Catalog 106, D-F
59. -. Another copy. One small corner chip and light creasing; very good in wrappers.
60. DIDION, Joan. Salvador. NY: Simon & Schuster (1983). The uncorrected proof copy of this extended essay on the civil war in El Salvador, the brutality of which was perfectly captured by Didion's writing, which is imbued with a pervasive sense of dread. The publisher calls El Salvador "a time and place so terrifying that only Joan Didion could capture it," giving voice implicitly to the place that she has occupied in contemporary American literature as a writer singularly privy to the fears and dark horrors on the other side of the looking glass that is modern society. Fine in wrappers.
61. -. Another copy. Mild vertical crease to rear cover; near fine in wrappers.
62. DINESEN, Isak. Out of Africa. NY: Random House (1938). The first American edition of her second book, a memoir of her life in Nairobi that has come to be regarded as a classic -- one of the defining autobiographies of the 20th century. The film version of this story, done almost 50 years later, won seven Academy Awards and was nominated for several others. Foxing to page edges and inner hinges, fading to top stain, minor handling to cloth; very good in a very good, edge-chipped and spine-tanned dust jacket.
63. DOYLE, Arthur Conan. The Valley of Fear. NY: Bantam Books (1950). A review copy of the first Bantam paperback edition. Introduced by John Dickson Carr, apparently the first publication of this intro. Slight bowing and spine slant, trace rubbing to folds; near fine in wrappers. A very nice copy, and extremely uncommon as an advance copy.
64. DRURY, Tom. The End of Vandalism. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. The advance reading copy of Drury's first book, which won him recognition as one of Granta's top 20 young American novelists. One of the scarcest of the "Granta 20" authors' books. Rear cover corner creased; else fine in wrappers.
65. DRURY, Tom. The Black Brook. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. The uncorrected proof copy of his second novel. Fine in wrappers.
66. DUBUS, Andre. Voices From the Moon. Boston: Godine (1984). The only novella to be published on its own, outside of a collection, by this writer who was the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" and whose short stories were repeatedly compared to those of Chekhov in their unflinching examination of his characters' lives and failings, combined with strong sense of compassion. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
67. DUBUS, Andre. Land Where My Fathers Died. (n.p.): Stuart Wright (1984). His first limited edition, a single story issued in an edition of 200 copies. Signed by the author. Clothbound, with paper spine label, issued without dust jacket. Covers splaying slightly, as is common with this title, otherwise fine.
68. DUBUS, Andre. Leslie in California. (Otisville): Birch Brook (1989). First separate appearance of this story, a small, attractive letterpress limited edition. One of 300 numbered copies, signed by the author. Approximately 6" x 4 1/2". Fine, in wrappers. An uncommon volume, which appears to have gotten little distribution and seldom shows up on the market.
69. DUBUS, Andre. Broken Vessels. Boston: Godine (1991). The uncorrected proof copy of this well-received collection of essays, Dubus' first book of nonfiction. With an introduction by Tobias Wolff. Near fine in wrappers.
70. DUBUS, Andre III. The Cage Keeper and Other Stories. NY: Dutton (1989). The uncorrected proof copy of his first book, a well-received collection of stories. His latest book, a novel, was a finalist for the National Book Award this year. Small tear at base of spine, otherwise fine in wrappers with proposed publication date written in pencil on the front cover.
71. DURRELL, Lawrence. "Harbor at Lesbos" [Artwork]. (1958). 19-1/2" x 25", watercolor and pastel. Signed "Larry." Impressionistic, panoramic sketch of the harbor and the surrounding hills of the Greek island of Lesbos. Durrell spent a number of years living on the island of Corfu, also in Greece, and his travel writings are renowned for their evocative sense of the what he called the "spirit of place." In 1957, he had settled in the south of France, had published the first volume -- Justine -- of what came to be acclaimed as his masterwork, "The Alexandria Quartet" and had also published Bitter Lemons, set in Greece. Throughout Durrell's writing career, the Mediterranean has been the greatest source of his inspiration, this artwork epitomizing his sense of attraction and connection to the beautiies of that place -- i.e., its spirit. [See ilustration].
