Catalog 121, L-M
225. LAVIN, Mary. A Likely Story. (Dublin): Dolmen (1967). A small, attractive chapbook, printing a single story and done in an edition of 1500 copies. Signed by the author. Price-clipped; else fine in self-wrappers.
226. LAWRENCE, D.H. The Story of Doctor Manente. Florence: Orioli (1929). A novella by an Italian Renaissance writer, Lasca, translated and introduced by Lawrence. Of a total edition of 1200 copies, this is one of 200 numbered copies signed by Lawrence. Bookplate front pastedown. The brittle tissue covering the boards is cracking but this is still a near fine copy of this attractive edition.
227. LE CARRÉ, John. The Little Drummer Girl. London: Pan Books (1984). The advance reading copy of the British paperback reissue. One of 739 copies in embossed white wrappers -- an uncommon type of advance issue. Signed by the author on the front wrapper in ink that has not adhered well to the glossy paper. A fine copy.
228. LE CARRÉ, John. The Secret Pilgrim. NY: Knopf, 1991. The first edition, preceding the British edition by three days (Jan. 14, 1991 vs. Jan. 17, 1991). Signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
229. LE CARRÉ, John. The Night Manager. NY: Knopf, 1993. The first American edition of his first post-Cold War novel, for which the American edition reportedly precedes the UK edition. Signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
230. LE CARRÉ, John. The Tailor of Panama. NY: Knopf, 1996. Bound 8 1/2" x 11" sheets of the first American edition. Signed by the author. Tapebound; fine in cardstock covers. There were, to our knowledge, two other issues of these sheets: one in cardstock covers that included the typescript of a speech Le Carré gave at a sales conference two months prior to publication, and another issue in vinyl and acetate covers.
231. LE CARRÉ, John. Single & Single. Franklin Center: Franklin Library, 1999. A limited edition. Signed by the author. With an introduction by Le Carré that does not appear in any other edition, and in which he compares this novel to his book A Perfect Spy. Leatherbound, all edges gilt, with a silk ribbon marker bound in. Fine.
232. (LE CARRÉ, John). "A Writer and a Gentleman" in The Savile Club. (n.p.): (n.p.)(1968). The souvenir book of the Savile Club, published on the occasion of the club's centenary and including work by Le Carré, Compton Mackenzie and J.B. Priestley, among others. Fine in saddle-stitched wrappers, with the dinner menu laid in. An early, ephemeral appearance in print for Le Carré. Uncommon.
233. LE SUEUR, Meridel. North Star Country. NY: Duell Sloan Pearce (1945). A volume in the American Folkways series. This is the "Paul Bunyan" edition, so indicated on a page tipped in prior to the title page, where the copy is signed by the author. Near fine in a very good, price-clipped and spine-faded dust jacket with several small chips including one on the rear flap fold.
234. LETHEM, Jonathan. Amnesia Moon. NY: Harcourt Brace (1995). The second book by this author who has won the National Book Critics Circle Award, a World Fantasy Award, and a Gold Dagger Award for Crime Writing -- a rare cross-genre accomplishment in contemporary American writing. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
235. LOPEZ, Barry. Lessons from the Wolverine. Athens: U. of Georgia Press (1997). A short story, attractively illustrated by Tom Pohrt, who also illustrated Lopez's Crow and Weasel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
236. LOWELL, Robert. Publishing Material for The Oresteia of Aeschylus. NY: FSG (1978). A small archive of publishing material including the uncorrected proof copy of this play, which Lowell "translated" from other translations, in an attempt to recapture what he imagined the initial impact of the play would have been to its original audience. Together with two copies of the printer's sample pages, each one sheet, folded in half, marked as one page of specifications and the text of pp. 45-47, although the text appears elsewhere in the proof. And also together with two proof dust jackets, folded flat, printing front cover and spine. All items fine.
237. MACDONALD, Dwight. The Memoirs of a Revolutionist. NY: Farrar Straus Cudahy (1957). His fourth book, a collection of political essays. Inscribed by the author to another writer in 1977. Recipient's blindstamp front flyleaf; cloth unevenly sunned, a good copy in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket.
238. MACDONALD, Dwight. Discriminations. NY: Grossman, 1974. Another volume of essays, previously uncollected. Elaborately inscribed by the author in 1977, with the inscription superimposed on Macdonald's address stamp. Recipient's blindstamp to flyleaf, dampstaining to spine cloth; very good in a near fine dust jacket.
239. MAILER, Norman. Barbary Shore. NY: Rinehart (1951). Mailer's second book. Bound, like his first book The Naked and the Dead, in black pseudo-cloth boards that rub remarkably easily, and a coarse paper dust jacket printed in black, which also tends to show wear. This is a very near fine copy with trace wear only at the corners in like dust jacket, with minimal wear and only a thin faint line of rubbing on the spine folds; very scarce thus. The jacket is printed in black and red; there was also a black and green jacket, with no priority known. An exceptional copy of a book that seldom turns up in nice shape.
