One of only 100 numbered copies, a relatively small limitation for an artist of Crumb's stature. 12" x 18", and suitable for mounting and framing. Rolled, with one faint crease; else fine.
89. CRUMB, R. William S. Burroughs. Sudbury: Water Row Press, 1985. A broadside portrait of Burroughs by Crumb, Number Two in the Meet the Beats poster series. One of 100 numbered copies. 12" x 18". Rolled, with one faint crease; else fine.
90. CRUMB, R. Allen Ginsberg. Sudbury: Water Row Press, 1985. A broadside portrait of Ginsberg by Crumb, Number Three in the Meet the Beats poster series. One of 100 numbered copies. 12" x 18". Rolled, with one faint crease; else fine.
91. CUNNINGHAM, Michael. Golden States. NY: Crown (1984). The advance reading copy (marked "Uncorrected Proof") of the author's first book. "PC" (Press Copy) and publication date written on spine, cover and half title; else fine in wrappers. The author's most recent book was chosen by several critics as the best novel of the year in 1998.
92. DAHLBERG, Edward. Bottom Dogs. London: Putnam (1929). The first edition of his first book, an autobiographical novel that was published in an edition of 520 copies. With an introduction by D.H. Lawrence. This copy is inscribed by Dahlberg in 1974: "For ____ ____/ Aristotle says a poet/ is an enthusiastic nature/ and you are without doubt/ an exuberant reader." Concave crease to spine; rear hinge cracked; very good, lacking the dust jacket.
93. DAHLBERG, Edward. Sing O Barren. London: Routledge (1947). A collection of essays, mostly on literature. Mottling to rear cloth; very good in a very good, spine-tanned and moderately edgeworn dust jacket. An uncommon title that is not listed on his later publications.
94. DAHLBERG, Edward. The Flea of Sodom. (Norfolk): New Directions/(James Laughlin) (1950). Published as Direction 18. A continuation of the author's fictionalized autobiographical sequence, begun with Bottom Dogs. Fine in a very good, rubbed and sunned dust jacket.
95. DAHLBERG, Edward. The Sorrows of Priapus. (Norfolk): New Directions (1957). A collection of short aphoristic texts, with drawings by Ben Shahn. The first part is devoted to the Western cultural tradition, and the second focuses on pre-Columbian America, ultimately fusing the two to reach for a unified vision of the American cultural legacy. Fine in a near fine, sunned dust jacket.
96. -. Same title, the first British edition (London: Calder & Boyars, 1970). Fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
97. DAHLBERG, Edward. Because I Was Flesh. (Norfolk): New Directions (1963). A continuation of Dahlberg's fictionalized autobiography, this focusing on an account of the author and his mother, described in mythological terms. Nominated for the National Book Award in the Arts and Letters category. Inscribed by the author in 1974: "For ____ ____/ A reader of good books/ must have a musky/ heart." Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
98. DAHLBERG, Edward. Alms for Oblivion. Minneapolis: U. of Minnesota Press, 1964. A collection of essays on various subjects, including a long essay on Melville. Fine in a near fine, lightly sunned and surface soiled dust jacket. An uncommon title.
99. DAHLBERG, Edward. Cipango's Hinder Door. Austin: U. of Texas (1965). Poetry. One of only 1000 copies. With a foreword by Allen Tate. Fine in a near fine, spine-tanned dust jacket.
100. DAHLBERG, Edward. The Leafless American. (n.p.): Beacham (1967). Another collection of essays, with pieces on Stephen Crane, Sherwood Anderson, Oscar Wilde and others. Fine in a near fine, spine-tanned dust jacket.
101. DAHLBERG, Edward. The Confessions of Edward Dahlberg. NY: Braziller (1971). A review copy of this volume of memoirs, more straightforwardly autobiographical than his fiction. A bit of spotting to the rear board; else fine in a near fine dust jacket.
102. DAHLBERG, Edward. The Olive of Minerva or The Comedy of a Cuckold. NY: Crowell (1976). Inscribed by the author in the year of publication: "For my very dear Friend, ____/ with much love, and always/ gracious thanks 'forevermore/ the exchequer of the poor.'/ Devotedly,/ Edward." Several page corners turned; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
103. -. Same title, the limited edition. One of 250 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a near fine glassine dustwrapper.
