Catalog 108, W-Z
345. WEESNER, Theodore. Harbor Lights. NY: Atlantic Monthly Press (2000). The advance reading copy of the new novel by the author of The Car Thief and The True Detective, among others. Fine in wrappers.
346. WELCH, James. The Death of Jim Loney. NY: Harper & Row (1979). The second and perhaps scarcest novel by this award-winning Native American author. This copy is touchingly inscribed by Welch to Raymond Carver in the month after publication. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with trace wear at the spine extremities. A wonderful literary association.
347. WHEELER, Kate. When Mountains Walked. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. The uncorrected proof copy of the second book, first novel, by this Granta 20 author. Fine in wrappers, with two pages of publisher's promotional material laid in, including the Robert Stone blurb that appears on the published book.
348. WHITE, E.B. Every Day is Saturday. NY: Harper & Brothers, 1934. White's first solely authored book of prose, a collection of pieces from the "Notes and Comment" section of The New Yorker, 1928-1934. A fine copy in a spine-sunned dust jacket with a small gutter tear, chipping along the top edge and external tape mending at the crown; about very good. A scarce early book by the author of One Man's Meat and Charlotte's Web, among others, whose limpid prose helped give The New Yorker its reputation for style, wit and urbanity, and to elevate it beyond the myriad other weekly journals of its day (and since), and to make it the most respected and prestigious home of prose writing in America over a period of more than 50 years.
349. WHITE, E.B. The Fox of Peapack. NY: Harper & Brothers, 1938. Poetry, including several book reviews in the poetic form. Gift inscription front flyleaf, offsetting to endpages; toning and rubbing to spine; about near fine in a very good dust jacket with moderate edge wear. A scarce collection, particularly uncommon in dust jacket.
350. -. Another copy. Offsetting to endpapers, spine cocked; very good in a good, price-clipped dust jacket chipped at the spine crown and the lower front panel.
351. WHITE, E.B. Quo Vadimus? or The Case for the Bicycle. NY: Harper & Brothers, 1939. A collection of short, humorous pieces, many of which first appeared in The New Yorker. Near fine in a very good, modestly edge-chipped dust jacket with soiling to the rear panel. Uncommon.
352. WHITE, E.B. One Man's Meat. NY: Harper & Brothers (1942). A collection of White's short, inimitable essays -- most from his column in Harper's and a few from The New Yorker. White provides a new foreword, which puts his short and thoughtful essays into the context of the then-ongoing Second World War. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with shallow chipping along the top edge.
353. -. Same title, the first British edition. London: Gollancz, 1943. Spine cloth faded, some minor mottling; very good in a very good, sunned and soiled dust jacket with a few edge chips. A scarce edition; Britain had been at war for several years at that point, and the restrictions on wartime publishing dictated that books be produced as cheaply as possible; as a result, the volumes produced during that era are extremely perishable, and few survive in collectible condition.
354. -. Same title. NY: Harper & Row, 1982. A reissue, with a new introduction by White. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
355. WHITE, E.B. World Government and Peace. NY: F-R Publishing, 1945. A pamphlet, the first separate appearance of selected "Notes and Comment" that were published in The New Yorker from 1943 to 1945, unattributed as usual. All of them bear on questions of the war, and the underlying issues of nationalism and divergent political interests. With a knack for the witty and revealing metaphor, and the pithy quote, White dismantles much of the overblown political rhetoric of the day, in favor of a common sense approach that would seem radical if it were not phrased so simply and felicitously. A pink "R" on the front wrapper and splitting from the bottom fold; near fine in stapled wrappers. A very scarce White "A" item; we have never handled another.
356. WHITE, E.B. Stuart Little. London: Hamish Hamilton (1946). The first British edition of White's first children's classic, published six years before Charlotte's Web. This edition was produced after the war but bears the markings of England's wartime books -- thin paper for the text block and dust jacket, thin boards for the binding -- and is thus extremely fragile. Gift inscription on the front flyleaf; fine in a near fine, spine-tanned dust jacket. A very nice copy of a scarce edition of a modern classic.
