Catalog 104, M-N
229. MAILER, Norman. Cannibals and Christians. NY: Dial Press, 1966. Folded and gathered sheets of this collection of essays and articles by Mailer, mostly from the 1960s and touching on political, literary and other matters. Claspbound signatures sent out for review prior to the publication day of August 29. One ink note on first page, corresponding to a page number on which one phrase is underlined. Mildly dust soiled, small tear around the front clasp, corners turned on the cover page; still near fine. Quite scarce.
Mary Wheelwright's brother
230. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Race Rock. NY: Harper & Brothers (1954). The author's first novel, published just after he returned from Paris, where he helped found the Paris Review. This is the issue in blue cloth and black boards; the priority has not been determined so far. Signed by the author. The front flyleaf bears a small ink price and a penciled editorial comment: "A book by Mary Wheelwright's brother Not too good, but light and interesting if you know him!" A touch of fading to the cloth at the crown; else fine in a very good, spine-tanned dust jacket with light chipping to the extremities and corners and rubbing at the folds.
Unrecorded Galley Proofs
231. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. At Play in the Fields of the Lord. NY: Random House (1965). Matthiessen's fourth novel, a National Book Award nominee. This is an early pre-publication state of the book: galley sheets, 6 3/4" x 9", printed on rectos only, clasp-bound into plain red wrappers. The text appears on casual inspection to be identical with that of the published edition and, while the typesetting appears almost identical to the published version, the page wrap is quite different, and this volume runs to 374 pages, while the published version ends at 373. Extremely scarce; we have never seen another copy of this, and there was not one in the author's own manuscript archive. A few small numbers written on the front wrapper; foredges of wrappers and pages slightly worn, with a few chips and tears to the rear wrapper and the last couple of pages of the text block (not affecting text). Overall, very good, and signed by the author on the title page.
232. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Bone by Bone. London: Harvill Press (1999). The first British edition of the third book in the trilogy that began with Killing Mr. Watson and continued with Lost Man's River. This is the hardcover issue; there was also a simultaneous paperback issue -- usually indicative of a quite small hardcover printing, although we have not heard printing figures for this title. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
233. (MAXWELL, William). Stories. NY: Farrar Straus Cudahy, (1956). A collection of stories by William Maxwell, John Cheever, Jean Stafford and Daniel Fuchs. This copy is inscribed by Maxwell to Harold Brodkey in December, 1956: "For Harold and Joanna/ with my love/ B." Near fine in a very good, modestly edgeworn dust jacket. An excellent association copy: Maxwell was an editor at The New Yorker, where Brodkey published most of his stories, and was the dedicatee of Brodkey's first book, which was published the following year.
234. McCABE, Patrick. Breakfast on Pluto. (London): Picador (1998). The advance reading copy, shot from typescript, of this novel by the author of The Butcher Boy, a Booker Prize nominee in 1992. Fine in wrappers.
235. -. Another copy. Slight corner bump; else fine in wrappers.
236. McCABE, Patrick. Mondo Desperado. (London): Picador (1999). The advance reading copy of this novel that has just been published as a trade paperback original in the U.K. Fine in wrappers.
237. McCARTHY, Cormac. Blood Meridian. NY: Random House (1985). His fifth book, a powerful novel of the Old West, based on an actual series of events in 1849-1850 in Texas and Mexico, and rendered with an eye to bringing to life the surreal violence of the time and place. A bit of spotting to the page edges; else fine in a near fine dust jacket with several edge nicks and one short tear.
238. McCARTHY, Cormac. All the Pretty Horses. NY: Knopf, 1992. The first volume of the Border Trilogy, a landmark novel that won both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award and propelled its author to "instant" literary celebrity -- after nearly three decades of writing well-received literary novels in relative obscurity. All the Pretty Horses sold ten times as many copies in hardcover as all five of his previous novels combined. Fine in a fine dust jacket. This is the reputed second issue dust jacket, with five blurbs on the rear panel and the first letter of the flap copy printed in color; it's not clear whether any copies of the first issue jacket were distributed upon publication, or if they were limited to advance copies and thus represent a pre-publication "state" of the jacket, rather than an "issue point," per se (we rather suspect the former). Fine in a fine dust jacket.
239. -. Same title. The advance reading copy, issued in wrappers and publisher's folding box, sent out in advance of publication to promote the book and signed by the author. Rumor has it that approximately 400 were to be done but the author quit after about 200, and declined to do any more. McCarthy has a reputation as, if not exactly a recluse, one who prizes his independence and privacy, and books signed by him are uncommon. Fine in the folding box.
240. -. Same title, the first British trade edition (London: Pan Books, 1992). Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
241. McCARTHY, Cormac. Cities of the Plain. NY: Knopf, 1998. Unbound photocopied galley sheets of the third volume in The Border Trilogy. 8 1/4" x 11 3/4", printed on rectos only. A couple light corner wrinkles, mostly on the final few pages; else fine. This set of sheets was sent to a British publisher, in advance of the production of the U.K. edition of the book, and is stamped "First Class Mail" on the top sheet.
