Catalog 122, S-T
286. SALINGER, J.D. Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour, An Introduction. Boston: Little Brown (1963). Salinger's fourth and last book, two long stories of the Glass family. This is the first issue, without the dedication page, one of reportedly 20-30 copies thus. Slight sunning to top edge, else fine in a fine dust jacket with a hint of sunning to spine. A very fresh, crisp copy.
287. -. Another copy, this being the third issue, with the dedication page tipped in after the title page. Date (February 4, 1963) written on front pastedown; else fine in a near fine dust jacket with wear at the spine extremities.
288. SARTON, May. Encounter in April with Correspondence. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1937. Her first book, a well-received collection of poems. Warmly inscribed by the author: "For Beulah B. Brown/ with warm remembrance of those[?] days/ in her house!/ April 14, 1941/ May Sarton." Laid in are two typed letters signed to Mrs. Brown (one undated; another, with envelope, from May 1946); one autograph note signed with envelope; a holograph poem (unsigned) written on an index card; and a full page of holograph notes (unsigned) written on the verso of hotel stationery. The letters are primarily concerned with arrangements for speaking engagements; the notes also seem to concern the underlying impetus for a college tour. The book is a bit edge-sunned, thus near fine in a very good dust jacket with sunning and wear to the upper edge; the writings are fine, with the exception of the hotel stationery which is chipped across the top edge, not affecting text. For all:
289. SARTON, May. Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing. NY: Norton (1965). Her most famous book, a novel about a struggling artist who confronts the question of having to "dare to be" herself "however frightening and strange that self may be." In this book, Sarton first revealed her homosexuality to her reading public and the book was panned on publication. A few years later, however, it was rediscovered by the Women's Movement, not to mention the Gay Liberation Movement, and taken as an example of female, and lesbian, empowerment. A new edition was published with a foreword by the noted feminist scholar Carolyn Heilbrun, and the book has since attained the status of a classic. This is the first edition, and is signed by the author. Trace foxing to page edges; else fine in a very good, rubbed dust jacket. An important book, and seldom encountered signed.
290. SARTON, May. Miss Pickthorn and Mr. Hare. NY: Norton (1966). Fine in a fine dust jacket with none of the wear normally associated with this title.
291. SERLING, Rod. Twilight Zone Revisited. NY: Grosset & Dunlap (1964). Thirteen tales of the supernatural by the creator of the landmark television series of the 1950s and 1960. The Twilight Zone remains one of the most respected television shows of all time, and was characterized by good writing, with such authors as Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson and, of course, Serling himself. Inscribed by Serling. Fine in pictorial boards and a near fine dust jacket. Books signed by Serling are extremely uncommon.
292. SILKO, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. NY: Viking (1977). Her first novel, which combines traditional native storytelling with the Western form of the novel to create a book that embodies what it describes -- the book itself is structured as a healing ceremony. The success of this book, both critically and commercially, helped pave the way for the publishing of later Native American writers, such as Louise Erdrich, Linda Hogan and others, and it has become a standard text on college campuses in the study of multicultural literature. This is a fine copy in a fine, first issue dust jacket with only a slight degree of the usual spine-fading.
293. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Covers dusty and corner creased, with an erasure to the front cover; very good in wrappers. Scarce.
294. (SNYDER, Gary). Out of the West. Northridge: Lord John Press, 1979. Poetry by Snyder, William Everson, Philip Levine, Clayton Eshleman and Jerome Rothenberg. One of 350 numbered copies signed by all five poets. Worn at one tip; still fine in acetate dustwrapper.
295. STEINBECK, John. Tortilla Flat. NY: Covici Friede (1935). His fourth novel. A scarce book, printed during the Depression in an edition of only 4000 copies, this was the first of Steinbeck's books to receive significant popular attention, because of its sympathetic portrayal of Monterey paisanos. Faint spine sunning; else fine in a very good, spine-darkened dust jacket with a couple spots on the front panel, shallow chipping at the spine extremities and a tear at the upper front spine fold. A scarce book, especially in dust jacket. By comparison, The Grapes of Wrath, published four years later, had a first printing reported at 50,000 copies.
