Catalog 123, L
206. LARDNER, Ring. Round Up. NY: Scribner, 1929. Lardner's collected stories, all of which had appeared in periodicals and many of which are making their first book appearances here. Foxing to page edges; very slight bowing to boards; near fine in a very good, mildly spine-faded dust jacket with light wear at the crown.
207. LEARY, Timothy. High Priest. NY: World/NAL (1968). Leary's most famous book, part autobiography, part cultural history of the Sixties in which numerous counterculture luminaries make candid appearances as guides or companions on Leary's LSD trips. Foxing to page edges; near fine in a near fine, slightly edgeworn dust jacket with dampstaining on verso.
208. LE CARRÉ, John. A Small Town in Germany. London: Heinemann (1968). Le Carré's fifth novel, a departure from his George Smiley series but still one of the novels that brought a new level of realism to the spy genre. Fine in a near fine, rubbed dust jacket with a bit of wear at the crown.
209. LE GUIN, Ursula K. The Left Hand of Darkness. NY: Walker and Co. (1969)[1972]. The first U.S. hardcover edition of her most famous book, winner of the 1969 Nebula Award and 1970 Hugo Award for best novel of the year and the book that indisputably established her as the first major science fiction writer who was also a woman. One of Pringle's 100 best science fiction novels. Owner name and address and glue residue on front flyleaf; marginal foxing to several pages; tape shadows to boards; a very good copy in a near fine, very mildly sunned dust jacket with an edge tear on the rear flap. An extremely scarce book in the American hardcover trade edition.
210. -. Same title, the Ace paperback and the true first edition. NY: Ace (1969). Slight spine roll, a bit of creasing to the rear cover; near fine.
211. -. Same title, the first British edition and the first hardcover edition. (London): Macdonald (1969). Small superficial tear at the lower rear hinge; still fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
212. LE GUIN, Ursula K. The Farthest Shore. NY: Atheneum, 1972. The third book in the Earthsea trilogy, winner of the National Book Award and one of Pringle's 100 best fantasy novels. Inscribed by Le Guin to Susan Wood, friend and fellow Hugo Award winner: "For Susan Wood/ who is beautiful/ from Ursula/ Portland/ 19 Aug. 77." Wood edited Le Guin's The Language of the Night in 1979; she died in 1980 at the age of 32. Front corner bump; near fine in a near fine, spine-sunned dust jacket with several short edge tears.
213. LE GUIN, Ursula K. From Elfland to Poughkeepsie. Portland: Pendragon Press, 1973. The text of Le Guin's speech to the second annual Science Fiction Writers' Workshop. Introduced by Vonda M. McIntyre. One of 650 numbered copies, of a total edition of 776. Fine in saddle-stitched wrappers with erratum slip laid in.
214. -. Same title. One of 100 numbered copies signed by the author. In a larger format than the unsigned edition, and with a photo of the author tipped in as frontispiece. Fine in saddle-stitched wrappers with erratum slip laid in, as issued.
215. LE GUIN, Ursula K. The Dispossessed. London: Gollancz, 1974. The first British edition of her award-winning masterpiece, "the most thoroughgoing utopian vision in modern SF" (Pringle). One of Pringle's hundred best science fiction novels, this book won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel, and was a runner-up for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. A serious novel of ideas, using science fiction to explore issues of moral and political significance, including a careful explication of trends in libertarian thought and anarchism. Fine in a very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
216. LE GUIN, Ursula K. The Wind's Twelve Quarters. NY: Harper & Row (1975). A collection of short stories, most of them from early in her writing career but also including "The Day Before the Revolution," which won the 1974 Nebula Award for short stories. Signed by the author in 1985. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
217. LE GUIN, Ursula K. Wild Angels. Santa Barbara: Capra Press, 1975. A Capra chapbook. One of 200 numbered copies signed by the author, the entire hardcover edition. Fine without dust jacket, as issued.
218. LE GUIN, Ursula K. Dreams Must Explain Themselves. (NY): Algol Press (1975). One of 1000 numbered copies of this pamphlet, which contains the title story, about the origins of Earthsea; the story "The Rule of Names;" Le Guin's National Book Award acceptance speech; and an interview with Le Guin by Jonathan Ward. Although not called for, this copy is signed by the author. Fine in stapled wrappers.
