Catalog 103, B
39. BAKER, Nicholson. VOX. NY: Random House (1992). His fourth book, an unlikely bestseller -- a literary novel about telephone sex between two strangers. Fine in wrappers and signed by the author.
40. BANKS, Russell. Hamilton Stark. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978. The uncorrected proof of his first novel for a major publishing house, after a paperback novel and a collection of stories published by the Fiction Collective. Very good in wrappers. In copies we have seen of this proof, the final page has not been bound in. In some copies it is laid in; in this copy it is stapled inside the rear cover. A scarce state of this book by an author who has only recently begun to gain wide public recognition, in large part because of the critically acclaimed movies that have been made of two of his novels -- The Sweet Hereafter and Affliction.
41. BARNES, Julian. England, England. London: Jonathan Cape (1998). Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
42. -. Another copy. Signed by the author and dated on the day of publication, "3/9/98," indicating September 3.
43. -. Another copy, unsigned. A fine copy in a fine, second issue dust jacket, with "Shortlisted for the Booker Prize" added beneath the author's name.
44. -. Same title, the advance reading copy. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
45. BAROJA, Pío. Crítica Arbitraria. Madrid: Ciudad Lineal (1924). Small volume of critical essays by this writer of Basque descent, who was considered to be the foremost Spanish writer of his time. His terse novelistic style was said to have had a great influence on Ernest Hemingway. Mild foxing to cover and first few pages; owner name stamp on title page and again in the text; near fine in wrappers. An attractive copy of a small, fragile book.
46. BARR, Nevada. Liberty Falling. NY: Putnam (1999). The latest volume in this award-winning mystery writer's series featuring Park Ranger Anna Pigeon. This is the uncorrected proof copy, shot from typescript and reproducing holograph corrections. Fine in wrappers, with promotional sheets laid in.
47. BAXTER, Charles. The South Dakota Guidebook. (NY): New Rivers Press, 1974. The second book, a collection of poetry, by the author of First Light, and others. This is the simultaneous issue in wrappers. The total edition was 600 copies, of which 400 were issued in wrappers and 200 in cloth. Baxter's first book was a poetry collection published four years earlier. Well-known these days as a writer of fiction, his first novel wasn't published until 1987, seventeen years after his first book and thirteen years after this volume. Near fine. A scarce title in either the hardcover or softcover issue.
48. BELL, Madison Smartt. The Washington Square Ensemble. NY: Viking (1983). The first book by this Tennessee native, a graduate of the renowned Hollins College writing program. This novel was characterized by one prominent New York editor as the most accomplished first novel he had read since Thomas Pynchon's V. The slightest crimping to the top edges of a couple pages, otherwise fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
49. BERGER, Thomas. Little Big Man. NY: Dial, 1964. The uncorrected proof copy, in the form of stringbound galleys, of the author's third and most famous novel, a tragicomic history of the American West, which was immortalized on film. Glue residue on front cover from label removal but still very good. Little Big Man won the Richard and Hilda Rosenthal Foundation Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, an award that is given for a work that, while not being a commercial success, is nonetheless a substantial literary achievement. An exceedingly scarce state of this novel; we have never seen another copy offered for sale.
50. BERGER, Thomas. The Return of Little Big Man. Boston: Little, Brown (1999). The uncorrected proof copy of this sequel to the author's most famous book. Small nick to upper front cover; else fine in wrappers.
51. BERRIAULT, Gina. The Lights of Earth. San Francisco: North Point, 1984. The uncorrected proof copy of a novel by this award-winning San Francisco Bay Area writer whose critical accolades, especially from her fellow writers, had far outstripped her public recognition, at least until her winning of the National Book Critics Circle Award a couple of years ago. This title was reissued in 1997. "P.C" (Press Copy) markings on cover and title page; else fine in wrappers.
52. BIOY-CASARES, Adolfo. La Estatua Casera. Buenos Aires: Jacarenda, 1936. One of a first edition of 100 numbered copies of this early collection of brief prose pieces, with one illustration by Silvina Ocampo, Bioy Casares' future wife and sister to Victoria Ocampo, founding editor of the influential literary magazine, Sur. Near fine in blue self-wraps. A very nice copy of a fragile, early work by the author of such pivotal works as The Invention of Morel and A Plan for Escape. Bioy-Casares was a longtime friend and collaborator with Jorge Luis Borges, with whom he helped reshape the direction of Latin American literature and, ultimately, world literature, in the Thirties and Forties.
