Catalog 122, C
36. CALDWELL, Erskine. We Are the Living. NY: Viking (1933). The limited edition of his second collection of stories, published just after Tobacco Road and before God's Little Acre. This is one of 250 numbered copies signed by the author. Additionally, this copy has the author's presentation inscription tipped to the dedication page. A fine copy in (chipped) original acetate dustwrapper and publisher's slipcase.
37. CALDWELL, Erskine. Journeyman. NY: Viking, 1935. A novel, published in a limited edition of 1475 numbered copies. Fine in a very good slipcase with one corner cracking and a little bit of wear to the edges; overall an attractive, much-nicer-than-usual copy.
38. CALDWELL, Erskine. Some American People. NY: McBride (1935). Review copy of his first book of nonfiction, a commentary and survey of some areas of the U.S. particularly hard-hit by the Depression, and profiles and vignettes of a number of representative individuals. Inscribed by the author. Owner signature to front pastedown; trace wear at spine; else fine in a very near fine, slightly dusty dust jacket with a tiny tear at the upper front spine fold. A very nice copy of an important Caldwell book, and rare as a signed advance issue.
39. CALDWELL, Erskine. The Sacrilege of Alan Kent. Portland: Falmouth Book House, 1936. The first separate edition of this prose-poem, published in an attractive limited edition of 300 numbered copies signed by the author. It appeared, in slightly different form, as the final piece in the collection American Earth, although it was later dropped from the reprint editions of that collection. Quarto, red boards and vellum spine. Wood engravings by Russell Frizzell. Fine in slipcase. Scarce.
40. CALDWELL, Erskine. Southways. NY: Viking Press, 1938. His fourth collection of stories, again focusing on the rural South. Inscribed by the author. Small bookstore stamp and ink code rear pastedown; else fine in a very good, mildly spine-faded dust jacket with light corner chipping and two edge tears on the upper edge of the rear panel. An attractive copy, and uncommon signed.
41. CALDWELL, Erskine. Tragic Ground. NY: Duell, Sloan and Pearce (1944). A wartime novel of the rural South, inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Recipient's bookplate on front pastedown -- an attractive Art Deco design. Fine in a near fine, internally tape-strengthened dust jacket with one edge tear. A very attractive copy of a book that, because of its production under wartime limitations, is cheaply printed and bound and usually found much more worn.
42. CALDWELL, Erskine. Molly Cottontail. Boston: Little Brown (1958). A children's book, the first of only two that he wrote. Signed by the author. Uneven sunning to boards; near fine in a good dust jacket with light chipping at the spine extremities and only tenuously connected at the front spine fold. An uncommon book, and especially scarce signed.
43. CAPOTE, Truman. Other Voices, Other Rooms. NY: Random House (1948). His first book, a novel that was an instant sensation and went through a number of printings quickly, putting its young author on the literary map at the age of 22. Fine in a crisp, very near fine dust jacket with the slightest bit of darkening to the spine lettering and one edge tear on the front panel.
44. CAPOTE, Truman. The Grass Harp. (NY): Random House (1951). His fourth book, second novel. This is the second issue, in fine-grained beige cloth. Previous owner name on front free endpaper, and faint strips of offsetting to endpages; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with several unobtrusive markings (ink?) on the front panel.
45. CAPOTE, Truman. Breakfast at Tiffany's. NY: Random House (1958). Perhaps his most famous novel, due to the classic 1961 film, which won two Oscars and for which Audrey Hepburn was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Holly Golightly. Modest foxing to page edge and endpages; near fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with light edge wear, minor foxing and staining, but heavy sunning to the spine.
46. CAPOTE, Truman. In Cold Blood. NY: Random House (1965). His most famous book, a bestseller that redefined the boundaries between fiction and nonfiction and helped define the New Journalism of the 1960s. The book is not especially scarce in the first printing -- it had caused a sensation when portions appeared in The New Yorker, and therefore it had a large first printing; however, because of its soft paper dust jacket, it is a book that shows wear readily. This copy is fine in a fine dust jacket and this title is remarkably scarce thus.
47. -. Another copy. Boards lightly bowed; else fine in a near fine, mildly spine-tanned dust jacket with a bit of wear to the top edge. Laid in is Capote's March 27, 1966 Observer article, "The Guts of a Butterfly," in which he rebuts Kenneth Tynan's review of his book. An attractive copy.