357. WHITE, E.B. The Wild Flag. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1946. A series of essays on the need for a world government, taken from the Notes and Comment section of The New Yorker over a period of several years. Inscribed by the author: "For aunt Caroline/ with much love/ Andy." Cloth unevenly faded; about near fine in a very good, rubbed and spine-faded dust jacket with minor edge wear. Books signed by White are quite uncommon and most are, like this one, inscribed to close friends or relatives, using his college nickname.
358. WHITE, E.B. The Second Tree from the Corner. NY: Harper & Brothers (1954). A collection of essays, stories and poems. Offsetting to the endpages, else fine in a near fine dust jacket.
359. -. Same title, the limited edition. One of 500 copies signed (initialled) by White for presentation to friends, in the book trade, of the author and publisher. Near fine in a very good, sunned and spotted dust jacket.
360. -. Same title, the first British edition. London: Hamish Hamilton (1954). A fine copy in a very good jacket with modest edge wear and minor dust soiling.
361. -. Another copy of the British edition. Owner name on front flyleaf, else fine in a very good, spine- and edge-sunned dust jacket worn at the crown.
370. WHITE, E.B. and STRUNK, William, Jr. The Elements of Style. NY: Macmillan (1959). The classic handbook of writing style, first published in the 1930s by Strunk alone and here revised by White with an introduction and a new chapter on writing by him. White's advice (although I ignore it here by offering personal opinion gratuitously) is full of charm and common sense, and says volumes about clear writing in a very few well-chosen, light-hearted words. Spotting to top edge of pages, and edges of jacket flaps there, but still near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
372. -. Another copy. Small darkened patches to endpages, one signature shaken; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a rubbed crease along the front gutter.
373. WHITE, E.B. The Points of My Compass. NY: Harper & Row (1962). A collection of White's essays, written in the form of letters to The New Yorker. Spot to top edge, else fine in a near fine dust jacket.
374. -. Same title. One of an unspecified number of copies with a tipped-in leaf making it a presentation copy issued as a gift from The New Yorker in October, 1962, the month of publication. Light offsetting to front endpages, else fine in a near fine dust jacket.
375. -. Same title, the first British edition. London: Hamish Hamilton (1963). Fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
376. WHITE, E.B. Stuart Little in the Schoolroom. NY: Harper & Row (n.d.)[1962]. The first separate printing of chapter twelve of Stuart Little, published as a Christmas gift for employees and associates of Harper & Row. Fine in red cloth, without dust jacket, as issued. Uncommon.
377. WHITE, E.B. Henry David Thoreau 1862-1962. NY: Thoreau Society/(Thistle Press), 1962. A reprint of a 1949 New Yorker essay, published here in the program for the centenary commemoration at the Pierpont Morgan Library. Fine in wrappers. A scarce, ephemeral item.
378. WHITE, E.B. An Answer from White. (Champaign): Privately Printed (1969). A single sheet, folded twice, reprinting White's hilarious and touching reply to a doctoral student who used White's writing as the subject of his thesis. Fine. A very scarce "A" item; we've never seen another copy of it.
379. WHITE, E.B. Letters of E.B. White. NY: Harper & Row (1976). The first and only collection of his letters, so far. Includes many letters to his wife, other family members, his editors and publishers (including one to Paul Brooks, who published The Wild Flag and also published Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, a book White said he awaited "with impatience and general gloom"). Other correspondents include John Updike, who had made White the dedicatee of his volume of poems, Telephone Poles, and Groucho Marx. Inscribed by the author in 1977: "For my good neighbor/ ___/ with love from/ Andy./" Also initialed by him ("EBW") and dated two months after publication. Offsetting to the pastedowns; bowing to the boards; very good in a very good dust jacket.
380. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Near fine in tall wrappers.
381. WHITE, E.B. Essays of E.B. White. NY: Harper & Row (1977). The uncorrected proof copy. White's intelligent, humane and understated essays helped define The New Yorker's literary style over more than three decades, setting it apart from the other mass-circulation journals of its time. Near fine in wrappers.
382. WHITE, E.B. Poems and Sketches of E.B. White. NY: Harper & Row (1981). A compilation of pieces, many of them never collected before. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
383. -. Another copy. Light splaying to boards and dusting to top edge; near fine in a fine dust jacket.
384. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Fine in wrappers.
385. -. Another copy of the proof. Dampstaining to rear cover and the margins of the last few pages. Very good in wrappers.
386. WHITE, E.B. The Geese. Newton: Tamazunchale Press, 1985. A miniature book printing a single selection from Essays of E.B. White. One of 250 numbered copies. Leatherbound, all edges gilt, with marbled endpapers by Faith Harrison. Fine, without dust jacket, as issued.
387. WHITE, E.B. Natural History. (n.p.): (n.p.), 1985. A single sheet, folded once, printing a poem written for Katharine White in 1929 opposite a photograph of White by Jill Krementz. Published in an edition of approximately 500 copies on the occasion of White's death. White covers dusty, else fine.
388. (WHITE, E.B.). Ho Hum. NY: Farrar and Rinehart (1931). Newsbreaks from The New Yorker, with a foreword by White and illustrations by Otto Soglow. Offsetting to endpages and light foxing to foredge; near fine in a sunned dust jacket chipped across the top edge; about very good. A very scarce book, especially in any kind of dust jacket.
389. (WHITE, E.B.). More Ho Hum. NY: Farrar and Rinehart (1932). More newsbreaks from The New Yorker, again with a foreword by White and illustrations by Soglow. Bookplate front flyleaf, trace wear to cloth at the spine extremities; else fine in a very good, spine-sunned dust jacket with several small edge chips. Again, very scarce, especially in dust jacket.
390. (WHITE, E.B.). A Subtreasury of American Humor. NY: Coward-McCann (1941). Edited by E.B. White and Katharine S. White; he provides a preface for the book and an introduction to each of the thirteen sections. Additionally, several of White's pieces have their first book appearance here. Fading to top stain, small nick to lower pages edges; very near fine in a very good, price-clipped and edgeworn dust jacket. Among the 99 collected authors are James M. Cain, Sinclair Lewis, H.L. Mencken, Joseph Mitchell, S.J. Perelman, James Thurber and Mark Twain. A landmark collection.
391. WILLIAMS, Terry Tempest and MAJOR, Ted. The Secret Language of Snow. (San Francisco): Sierra Club/Pantheon Books (1984). The uncorrected proof copy of Williams' first book, a natural history of snow that draws on poetry and tribal sources as well as scientific categories to expand one's sense of that which is innate in snow, and which it manifests. A very scarce book these days in any form, it is especially scarce as a proof. Fine in wrappers.
392. (WILLIAMS, Terry Tempest). HOUSTON, James. Eskimo Prints. Barre: Barre, 1971. Oblong quarto, reproducing a number of prints by natives of Hudson Bay in northern Canada. The compiler had apparently introduced the art form to the tribal peoples in the late 1950s. This copy bears the ownership inscription of author Terry Tempest Williams, who annotated this copy with the statement that this book was the "inspiration for Snow Language...," an allusion to her first book. Dated in 1981, three years before the publication of The Secret Language of Snow. Near fine in wrappers.
393. WOJNAROWICZ, David. Close to the Knives. NY: Vintage Books (1991). The uncorrected proof copy of the late artist's memoir, which was issued as a paperback original. Near fine in wrappers, with a William Burroughs blurb.
394. WOLFF, Geoffrey. Bad Debts. NY: Simon & Schuster (1969). His first book, a novel. Geoffrey is the older, half-brother of author Tobias Wolff, and the two appear in each other's memoirs. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
395. WOLFF, Geoffrey. The Sightseer. NY: Random House (1973). His second book. Signed by the author. Remainder mark; else fine in a near fine jacket.
396. WOLFF, Geoffrey. Black Sun. NY: Random House (1976). His first book of nonfiction, a well-received biography of expatriate publisher and writer, Harry Crosby, one of the key literary figures in the Paris of the 1920s. Signed by the author. Small spot to foredge; else fine in a near fine dust jacket.
