Catalog 106, R-T
239. RULE, Jane. This is Not For You. NY: McCall (1970). The first American edition of the second novel by the author of The Desert of the Heart, a contemporary classic of lesbian fiction. Fine in a fine dust jacket. A very nice copy.
240. RUSHDIE, Salman. Midnight's Children. NY: Knopf, 1981. The author's second book, winner of Britain's Booker Prize and the first book in his ambitious sequence of novels of the Muslim world, which culminated in The Satanic Verses and the death sentence that was imposed on him by Moslem fundamentalists. The American edition is the true first, preceding the British (they were both printed in this country). An important book that launched Rushdie's literary career as it represented a quantum leap from the subject matter and accomplishment of his first novel. This title was later named as the outstanding title among all the Booker Prize winners -- the so-called "Booker of Bookers," and Rushdie has since completed work on the screenplay. This copy has a small, partial address label nearly embedded in the front flyleaf; it is otherwise a fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with a small gutter nick on the front panel, but no sign of the spine-fading that is endemic to this title.
241. RUSHDIE, Salman. Imaginary Homelands. London: Granta (1991). A collection of 75 essays covering ten years and including political and social commentary and literary essays on the work of such writers as Ford, Pynchon, Carver, Naipaul, Chatwin, Bellow, Greene, Le Carre (with whom Rushdie had a widely celebrated public spat a couple of years ago, which one might see anticipated in the review contained in this volume), Orwell and Gordimer. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
242. SALTER, James. Solo Faces. Boston: Little Brown (1979). The uncorrected proof copy of his fifth book, a novel about scaling peaks, both external and internal. A few small notations on the rear cover; otherwise a fine copy in wrappers. Salter's memoir, Burning the Days, was published to extraordinary critical acclaim. His story collection, Dusk, won the PEN Faulkner Award.
243. SCHAEFER, Jack. Shane. NY: Bantam Books (1949). A review copy of the first Bantam paperback edition of one of the definitive Westerns in American literature, which was made into an AFI-100 film. Trace rubbing to spine folds, else fine in wrappers. Scarce in this condition and as a review copy.
244. SEXTON, Anne. Transformations. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1971. The limited edition of this collection of poetry. One of 500 copies signed by the author. Sexton was a student of Robert Lowell; her poetry, for which she won a Pulitzer Prize in 1967, was confessional and often concerned with images of death. She committed suicide in 1974. Fine in glassine dustwrapper and slipcase. With a preface by Kurt Vonnegut.
245. SEXTON, Anne. The Book of Folly. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1972. Again, the limited edition of this collection of poetry, the last book published in her lifetime. One of 500 copies signed by the author. Fine in glassine dustwrapper and slipcase.
246. SEXTON, Anne. 45 Mercy Street. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1976. A review copy of this posthumous collection edited by her daughter. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with review slip, photo and promotional material laid in.
247. SHAW, Irwin. Acceptable Losses. New York: Arbor House (1982). The last novel by the author of The Young Lions and Rich Man, Poor Man, among many others. Inscribed by the author to writer Peter Matthiessen and his wife, "with long-lived affection." Shaw and Matthiessen were longtime friends. Both spent time in Paris as expatriates in the early 1950s and later they both lived on eastern Long Island. Near fine in a fine dust jacket. An excellent literary association copy.
248. SINGER, Isaac Bashevis. On Literature and Life. Tucson: University of Arizona Press (1979). An interview with Singer, first published in 1970 and reissued after he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Fine, without dust jacket, presumably as issued.
249. (SITWELL, Edith). A Book of the Winter. London: Macmillan, 1950. An anthology of poetry and prose compiled by Sitwell. Inscribed by Sitwell to Theodore Roethke, "with admiration and best wishes." A nice literary association. Fine in a near fine, mildly spine-tanned dust jacket.
250. SPEICHER, John. Looking for Baby Paradise. NY: Harcourt Brace (1967). The uncorrected proof copy of Speicher's first novel, with a long Thomas Pynchon blurb on the front cover and a Joseph Heller blurb on the rear cover. Spine-faded; near fine in wrappers.
251. STEIN, Gertrude. Dear Sammy: Letters from Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977. The uncorrected proof of this collection of letters written to Samuel Steward, who edited the collection and contributes a memoir. Fine in wrappers.