48. -. Same title, the limited edition. One of 500 copies signed by the author. Fine in the original acetate, in a very near fine slipcase. As nice a copy as one could hope to find of this 1960s classic.
49. -. Same title, the advance reading copy. Near fine in self-wrappers, with a bit of discoloration at the spine from the binder's glue.
50. CARROLL, Jim. Living at the Movies. NY: Grossman, 1973. The uncorrected proof copy of the first book to be published by an "above-ground" publisher by this poet who was prominent in the New York City counterculture in the late Sixties. Carroll was already something of a legend before he was 18, and he had received glowing praise from even such a literary luminary as Jack Kerouac, who wrote "at 13 years of age, Jim Carroll writes better prose than 89% of the novelists working today." He was part of the social milieu that included performers like Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground and poets such as Ted Berrigan, Ron Padgett and others. It was a cultural scene heavily defined by drugs and rock 'n' roll, and Carroll's writings comprise one of the great coming-of-age documents of the drug culture. He is now perhaps best-known as a rock musician, leader of the Jim Carroll Band. This is an important volume by one of the defining voices of the Sixties. A scarce book in its trade edition, it is much more so in proof format. Faint surface soiling; near fine in wrappers.
51. CARVER, Raymond. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. NY: Knopf, 1981. Carver's second major story collection, and his first significant commercial success: the first of his books to be published by a mainstream literary publishing house, Knopf, and the first to go into multiple printings immediately after publication. Carver's relentless paring away of the excess in his stories, which earned him the label "minimalist" -- a designation he stridently rejected throughout his career -- is evident in this collection: two of the stories had been published earlier in the collection Furious Seasons but here are shorter and more spare (one of them also having been re-titled). Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. An important collection, and very uncommon signed these days.
52. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy, reproducing holograph corrections to the text, including a number of small word changes, excisions, and in one case the addition of a line to the end of a story. A remarkable glimpse of the stories as works-in-progress, up to and even after they had been typeset for publication. Several small spots to cover; near fine in wrappers.
53. CARVER, Raymond. Cathedral. NY: Knopf, 1983. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of stories that confirmed Carver's preeminent place among American short story writers of the day, and signaled a full-fledged resuscitation of the short story in American literature. Pen indentations and creases to rear cover; near fine in wrappers with publicity statement (formerly stapled to front cover) laid in.
54. CARVER, Raymond and GALLAGHER, Tess. Dostoevsky. A Screenplay. (Santa Barbara): Capra Press, 1985. Published in Capra's "Back-to-Back" series, this screenplay was bound together with "King Dog" by Ursula LeGuin. It remains Carver's only formally published screenplay, although William Stull's Carver checklist lists three others that he wrote. This is the trade edition; there was also a signed limited edition of this title. Only issued in wrappers. Fine.
55. CARVER, Raymond. A New Path to the Waterfall. NY: Atlantic Monthly (1989). A posthumously published collection of poems, written during the period just before he died and mostly dealing with his impending death. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
56. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Fine in wrappers.
57. -. Another copy of the proof. Tear at upper rear spine fold from bump at crown; still near fine in wrappers.
58. CARVER, Raymond. Afghanistan. (n.p.): Ewert/Firefly Press, 1988. A broadside of a poem that first appeared in Where Water Comes Together with Other Water. One of only 50 copies, printed to honor Carver on his induction into the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. 9" x 14". Signed by Carver. Fine.
59. CARY, Joyce. The Horse's Mouth. NY: Harper & Brothers (1944). Probably the author's most famous book, the third volume in his first trilogy, and called "perhaps the finest novel ever written about an artist." Signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf, dated 1949. The 1958 movie starring Alec Guinness was nominated for an Academy Award for its screenplay, which Guinness wrote. A little handling apparent on rear board; still fine in a very near fine dust jacket with trace wear at the spine extremities. An exceptionally nice copy of this book, whose thin black dust jacket is notoriously subject to wear.
60. CARY, Joyce. Mister Johnson. NY: Harper & Brothers (n.d.) [1951]. The first American edition of this novel that was originally published in England in 1938. Fine in a very good dust jacket with light wear at the spine extremities and a small chip at the upper front panel, affecting one letter of the author's name.