53. BIOY-CASARES, Adolfo. A Plan for Escape. NY: Dutton, 1975. The first American edition of a novel first published in Argentina in the Forties, and one of the pivotal books in the emergence of Latin American literature as a major force in 20th century world literature. Along with The Invention of Morel (which was the basis for the film Last Year at Marienbad), probably his most well-known book. Inscribed by the author in 1992, and also signed by the translator, Suzanne Jill Levine. Remainder mark; else fine in a dust jacket with one edge tear at the upper front panel.
54. BLAIS, Marie-Claire. Une Saison dans la Vie d'Emmanuel. Paris: Grasset (1965). Probably the most famous novel by this French-Canadian author, a two-time winner of the Governor General's Award, Canada's most prestigious literary award. Translated as A Season in the Life of Emmanuel and winner of the French Prix Médicis in 1966. Inscribed by the author in Paris in 1966. This copy shows a bit of light overall handling; near fine in self-wrappers.
55. BLOCK, Lawrence. The Specialists. Aliso Viejo: Cahill, 1996. Limited edition of this novel about a group of five ex-special forces soldiers now working as an elite anti-crime unit. One of 200 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket and slipcase.
56. BLOCK, Lawrence. Everybody Dies. NY: Morrow (1998). The advance reading copy of this recent novel in the award-winning Matthew Scudder series. Fine in wrappers.
57. BORGES, Jorge Luis. El Idioma de los Argentinos. Buenos Aires: Gleizer, 1928. The fifth book and third collection of essays by the writer most individually responsible for bringing avant garde writing to Latin America (Borges didn't publish any of his now-famous "fictions" until the mid-1930s). Borges, who was educated in Europe, was closely identified with the "Ultra-ist" movement in Spain, and by virtue of his understanding of the contemporary context of world literature, his writings of the 1920s and '30s put Latin American writing on the literary map, helping set in motion the process that later resulted in the "boom" in Latin American literature. Foredges of covers chipped and worn; page edges and some page borders foxed; spine darkened and restored; at best a very good copy in wrappers, but a scarce, early title by one of the literary giants of the 20th century. While the bibliographer doesn't give the size of the print run for this title, three of Borges' preceding four books had prints runs of 300, 300 and 500 copies -- and a print run in the same general vicinity would have been likely for this title.
58. BORGES, Jorge Luis. Ragnarök. (n.p.): Pounder/King Cross/(Catnip Press), 1990. A bilingual edition of this short piece, published as an attractive chapbook. One of 550 copies of a story/dream by Borges, translated by Nestor Silva. Fine in wrappers.
59. BORGES, Jorge Luis and Adolfo BIOY-CASARES. "BUSTOS DOMECQ, H." Seis Problemas Para Don Isidro Parodi. Buenos Aires: Sur (n.d.). First edition of this collection of six short mysteries, chosen by Ellery Queen for inclusion in his "Queen's Quorum" list of the best mysteries some 40 years prior to its translation and publication in this country. Inscribed by "H. Bustos Domecq" in Bioy-Casares' hand -- the pseudonym being the one he and Borges, good friends, used on their collaborations. With two small holograph corrections to the text, presumably in Bioy-Casares' hand. Rebound in quarter cloth and marbled paper boards, with original wrappers bound in. The original wrappers are a bit spotted; the binding is fine.
60. BORGES, Jorge Luis. A Personal Anthology. London: Cape (1968). The first U.K. edition of one of his most sought-after books in this country, originally published in Argentina in 1961. Edited and with a foreword by Anthony Kerrigan. Bowing to boards; near fine in a jacket rubbed at the corners and folds.
61. BORGES, Jorge Luis. Collected Fictions. (n.p.): Viking (1998). The advance reading copy of the first American edition of this new translation of all of Borges' fictions, including the first appearance in English of his final work, Shakespeare's Memory. Fine in wrappers.
62. BOWDEN, Mark. Black Hawk Down. NY: Atlantic Monthly Press (1999). The uncorrected proof copy of this surprise bestseller, a nonfiction work about a U.S. military raid in Somalia that left 18 American soldiers dead and altered the parameters for American military action anywhere in the world since. Compared by critics to Michael Herr's Dispatches, for its realistic account of soldiers in the heat of battle. Smallest hint of a bump at the rear top edge; still fine in wrappers. Much scarcer than the advance reading copy in pictorial wrappers.
63. BOWEN, Elizabeth. A World of Love. London: Jonathan Cape (1955). A novel by this Irish writer who has been compared to Henry James and Virginia Woolf. This copy is inscribed by the author "to Loren and Sheila/ with much love." Loren Carroll was an American diplomat who rented Bowen's house when she was traveling. Near fine in a spine-faded dust jacket with a small faint stain at the crown.