296. STEINBECK, John. The Long Valley. NY: Viking, 1938. A collection of stories. Published a year before The Grapes of Wrath, The Long Valley had a first printing of 8000 copies. Faint spine darkening and a bit of darkening to signatures at foredge; still a very near fine copy in a near fine, spine-darkened dust jacket with one small edge tear. An attractive copy of an early book, one that is considerably less common than any of his later volumes of fiction.
297. STEINBECK, John. The Grapes of Wrath. NY: Viking (1939). The greatest novel by this Nobel Prize winner, one of the greatest American novels ever, and the great American novel of the Depression era. Steinbeck fused social consciousness with literary artistry in a particularly American and individualistic way, refusing to allow his writing to become doctrinaire the way a number of the proletarian novelists of the Thirties did; the body of Steinbeck's work has stood the test of time considerably better than that of most of his contemporaries, especially those who tackled the same social issues that he did. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and basis for an Oscar-winning film in 1940 starring Henry Fonda. Mild darkening to spine; else a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with shallow staining visible only on verso and two short edge tears, one internally tape-mended. A very handsome copy of this high spot of 20th century American literature.
298. STEINBECK, John. The Moon is Down. NY: Viking, 1942. The first issue of one of his more common books, a short novel published during the war and essentially a piece of propaganda art. A couple small spots to foredge; else fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
299. STEINBECK, John. Cannery Row. NY: Viking, 1945. The second issue, in yellow cloth, of Steinbeck's homage to the people of Monterey county, where he was born and where he spent much of his life. A slight novel, but a lasting testament. Small owner name on flyleaf, slight bubbling to top edge of rear board; still very near fine in a near fine, mildly sunned dust jacket with a tear at the upper front flap fold. An attractive copy.
300. STEINBECK, John. East of Eden. NY: Viking, 1952. Perhaps his most famous novel after The Grapes of Wrath, an ambitious family saga that was the basis for a Hollywood movie starring James Dean. A bit of foxing to front board; else fine in a near fine, mildly spine-tanned dust jacket with a little rubbing to the spine extremities and some handling to the rear panel. A nice crisp copy.
301. STEINBECK, John. The Short Reign of Pippin IV. NY: Viking, 1957. Offsetting to front flyleaf; else fine in a very good, unevenly sunned dust jacket.
302. STONE, Robert. A Hall of Mirrors. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1967. His first book, a novel of drifters in New Orleans in the early Sixties caught up in the web of a quasi-religious political machine. Winner of the William Faulkner Award for best first novel of the year as well as a Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket, with no spine fading and none of the rubbing to the front panel that one typically finds on this book. A beautiful copy of an important debut.
303. STYRON, William. Lie Down in Darkness. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill (1951). His first book, a well-received autobiographical novel, which was nominated for the National Book Award. Styron's controversial novel, The Confessions of Nat Turner, was also a National Book Award nominee, and it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1968. His novel Sophie's Choice won the National Book Award in 1980. Owner name on front flyleaf; residual jacket protector strip along lower edge; slight sunning to top edge; near fine in a very near fine, mildly spine-tanned dust jacket. A remarkably crisp copy of this title.
304. STYRON, William. In the Clap Shack. NY: Random House (1973). A short play. Signed by the author. Rear board wider than front board, not unseen in this title; else fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
305. STYRON, William. Sophie's Choice. NY: Random House (1979). The uncorrected proof copy of his fifth novel, winner of the National Book Award. Made into a well-received film by Alan Pakula; Meryl Streep won an Academy Award for her portrayal of the title character. Fine in wrappers. A scarce proof and because of its bulk one that seldom turns up in fine condition.
306. -. Same title, the limited edition. One of 500 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine acetate dust jacket, in fine slipcase.