72. ELIOT, T. S. Animula. London: Faber & Faber, 1929. A single poem, with wood engravings by Gertrude Hermes. This is the trade edition; one of 3000 copies bound in yellow wrappers. Fine.
73. ELIOT, T.S. The Three Voices of Poetry. London: Cambridge University Press, 1953. A pamphlet printing the text of Eliot's lecture at the National Book League, delivered on November 19, 1953 and published barely three weeks later in an edition of 7000 copies. Fine in stapled wrappers.
74. -. Another copy. Near fine.
75. (ELLISON, Ralph). Teaching Creative Writing. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1974. The text of four panel discussions from a 1973 conference on the teaching of creative writing. Ellison participated in "The Writing of Fiction," chaired by Wallace Stegner and "The Writing of Nonfiction Prose," chaired by John Ciardi. Other participants included John Barth, Ernest J. Gaines, N. Scott Momaday and Miller Williams, among others. This copy is near fine in wrappers and signed by Ellison. An uncommon Ellison appearance (not to mention Stegner, et al) and very scarce signed.
76. ELLROY, James. Hollywood Nocturnes. NY: Otto Penzler (1994). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of short fiction, including a novella and all of Ellroy's short stories to date. Ellroy, author of White Jazz and L.A. Confidential, among others, is considered one of the finest practitioners of the hard-boiled crime novel writing today, and his penchant for extreme, over-the-top violence combined with a mordant sense of humor puts him in a category of his own. Fine in wrappers.
77. FALL, Bernard. Street Without Joy. Harrisburg: Stackpole (1961). A review copy of the very scarce first edition of Fall's classic study of French policy and tactics in Southeast Asia and the American penchant for following the footsteps of the French, duplicating their erroneous assumptions and mistakes. Perhaps the single most insightful volume on the Indochina war(s). Published by a press more noted for its sporting handbooks than for its general trade books, which often issued titles with first printings as small as 1000 copies. The first edition of this title is exceedingly scarce, although it was reprinted a number of times in the early and mid-Sixties as the American involvement in Vietnam grew. In addition to the review slip, there is a ribbon-copy letter from the director of advertising to "Dear Reviewer," which calls Street Without Joy "a timely publication because of the current position in Laos and the stand which President Kennedy has taken..." To read the book is to be struck by a slowly-building horror -- the realization that much of Fall's description of the failure of various tactics and policies in Vietnam was written before the United States employed those same tactics and strategies there. The book was published barely two months after the inauguration of President Kennedy, who commented that if Vietnam "were ever converted to a white man's war, we should lose it as the French had lost a decade earlier" -- a statement characterized by historian Barbara Tuchman as "a classic case of seeing the truth and acting without reference to it." Fine in a very good, spine-faded dust jacket with shallow chipping at the spine extremities and wear to the folds. A nice copy of an enormously important and scarce book, rare in an advance issue.
78. FARRELL, James T. Young Lonigan. NY: Vanguard Press (1935). A "special edition, the sale of which is limited to physicians, surgeons, psychologists, psychiatrists, sociologists, social workers, teachers and other persons having a professional interest in the psychology of adolescence." Farrell's first novel, originally published in 1932 as the first book in the Studs Lonigan trilogy, which chronicled the maturing, degradation and, finally, death of a young Chicago man, destroyed by the pressures of modern urban street life. The books were controversial in their day for their unflinching, realistic portrayal of the brutalities of city life and their honest rendering of both the thoughts and the speech of a youth growing up on the streets. This edition, with an added preface, prints the above three times on the jacket, with the added disclaimer that "It is the sincere conviction of the publisher that this book could not conceivably harm any individual, whether or not a member of a profession. The plan for restricting its circulation has been adopted merely for the purpose of meeting official prejudice." Near fine in a fair, fragile jacket, chipped along the edges and with a detached front flapfold.
79. FAULKNER, William. Mosquitoes. NY: Boni and Liveright, 1927. Faulkner's second novel, published in an edition of 3047 copies. Top stain faded; light cloth rubbing at extremities and joints; an attractive, near fine copy, lacking the rare dust jacket.
80. FAULKNER, William. Sanctuary. NY: Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith (1931). The first state, with magenta and gray endpages. A bit of rubbing to the paper covering the boards; spine cloth tanned; one spot to top stain. Still, a very good copy, lacking the rare dust jacket.
