Catalog 119, E-K
99. EVANS, Walker. Message from the Interior. NY: Eakins Press (1966). A beautifully produced volume printing twelve large photogravure plates, 14-1/4" x 14-1/2", by one of the preeminent photographers of the American heartland of the 20th century. Evans took the photographs that illustrated James Agee's classic, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, and he revolutionized documentary photography with his work for the Farm Security Administration during the Depression and after. The photographs in this collection span the years 1931-1962. Fine without dustwrapper (as issued?). An attractive copy.
100. FORD, Richard. My Mother, In Memory. Elmwood: Raven Editions, 1988. A limited edition of this essay, a shorter version of which had appeared in Harper's. Issued in a total edition of 140 copies, of which only 40 were hardbound and, of those 40, only 26 were offered for sale. This is copy B of 26 lettered copies signed by the author, with a frontispiece by noted artist Russell Chatham, hand-shaded and signed by Chatham as well. Designed and printed letterpress by Carol Blinn at Warwick Press. A fine copy of a beautiful production.
101. FOWLES, John. The Magus. Boston: Little, Brown (1965). The first American edition of his second novel, a near-fantasy set on a Greek island and involving a young expatriate Englishman who is drawn into the fantastic designs of a self-styled psychic. The American edition precedes the British. A hint of bumping to the corners; fine in a near fine, mildly sunned dust jacket with a tiny chip at the crown. Made into a movie starring Anthony Quinn in the 1960s, which gained a cult following.
102. GARDNER, Erle Stanley. The Case of the Angry Mourner. NY: Morrow (1951). A Perry Mason novel by the prolific author. Inscribed by the author in 1952 at his ranch in Temecula, California. The recipients were friends of Gardner's who lived in Baja California, Mexico, and with whom he visited and traveled on his frequent trips to Baja in the 1940s and 50s. Spine ends rubbed; near fine in a very good, mildly darkened dust jacket internally tape strengthened along the top edge.
103. GORDIMER, Nadine. Three in a Bed: Fiction, Morals, and Politics. (Bennington): (Bennington College) (1991). A chapbook, printing lecture thirteen in the Ben Belitt Lecture Series, which was delivered on October 4, 1990. One of 1000 copies. Gordimer was awarded the Nobel Prize in October of 1991. Fine in stapled wrappers. Uncommon.
104. GRADY, James. Six Days of the Condor. NY: Norton (1974). His first book, a thriller that was made into the popular and well-received movie "Three Days of the Condor." Inscribed by the author. Additional gift inscription, perhaps coincidentally from someone who shares her name with a dedicatee; foxing to page edges; near fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
105. (GRATEFUL DEAD). Handbill. San Francisco, [1966]. 8-1/2" x 11" handbill advertising the Third Annual South of Market and North Beach Children's Adventure Day Camp, featuring The Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother and the Holding Company, the San Francisco Mime Troup, and Lew Welch, among others. Printed in brown ink; design by Mary Kay Brown. Fine. An attractive memento of an early, significant counterculture event.
106. GREENE, Graham. The Comedians. London: Bodley Head (1966). One light corner bump; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a touch of wear to the spine crown. Not an especially scarce book, but a very nice copy.
107. GUTERSON, David. Snow Falling on Cedars. NY: Harcourt Brace (1994). His first novel, a well-written and touching story of a murder trial on an island in Puget Sound in the aftermath of World War II. The evocative prose captures an era, depicting the conflicting sensibilities of the island's Japanese-American community and its white, patriotic fishermen. On the basis of this book, Guterson was included on the list of Granta's 20 best young American writers. Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
108. HARRISON, Jim. The Theory and Practice of Rivers. Seattle: Winn Books, 1986. The hardcover edition of this collection of poems, illustrated by Russell Chatham. This edition was limited to 350 copies, of which half were supposedly sold with a portfolio of five relief prints by Chatham. This copy is accompanied by a portfolio of prints, but numbered as one of 40 "AP" (Artist's Proof) copies and is otherwise indistinguishable from the 175 copies. The book is signed by the author; fine in a fine slipcase. The prints, approximately 14-1/2" x 18", are also fine, and signed by the artist. Although the stated limitation was 175 copies issued with the suite of prints, we have never seen another offered for sale, and suspect that the edition was never issued as stated. One of the scarcest Harrison items, and a notable collection of prints by Chatham, who is among the most highly regarded artists of the American West working today.
109. HOFFMAN, Abbie. Soon To Be a Major Motion Picture. NY: Putnam (1980). A later printing of the issue in wrappers. Inscribed by Hoffman to film critic Pauline Kael: "To Pauline/ Kael -- Movie/ Star!/ from a fan -- / Abbie Hoffman." Fine in wrappers. Laid in is an autograph note signed: "Hope you'll be up and around soon -- Abbie." Square notepaper, folded; near fine. Also with the return address cut from the mailing envelope. A fine association copy between two figures who cast a high profile in American popular culture during the 1960s and 70s, albeit in quite different realms.
110. (HOYEM, Andrew). Handbill. Berkeley: Rhymers Club, 1967. Handbill announcing a poetry reading by Hoyem at the University of California in Berkeley in May, 1967. Folded for mailing, with envelope. Fine.
111. IRVING, John. The World According to Garp. NY: Dutton (1978). The author's fourth novel, and his breakthrough book, which went into numerous printings, became a multi-million copy bestseller and a National Book Award winner in its paperback release. Basis for a well-received movie, albeit one that by consensus fell short of the book's magic. The first printing of Garp was 35,000 copies -- far larger than any of Irving's previous novels but far short of any of the books that came later: his next novel, The Hotel New Hampshire, had a 100,000 copy first printing and since then all his books have had printings well into six figures. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a couple small, practically invisible spots of rubbing. Despite its relatively large first printing when compared with his earlier books, Garp is a difficult book to find in fine condition: copies seem to have been handled and read, maybe even re-read, and generally show substantial wear. A beautiful, nearly perfect copy of a book that seldom appears thus.
