Catalog 117, N-P
243. NAIPAUL, V.S. Miguel Street. (London): Andre Deutsch (1960). The second printing of his third book. Howes/Smith bookplate front pastedown; offsetting to endpages; pencilled marginal markings by Barbara Howes; spine slant; very good in a very good, spine-tanned and lightly stained dust jacket with a small chip threatening at mid spine.
244. NAIPAUL, V.S. A House for Mr. Biswas. (London): Andre Deutsch (1962). The second printing of Naipaul's fourth book, like his earlier ones set in the Caribbean of his youth, but altogether a more ambitious and serious novel, anticipating the concerns which were to dominate both his fiction and nonfiction in the coming years and lead to his recognition as one of the great social critics of our time in literature. One of the Modern Library top 100 books of the century. Page edge foxing; spine cloth fading; near fine in a near fine, mildly creased, second impression dust jacket.
245. NAIPAUL, V.S. Half a Life. (London): Picador (2001). The advance reading copy of his newest novel. Fine in wrappers.
246. NICHOLS, John. The Magic Journey. NY: Holt Rinehart Winston (1978). The uncorrected proof copy of the second, and scarcest, book in Nichols' acclaimed New Mexico trilogy, which began with The Milagro Beanfield War and concluded with The Nirvana Blues. Spine-sunned, light creasing, one tear at the lower front spine fold; very good in wrappers. Scarce.
247. NICHOLS, John. The Last Beautiful Days of Autumn. NY: Holt Rinehart Winston (1982). The uncorrected proof copy of this nonfiction work, a personal odyssey with all roads leading to Taos. Fine in wrappers.
248. OATES, Joyce Carol. "SMITH, Rosamond." The Barrens. NY: Carroll & Graf (2001). The advance reading copy of this suspense novel by Oates. Fine in wrappers.
249. O'BRIEN, Tim. Northern Lights. NY: Delacorte (1975). His second novel, a tale of two brothers in the wilderness of northern Minnesota, one of them a war veteran, the other a veteran of the protests against that war. A cheaply-made, "perfectbound" book, it is difficult to find in nice condition, rivaling his first book, If I Die in a Combat Zone, for scarcity. Slight sunning to the board edges; inner hinge has been professionally strengthened; else fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author. An attractive copy of an uncommon book.
250. O'BRIEN, Tim. Going After Cacciato. (NY): Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence (1978). His third book, a magical realist novel about a recruit who decides to walk away from the Vietnam war and go to Paris, overland. Winner of the National Book Award. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a crease on the rear flap. A very nice copy of the book that secured O'Brien's reputation as the pre-eminent novelist of the American experience in Vietnam.
251. O'CONNELL, Mary. Living with Saints. NY: Atlantic Monthly (2001). The uncorrected proof copy of this well-received first collection of stories. Fine in wrappers.
252. O'FLAHERTY, Liam. Thy Neighbor's Wife. London: Jonathan Cape (1923). The first edition of the Irish writer's first book. Signed by the author on the front flyleaf. Foxing to page edges; a near fine copy in a very good, spine-darkened dust jacket with modest edge wear. An attractive copy of an uncommon novel by one of the key Irish writers of the first half of the century.
253. ONDAATJE, Michael. Claude Glass. (Toronto): Coach House Press, 1979. The first draft (June, 1979) of this poem by Ondaatje, published as a Coach House Press MS. Edition, a computer line-printer copy of a work in progress printed and bound as orders are received and updated as the author revises. "Claude Glass" is a five page poem bound in stapled wrappers, which was later incorporated into the work Secular Love. Fine. Uncommon.
254. (ONDAATJE, Michael). Poetry of Mid-Century, 1940/1960. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart (1964). New Canadian Library Paperback Original No. 4, which contains 14 poems by Leonard Cohen and pencilled margin notes by Ondaatje. Ondaatje's first book, The Dainty Monsters, was published in 1967; in 1970, Ondaatje published a short critical study of Leonard Cohen. Inscribed by Ondaatje to his wife, Kim, in 1964. Near fine in wrappers.
255. (ONDAATJE, Michael). New Wave Canada. Toronto: Contact Press (1966). Ondaatje's first book appearance: fourteen poems in this anthology of Canadian poetry edited by Raymond Souster. Issued in wrappers in an edition of 736 copies. Quarto. Acidic pages darkening; a very good copy, inscribed by contributor Barry Lord.
256. ORLEAN, Susan. The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup. NY: Random House (2001). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of short nonfiction, much of it from The New Yorker, by the author of the highly acclaimed and bestselling The Orchard Thief. Fine in wrappers.
