Catalog 109, B
27. BALDWIN, James. Blues for Mr. Charlie. NY: Dial, 1964. His third play, but first to be published, a story centered around the killing of a young Negro in the Deep South -- loosely based on the events surrounding the murder of Emmitt Till in Mississippi in 1955 -- and dedicated to the memory of Medgar Evers and the children of Birmingham, Alabama, who had been killed in the year preceding publication -- events that helped to ignite the Civil Rights Movement in this country in the early '60s. Inscribed by the author to his biographer, David Leeming: "For David L./ with my love./ Jimmy B." With a note laid in in Leeming's hand stating that he was working for Baldwin when the play was produced and this was published. Spine cloth sunned; near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket. Because Baldwin lived outside the U.S. for much of his adult life, books signed by him are somewhat uncommon, and even fewer turn up with inscriptions to someone as close as David Leeming was to the author. A wonderful association copy.
28. BALDWIN, James. Going to Meet the Man. NY: Dial Press, 1965. A collection of short stories, which includes three that had never been published before in any form. Inscribed by Baldwin to David Leeming, his biographer: "For David:/ without whom -- !/ love,/ Jimmy." Baldwin has also written a name, address and phone number on the rear pastedown. Laid in is a note in Leeming's hand stating that he was working for Baldwin when this was published and "I was with him on Fire Island when he finished the title story." Near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with the letters slightly faded on the spine. Still a very nice copy of a book that shows wear easily.
James Baldwin Dedication Copy
29. BALDWIN, James. Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone. NY: Dial Press (1968). A novel, the author's fourth. This is a dedication copy, inscribed by Baldwin to his biographer, David Leeming, one of the book's three dedicatees: "David & Pam:/ with love. And will see you soon. Jimmy." With a note laid in in Leeming's hand saying that the book was written in Istanbul in 1966-67 while he was living with and working for Baldwin, and that this copy of the book was shipped from London to their former home in Istanbul. Uneven darkening to the spine cloth and some loss to the spine lettering (it would appear the recipient may have read the book after removing the dust jacket); about a near fine copy in a near fine, mildly spine-tanned dust jacket with one edge tear on the rear panel. We cannot recall seeing another Baldwin dedication copy offered on the market in recent years.
30. BALDWIN, James. Just Above My Head. NY: Dial (1979). The last major novel published in Baldwin's lifetime. Inscribed by Baldwin to his longtime friend and biographer: "For my beloved/ David Adams/ Leeming:/ Godspeed./ Jimmy Baldwin." With a note laid in in Leeming's hand stating that the book was given to him in Amherst, MA c. 1980. Near fine in a heavily edgeworn dust jacket with internal tape repairs; about very good.
31. BALDWIN, James. The Price of the Ticket. NY: St. Martin's/Marek (1985). A massive collection of nonfiction spanning nearly forty years. Again, inscribed by Baldwin to David Leeming, his biographer. With a note laid in in Leeming's hand stating that the book was given to him in St. Paul de Vence in 1985. Some play in the binding from the sheer weight of the text block; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a chip at the spine crown in place of the first "e" in the title.
32. BANKS, Russell. Typed Note Signed. April 14, 1998. A short note agreeing to sign Cloudsplitter, the author's fictional recounting of John Brown and his raid on Harper's Ferry, which was nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award. Signed by the author. Folded in thirds for mailing; fine, with envelope.
33. BARTH, John. The Sot-Weed Factor. Garden City: Doubleday, 1960. An advance copy of his third novel, a fanciful historical novel that secured Barth's reputation as one of the leading experimental writers of his generation and helped set the standard for the postmodern fiction that dominated the 1960s. Publisher's "personal reading copy for our Bookseller friends..." bookplate tipped to front pastedown. Light mottling and one corner bump; near fine in a near fine, internally mottled Edward Gorey dust jacket. A nice copy of a bulky and fragile book, and one of the key books in postwar American literature.
34. BECKETT, Samuel. Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable. Paris: Olympia Press, 1959. First combined Paris edition of these three novels; this is the issue with the price written "Francs: 1,800." One edge tear on the upper front panel; near fine in wrappers.