252. STEINBECK, John. The Long Valley. NY: Viking, 1938. A collection of stories. Published a year before his classic novel, The Grapes of Wrath, which had a first printing of 50,000 copies, The Long Valley had a first printing of 8000 copies. Two pages have a tiny nick at the extreme lower edge; still a fine copy in a very good, spine-tanned dust jacket with light chipping at the spine extremities. An attractive copy of an early book, one that is considerably less common than any of his later volumes of fiction.
253. STEINBECK, John. The Grapes of Wrath. NY: Viking (1939). By consensus the greatest novel by this Nobel Prize winner, and one of the greatest American novels ever. It has come to be seen as the great American novel of the Depression era. Steinbeck fused social consciousness with literary artistry in a particularly American and individualistic way, refusing to allow his writing to become doctrinaire the way a number of the proletarian novelists of the Thirties did, whose work has since become much more dated and less readable as the years go by; the body of Steinbeck's work has stood the test of time considerably better than that of most of his contemporaries, especially those who tackled the same social issues that he did. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Fine in a fine dust jacket with the tiniest bit of rubbing on the spine fold. A beautiful copy which on first inspection appears so fresh as to resemble a facsimile. One of the nicest copies of this title we've ever seen.
254. STEINBECK, John. Cannery Row. NY: Viking, 1945. The second issue, in yellow cloth, of Steinbeck's homage to the people of Monterey county, where he was born and where he spent much of his life . A slight novel, but a lasting testament. Slight page edge foxing, near fine in a near fine dust jacket with some rubbing, particularly at the front flap fold.
255. STEINBECK, John. The Pearl. NY: Viking, 1947. Slight fading to top stain; otherwise fine in a very near fine, slightly spine-faded second issue dust jacket, with the photograph of Steinbeck looking to the right.
256. STEINBECK, John. The Wayward Bus. NY: Bantam Books (1950). A review copy of the first Bantam paperback edition. Lightly bowed, with a slant and some creasing to spine; about near fine in wrappers. Very scarce as a review copy; we have never seen another.
257. STEINBECK, John. Steinbeck: A Life in Letters. NY: Viking (1975). The limited edition of this massive collection (900+ pages); one of 1000 numbered copies. Among Steinbeck's various correspondents, which included numerous writers and publishers, were such political figures as Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy. Fine in a fine slipcase.
258. STONE, Robert. Dog Soldiers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin (1974). His second novel, winner of the National Book Award and one of the best novels to link the impact of the Vietnam war on American society in the Sixties to the dark side of that era -- the official corruption and the underside of the drug experiences of a generation. Filmed as Who'll Stop the Rain, starring Nick Nolte, whose character, Ray Hicks, is based in part on Neal Cassady, friend and collaborator with Stone's longtime friend, Ken Kesey, as one of the Merry Pranksters of 1960s counterculture legend. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author. An increasingly scarce book in fine condition.
259. STONE, Robert. A Flag for Sunrise. NY: Knopf, 1981. His third novel, which many consider his best book, winner of the L.A. Times Award for best novel of the year and a PEN Faulkner Award finalist. A dark tale of a small Central American country in upheaval, and the lives of a group of Americans whose different backgrounds and connections to the action intersect alarmingly and tragically. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
260. STONE, Robert. Damascus Gate. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. His most recent novel, a densely plotted political and metaphysical thriller set in contemporary Jerusalem and as close to a millenial novel as we are likely to get. Stone tackles the religious hatreds, political intrigues and spiritual aspirations and malaise that intersect in one of the most historically significant, and volatile, places on earth. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
261. -. Same title. Franklin Center: Franklin Library, 1998. The limited edition and, by arrangement with the trade publisher, the true first edition of this title. Signed by the author. With a special introduction by Stone for this edition which does not appear elsewhere. Leatherbound, all edges gilt, map endpapers, with a silk ribbon marker bound in. Fine.