219. LE GUIN, Ursula K. The Water is Wide. Portland: Pendragon Press (1976). A single story, issued as a limited edition. Of a total edition of 1000 copies, this is one of 50 lettered copies, the entire hardcover edition, signed by the author; the illustrators, Leo and Diane Dillon; and the calligrapher, Robert J. Palladino. Fine without dust jacket, as issued.
220. LE GUIN, Ursula K. Malafrena. NY: Putnam/(Berkley) (1979). Her first major novel after The Dispossessed. Signed by the author in 1985. Fine in jacket.
221. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Fine in wrappers.
222. LE GUIN, Ursula K. Leese Webster. NY: Atheneum, 1979. A children's story about a spider, illustrated by James Brunsman. Signed by Le Guin. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a tiny tear at the spine base.
223. LE GUIN, Ursula K. The Language of the Night. NY: Berkley/Putnam (1979). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of essays on fantasy and science fiction, including Le Guin's National Book Award acceptance speech. Edited and introduced by Susan Wood. Fine in wrappers.
224. LE GUIN, Ursula K. The Beginning Place. NY: Harper & Row (1980). The uncorrected proof copy. Signed by the author. Spine and edge-sunned, with a corner crease on the rear cover; near fine in wrappers, with the book title written on the bottom page edges.
225. LE GUIN, Ursula K. Gwilan's Harp. Northridge: Lord John, 1981. One of 50 numbered hardbound deluxe copies signed by the author. Fine without dust jacket, as issued.
226. -. Same title. One of 300 numbered copies in self-wrappers. Signed by the author. Fine.
227. LE GUIN, Ursula K. Hard Words and Other Poems. NY: Harper & Row (1981). A review copy of the hardcover issue of this collection of poems. Light corner bump on the rear board; else fine in like dust jacket.
228. -. Same title. The uncorrected proof copy. Covers slightly splayed; small ink initials on front; near fine in wrappers.
229. LE GUIN, Ursula K. The Compass Rose. Portland: Pendragon/Underwood-Miller (1982). A limited edition of this collection of stories, including two that had never been published previously. One of 550 copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. A beautiful copy of an attractively produced book.
230. LE GUIN, Ursula K. The Adventure of Cobbler's Rune. New Castle: Cheap Street (1982). One of 250 numbered copies of a total edition of 277 signed by the author and by the artist, Alicia Austin. Fine, without dust jacket, as issued, with an extra paper label laid in.
231. LE GUIN, Ursula K. Solomon Leviathan's Nine Hundred and Thirty-First Trip Around the World. New Castle: Cheap Street (1983). One of 250 numbered copies of a total edition of 277 signed by the author and by the artist, Alicia Austin. Fine, without dust jacket, as issued.
232. LE GUIN, Ursula K. In the Red Zone. Northridge: Lord John Press (1983). Poetry and prose on the theme of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. Of a total edition of 150 copies, this is one of 50 numbered copies specially bound and signed by the author and by the artist, Henk Pander. Fine, in acetate dustwrapper.
233. LE GUIN, Ursula K. Always Coming Home. NY: Harper & Row (1985). The uncorrected proof copy. Slight bumping to the extremities; else fine in wrappers. Taped to the front cover is a notice that the first edition will be boxed with a cassette of music and poetry by Todd Barton, not included here. An uncommon proof.
234. -. Same title, the first edition. Illustrated by Margaret Chodos. Fine in a fine dust jacket and housed in a slipcase with a cassette tape of Todd Barton's original recording of the music and poetry of the fictional "Kesh" people. The hardcover issue is quite scarce.
235. -. Same title, the wrappered issue. Near fine; also slipcased with Barton's cassette.
236. -. Same title, the British limited edition. London: Gollancz, 1986. One of 100 numbered copies signed by Le Guin, Barton and Chodos. Fine in a fine dust jacket and slipcased with Barton's cassette.
237. LE GUIN, Ursula K. Wild Oats and Fireweed. NY: Harper & Row (1988). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of poetry, her first since Hard Words in 1981. Fine in wrappers.
238. LE GUIN, Ursula K. Catwings. NY: Orchard Books (1988). A charming children's story. Small tear at lower front pastedown; still fine in a fine dust jacket.
239. LE GUIN, Ursula K. Catwings Return. NY: Orchard Books (1988). The sequel. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
240. LE GUIN, Ursula K. Dancing at the Edge of the World. NY: Grove Press (1989). A collection of talks, essays, book reviews, etc. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
241. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Fine in wrappers.