81. FAULKNER, William. These 13. NY: Cape & Smith (1931). The limited edition of this collection of stories. One of 299 copies signed by the author. Modest foxing to endpages; mild edge-sunning to cloth; a near fine copy. The previous owner put a protective acetate wrapper around the book which, although the acidity contributed to the foxing, helped protect the cloth and the silver-stamped spine lettering, which is prone to flaking. A very nice copy, lacking the original plain tissue dust jacket.
82. FAULKNER, William. Light in August. (NY): Smith & Haas (1932). A Yoknapatawpha County novel that is considered his "most penetrating and dramatic analysis of contemporary Southern society." Offsetting to endpapers, fading to top stain; an attractive, near fine copy, but lacking the dust jacket. One of Faulkner's greatest works, and one of the high spots of twentieth century American literature.
83. FAULKNER, William. A Green Bough. NY: Smith & Haas, 1933. The limited edition of Faulkner's second and last volume of poetry to be published during his lifetime. One of 360 numbered copies signed by the author. With cover labels and tipped in frontispiece by Lynd Ward. A spine-sunned, near fine copy, without dust jacket, as issued. The black lettering on the spine and front cover, which is exceptionally prone to flaking and peeling, is here intact.
84. FAULKNER, William. Pylon. NY: Smith and Haas, 1935. First printing of the trade edition, inscribed by the author on the half-title in the year of publication. The inscription reads: "For Mrs Eva Newman [?] Gilmore [?] William Faulkner Oxford, Miss 15 Oct 1935." On the 15th of October, 1935, Faulkner flew back to Oxford from Memphis, with his brother, Dean, after having spent nearly three weeks in New York City and Connecticut, working on selling the rights to Absalom, Absalom and also laying the groundwork for his move to Random House the following year. Who Mrs. Gilmore is is not known; she isn't identified in the standard biographies, but she was apparently one of the people that Faulkner saw on his very first day back in Mississippi after an extended absence -- which suggests a relationship of some sort, rather than her being a random stranger. The link, if any, bears further research but the association -- Faulkner inscribing his book on flying on a day when he himself had just flown back from Memphis -- is intriguing. Heavily darkened spine cloth, loss of gilt lettering; about very good in a supplied, very good dust jacket with a few very small chips, one of which affects the end of "William" on the spine. Faulkner was notorious for disliking to sign or inscribe books, and inscribed trade editions of Faulkner's titles are many times scarcer than the signed limited editions of them. The renowned Petersen collection, offered by Serendipity Books a few years back -- and which contained numerous inscribed Faulkners -- did not have an inscribed first edition of Pylon.
85. -. Another copy. Spine gilt flaking and spine cloth a bit dulled; about near fine, lacking the dust jacket.
86. FAULKNER, William. The Wild Palms. NY: Random House (1939). The first trade edition of this elaborately structured novel, which consists of two distinct stories presented in alternating chapters. A very good copy, lacking the dust jacket.
87. FAULKNER, William. The Hamlet. NY: Random House, 1940. The first book in the Snopes trilogy, a Yoknapatawpha County sequence which is considered one of Faulkner's great accomplishments. The extreme outer lower corner of the page edges have a bit of shelf darkening; otherwise this a fine copy in a very good dust jacket with rubbing to the folds and modest edgewear. By far the scarcest of the Snopes novels, the other two of which were written in the 1950s, after Faulkner had won the Nobel Prize, and therefore had first printings much larger than this title did.
88. FAULKNER, William. Go Down, Moses and Other Stories. NY: Random House, (1942). First edition, in later binding of rough maroon cloth, without top stain. Faulkner intended this as a novel, or sequence of related stories, and later editions removed the phrase "and other stories" from the title. A fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with a couple of tiny, closed nicks at the folds. A beautiful copy of one of the most important books in the Faulkner canon, which includes perhaps his most frequently anthologized story, "The Bear." The various colored bindings of this title are considerably scarcer than the first issue black binding; Serendipity Books, in cataloguing the Petersen collection, estimated that the first issue was more common than all the later issues combined by a factor of 20 to 1, and identified this maroon binding as "extremely scarce."