35. BECKETT, Samuel. KNOWLSON, James. Samuel Beckett: An Exhibition. (London): Turret Books, 1971. The catalog of an exhibition of Beckett's works held at Reading University Library, with a foreword by A.J. Levanthal. This is the limited edition hardcover, one of 100 numbered copies signed by Beckett. Fine, without dust jacket, as issued.
36. BELLOW, Saul. Mr. Sammler's Planet. [NY: Viking (1970)]. A piracy of the third of Bellow's novels to win the National Book Award. A bit of foxing to foredge; else a fine copy of a cheaply made book, in a near fine dust jacket with several closed edge tears.
37. BERGER, Thomas. Who is Teddy Villanova? (n.p.): Delacorte/Lawrence (1977). A foray into the realm of detective fiction by the author of Little Big Man, among others. Warmly inscribed by the author to publisher Seymour Lawrence: "To Sam Lawrence, with/ admiration and gratitude,/ this first example of the/ many editions he would/ publish of my novels/ Thomas Berger/ 23 March 1993." In a long career in the publishing industry, spanning a number of different publishing houses, Lawrence was noted for his avid support of "his" writers, and their affection for him was legendary, and genuine. Berger had been published by various houses by the time he wrote Teddy Villanova, and he had reached the point in his career where he was critically respected but not especially successful commercially. Lawrence endeavored to revitalize Berger's career -- even going so far as to reissue in hardcover Berger's third novel, Little Big Man, which in the interim since its original publication had been made into a noteworthy movie. Fine in a near fine dust jacket worn at the crown, creased on the front flap, and with one short edge tear. An excellent association copy.
38. BERGER, Thomas. The Feud. (NY): Delacorte/Lawrence (1983). Inscribed by the author to Seymour Lawrence "with gratitude and affection" on May 1, 1983, the month of publication. Fine in a mildly spine-tanned dust jacket slightly worn at the extremities; about near fine.
39. BERRIAULT, Gina. The Son. (NY): New American Library (1966). Her fourth book, third novel. Berriault, long considered a "writer's writer," won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction for her story collection, Women in Their Beds, in 1997, shortly before she died. Top stain faded, spine slant; near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
40. BERRIAULT, Gina. Autograph Note Signed. April 14, 1997. A note agreeing to sign a copy of her book Women in Their Beds. Signed by the author. Folded in thirds for mailing; fine, with envelope. Autograph material by Berriault is somewhat uncommon.
41. BISHOP, Elizabeth. The Collected Prose. NY: FSG (1984). The uncorrected proof copy. Includes eight short stories and much nonfiction that was unpublished at the time of her death. Edited and introduced by Robert Giroux. Fine in wrappers with publication information stapled inside the front cover.
42. (Book Collecting). AHEARN, Allen and Patricia. Book Collecting 2000. NY: Putnam (2000). By the authors of Collected Books: The Guide to Values. This volume updates their earlier Book Collecting; the bulk of the volume is an extensive price guide to authors' first books -- which expands and updates the list from their previous editions and tracks the price history of those titles that were included earlier. The first 115 pages contain, in our opinion, the most extensive and thoughtful commentary on modern book collecting that can be found in any single volume. The Ahearns have also included a section listing the winners of the major literary awards that are most avidly pursued by collectors -- the Pulitzers, National Book Awards, Edgars, Caldecotts, etc. There are sections on knowledgeable buying, pricing questions, auctions, catalogues, appraisals, collecting for investment, proofs and advance copies, caring for your books, and much more. An invaluable resource. Every collector should have one (virtually every dealer already does). Signed by the authors. At the list price:
43. BORGES, Jorge Luis. Evaristo Carriego. Buenos Aires: Gleizer, 1930. Borges' biography of Buenos Aires street poet Carriego. Original wrappers spine darkened and sunned; foxing to text; a very good copy in wrappers and very scarce in the original wrappers at all: most copies that turn up have been rebound, the typical practice in Argentina at that time. While the print run for this title is not indicated in the bibliography, earlier Borges titles had been printed in numbers ranging from 300 to 500 copies, and this likely had an extremely small printing as well. Borges has been called the greatest writer not to win the Nobel Prize -- an honor that was reportedly denied to him for political reasons in the early 1970s -- and his influence on world literature, especially as a result of his "fictions," has been enormous, not only in Latin America -- where Borges and, to a lesser extent, his other contemporaries laid the groundwork for the "boom" in Latin American literature of the 1960s and 70s -- but also in Europe and North America, where numerous writers took their cues from Borges in developing their own styles.