240. MAILER, Norman. An American Dream. NY: Dial, 1965. The first novel in a decade by the author of The Naked and the Dead, and the beginning of a remarkable series of writings in the mid- and late-Sixties that established Mailer as one of the literary giants of his generation. This copy is inscribed by the author to Diana Trilling in February, 1965, the month prior to publication: "To Diana/ for the Oxford walks/ Norman." Full blue cloth binding, priority undetermined, but the pre-publication inscription argues for this binding preceding the alternate binding of blue cloth spine and gray boards. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with modest chipping and rubbing at the spine extremities and one closed gutter tear. An excellent association copy: Trilling was one of the leading literary critics of the generation before Mailer's, and their friendship, alluded to in the inscription, an important one for the younger writer.
241. MAILER, Norman. A Fragment from Vietnam. Helsinki: Eurographica (1985). A one-act play originally published in 1972. Also includes "An Imaginary Interview." One of 350 copies signed by the author. Fine in wrappers and dust jacket.
242. MALAMUD, Bernard. Proof Dust Jacket for Dubin's Lives. [NY]: FSG [1979]. Printing the front cover and spine only, with the title in a pale green that was later changed to yellow. Together with a copy of the finished jacket, with the yellow lettering, author photo and flap text. Each folded flat, else fine.
243. -. Same title, proof jacket only. Folded flat; else fine.
244. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Raditzer. NY: Viking, 1961. Matthiessen's fourth book, third novel, a tale of an outcast seaman on a World War II troop ship. Fine in a very slightly spine-tanned dust jacket with light edge wear; about near fine. An attractive copy of a book that seldom shows up in nice shape.
245. -. Another copy. Signed by the author. Fading to top stain; else fine in a very good, edgeworn and price-clipped dust jacket.
246. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. The Cloud Forest. NY: Viking, 1961. A chronicle of a trip through the Amazon wilderness, Matthiessen's second book of nonfiction and the first of his numerous personal accounts of travel and exploration, with which he has carved out a unique position in our literature. Signed by the author. Tape shadows front endpages and a light, narrow stain running from the top edge down the foredge; very good in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket rubbed at the edges and the folds.
247. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. The Great Auk Escape. (London): Angus & Robertson (1972). Matthiessen's scarcest trade edition, the first British edition of this children's story, retitled from the American edition (Seal Pool). Signed by the author. The acidic paper is darkening slightly, and the lower corners are bumped; a near fine copy without dust jacket, as issued.
248. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Lost Man's River. NY: Random House (1997). The uncorrected proof copy of the second novel in the trilogy that began with Killing Mr. Watson, based on a series of events in Florida at the turn of the last century and using the novel form to explore the settling and development of that frontier, with an awareness of the ecological implications of its development. This proof contains textual differences from the published version. Signed by the author on the front cover. The rear cover has a long, nearly imperceptible vertical crease; else fine in wrappers.
249. McCARTHY, Cormac. The Crossing. NY: Knopf, 1994. The sequel to All the Pretty Horses, and the second novel in The Border Trilogy. One of an intended 1000 copies signed by the author on a tipped-in colophon, "for friends of the author and publisher." Reports vary on the number of copies actually signed thus. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
250. McCARTHY, Cormac. Cities of the Plain. New Orleans: B.E. Trice (1998). The limited edition of the third book in the Border Trilogy. One of 300 numbered copies, quarterbound in leather and signed by the author. This is the smallest limitation of any of McCarthy's books (aside from the sold-out deluxe issue of this title). Fine in a fine slipcase.
251. McELROY, Joseph. A Smuggler's Bible. NY: Harcourt Brace World (1966). His uncommon first book. Corner creasing and paperclip imprint to first few pages and minor wear to cloth at spine extremities; a very good copy in an unfaded, very good dust jacket with a few short edge tears.
252. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Title on spine in marker; very good in wrappers.
253. McELROY, Joseph. Ancient History: A Paraphase. NY: Knopf, 1971. A review copy with publisher's slip and promotional photograph laid in. Inscribed by the author in 1974. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
254. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Inscribed by the author. An extremely scarce proof; we have never seen another copy of it and McElroy's inscription suggests that he may not have ever seen it either: "To ____ _______/ On first touching/ this green book/ Joe McElroy/ April 26, 1974." Near fine in tall, padbound wrappers. A fragile format; it is unlikely that more than a handful can have survived.