104. DAHLBERG, Edward. Bottom Dogs, From Flushing to Calvary, Those Who Perish and Hitherto Unpublished and Uncollected Works. NY: Crowell (1976). A review copy collecting Dahlberg's early writings plus some that were previously unpublished. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with rubbing along the rear spine fold.
105. (DAHLBERG, Edward). Edward Dahlberg: A Tribute. NY: David Lewis (1970). A collection of essays, reminiscences, correspondence and tributes that first appeared as TriQuarterly 20. Edited by Jonathan Williams and with work by Williams, Jack Kerouac, Kay Boyle, Anthony Burgess, Thomas Merton, Gilbert Sorrentino, Allen Tate, Josephine Herbst, Paul Metcalf, Muriel Rukeyser and many others. This copy is inscribed by Jonathan Williams in 1975: "'Do not chide a friend -/ try his heart gently.'/ It took me 18 years/ to learn this was the/ first and greatest/ Dahlbergian Commandment./ Don't be so/ slow as I./ Love to ____." (According to the jacket copy, the quote is actually "stroke his heart gently.") Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
106. DELBANCO, Nicholas. Typed Note Signed. March 1, 1987. 5 1/2" x 8." A short note to another writer, lamenting a missed chance both to meet and to publish a piece in a literary magazine. Fine.
107. DE VRIES, Peter. Correspondence. (1942-1943). One typed postcard signed, one typed note signed, and one typed letter signed. Early correspondence from De Vries, preceding his long tenure at The New Yorker, to which he moved in 1944. Each piece is written to poet and critic H. R. Hays, in De Vries's capacity as associate editor for Poetry magazine. The card informs Hays that the volume to be reviewed will be sent along when it arrives. The note suggests that the poem Hays submitted might be better without its two final stanzas. In the letter, De Vries thanks Hays for a submitted review and requests translations for a proposed Latin American issue: "...naturally we want as good material for it as we can obtain. Neither the magazine nor the cause would benefit from a special issue put out just for the sake of a special issue." A good association, and the latter piece is an interesting glimpse at an early effort at publishing Latin American literature in this country: in 1942, North American readers had had little exposure to any writings from Latin America. Hays was an early exponent of the literature and, as translator, helped bring it to an English-speaking readership. The card and note are near fine; the letter, signed in pencil, is folded in thirds for mailing; fine.
108. DICK, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Garden City: Doubleday, 1968. A review copy of one of Dick's most sought-after books, a nightmarish satire that was the basis for the movie Blade Runner. One of the earliest of Dick's books to be published in hardcover in this country. Doubleday, which owns several book clubs, was notorious in the Sixties and early Seventies for the cheapness of their bindings: their trade editions often resemble inexpensive book club editions and this book is no exception. This copy, however, has minor foxing at the front hinge and is otherwise fine in a near fine dust jacket with trace rubbing to the spine extremities, with review slip laid in. One of the nicest copies of this increasingly scarce title that we have seen offered for sale in many years.
109. DICK, Philip K. Autograph Note Signed. Circa 1972. A note to Tim Powers, Dick's roommate at the time, in which Dick claims to have suddenly evacuated his apartment: "tim: I HAVE MOVED OUT. WONt Be Back For A LONG time. Good Bye." According to Powers, Dick's landlord was under the impression that Dick was pursuing an affair with the landlord's wife (he wasn't); the man was an alcoholic and Dick thumbtacked this fallacious note to the front door of his apartment in an effort to defuse the situation. An 8 1/2" x 11" page, folded, and written on the half-sized page. With thumbtack hole. Very good. Signed "Phil Dick."
110. DICK, Philip K. Autograph Note Unsigned. (n.p.: n.p., n.d.). A single sheet of paper folded into the shape and size of a typical bookmark on which Dick has written: "Instructions:/ Pretend to pretend to do the/ wrong thing./ Simulate malingering." An interesting, humorous, recursive note by a writer noted for such word- and mind-play. From the Tim Powers collection. Folded, and creased, not affecting text. Near fine.