44. (BORGES, Jorge Luis). Jorge Luis Borges Conference. Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1969. The program of a conference honoring Borges in his 70th year, with a bibliography by Robert Fiore of Borges' works. Signed by Borges with his characteristic scrawled signature and mark from the years when he was nearly blind. Fine in stapled wrappers.
45. BOWLES, Jane. Two Serious Ladies. NY: Knopf, 1943. Her first book, a wartime production and a very scarce book in nice shape. This copy belonged to poet James Laughlin, who was also the founder of New Directions Press, which published the American edition of Paul Bowles's The Sheltering Sky in 1949. Laughlin's ownership label on the front flyleaf, with the holograph notation "Please return to." Cloth fraying at the spine extremities; near fine in a very good dust jacket with modest edge wear but heavy rubbing at the folds. Over the years, Jane's output was remarkably small, but her influence on later generations of women writers has been out of all proportion to the quantity of her production.
46. 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, and one of the seminal novels of the Beat generation and an influential book in the decades since. One critic commented that Bowles was "a master of cruelty and isolation and the ironies of the search for meaning in an inadequately understood environment." Bowles's expatriates, in their search for meaning and their explorations of the North African cultures and their experimentation with the drugs of northern Africa, were the model for many who followed, more or less, in their footsteps in the 50s and 60s and since -- much as Jack Kerouac's characters in On the Road have provided a model for succeeding generations. This is a near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with light wear at the spine extremities. Inscribed by the author on the title page, in 1990, with the notation: "The first English edition was the first of all." Only 4000 copies of the English edition were printed, and the book was reprinted several times in short order; the first has become quite scarce in recent years, especially in nice shape. In addition to the inscription, this copy is signed by Paul Bowles on the half-title and by Jane Bowles, the dedicatee, on the dedication page. Trade editions signed by Bowles are uncommon; signed copies of his first novel are exceedingly scarce, and ones that have also been signed by Jane -- who suffered a severe stroke in 1957 at the age of 39 -- are truly rare.
47. -. Same title, the first American edition. (NY): New Directions (1949). Mild offsetting to the endpages and trace foredge foxing; otherwise a fine copy in a near fine, moderately spine-sunned dust jacket with one small, closed edge tear. Increasingly scarce in collectible condition.
48. BOWLES, Paul. The Spider's House. NY: Random House (1955). His third novel, about a group of Westerners adrift in the alien culture of Morocco, a subject he explored repeatedly to great effect. Signed by the author. Abrasion to flyleaf; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch of black added to the base of the spine.
49. (BOWLES, Paul). MRABET, Mohammed. Marriage with Papers. (Bolinas): Tombouctou (1986). The limited, hardcover issue of this translation by Bowles of a story by Mrabet. One of 100 numbered copies signed by Bowles and Mrabet, the entire hardcover edition. Fine without dust jacket, as issued.
50. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. Rommel Drives on Deep Into Egypt. NY: Delacorte (1970). The simultaneous wrappered issue of this collection of poetry. Signed by the author in 1971. Owner name on same page. One edge tear; near fine.
51. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. The Hawkline Monster. NY: Simon & Schuster (1974). The uncorrected proof copy of the first of Brautigan's several "genre" novels- inventive takes on established conventions in fiction, this one being, as he called it, "A Gothic Western." This is a fine copy in wrappers and is inscribed by the author. Uncommon in proof format, even unsigned, and rare signed.
52. (Broadsides). Three Poem Broadsides. (San Francisco): (Four Seasons Foundation) (1963-1964). Three broadsides: Gary Snyder's Nanao Knows, Lew Welch's Step Out Onto the Planet, and Philip Whalen's Three Mornings. Each reproduced by photo-offset from the author's own calligraphy and printed in an edition of 300 copies on the occasion of a reading by the three poets at Longshoreman's Hall, San Francisco, June 12, 1964. [McNeil A7.] 9 1/2" x 12 1/2"; each signed by its author. Snyder, Welch and Whalen first met when they attended Reed College, a progressive school in Oregon; the friends later became three of the most influential poets of the Beat generation. With the publisher's printed card offering the set. Fine. For all:
53. BROWN, Larry. Typed Note Signed. January 3, 1995. A short note agreeing to sign some of his books as long as they travel by regular mail so he doesn't have to go to town. Signed by the author. Folded in thirds for mailing; fine, with envelope.
