Catalog 110, C
94.CAPOTE, Truman. Correspondence. c. 1960s. Three autograph postcards signed; one autograph letter signed; one typed letter unsigned. All written to Robert Keene, proprietor of Keene's Bookshop on Long Island. Two of the postcards are touristy messages from Europe, one ocean scene, one mountain. The latter reads, in part, "It's a helluva hike to reach this restaurant -- and not worth it when you get there...Many thanks for keeping an eye on my property!...Ever thine, T.C." The autograph letter, signed "Truman," recounts, in part: "I did change my mind about sending Observations to Perry - and kept meaning to tell you: so sorry; but my affairs have been fairly hectic." The typed letter, the longest text present, announces his homecoming: "---even though, after hearing about Mr. Cromwell, the idea of staying there alone makes me rather nervous. Did you know him? He was very nice. I saw an item about it in the Paris Tribune, then nothing more. Hope they caught the killer!/ Speaking of which, I finished my book..." Capote also requests a copy of The Cradle of Erotica and briefly mentions his own health. The final postcard is from Florida, a nice weather, wish you were here sentiment written on the verso of a picture postcard depicting a bear chasing a naked cartoon lady, with the printed message "Bearly able to write/ I've got a Big Bear Behind." The letters are folded for mailing and have a few tiny edge tears; near fine. Two of the postcards have some light staining and are near fine; the third is fine. Together with four cards (three postcards and one holiday card) from Jack Dunphy to Robert Keene. Dunphy, a novelist and Capote's longtime companion, was the author of the memoir Dear Genius, about his life with Capote. All but one of Dunphy's cards to Keene were written after Capote's death. For all:
95.CAPOTE, Truman. Memorials. 1984, 1994. Invitations to two memorials for Capote. The first is an invitation to a memorial tribute held at the Shubert Theatre on September 25, 1984 and includes both the actual "Admit One" invitation and the program for the day, with readings by Joe Fox and Lillian Gish and an undescribed presentation by William Styron. Spotting to the program; very good. The second invitation is to a March 24, 1985 tribute sponsored by Random House and Tiffany's on the 40th anniversary of Breakfast at Tiffany's and following the death of Capote's companion, Jack Dunphy, and the establishment of the Truman Capote Literary Trust. Two pages folded to make four, the cover of which is a rendering of Capote. Near fine.
96.CAREY, Peter. Oscar and Lucinda. NY: Harper & Row, 1988. The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of his Booker Prize-winning novel. Pages shot from typescript and reproducing holograph corrections. A bibliographically important and very scarce proof: in this country most prepublication copies issued were a later advance reading copy, in glossy pictorial wrappers. The vocabulary was changed for the American edition to accommodate an American audience and what the publisher considered standard American usage and American slang. The author objected strenuously and the edition was pulled, the changes undone, and the book reissued. This early copy reproduces word-processed typescript and holograph editorial changes, mostly to vocabulary. Spine cocked, otherwise very good in wrappers. Extremely scarce: we've only seen this proof once before, shortly after the book's original publication.
97.(CAREY, Peter). "Contacts" in Under Twenty-Five. (Brisbane): Jacaranda (n.d.)[c. 1966-67]. An anthology of poetry and prose by the youth of Australia, including the first published story by Peter Carey, winner of the Booker Prize for Oscar and Lucinda and three-time winner of the Miles Franklin Award, Australia's most prestigious literary prize, including the 1998 award for his novel Jack Maggs. Carey's piece is identified as being from a novel, but has not been published or collected elsewhere. Also includes two poems by Jan Turner-Jones and two stories by Murray Bail, author of Eucalyptus. Fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket rubbed at the folds and with one tear at the front flap fold.
98.-. Another copy. Foxing to page edges; near fine in a rubbed, near fine dust jacket.
99.CARVER, Raymond. Winter Insomnia. (Santa Cruz): (Kayak Books) (1970). Carver's second book, a collection of poetry, published in an edition of 1000 copies attractively designed and printed by George Hitchcock, with prints by Robert McChesney. This was, in effect, Carver's "first regularly published book" -- Kayak was a small but established publisher, which produced a literary magazine as well as issuing books of poetry, whereas Carver's first book, Near Klamath, was published by the English Club of Sacramento State College in a small edition that probably never received any formal distribution. Small abrasion where a sticker has been removed from the price on the rear panel; else fine in wrappers.
100.CARVER, Raymond. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. NY: Knopf, 1981. Carver's second major story collection and his first commercial success -- i.e., his first to be reprinted a number of times right after publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
101.CARVER, Raymond. If It Please You. Northridge: Lord John Press, 1984. A short story published as a limited edition. Of a total edition of 226 copies, this is one of 200 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine without dust jacket, as issued.