64. BOWLES, Paul. The Sheltering Sky. London: Lehmann (1949). The first edition of Bowles's landmark first novel, a tale of Westerners abroad in North Africa, encountering both an alien land and previously unsuspected aspects of themselves. One critic summarized it thus: "The Sheltering Sky shows his remarkable feeling for the power of the African town and desert to generate existential fear and panic in characters exhausted and degenerated by Western urban excess. He is a master of cruelty and isolation, and the ironies of the search for meaning in an inadequately understood environment." Only 4000 copies were printed, and the book was reprinted several times in short order. The first edition has become very scarce in recent years. Upper corners slightly bumped; near fine in a very good dust jacket with a small chip at the upper edge of the front cover, a 1" tear at the lower front spine fold, and other minor edgewear. More attractive than it sounds, and still a nicer-than-usual copy of this book, which readily shows wear. An important first novel, which anticipated the literature of the Beat movement and the focus on exotic experience and altered states of mind, whether induced by drugs or by exposure to foreign lands and alien cultures.
65. BOWLES, Paul. Let it Come Down. NY: Random House (1952). A review copy of the first American edition of his second novel, a tale of expatriate North Americans in North Africa. Signed by Bowles on a tipped-in leaf. Corners worn, small spot to foredge, a bit of sunning to the cloth edges; about near fine in a very good, edgeworn dust jacket. Because Bowles has spent most of the last 50 years living in North Africa, trade editions signed by him are very scarce; an advance copy signed is even scarcer.
66. (BOWLES, Paul). REY ROSA, Rodrigo. The Pelcari Project. (Tiburon): Cadmus Editions (1997). The first American edition of this horrific novella of present-day Central America, translated by Bowles and published here in a bilingual edition, in Spanish and English. This is one of 150 numbered copies signed by Bowles and Rey Rosa. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
67. BOYD, William. A Good Man in Africa. NY: Morrow, 1982. The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of the author's first book, winner of the Whitbread, Somerset Maugham and John Llewellyn Rhys awards when published in England. Signed by the author. Very good in wrappers.
68. BOYLE, T. Coraghessan. Budding Prospects. NY: Viking (1984). The uncorrected proof copy of this humorous novel of marijuana growing in the northern California wilds. For whatever reason, the trade edition of this novel is one of Boyle's least common titles; the proof is, as might be expected, considerably scarcer still. Fine in wrappers.
69. -. Another copy. Signed by the author. One light corner crease; else fine in wrappers.
70. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. Loading Mercury with a Pitchfork. NY: Simon & Schuster (1976). A collection of poems that has proven over the years to be much scarcer than one would expect. Remainder stripe lower page edges; else fine in a well-rubbed, very good dust jacket.
71. BROOKNER, Anita. Falling Slowly. NY: Random House (1999). The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of the most recent novel by the author of the Booker Prize-winning Hotel du Lac. Fine in wrappers.
72. BROWN, Rita Mae. Loose Lips. NY: Bantam (1999). The uncorrected proof copy of this forthcoming novel (July, 1999) by the author of Rubyfruit Jungle, among many other books. Fine in wrappers.
73. BUECHNER, Frederick. The Storm. (n.p.): HarperSanFrancisco (1998). The advance reading copy of this recent novel by a writer who is respected as both a literary author and as a writer of religious and spiritual sensibility -- a surprisingly uncommon combination in today's literary world, at least in the U.S. Fine in wrappers.
74. BURKE, James Lee. The Convict. Boston: Little Brown (1990). Paperback reissue of this short story collection, originally published in 1985, prior to his success with the Dave Robicheaux series and reissued here after that series had become popular and had earned the author an Edgar Award. Remainder stripe top page edges; else fine in wrappers and inscribed by the author.
75. BURROUGHS, William. Word Virus. NY: Grove Press (1998). The advance reading copy of this William Burroughs "reader" with selections from his published books as well as previously unpublished writings -- including a chapter from his never-published collaborative novel with Jack Kerouac. Fine in wrappers.
76. (BURROUGHS, William S.). BURROUGHS, Laura Lee. Flower Arranging. A Fascinating Hobby together with Flower Arranging. A Fascinating Hobby, Vol. 2 and Homes and Flowers. Refreshing Arrangements. Atlanta: The Coca-Cola Company (1940, 1941, 1942). Three volumes by Burroughs' mother -- part floral instruction; part Coca-Cola propaganda -- deeply reflecting the values Burroughs had to subvert. Heavily illustrated quartos in stapled wrappers: the first volume is very good; the final two are fine. An uncommon set these days: individual volumes turn up from time to time but seldom are all three encountered together.