54. BROWN, Frederic. Space on My Hands. Chicago: Shasta (1951). A collection of science fiction stories by the author of Night of the Jabberwock, The Screaming Mimi and The Fabulous Clipjoint, among others. Small marks next to several of the stories on the Table of Contents page; some offsetting to spine cloth; still near fine in a near fine, mildly spine-darkened jacket, and a very nice copy. Signed by the author on the front free endpaper. Books signed by Brown are uncommon.
55. BRUCE, Lenny. Archive. 1959, 1964. Correspondence between Lenny Bruce and Steve Allen, mostly pertaining to Bruce's appearances on The Steve Allen Show in 1959 and in 1964. Allen's correspondence, all from 1959, is in the form of retained carbons, and the centerpiece is a three page "instructive" letter gently chastising Bruce for not following the approved script and for his behind-the-scenes behavior. (Bruce had been given 14 minutes of air time for one spot instead of the typical seven minutes, but apparently had threatened to walk off the show when a cemetery joke was cut. He also declined to appear in the finale with the rest of the company, perhaps "prompted by our cutting out the dance-bit you did with Don Knotts.") There are five other retained copies of letters from Allen: two send along reviews or comments (not included), and one of these solicits a word of thanks from Bruce; two thank Bruce for recent communications; and one says "Hope to see you on the coast this summer!"
The correspondence from Bruce to Allen for 1959 consists of three Western Union telegrams. The first (5/31/59) is short, reading: "The show and sketches were brilliant. Gabe Dell was beyond superlative. A grateful viewer. Lenny Bruce." (It is apparently in response to this that Steve Allen wrote: "Thanks for your telegram. I am having Leonard Stern punch it up a little and also make a few cuts as it is too long. Then if it plays well in my office we are going to put it out on the bulletin board in the hall.") The second telegram (11/4/59) is long, four Western Union sheets, much of which pitches Jackie Paris, with whom Bruce has been working. A one page postscript speaks of his own work: "...I have become very commercial and inoffensive. I am doing things like the graft behind parochial schools and with Loeb and Leopold. If Nathan Leopold had any sense of humor the day he got out he would have grabbed another kid immediately..." The third telegram (12/23/59) thanks Allen for the two best Xmas presents: "the human way out and man's right to life."
Also included from 1959 is the approved script from The Steve Allen Show (7 pages; two sketches) and three black and white photos: one is a publicity headshot of Bruce; two are stills from the show and feature both Allen and Bruce.
In late 1964, Bruce was again a guest on Allen's show. In the intervening years he had been arrested numerous times on drug and obscenity charges. The final item included here is an 11 page legal brief (page 2 missing; page 1 missing a portion, affecting some of Bruce's handwritten commentary), dated February 24, 1964 and addressed to The Honorable William M. Munnell of Superior Court in Los Angeles, outlining Bruce's defense on a narcotics charge. On this brief, Bruce has handwritten, apparently to Steve Allen, and apparently appealing to use the court case as grist for his act: "My humor is about what I have done and what others do to me. The past three years has [sic] been humorous. Attorneys for you [sic] show has [sic] sent word I am not to discuss the 1 yr I got in Chicago for obscenity or the 10 ys I got in LA for addiction. The legal argument is in remiss ...[an arrow points to further comments that have been partially excised, in the form of a lower corner of this legal sized sheet missing; there is also an inch excised from the opposite edge above the first sentence quoted here]. On page 4 of the brief, Bruce picks up again in holograph: "There can be no argument that 'my side of the story' would make S.A. and West liable. [Presumably, Steve Allen and Westinghouse, the sponsor of Allen's ABC run in the early 1960s.] Newspapers would be sued for telling slanted story's [sic]. Civil action (sueing [sic]) by and appealant [sic] court is absurd...." The perceived absurdities in the case against Bruce are underlined in green ink throughout the printed document; for example, a testifying officer was himself convicted of heroin smuggling in "a criminal court that was less merciful than your civil court that placed upon him three years of criminal probation where I did receive ten years of help." Bruce's final handwritten comment is on page 11: "The burden of proof is on the state to proove [sic] a crime was committed. To lighten that burden they to [sic] were criminal." Signed, Lenny Bruce. It is apparently these absurdities, "what others do to me," that Bruce wanted to get past Allen's attorneys and into his act. The show, though filmed, never aired. Bruce spent the last two years of his life engaged in legal battles; he died of an overdose in 1966.