102.CARVER, Raymond. Fires. London: Collins Harvill, 1985. The first British edition of this Carver retrospective, originally published in 1983 by his early small press publisher, Capra, on the heels of his critical and commercial success. It included previously uncollected essays and poems, as well as early versions of stories that appeared in modified form in his other collections. The "first expanded" edition, published by Vintage the following year, included the interview with Carver that appeared in The Paris Review. The British edition of this title does not include the interview nor the "Afterword," which was the only original piece of writing Carver did for this volume. Instead, it prints two essays not included in the American editions: "My Father's Life," which was only published in this country as a limited edition, and "John Gardner: The Writer as Teacher," which was published as the introduction to a posthumous book on writing. This copy is warmly inscribed by the author in 1987. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
103.CARVER, Raymond. Where Water Comes Together with Other Water. NY: Random House (1985). Carver's first collection of poetry to be published by a New York publisher -- 17 years after his first book, and only after he had had three highly praised collections of stories published. Winner of the prestigious Levinson prize from Poetry magazine. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
104.CARVER, Raymond. Where I'm Calling From. Franklin Center: The Franklin Library, 1988. The correct first edition of this title, preceding the trade edition. Leatherbound; page edges gilt; with a silk ribbon marker bound in. An attractive edition in the Franklin Library's "Signed First Edition" series, with an interesting introduction by Carver which does not appear anywhere else. Signed by the author. Because Carver died shortly after the publication of this collection, signed copies of this title are uncommon, other than the Franklin Library edition. Carver prepared this volume knowing that he was dying of lung cancer, and many of these stories, although they had been published previously, were revised for this edition and stand as his definitive versions of them. Fine.
105.CHATWIN, Bruce. The Songlines. Franklin Center: Franklin Library, 1986. The correct first American edition, published by the Franklin Library for subscribers as part of their Signed First Editions series. An attractively designed book, in black leather stamped in brown and gold, in a pattern suggestive of the Australian aborigines' "songlines" that give the book its title. With a special introduction for this edition, which does not appear anywhere else. Signed by the author. Chatwin's signature is uncommon; reclusive while alive, he died three years after the publication of this book, at the age of 49. Fine.
106.CHILD, Lee. Tripwire. NY: Putnam (1999). The author's third crime novel. His first, Killing Floor, won both the Anthony and Barry Awards, for best first mystery of the year. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
107.COEL, Margaret. The Ghost Walker. NY: Berkley Prime Crime (1996). The second of the author's well-received mysteries set in the contemporary West among the Arapaho Indians. Signed by the author and dated two months prior to publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
108.COETZEE, J.M. Life & Times of Michael K. NY: Viking (1984). The first American edition of this Booker Prize-winning novel by the South African author of Waiting for the Barbarians, among others. Signed by the author in 1992. We have seen very few books signed by Coetzee turn up over the years. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
109.CONNELL, Evan S., Jr. Mr. Bridge. NY: Knopf, 1969. The companion volume to his first novel, Mrs. Bridge, published a decade earlier. Together, the two novels were the basis for a well-received television miniseries. Signed by the author. Tiny foredge nick to first few pages, else fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
110.CONRAD, Joseph. Youth and Two Other Stories. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood, 1902. The first edition of this volume, which collects Conrad's classic novella, Heart of Darkness, for the first time. Basis for a made-for-TV movie as well as providing the basic story line and overall structure for Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam epic, Apocalypse Now. Offsetting to endpages; hinges starting; sunning to spine cloth and some wear to the spine extremities; a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket. With the ownership signature of author Laura E. Richards, who won the Pulitzer Prize for her biography of her mother, Julia Ward Howe. An important book; one of Connolly's 100 key volumes of the Modern Movement and on most lists of the top 100 books of the century.
111.CROWLEY, Aleister. 777. London: Walter Scott, 1909. A book of mystical "correspondences," associating the symbols and codes of various mystical traditions with one another, in an attempt to develop a systematic "alphabet" of the occult, as Crowley explains in his introduction. One of 500 copies, this copy with the bookplate and marginal notes of Israel Regardie, secretary to Crowley and master of the Golden Dawn. Regardie, who died in 1985, was considered the last living Adept of the Order of the Golden Dawn, which Crowley had been associated with at the time this book was published. Foxing throughout; a very good copy, without dust jacket. The subscriber card for "The Equinox" that serves as the final page is nearly detached, but present. A remarkable association copy of one of the important volumes in the history of 20th century occult studies.
112.CUMMINGS, E.E. XLI Poems. NY: Dial Press, 1925. An early collection of poems by one of the best-loved American poets of the century. Signed by the author in pencil: "and this, too!/ eec." Pages uncut, spine-darkened, with light wear at the spine extremities; still near fine, without dust jacket, apparently as issued.
113.CUNNINGHAM, Michael. A Home at the End of the World. NY: FSG (1990). The second book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.