112. IRVING, John. A Prayer for Owen Meany. NY: Morrow (1989). The first trade edition of what may be Irving's best-loved book (a substantial claim for a book by the author of The World According to Garp); basis for the movie Simon Birch. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with two barely perceptible spots of lamination peeling.
113. IRVING, John. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. NY: Arcade (1996). The first American edition of this collection of stories and other short pieces, expanded from the British edition, which was published in 1993. Inscribed by the author, who has since become a reluctant signer-of-books, at best. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
114. IRVING, John. My Movie Business. NY: Random House (1999). Irving's account of his career involvement with the movies, from thirteen years of working on the screenplay for The Cider House Rules (for which he won an Oscar) to trying, unsuccessfully, to get his first novel, Setting Free the Bears, made into a film. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Quite uncommon signed.
115. KEROUAC, Jack. On the Road. NY: Viking, 1957. His second novel, the quintessential "road novel" and the book that defined the Beat generation. With its theme of two outcasts crossing the American heartland, Kerouac's fictionalized account of his exploits with his friend Neal Cassady -- here depicted as "Dean Moriarty" -- updated Mark Twain's story of Huck Finn and Jim on the Mississippi and became a cultural landmark. It helped introduce Zen Buddhism and other Eastern traditions into the popular culture of the West, and pioneered the concept of recreational drug use, a novel idea in the Fifties but one that was taken for granted barely a decade later. Unlike many self-consciously "hip" novels, both before and since, it continues to be read and admired today, retaining its freshness due to the immediacy of its writing, the clarity of its youthful perceptions, and the authenticity of the characters' quests. All by itself, it ensures Kerouac's standing as an important American writer. Two strips of glue to front flyleaf where it appears a bookplate was removed; a very near fine copy in a very good dust jacket with light edge wear and a small amount of rubbing to the black front panel and spine.
116. KEROUAC, Jack. Northport Tapes Transcripts. (n.p.: n.p., n.d.)[c. 1964]. Transcript of a taped interview with Kerouac, the artist Stanley Twardowicz, Jim Schwaner, and Joan and David Roberts. The interviewer is Kirles Zsedely. Low quality photocopy of a mimeograph, 71 pages bound in red folder with detaching typed label; else fine.
117. KESEY, Ken. The Day After Superman Died. Northridge: Lord John, 1980. A story about Neal Cassady, Kesey's longtime friend, sometime mentor, and the driver of the Merry Pranksters' bus on its legendary cross-country trip as well as Kerouac's companion on the trip that formed the basis for On the Road, in which he was the model for the main character, Dean Moriarty. Of a total edition of 350 copies, this is one of 50 deluxe copies signed by the author. Spine cloth faded; else fine, without jacket, as issued.
118. KESEY, Ken. Demon Box. (n.p.): Viking (1987). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of short pieces, both fiction and nonfiction. "Press Copy" markings to cover and summary page; one corner crease; near fine in wrappers.
119. KESEY, Ken. Sailor Song. (n.p.): Viking (1992). The advance reading copy of his third novel. Fine in wrappers.
120. (KESEY, Ken). "McMurphy and the Machine" in Stanford Short Stories 1962. Stanford: Stanford U. Press, 1962. A collection edited by Wallace Stegner and Richard Scowcroft. Kesey's excerpt is from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Larry McMurtry contributes "Leaving Cheyenne," an excerpt from his second novel, then in progress. Fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket. A beautiful copy of an early book appearance for both Kesey and McMurtry, who were students at Stegner's writing workshop at Stanford. McMurtry's novel All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers tells a fictionalized version of the story of their lives there during the early years of the 1960s, as experiments with psychedelic drugs were commonplace and Kesey's crowd was growing into the Merry Pranksters, who would become counterculture icons.
121. (KESEY, Ken). Sorcerers. (n.p.): Ariel (n.d.). Quarto, only issued in wrappers. A collection of fantasy art, with a foreword by Kesey. A surprisingly elusive book. Very good in wrappers, rubbed at the spine fold and creased on the front cover. A fragile, oversize perfectbound volume, with pages that tend to pop out if the book is opened too widely, perhaps accounting for its scarcity.
122. (KESEY, Ken). Still Kesey! NY: Viking, 1986. A promotional flyer for an evening with Kesey, who was on tour with "The Thunder Machine Band" promoting his book Demon Box. Contains three previously unpublished and still-uncollected Kesey poems. A single sheet, folded to make four pages. Fine.
123. KOSINSKI, Jerzy. Notes of the Author on The Painted Bird. NY: Scientia-Factum, 1967. Third edition. Inscribed by the author to Pauline Kael, "with admiration" and dated 1968. Kosinski has also annotated the summary page describing the creation of the Notes and on the rear flap he has crossed out the listed title of his novel-in-progress as it was indicated in this volume -- The Two. Near fine in stapled self-wrappers.
124. KOTZWINKLE, William. The Bear Went Over the Mountain. NY: Doubleday (1996). A well-received comic novel about the publishing industry, involving a Maine black bear who finds a novel manuscript and decides to take it to New York to make his fortune. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
125. KUNDERA, Milan. Identity. (NY): HarperCollins (1998). A limited edition (limitation not stated) of the first American edition of his most recent novel, with a sheet tipped in signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket that bears the publisher's "Autographed Copy" label.