262. -. Same title. (London): Picador (1998). The first British edition. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
263. (STONE, Robert). LOPEZ, Ken and CHANEY, Bev. Robert Stone. A Bibliography 1960-1992. Hadley: Numinous Press, 1992. A first bibliography of Robert Stone, describing in detail the American and British editions of his "A" items, along with an extensive listing of his appearances in others' books, in periodicals, in translation, etc. Illustrated with photographs and including a critical introduction as well as a previously unpublished piece by Robert Stone. Stone, who won the National Book Award for his novel Dog Soldiers, is widely considered one of the most important American novelists to emerge from the era of the Vietnam war and the Sixties counterculture, and the short list of his published novels so far does not give an accurate indication of his pervasive influence on contemporary American literature. By tracing the secondary appearances -- and there are many: the bibliography includes over 240 entries -- one begins to appreciate the scope of his writing and the points at which his voice has been one of those that defines our current situation and gives us the terms with which to understand it. We're biased, of course, but we think every library should have a copy of this book, and any collector who cares about contemporary literature could benefit from it. This is the limited edition. One of 150 numbered copies, signed by Robert Stone. With a marbled paper dust jacket created expressly for this edition by Light of Day Bindery in Northampton, Mass., and printed letterpress by Wild Carrot Press. List price:
264. TAYLOR, Peter. The Oracle at Stoneleigh Court. NY: Knopf, 1993. The uncorrected proof copy of his last collection of stories. Taylor won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel, A Summons to Memphis, and the PEN Faulkner Award for his story collection, The Old Forest. Fine in wrappers, with publicity blurbs stapled inside the front cover. The proof is considerably scarcer than the boxed advance reading copy in glossy wrappers that was issued.
265. THEROUX, Paul. Waldo. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1967. A review copy of his first book, a novel. Cloth shows a bit of shelfwear; near fine in a very good, edgeworn dust jacket. The review slip also has a closed tear.
266. THEROUX, Paul. Typescript Review of Hanoi. [1968]. Carbon copy typescript of Theroux's review of the second of Mary McCarthy's "pamphlets" about -- and against -- the Vietnam war. Two pages, folded in half; else fine, with a typed signature only. Together with Theroux's copy of the first British, and first hardcover edition of McCarthy's book (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968), with a number of marginal notations, several of them marking quotes that he has used in the review. Also together with a galley proof of his review of McCarthy's The Seventeenth Degree, a collection of Vietnam war pieces that included the contents of Hanoi. Printed text, with two holograph rewrites of the conclusion, the first crossed out but still legible. Two long sheets, approximately 22" x 6", folded in sixths and acidifying; else fine. The book is waterstained at the top edge; otherwise near fine in a very good dust jacket. Laid in is a notice from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters announcing McCarthy's death in 1989.
267. TOIBIN, Colm. The South. (n.p.): Viking (1991). The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of the first book of fiction by this Irish writer. Fine in wrappers with a Don DeLillo blurb.
268. TOOLE, John Kennedy. A Confederacy of Dunces. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State U. Press, 1980. One of the most elusive of recent Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction titles, this book had a small first printing, reported to be 2500 copies. Initially, it was turned down for publication by dozens of publishers and the author committed suicide in 1969. Years later, his mother brought the manuscript to Walker Percy, insisting that he read it. Percy, who was inclined to dismiss it for lack of time, succumbed to her persistence, loved the book, and arranged to get it published, contributing an introduction. Excellent reviews and word-of-mouth led to its being reprinted numerous times and becoming a bestseller. It then won one of the most prestigious literary prizes given in this country. This copy has a stray pen mark at the top pages edges (not a remainder mark) and is otherwise fine in a fine dust jacket with trace rubbing at the corners. A very attractive copy an uncommon book which, because of its unlaminated jacket, seldom turns up in fine condition.
269. TYLER, Anne. The Tin Can Tree. London: Macmillan, 1966. The first British edition of her second book, a sensitively told story of a young boy coming to terms with his little sister's death. A powerful and moving story, heartfelt and well-written. Published in the U.S. a year earlier. Faint spotting to top edge, else fine in a very good dust jacket with a small abrasion on the front panel, a gutter nick to the rear spine fold, and some surface soiling to the spine.
270. TYLER, Anne. Typed Note Signed. April 29, 1978. A brief note responding to galleys of Beverly Lowry's novel, Emma Blue: "a richness of texture that amounts to poetry, and a wonderful ability to let her characters rest on the moment and be carried along, effortlessly." Tyler extends permission to use her comments for publicity purposes. Folded in sixths for mailing; else fine.