111. (DICK, Philip K.). JAYNES, Julian. Typed Letter Signed. July 18, 1977. Brief letter to Dick from Julian Jaynes, author of The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind--a landmark study of the nature of consciousness and its relation to madness--in which he agrees with Dick that "there are many other people who have neo-bicameral experiences without being schizophrenic. But I doubt if they have such beautiful and helpful experiences as you seem to have had. Incidentally, I would be interested to know precisely what vitamins you took and in what dosage." Signed by Jaynes. Folded; else fine in Princeton University envelope. From the Tim Powers collection.
112. DOOLITTLE, Hilda. "H.D." Palimpsest. (Boston): (Houghton Mifflin) (1926). The first American edition of an experimental novel by this Imagist poet, peer of Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams and Marianne Moore. One of 700 copies. Light shelfwear to bottom edges of boards; near fine in a near fine, slightly spine-faded dust jacket with slight chipping at the spine extremities. An attractive copy of a scarce and fragile book.
113. DUBUS, Andre. Manuscript and Notes for "The Curse," a short story. Dubus is one of the foremost masters of the short story and, in particular, the novella working in America today. His stories have been compared to Chekhov's for the generosity of heart that accompanies their unflinching examination of his characters' lives. He is also one of the few contemporary American writers bringing a serious religious view into their writing: the moral universe of his stories is drawn in terms that preclude escape into callow word-play or facile evasion: all that his characters encounter, and what they do, matters. A few years ago, after a serious accident he suffered when coming to the aid of an injured traveler, a group of Dubus' manuscripts were sold in an attempt to raise money to help defray medical expenses; at the same time, a number of the most prominent writers in the country held a series of benefit readings to raise money as well. Since then, these are the only manuscripts of his to have appeared on the open market.
Dubus wrote longhand into lined, store-bought notebooks, and then revised on the page so that the various versions of a story--from characters' names, to plot lines, to sentence structure--are all visible in the earliest, intermediate and finished states. When done, he typed the final versions; the manuscripts themselves, however, show all the elements that go into creating the work and as such give a remarkable view of the artist at work.
"The Curse" was Dubus' first story published after his accident. It appeared in Playboy, long a venue for fine literary short fiction, and it involved a fictional situation similar to a well-publicized case of a gang rape at a working class New England bar some years ago. The story is told from the perspective of the bartender, whose silent awareness gives him a complicity he neither wants nor knows how to handle. A painful story, laden with the weight of the moral choices we must make and live with--even when their scope exceeds our understanding. This notebook also contains "3 1/2 pp of a story I tried to write in the hospital," according to Dubus. Approximately 50 holograph pages, with extensive corrections, revisions and notes in the author's hand on every page. Fine.
114. DUBUS, Andre. Two Drafts of "After the Game" plus other writings. Two manuscript notebooks, containing two separate drafts, each heavily revised, of the long short story "After the Game" as well as a number of other pieces of writing--a eulogy for a student killed in a crash, delivered at Bradford College, where the author was teaching; two efforts at an essay about a "Sgt. Barber"; the last portion of his manuscript for the novella "The Pretty Girl"; a Thanksgiving prayer; teaching notes; and other writings. About 185 pages of holograph manuscript and notes. Both volumes fine.
115. (DUNNING, John). "Bookscout" in Ten Tales. Huntington: Cahill, 1994. Short stories by Dunning, Andre Dubus, Neal Barrett, Wendy Hornsby, Joe Lansdale, Richard Laymon, Andrew Vachss, Roger Zelazny, Harlan Ellison and Lucius Shepard. Of a total edition of 276 copies, this is one of 26 lettered copies bound in three quarter leather and signed by each author as well as by Lawrence Block, who provides the introduction. This volume represents the first appearance of each of the short stories. Dubus contributes "The Colonel's Wife." Fine in a fine slipcase.
116. DU PLESSIX GRAY, Francine. Autograph Postcard Signed. (January, 1981). A short note to another writer announcing her departure for the American Academy in Rome. She also offers "warm congratulations on terminating your analysis. I wept like a baby when parting from my shrink..." Written on a Jesus postcard. Fine.
117. DYBEK, Stuart. Typed Note Signed. January 20, 1980. A short note submitting a story for publication. Slight corner crease, not affecting text; else fine.