242. -. Same title. (London): Picador (1998). The advance reading copy of the British edition, with a photograph of the author on the front cover that differs from the dust jacket art used for the published book. Fine in wrappers.
243. McCLANAHAN, Ed. My Vita, If You Will. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint (1998). The uncorrected proof copy. Signed by the author. With a foreword by Robert Stone, a longtime friend dating from the early 1960s at Stanford, where McClanahan introduced Stone to Ken Kesey and the other members of the Perry Lane crowd. Fine in wrappers.
244. McCLENDON, Lise. Painted Truth. NY: Walker (1995). Her second novel, and the second Alix Thorssen mystery. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
245. McCRACKEN, Elizabeth. The Giant's House. (NY): Dial Press (1996). The first novel by this author whose first book Here's Your Hat, What's Your Hurry won her a place on the Granta list of the top 20 young American authors. Nominated for the National Book Award. Fine in jacket and signed by the author.
246. McEWAN, Ian. First Love, Last Rites. NY: Random House (1975). The first American edition of the author's first book, a collection of stories. Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award. McEwan's most recent book, Amsterdam, won the 1998 Booker Prize. Dusty top edge; else fine in a near fine dust jacket.
247. McEWAN, Ian. Amsterdam. NY: Doubleday (1999). The advance reading copy of the first American edition of his most recent novel, winner of the Booker Prize, England's most prestigious literary award. Following the winning of the Booker Prize, the publication of the American edition was moved up from February 1999 to December 1998. Fine in wrappers.
248. McGARRITY, Michael. Tularosa. NY: Norton (1996). The author's first book, a mystery novel set in New Mexico and introducing Kevin Kerney. Nominated for an Anthony Award for Best First Novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
249. McGRATH, Patrick. Asylum. (London): Viking (1996). The uncorrected proof of the first edition of his fourth novel, which received excellent reviews and, as a result, had a 75,000 copy first printing when it was published in the U.S. -- a remarkable number for a literary work. Spine slanted and creased; near fine in wrappers.
250. McGUANE, Thomas. Ninety-Two in the Shade. NY: FSG (1973). McGuane's third novel, which was made into a movie, and which is widely considered the book that secured his reputation as a major American author (as opposed to a "promising" young writer). Fine in a fine dust jacket.
251. McPHEE, John. The Crofter and the Laird. NY: FSG (1970). McPhee's seventh book, in which he returns to the land of the Scottish clan from which he is descended. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a 1" edge tear at the lower front spine fold.
252. -. Same title, the first British edition (London: Angus and Robertson, 1972). Mild foredge foxing; else fine in a near fine dust jacket.
253. McPHEE, John. The Curve of Binding Energy. NY: FSG (1974). A lengthy profile of Theodore Taylor, a nuclear physicist who spent years working on an eventually-aborted project to develop a spaceship powered by exploding atomic bombs. In later years he became an expert in preventing the "diversion" of nuclear materials to help limit nuclear proliferation. McPhee's explication of the concepts of nuclear physics necessary to tell this story to a lay reader is remarkable. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
254. MICHAELS, Anne. Fugitive Pieces. NY: Knopf, 1997. The advance reading copy of the first American edition of this Canadian poet's highly acclaimed first novel. Faint soiling to foredge; still fine in wrappers.
255. MICHENER, James. Journey. NY: Random House (1989). The uncorrected proof copy of this relatively short (for him) novel of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897. Fine in wrappers.
256. MICHENER, James. Recessional. NY: Random House (1994). The publisher's limited edition of this title, preceded by the Franklin Library edition, but presumably done in much smaller quantities than that edition. One of 500 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
257. MILLER, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. NY: Viking, 1949. By consensus the most important play by one of the leading American playwrights of the postwar era. Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Signed by the author. A bit of spotting to the cloth at the lower edge; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light wear at the spine extremities. A very attractive copy of a modern classic.
258. -. Same title, a limited edition reissue (NY: Viking, 1981). One of 500 numbered copies signed by the author. With photographs from five major stage productions of the play. Fine in a fine slipcase.
259. MILLER, Arthur. Mr. Peters' Connections. [NY]: Penguin (1999). The advance reading copy of his latest play. Binder's flaw has resulted in one page corner turned; else fine in wrappers.
260. MILLER, Henry. The Nightmare Notebook. (NY): New Directions (1975). A limited edition of 700 copies signed by the author, reproducing in facsimile a journal that Miller kept in 1939 on the trip to the U.S. that resulted in his books The Air-Conditioned Nightmare and Remember to Remember. Quarto, reproducing Miller's writings and paintings. A fine copy in the original tissue dust jacket (browned and slightly spotted with age, but still quite crisp).