257. ORWELL, George. The Lion and the Unicorn. Socialism and the English Genius. London: Secker & Warburg, 1940[1941]. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of three essays on "Socialism and the English Genius," published in 1941 as stated on the copyright page, rather than in 1940, as stated on the title page. The book begins, "As I write, highly civilised human beings are flying overhead, trying to kill me." Published in an edition of 5000 copies in February 1941; the type was destroyed in an air raid on Plymouth [Fenwick]. Minor creasing and spine-darkening; near fine in wrappers. An extremely uncommon proof, which precedes Orwell's classics, Animal Farm and 1984.
258. ORWELL, George. James Burnham and the Managerial Revolution. London: Socialist Book Centre, 1946. The first separate edition of this essay by Orwell. A scarce pamphlet printed on cheap, acidic postwar paper, this is a near fine copy, only slightly browned with age and with a couple of tiny edge chips to the brittle paper. A very nice copy of a scarce, fragile item.
259. (ORWELL, George). The New Savoy. London: New Savoy Press (1946). Orwell contributes the story "A Hanging," which first appeared in The Adelphi and was subsequently collected in Shooting an Elephant. This copy is signed by Orwell as "Geo. Orwell" on the title page. Additionally signed by contributors Inez Holden, Betty Miller, Olivia Manning and Stevie Smith; Smith has also inscribed the book on the half-title in 1969. Several creases to front cover and dust soiling apparent on rear, white cover; very good in wrappers. [Fenwick B.26]. Orwell's signature is one of the rarest of 20th century authors.
260. OZICK, Cynthia. Quarrel and Quandary. NY: Knopf, 2000. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of essays. Corner crease to rear cover; else fine in wrappers.
261. PALAHNIUK, Chuck. Survivor. NY: Norton (1999). The advance reading copy of this novel by the author of The Fight Club. Fine in wrappers.
262. PALAHNIUK, Chuck. Invisible Monsters. NY: Norton (1999). The advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers.
263. PATTERSON, Richard North. Protect and Defend. NY: Knopf, 2000. The uncorrected proof copy of this thriller by the bestselling author. Fine in wrappers.
264. PAZ, Octavio. Eagle or Sun? (NY): October House (n.d.)[c. 1973]. A bilingual edition of short prose poetry by the Mexican poet, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize for literature; translated by Eliot Wienberger. Pencilled marginal notes by poet Barbara Howes, the editor of an important anthology of Latin American writing, Eye of the Heart; near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
265. PHILLIPS, Jayne Anne. Fast Lanes. (NY): Vehicle (1984). A small press volume, the first book appearance of this story, with illustrations by Yvonne Jacquette. Issued in an edition of 2026, this is one of 26 lettered copies, signed by the author and the illustrator. Additionally, this copy is inscribed by Phillips to Seymour Lawrence: "For Uncle Sam --/ my companion/ in the fast lane --/ love,/ the speedy witch/ Jan. 24, '85." This story was later reprinted as the title story of a collection of Phillips' fiction published in 1987 by Dutton/Lawrence. Fine in a near fine slipcase. One of Phillips' scarcest publications, and an excellent association copy.
266. PIRANDELLO, Luigi. A Character in Distress. London: Duckworth (1938). The first edition in English of the first collection of stories by the Italian writer who won the 1934 Nobel Prize for literature. Offsetting to front flyleaf; foxing to page edges; near fine in a spine-faded, else near fine dust jacket.
267. PLATH, Sylvia. "LUCAS, Victoria." The Bell Jar. London: Heinemann (1962). Her pseudonymously published first novel. Plath committed suicide barely a month after the publication of this novel in England and it was not published in the U.S. for nearly a decade. The Bell Jar is largely autobiographical: Plath published pseudonymously in hopes of avoiding the consequences of being recognized by her friends and neighbors, and their recognizing themselves in her book. The book's clearcut exposition of its heroine's pain and her attempted suicide was reinforced by its author's actual suicide, lending a mythic dimension to the book. This copy has an owner name on the flyleaf and pastedown and some modest foxing to the pages; near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with some foxing to the verso, rubbing to the spine extremities and one small but tape-mended edge tear. A nice copy of an important book, which is elusive in the first edition.
268. PLIMPTON, George. Out of My League. (London): Andre Deutsch (1962). The first British edition of his first book, Plimpton's account of pitching, for one day, at the major league level. With an introduction and a glossary for the British edition. Fine in a very good dust jacket designed by Len Deighton and with a blurb by Ernest Hemingway.