In all, in addition to the Allen contextual material, there are three telegrams composed by Bruce, an at least partially authored brief in his legal defense, and approximately 150 words in his artistic defense. The legal brief has some modest edge wear, as well as the above-mentioned excisions; all other elements are fine. Bruce's comedy helped set the stage for the tumultuous social upheavals of the 1960s and he came to be viewed as something of a martyr to the ideals of free speech and countercultural values as a result of his drug use and eventual overdose. Autograph material by him is extremely scarce, especially material that deals with his own comedy, his court cases, etc.
56. BURGESS, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. London: Heinemann (1962). The uncorrected proof copy of the true first edition of his alarming and controversial view of a future beset by violence, technological excess and authoritarianism, made into the classic film by Stanley Kubrick in 1971. Modest spine and corner creasing; mild edge-sunning. Small edge tear on first blank. A very good copy of a scarce and fragile state of this novel of societal breakdown that was influential even before Kubrick made his film.
57. BURKE, James Lee. Half of Paradise. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965. The first book by the author of the highly popular, Edgar Award-winning Dave Robicheaux mystery series. His early books were well-received critically but were seen as "regional" novels and never enjoyed significant commercial success. Like the Robicheaux books, this is set in the author's home state of Louisiana and is a tale of violence and the quest for redemption, revealing the underpinnings of Burke's later series and his attempt to develop the strands that would define a heroic character in contemporary terms. This is a fine copy in a good dust jacket that was once "protected" by a jacket cover that left the edges blackened; the edges were then unprofessionally trimmed; there is also a dotted slice to the front spine fold.
58. BURKE, James Lee. Lay Down My Sword and Shield. NY: Crowell (1971). The third of Burke's early novels, the last before a hiatus from publishing that lasted over a decade. This book also seems to be the scarcest of his three early novels, surpassed in scarcity only by the hardcover issue of his story collection The Convict. Its scarcity is probably explained in part by the fact that it was issued by a publisher not well known for publishing fiction: of the mainstream trade publishers that issued Burke's first three novels, Crowell was by far the smallest and the least inclined toward publishing fiction. This is the issue in beige cloth, with the title stamped in pink. There is also, to the best of our memory, an issue in beige cloth stamped in copper and an issue in mustard cloth stamped in pink. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine, slightly spine-faded dust jacket that is folded off-center. An attractive copy of one of Burke's most elusive books.
59. BURKE, James Lee. The Lost Get-Back Boogie. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State U. Press, 1986. After publishing three novels in the late Sixties and early Seventies, Burke went 15 years without having a novel published in hardcover, until LSU -- which had recently had great critical and commercial success publishing John Kennedy Toole's posthumous, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Confederacy of Dunces -- published this. Critical reception was immediate and extremely positive, and the following year Burke had the first book in his award-winning Dave Robicheaux mystery series published by a major New York publisher. It can rightly be said that this was his breakthrough book. A complimentary and prophetic dust jacket blurb by novelist and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler bears repeating: "James Lee Burke has one of the most self-assured, supple and enchanting voices in modern fiction. And he makes us see through a character's surface to his soul, a rare and wonderful thing. The Lost Get-Back Boogie is a splendid novel, and I hope it wins Burke the wide audience he deserves." It began the process, and the author's mystery series secured that readership. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
60. BURKE, James Lee. The Neon Rain. NY: Holt (1987). The first book in the acclaimed and award-winning Dave Robicheaux mystery series. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
61. BURKE, James Lee. Heaven's Prisoners. NY: Holt (1988). The second novel in the Robicheaux series. Fine in dust jacket, and signed by the author.
62. BURKE, James Lee. Winter Light. Huntington Beach: Cahill, 1992. The first separate edition of this short story, which was also included in Prize Stories 1993: The O. Henry Awards. Of a total edition of 326 copies, this is one of 300 numbered copies signed by the author and illustrator. Fine.