397. WOLFF, Geoffrey. Inklings. NY: Random House (1977). A review copy of his fourth book, a darkly comic novel of the literary scene, written in the style of a mystery novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
398. WOLFF, Geoffrey. The Duke of Deception. NY: Random House (1979). Wolff's acclaimed memoir of his (and Tobias') father. Signed by Geoffrey Wolff. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
399. WOLFF, Geoffrey. Providence. NY: Viking (1986). Well-received novel of Providence, Rhode Island. Signed by the author. Remainder stamping bottom page edges; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
400. WOLFF, Geoffrey. The Final Club. NY: Knopf, 1990. A novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
401. WOLFF, Geoffrey. The Day at the Beach. NY: Knopf, 1992. A collection of related personal essays. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
402. WOLFF, Geoffrey. The Age of Consent. NY: Knopf, 1995. A novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
403. WOLFF, Tobias. Ugly Rumours. London: Allen & Unwin (1975). The uncorrected proof copy of the author's first novel, set in Vietnam, about a Special Forces lieutenant and a sergeant serving as advisor to a Vietnamese Infantry Division. Not published in this country, and the author has pointedly refused to list it among his "previous publications" on his later books or allowed it to be reprinted. His memoir, In Pharaoh's Army, alludes somewhat disparagingly to the novel he was writing while he was serving in Vietnam, presumably Ugly Rumours. Wolff is one of the most highly regarded short story writers in America, winner of the PEN Faulkner Award, and his memoir This Boy's Life was made into a memorable movie. A novel by him on the pivotal event of his generation -- the Vietnam war -- is a notable contribution to contemporary literature, regardless of the author's opinion of its quality. Exceedingly scarce even in the trade edition: the first printing was reported to be only 1000 copies, most of which will have gone to libraries; the proof is presumably considerably scarcer still. Very good in wrappers.
404. -. Same title, the trade edition. Fine in a very slightly spine-faded, but still fine, dust jacket. One of the most elusive first books by a contemporary
author.
405. WOLFF, Tobias. Hunters in the Snow. London: Jonathan Cape (1982). The first British edition of his first collection of short fiction, titled In the Garden of North American Martyrs in the U.S. Signed by the author. Small sticker removal shadow front pastedown; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
406. WOLFF, Tobias. The Barracks Thief. NY: Ecco Press (1984). His third book, a novella, about three paratroopers waiting to be shipped to Vietnam. Winner of the PEN Faulkner Award. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
407. WOLFF, Tobias. Back in the World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985. His fourth book and second collection of short fiction, of which Wolff is considered a contemporary master. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a promotional postcard laid in.
408. -. Same title, the first British edition. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
409. WOLFF, Tobias. This Boy's Life. NY: Atlantic Monthly (1989). His first book of memoirs, which was made into an award-winning movie. Signed by the author and his brother, Geoffrey Wolff. Fine in a near fine, spine- and edge-sunned dust jacket. Richard Ford, Thomas McGuane blurbs, among others.
410. -. Same title. Stanford: Stanford Alumni Association (1989). The first printing of "The Portable Stanford" edition. Only issued in wrappers. Signed by the author. Fine. Uncommon. We've never seen this edition before.
411. WOLFF, Tobias. In Pharaoh's Army. NY: Knopf, 1994. The second volume of the author's memoirs, picking up where This Boy's Life left off and following the author to Vietnam, and chronicling his experiences there. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
412. WOLFF, Tobias. The Liar. (Vineburg): (Engdahl Typography), 1989. A limited edition of this story. The entire edition consisted of 200 numbered copies, of which the first 50 were signed by the author. Although this is one of the later copies, it is inscribed by Wolff. Very slight foxing to endpages; else fine in a fine dust jacket. An attractive production.
413. YATES, Richard and STYRON, William. Lie Down in Darkness. Watertown: Ploughshares Books, 1985. Yates's screenplay of Styron's novel. One of reportedly 50 copies signed by both authors. Fine in a fine dust jacket. An uncommon collaboration between two of the most highly respected writers of their generation. Books signed by Yates are quite uncommon.
414. -. Same title, an advance copy consisting of bound 8 1/2" x 11" sheets. Velobound; fine. With two letters from the publisher laid in, one announcing the book, the second correcting the ISBN number given in the first letter. An extremely scarce item; probably only a small handful were produced.