307. THOMPSON, Hunter S. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. NY: Random House (1971). Thompson's hilarious, drug-soaked memoir of a trip to Vegas -- the book that defined "gonzo journalism." Illustrated by Ralph Steadman, with his bizarre and unforgettable ink drawings, the perfect complement to Thompson's bizarre and unforgettable prose. Boards edge-sunned; else fine in a near fine dust jacket with some creasing at the lower edge and a tiny, closed tear at the crown.
308. THOMPSON, Hunter S. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. (San Francisco): Straight Arrow Books (1973). Thompson covers the Nixon/McGovern race for the Presidency in his own inimitable style. Top board edges bumped; near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with a bit of rubbing to the edges and fading to the red on the spine. This is the first issue dust jacket, with the white border around the photograph on the rear panel.
309. -. Another copy. Faint label removal mark on front free endpaper, otherwise fine in a slightly rubbed, near fine, second issue dust jacket with a gutter tear on the rear panel.
310. THOMPSON, Jim. Heed the Thunder. NY: Greenberg (1946). The scarce second novel by this master of the noir thriller. Thompson's first three books were published in hardcover, apparently did not sell well, and thereafter all of his novels were issued as paperback originals, many of them in the short-lived but now considered classic Lion Library series. Thompson went on writing pulp fiction for decades but it was only in recent years that he has been retrospectively recognized as a master of the genre. Several of his novels have been turned into well-received movies, including The Grifters, Coup de Torchon, The Getaway (twice) and others. This book was published by a small publisher that mostly did reprints and remainder issues. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with two tiny edge nicks and a very thin tear at the mid-spine. An exceptionally attractive copy of this scarce novel.
311. THOMPSON, Jim. Nothing More than Murder. (NY): Dell (1949). The first paperback edition of his third novel, first published in hardcover by Harper & Brothers before Thompson began his career of writing pulp paperbacks. A bit of corner creasing and rubbing to the spine folds; near fine.
312. TOLKIEN, J.R.R. Farmer Giles of Ham. London: Allen and Unwin, 1949. Fine in a near fine, slightly foxed dust jacket with a short tear at the upper rear spine fold. An exceptional copy of this short tale that predates The Lord of the Rings.
313. TRAVEN, B. Der Wobbly. Berlin: Buchmeister-Verlag, 1926. The true first edition of the novel that was later translated as The Cotton Pickers. Front flyleaf excised; tear to cloth at rear joint; very good, without dust jacket.
314. TRAVEN, B. The Bridge in the Jungle. NY: Knopf, 1938. The first American edition of this novel by the author of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and featuring the same main character as that book. Made into a well-received movie some thirty years after it was published. Both books were part of a sequence of novels Traven wrote in Mexico, depicting the lives and struggles of the common people and their oppression by the powers that be -- an international take on the "proletarian novel" of the 1930s, and a variant of it, in that most of the characters in Traven's novels, and in Mexico for that matter, were peasants rather than an urban proletariat. Interestingly Knopf, which published both this book and Sierra Madre, must have had high hopes for the series, as the rear flap announces that the publisher has acquired the rights to two other Traven novels and will announce their publication dates "as soon as possible." As it turned out, those two novels were not published until the 1970s, by a small publisher named Hill & Wang which specialized in plays and books for academia. Some offsetting to endpapers from the binder's glue; else fine in a near fine dust jacket rubbed at the folds. A very nice copy of a book that is almost as scarce as its more famous predecessor.
315. -. Same title. London: Jonathan Cape (1940). The first British edition. Fine in a very good, spine-tanned and price-clipped dust jacket with the title partially abraded on the spine.
316. TRAVEN, B. March to the Monteria. (NY): Dell (1964). A paperback original, the true first American edition, preceding the hardcover publication by seven years. Light corner crease; else very near fine in wrappers.
317. TRAVEN, B. The Night Visitor. London: Cassell (1967). The first British edition of this collection of stories. Fine in a fine dust jacket.