261. MILLHAUSER, Steven. Martin Dressler. NY: Crown (1996). The uncorrected proof copy of the author's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Fine in wrappers.
262. MILLHAUSER, Steven. The Knife Thrower. NY: Crown (1998). His most recent book, a collection of stories. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
263. MOODY, Rick. The Ice Storm. Boston: Little Brown (1994). His second book, made into a film by Ang Lee that won an award at Cannes, for best screenplay adaptation from a novel, and was the only American film to be honored at Cannes that year. Moody was recently selected by the New Yorker magazine for its list of the "20 Best Young Writers" in America. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
264. MOORE, Lorrie. Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? NY: Knopf, 1994. The uncorrected proof copy of her first novel in eight years, which contrasts the dissolving bonds of marriage with the enduring bonds of an adolescent friendship. Although each of Moore's books prior to this one had received critical praise (as did her most recent, Birds of America), this was her first to become a bestseller. Fine in wrappers.
265. MORRISON, Toni. Tar Baby. NY: Knopf, 1981. The first trade edition of the fourth novel by the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
266. MORRISON, Toni. Paradise. NY: Knopf, 1998. The latest novel by the Nobel Prize-winning author. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
267. MOSLEY, Walter. Gone Fishin'. Baltimore: Black Classic Press (1997). The advance reading copy of the latest Easy Rawlins novel, this one a prequel to the series. Published by a small black-owned press, not used to handling large first printings and wide general distribution to the book trade, this proof is likely to prove fairly elusive. Fine in wrappers.
268. MUNRO, Alice. The Progress of Love. (Toronto): McClelland & Stewart (1986). The first edition of this collection of stories, the third of her books to win the Governor General's Award, Canada's most prestigious literary award. Inscribed by the author. Very slight shelfwear to bottom edge of cloth, otherwise fine in a fine, price-clipped jacket.
269. (MUNRO, Alice). "The Time of Death" in Canadian Short Stories. London: Oxford University Press, 1960. Volume 573 in the World's Classics series, collecting a Munro story that first appeared in The Canadian Forum in 1956. Precedes her first book by eight years. A small volume, 4" x 6", this copy has a gift inscription on the verso of the front flyleaf; near fine in a very good dust jacket with some sunning and rubbing and one edge tear.
270. NABOKOV, Vladimir. Nine Stories. (Norfolk): New Directions (1947). A collection of stories only issued in wrappers, as the second issue of Direction magazine, a literary magazine each issue of which was devoted to the work of one author. Very good in moderately edgeworn oversize wrappers with a strip of rubbing to the front cover. Wrapper design by Alvin Lustig.
271. NAIPAUL, Shiva. Love and Death in a Hot Country. (n.p.): Viking (1984). The uncorrected proof copy of this novel by the brother of the more well-known V.S. Naipaul. Fine in wrappers.
272. NAIPAUL, Shiva. Beyond the Dragon's Mouth. (n.p.): Viking (1985). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of short pieces. Fine in wrappers.
273. NAIPAUL, Shiva. An Unfinished Journey. (n.p.): Viking (1987). The uncorrected proof copy. Six articles and the start of a book on Australia that was never finished due to the author's untimely death. Fine in wrappers.
274. NAIPAUL, V.S. In a Free State. NY: Knopf, 1971. The first U.S. edition of this collection of three related pieces, bearing on issues of freedom and colonialism in Africa. Winner of the Booker Prize. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
275. NAIPAUL, V.S. Among the Believers. NY: Knopf, 1981. A review copy of this account of Naipaul's travels through several Islamic countries. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a crease on the front flap. With review slip, photo and promotional material laid in.
276. NAIPAUL. V.S. Three Novels. NY: Knopf, 1982. A review copy of this collection of the novels The Mystic Masseur, The Suffrage of Elvira and Miguel Street. Dusty top edge; else fine in a near fine dust jacket.
277. NAIPAUL, V.S. A House for Mr. Biswas. NY: Knopf (1983). The uncorrected proof copy of the Knopf reissue of this title, originally published in 1961, first in England and then by McGraw-Hill. The first of Naipaul's books to venture away from the comic form, and begin to face the serious issues of race, class, and culture that have dominated his books ever since. With a new introduction by the author. Near fine in wrappers.
278. NAIPAUL, V.S. Beyond Belief. NY: Random House, 1998. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of essays on the people of the Islamic world -- a follow-up to his earlier title, Among the Believers -- and in particular the influence of Islamic fundamentalism on their lives. Fine in wrappers.
279. NORMAN, Howard. The Bird Artist. NY: FSG (1994). The first American edition of his second novel, his second book to be nominated for the National Book Award. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
280. NORMAN, Howard. The Museum Guard. NY: FSG (1998). The uncorrected proof copy of his most recent novel. Fine in wrappers.
281. -. Same title. (London): Picador (1999). The uncorrected proof copy of the British edition. Fine in wrappers. Laid in is a (used) promotional postcard depicting the dust jacket art.