63. BURKE, James Lee. To the Bright and Shining Sun. (Huntington): (Cahill) (1992). The limited reissue of Burke's scarce second book, a regional novel set among mine workers in the Cumberland mountains of Kentucky -- the first time this book was reprinted after its original publication in 1970. One of 400 numbered copies signed by the author. With a new introduction by the author. Fine in slipcase.
64. BURKE, James Lee. Two for Texas. (Huntington): (Cahill) (1992). The limited reissue, and the first hardcover edition of this historical novel, which was published as a paperback original a decade earlier. With a new introduction by Burke on the writing of historical novels such as this. One of 400 copies, signed by Burke and Joe Servello, the illustrator. Fine in slipcase.
Please Note: We also have the publisher's archives for these two books, including manuscript material, galleys, original art, etc. Please inquire.
65. BURKE, James Lee. Cimarron Rose. (London): Orion (1997). The British, and true first, edition of this novel, a departure from his Dave Robicheaux series and winner of the 1998 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel of the year. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
66. BURKE, James Lee. Autograph Postcard Signed. 1999. A card declining to sign books sent to him on the grounds that they are often lost. The postcard depicts the Prairie Crab Apple. Fine.
67. BURROUGHS, John. Under the Apple-Trees. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1916. Signed by the author on the front flyleaf; beneath which is tipped an original sepia-tint photograph of Burroughs seated, holding a book, with a young boy at his side. The photograph is dated on the verso, 5-30-19 (Burroughs died less than two years after this photograph was taken). There are two illustrations tipped in, one of Burroughs and one of his resort, Slabsides; laid in are three additional pieces: a small printed photo of Burroughs, the front of a color card picturing Burroughs at Slabsides, and a publisher's promotional pamphlet from a later date, giving biographical information, a list of publications, and an order form for Our Friend John Burroughs. Burroughs, a longtime friend of Walt Whitman, was, along with John Muir, the preeminent American nature writer of the late 19th and early 20th century. The John Burroughs Medal is given each year for the best book of nature writing written the previous year. The book has a bit of foxing and offsetting associated with the additional items; otherwise it is near fine, without dust jacket.
68. BURROUGHS, John. Autograph Letter Signed. New York. April 23, no year. Burroughs writes to a Miss Gould, transmitting an autograph letter of Walt Whitman (not present) and effusing about the spring. In part: "I am quite well again & enjoying the spring very much. The birds are nesting & the arbutus is blooming, but it rains & rains & rains. I pity you people who have to spend April in town. I am writing a little now adays & loitering about a good deal, often with my ear at the key hole of nature's many doors." Signed by the author. One sheet, written on both sides; folded in thirds, near fine.
69. (BURROUGHS, John). WHITMAN, Walt. Leaves of Grass. [Boston: Thayer & Eldridge, 1860-61]. A later edition of Leaves of Grass (possibly a Worthington piracy of the Thayer & Eldridge third edition). Inscribed by John Burroughs: "It was this edition/ of Leaves of Grass that I first/ read about 1861./ John Burroughs," although Burroughs may have mistaken this edition for an earlier one. Burroughs was a good friend of Whitman and wrote the first study of Whitman -- Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person -- in 1867, which he later expanded as Walt Whitman: A Study, published in 1896, four years after the poet died. Rear flyleaf excised; a very good copy in rubbed maroon cloth, and an interesting association copy, linking the two close friends.
70. BURROUGHS, William S. The Ticket That Exploded. Paris: Olympia (1962). The correct first edition, published in paperback in Paris, as were his earlier books, The Soft Machine and Naked Lunch. The U.S. edition was not published until five years later. Issued in Maurice Girodias' "Traveller's Companion" series -- a line of paperbacks that was largely dominated by the kind of softcore and hardcore pornography that could not be sold at all in the U.S. at that time -- few copies of this title migrated to the U.S. until well after Burroughs' popularity here was established and the landmark censorship cases of the early 1960s (including that of Naked Lunch) had been settled in favor of increased permissiveness in printed matter. Inscribed by the author "with friendship and best wishes" on the title page. Bookstore stamp of a Spanish bookshop on flyleaf; covers a bit wrinkled; small abrasion to spine; very good in a very good dust jacket.