255. McEWAN, Ian. First Love, Last Rites. London: Cape (1975). The uncorrected proof copy of the first edition of his first book, a collection of stories. Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award. McEwan's book Amsterdam won the 1998 Booker Prize. Slight creasing near the spine but still very near fine in wrappers. A scarce proof and an important first book.
256. McEWAN, Ian. Or Shall We Die? London: Jonathan Cape (1983). An oratorio by McEwan, set to music by Michael Berkeley, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. This volume has an introduction by McEwan that runs longer than the piece. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with one small edge nick.
257. McGUANE, Thomas. Proof Dust Jacket for An Outside Chance. [NY: FSG, 1980]. The proof dust jacket (jacket only, no book) for this collection of essays on sports such as such as hunting and fishing. Front panel and spine only printed; flaps and back panel blank. Differs from the published version in that the spine here is beige rather than white and the title is outlined in green rather than blue. Folded at the rear spine fold; else fine.
258. McPHEE, John. The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed. NY: FSG (1973). A nonfiction account of a serious, but flawed, attempt to create a new kind of aircraft -- a combination airplane and lighter-than-air airship. An intriguing subject elucidated by McPhee's crystal-clear prose. Signed by the author. Light staining to foredge; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Books signed by McPhee are relatively uncommon.
259. McPHEE, John. Giving Good Weight. NY: FSG (1979). A collection of essays and articles from The New Yorker, one of which -- a profile of an anonymous, but purportedly excellent, restaurateur -- created controversy when the subject of the article speculated that a prominent New York restaurant used frozen fish for one of its plates. Heated denials and threats of libel suits followed, and McPhee issued a retraction in a later issue -- the first time such a thing had happened in the New Yorker's history. In the book, the offending passage is footnoted, along with a disclaimer. This copy is inscribed by the author on November 5, 1980: "For ____ ____/ with appreciation of a/ lovely gesture/ on a memorable day/ John McPhee." Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
260. McPHEE, John. La Place de la Concorde Suisse. NY: FSG (1984). The limited edition of this book, which started out to be a study of the Swiss Army knife and ended up as a study of the Swiss Army. One of 200 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
261. MICHENER, James. Recessional. NY: Random House (1994). The publisher's limited edition of this title, preceded by the Franklin Library edition, but presumably done in much smaller quantities than that edition. One of 500 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
262. MILLER, Henry. Money and How It Gets That Way. Paris: Booster Publications [1938]. A fragile volume in wrappers, published in an edition of 495 copies. Pages uncut, a fine copy in wrappers; in a custom clamshell box. An especially nice copy of this title.
263. MILLER, Henry. The Nightmare Notebook. (NY): New Directions (1975). A limited edition of 700 copies signed by the author, reproducing in facsimile a journal that Miller kept in 1939 on the trip to the U.S. that resulted in his books The Air-Conditioned Nightmare and Remember to Remember. Quarto, reproducing Miller's writings and paintings. A fine copy in the original tissue dust jacket.
264. MOJTABAI, A.G. Mundome. NY: Simon & Schuster (1974). Her first book, a novel. Warmly inscribed by the author in 1976: For ____/ a dream in which one/ knows one is dreaming but/ still can't wake up -/ You've been here too?/ Grace/ (A. G. Mojtabai)." Fine in a fine dust jacket.
265. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Warmly inscribed by the author on the front cover: "_____ -/ Wise little book to fall/ into such good hands/ From/ Grace." Near fine in tall, padbound wrappers; a scarce and fragile format.
266. MOODY, Rick. The Ice Storm. Boston: Little Brown (1994). His second book, made into a film by Ang Lee that won an award at Cannes, for best screenplay adaptation from a novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Moody was chosen as one of The New Yorker's 20 best young American novelists.
267. MOORE, Honor. Darling. NY: Grove Press (2001). The author's second collection of poems. Warmly inscribed by the author to another writer ("her favorite dinner date") in the year of publication. Fine in wrappers.
268. MORRISON, Toni. Beloved. NY: Knopf, 1987. Her fifth novel, which won the Pulitzer Prize and was the basis for the award-winning 1998 film by Jonathan Demme. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
269. -. Another copy. A little spotting to top page edges; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
270. MUKHERJEE, Bharati. The Holder of the World. NY: Knopf, 1993. The advance reading copy of this novel by the author of the award-winning collection The Middleman and Other Stories. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers and publisher's pictorial slipcase.
271. (MUNRO, Alice). "The Time of Death" in Canadian Short Stories. London: Oxford University Press, 1960. Volume 573 in the World's Classics series, collecting a Munro story that first appeared in The Canadian Forum in 1956. Precedes her first book by eight years. A small volume, 4" x 6", this copy has a gift inscription on the verso of the front flyleaf; near fine in a very good dust jacket with some sunning and rubbing and one edge tear.