269. (Poets and Poetry). (n.p.): (n.p.) [c. 1969-1971]. A small collection (10 items; 7 authors) of signed fair copy poetry and typed and autograph notes signed, solicited by a collector in the early 1970s, as follows: Philip Booth, a fair copy of "Was a Man" with an autograph note signed at the bottom of the page; Marc Connell, a typed note signed transmitting two autographs (not present); Richard Eberhart, a typed note signed soliciting information and assurances from the recipient before agreeing to sign a poem; Barbara Howes, signed fair copies of "Troy Weight Taken" and "A Night Picture of Pownal" and a signed Christmas greeting entitled "Talking to Animals;" David Ignatow, a signed fair copy of "Get the Gasworks," which Ignatow has re-titled by hand "Simultaneously;" Josephine Jacobsen, a signed fair copy of "Country Bath;" William Stafford, an autograph note signed agreeing to be part of the collection; and, lastly, a note from Thornton Wilder's sister Isabel explaining that Thornton is not well enough to participate. Most of the items are folded for mailing; else fine.
270. POUND, Ezra. Drafts & Fragments of Cantos CX-CXVII. (NY): New Directions (1968). The limited edition of several of the portions of the Cantos on which Pound had been working for some time. Gallup A91c. One of 310 copies signed by the author. A fine copy in a very good, sunned slipcase splitting at one joint and bumped at one corner.
271. PRITCHETT, V.S. A Careless Widow. NY: Random House (1989). A collection of short stories by one of the finest story writers, critics and essayists of his generation. This is the dedication copy of the first American edition, inscribed by Pritchett to his wife, Dorothy: "For my darling Dorothy/ from VSP," and additionally signed in full. The book's dedication reads "For my wife." With Pritchett's bookplate on the front pastedown. Dampstaining to spine; near fine in a very good dust jacket, heavily dampstained on verso but outwardly exhibiting only a bit of spine fading. Oddly, the book is also inscribed by Pritchett to photographer Sally Soames "with admiration" in 1993, although this inscription has been crossed out. Soames published a book of photographs of writers in 1995, and received an inscribed copy of this book from Pritchett, although not this copy.
272. PULLMAN, Philip. Galatea. London: Gollancz, 1978. An early novel by the author of The Golden Compass and several other contemporary classics of fantasy. His second book. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
273. PYNCHON, Thomas. The Crying of Lot 49. Philadelphia: Lippincott (1966). Pynchon's second novel, winner of the Richard and Hilda Rosenthal Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and the most overtly political, and paranoid, of Pynchon's novels. Chosen by David Pringle as one of the hundred best novels of Modern Fantasy. Small corner bump; else fine in a very good dust jacket with a small label partially removed from the front flap and an internally tape-repaired tear at the upper front spine fold.
274. PYNCHON, Thomas. Gravity's Rainbow. NY: Viking (1973). Pynchon's landmark third novel, winner of the National Book Award as well as the William Dean Howells Medal for the best work of fiction by an American over a five-year span. Gravity's Rainbow became the benchmark for postmodern American fiction upon publication and secured its mysterious and reclusive author's place in the postwar American literary pantheon. It is also widely considered the culminating novel of the Sixties -- the one which encapsulates and sums up the postwar events that resulted in the countercultural rejection of mainstream society and the quest for a plausible alternative view not only of contemporary society but of humanity itself. Small spot to top stain, else fine in a fine dust jacket with a small corner crease at the front flap.
275. PYNCHON, Thomas. Slow Learner. Boston: Little, Brown (1984). An advance issue of this collection of five early stories, with a new introduction by the author. Each of these stories was being offered for sale in unauthorized, bootleg editions at the time; this volume was Pynchon's attempt to take the bottom out of the market for piracies of his own writings. In keeping with his secretive approach, he reportedly requested that no proofs be printed of this book prior to publication; instead, a very small number of folded and gathered signatures were prepared and laid into proof dust jackets and issued as advance copies; the usual number cited for such copies is "about 10." This is one of those sets of sheets, "f&g's", laid into a dust jacket. Other than some light creasing to the jacket from where it overlays the sheets, fine.
276. PYNCHON, Thomas. Vineland. Boston: Little Brown (1990). Unbound signatures of his first novel in seventeen years. Pynchon reportedly requested that there be no bound proofs prepared for this novel, making this the earliest known printed version of the book. Reportedly there were only eight sets of signatures pulled from the print run for this advance issue. Pages uncut; fine, in an attractive custom folding chemise and quarter morocco slipcase.