89. FAULKNER, William. Intruder in the Dust. NY: Random House, (1948). By most accounts, this novel -- which deals with the legacy of black-white relations in the South -- was the book that cinched the Nobel Prize for him, which he won in 1949. A tiny bit of gilt loss to two letters on the spine; else a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with a few tiny edge nicks. While not an especially uncommon book, copies in this condition are quite scarce. A Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone title.
90. (FAULKNER, William). COWLEY, Malcolm. The Faulkner-Cowley File. NY: Viking (1966). A collection of letters between Faulkner and Cowley, the editor/literary critic whose conviction that Faulkner was a genius -- and his efforts to make that known -- helped reinvigorate critical interest in Faulkner's books, eventually culminating in his being awarded the Nobel Prize. Bookplate front pastedown; else fine in a fine dust jacket with a slight strip of sunning to the rear panel.
91. FISHER, Steve. I Wake Up Screaming. NY: Dodd, Mead, 1941. Hard-boiled noir Hollywood novel that was made into a highly praised movie with Victor Mature and Betty Grable later in 1941. Trace rubbing at the cloth extremities; still a fine copy in a very good, lightly chipped, black dust jacket rubbed along the folds. The author's most well-known and sought-after novel, and his scarcest.
92. FISHER, Steve. Giveaway. NY: Random House (1954). An early novel of the television industry by a prolific novelist and screenwriter. A bit of shelf paint to the extreme lower board edges; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
93. FISHER, Steve. No House Limit. NY: Dutton, 1958. A noir novel of Las Vegas. Lower corners bumped; near fine in a rubbed, near fine dust jacket.
94. FITZGERALD, F. Scott. Flappers and Philosophers. NY: Scribner, 1920. Fitzgerald's second book, and first collection of stories, published in an edition of 5000 copies. Fitzgerald's first book, This Side of Paradise, had gone through 8 printings by the time this was published, totaling over 38,000 copies in print. This title went through three more printings before the end of the year, bringing the total number of copies in print to over 13,000. Owner name front flyleaf, foxing to endpages, light bump to crown; very good, lacking the dust jacket.
95. FITZGERALD, F. Scott. Tender is the Night. NY: Scribner, 1934. Fitzgerald's fourth novel, with a first printing of 7600 copies (compared with over 20,000 for The Great Gatsby), and the last novel published during his lifetime. Tender is the Night, which Fitzgerald was hoping would redeem his sagging literary reputation, not to mention his dire financial straits, was a commercial failure -- even though today it is viewed as major, if flawed, literary accomplishment. The book's failure, coming as it did at a time of great desperation -- Zelda was already hospitalized -- helped precipitate Fitzgerald's own mental breakdown, leading to his death in 1940 at the age of 44. Minor foxing to endpages, tanning to spine and light general wear; a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket.
96. FITZGERALD, F. Scott. Taps at Reveille. NY: Scribner, 1935. The last book published during his lifetime, a collection of stories done in a printing of only 5100 copies. This is the second state, with cancels at pages 349-352; fine in a faintly spine-faded, near fine, first issue dust jacket with tape shadows on the verso from previous strengthening. There was only one printing of this title until 20 years after Fitzgerald had died and, unlike his earlier books, there was not even an edition published in England -- an indication of how thoroughly the author's literary star had waned. A very attractive copy, and very scarce thus.
97. (FITZGERALD, F. Scott). "The Mystery of the Raymond Mortgage" in Ellery Queen's 15th Mystery Annual. NY: Random House (1960). The first book appearance of Fitzgerald's first published work, which appeared in 1909. Owner name front flyleaf, bump to spine base; near fine in a very good dust jacket.
98. (Football). My Greatest Day in Football. NY: Bantam Books (1949). A review copy of the first Bantam paperback edition. Three dozen games recounted by as many players, including Sammy Baugh, Don Hutson, Frank Leahy, and others; illustrated with photographs. Near fine in wrappers with review slip laid in and, in our experience, quite scarce thus.
99. FORD, Richard. Privacy. (n.p.): [The New Yorker], 1996. Galley sheets for Ford's story. Four pages, one column per page, corrected in two hands (one of them the author?). Editorial and substantive changes; a good glimpse of the work as it evolved toward publication. Signed by Ford in Montana in 1996, a month after the galleys are dated. Fine.