61. CASTANEDA, Carlos. The Teachings of Don Juan. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968. His first book, originally presented as a scholarly work, later seen as a popular culture landmark, and still later debunked by a number of serious critics as fiction. The premise of the book, as described in the dust jacket copy -- "It has been assumed that the West has produced no way of spiritual knowledge comparable to the great system of the East. The present book is accordingly nothing less than a revelation..." -- gives a fair indication of its impact, regardless of whether it is fact or fiction: The Teachings of Don Juan was one of the most important books published in the U.S. in the 1960s for its far-reaching cultural impact, affecting our view both of Native American cultures and traditions and, by extension, of the nature of spirituality and the metaphysical -- with implications for everything from politics to ecology. Bookplate front pastedown; otherwise a fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with trace edge rubbing. Probably the most attractive copy we have handled of this book, which tends to show wear readily. Later issued by Simon & Schuster in an edition that has the earmarks of a first printing but is actually a later edition. The first edition is extremely scarce, especially in collectible condition.
62. CASTANEDA, Carlos. A Separate Reality. NY: Simon & Schuster (1971). His second book, published when his track record as a bestselling author was not yet established, and consequently much scarcer in the first printing than the later titles. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and surprisingly scarce thus.
63. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Padbound; fine in tall wrappers, a scarce and fragile format.
64. CASTANEDA, Carlos. Journey to Ixtlan. NY: Simon & Schuster (1972/1973). The uncorrected proof copy of the third of his books featuring Yaqui shaman don Juan. Padbound; small upper corner bump; near fine in tall wrappers. Again, fragile and scarce.
65. CASTANEDA, Carlos. Tales of Power. NY: Simon & Schuster (1974). The uncorrected proof copy of Castaneda's fourth book in the remarkable "don Juan" series. Padbound; fine in tall wrappers.
66. CATHER, Willa. O Pioneers! Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1913. The first edition, first issue, in tan cloth with period on spine touching the "o" on "Co." and with the last page of text tipped in. Cather's second book, and the first that she wrote after resigning from McClure's magazine and devoting herself to writing full time. In this and her next two books, Cather wrote about the lives of immigrant families on the Great Plains, and established the body of work for which she is remembered. A little light handling evident to boards; still a fine, crisp copy with the spine lettering still clear and easily read, lacking the extremely rare dust jacket. Probably the nicest copy we've seen of this title in several years.
67. CENDRARS, Blaise and DOS PASSOS, John. Panama. NY: Harper & Brothers, 1931. A collection of poetry by Cendrars, translated from the French and with an introduction by Dos Passos and twelve color illustrations by him. This is the limited edition of this title, one of 300 copies signed by Cendrars and Dos Passos. Quarto; fold to spine; else fine in self-wrappers, with portions of the glassine dustwrapper. Lacking the rare slipcase. A very nice copy of this volume.
68. COETZEE, J.M. Dusklands. Johannesburg: Ravan, 1974. The first book by this noted South African writer and two-time winner of the Booker Prize. Two novellas, one of which, "The Vietnam Project," deals with a researcher investigating the effectiveness of U.S. propaganda and psychological warfare in Vietnam. This is the true first edition, preceding British publication by seven years and American by eleven. Bookstore label front endpages; fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a few tiny edge tears and a small ink price on the front flap. A very attractive copy of this uncommon and important debut.
69. -. Same title. (NY): Penguin Books (1985). The first American edition, published in this country as a paperback original after the success of Waiting for the Barbarians and The Life and Times of Michael K, Coetzee's first Booker Prize winner. Fine in wrappers.
70. COETZEE, J.M. In the Heart of the Country. London: Secker & Warburg (1977). His first novel published outside of his native South Africa. Fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket. Uncommon.
71. -. Same title (From the Heart of the Country), the first American edition. NY: Harper & Row (1977). Fine in a fine dust jacket, and surprisingly uncommon thus.
72. COETZEE, J.M. Waiting for the Barbarians. (n.p.): Penguin (1982). The uncorrected proof copy (marked "Advance Reading Copy" by the publisher) of the first American edition of this novel. Only published as a paperback in this country, but nonetheless selected as one of the best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review in 1982. A novel of an incipient race war in an unnamed African nation, patterned after the author's native South Africa -- an insightful and chilling book, a bit reminiscent of Kafka. Fine in wrappers.
73. CONROY, Frank. Stop-Time. NY: Viking (1967). One of the classic memoirs of the Sixties, a highly praised, literate coming-of-age account. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a gutter nick at the rear spine fold.