242. LEONARD, Elmore. The Bounty Hunters. Boston: Houghton Mifflin/Ballantine, 1954. The author's first book, a Western, this being the simultaneous Dolphin paperback issue. Spine-cocked; front cover creased and with a tiny abrasion at center; front hinge tender; some evidence of dampness at the edges of the first few pages; still about very good in wrappers.
243. LEONARD, Elmore. Last Stand at Saber River. (NY): Dell (1959). His fourth book, a Western and a paperback original. Leonard's previous two books, also Westerns, had been published in hardcover and one suspects that their sales records were such that his publishers no longer wanted to commit to the expense of hardcover publication. This book and the novel that followed it, Hombre -- the basis for one of the key movies of the 1960s -- were both published in paperback only in this country. It was not until the end of the 1960s, when Leonard began writing crime novels, that he was able to find a hardcover publisher again. Faint edge-sunning to pages and light crease at rear joint; very near fine in wrappers.
244. LEONARD, Elmore. The Big Bounce. Greenwich: Fawcett (1969). A paperback original, Leonard's first mystery, and thus the start of his career as the most highly praised crime writer of our time, and one of the bestselling ones. Slight spine slant and creasing; owner initials on summary page; near fine in wrappers.
245. -. Same title. NY: Armchair Detective Library (1989). The first U.S. hardcover edition of his first mystery, originally published as a paperback original in 1969. One of 100 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
246. LEONARD, Elmore. Valdez is Coming. Greenwich: Fawcett (1970). A paperback original. Spine slanted and creased; near fine in wrappers.
247. LEONARD, Elmore. Forty Lashes Less One. NY: Bantam (1972). A paperback original, another Western. Spot to foredge; else fine in wrappers.
248. LEONARD, Elmore. Mr. Majestyk. (NY): Dell (1974). A paperback original, published to coincide with the release of the movie starring Charles Bronson, for which Leonard wrote the screenplay. Rubbing to front cover; very good.
249. LEONARD, Elmore. The Switch. NY: Bantam (1978). A paperback original; a mystery. Bookstore stamp on summary page; heavy creasing to the spine and front spine fold. Very good in wrappers.
250. LEONARD, Elmore. Gunsights. NY: Bantam (1979). A paperback original; a Western. Bookstore stamp on summary page and inside front cover; spine slant; rear cover crease; near fine in wrappers.
251. LEONARD, Elmore. Gold Coast. NY: Bantam (1980). Another paperback original, this being a Florida mystery. Spine slanted and creased; mild corner creasing; near fine in wrappers.
252. LEONARD, Elmore. Cat Chaser. NY: Arbor House (1982). Another of the highly praised crime novels that preceded Leonard's rise to the current prominence he enjoys in the mystery field. It was just before this novel came out that the Village Voice ran a large feature article about Leonard, calling him "the finest thriller writer alive" -- a quote that has since appeared on many millions of Elmore Leonard dust jackets. Leonard was a respected, but not widely known, mystery writer at that point: most of his novels had never even gone into a second printing. When he was "discovered" by the New York literati and others who read the Voice, it was only a short time before his books were bestsellers upon publication, with first printings in the hundreds of thousands. This is one of the last of the titles issued before the sudden surge in wide recognition and popularity. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
253. LEONARD, Elmore. Stick. (London): Allen Lane (1984). The first British edition of what amounted to Leonard's "breakthrough" novel, especially in England. Given the relative sizes of the American and British book markets, this is undoubtedly much scarcer than the U.S. edition. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
254. LEONARD, Elmore. La Brava. NY: Arbor House (1983). Uncorrected proof copy. Signed by the author. Spine roll; small corner crease; near fine in wrappers.
255. -. Same title, the first British edition. (Middlesex): Viking (1984). Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
256. LEONARD, Elmore. Glitz. NY: Mysterious Press (1985). The publisher's limited edition, and the first signed limited edition to be done of a Leonard title. One of 500 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
257. -. Same title, the first British edition. (Middlesex): Viking (1985). Signed by the author. Bump to spine crown; near fine in a price-clipped dust jacket.
258. LEONARD, Elmore. Dutch Treat. (n.p.): Mysterious Press (1985). A limited edition reprinting three of his earlier, long-out-of-print novels -- The Hunted, Swag, and Mr. Majestyk -- two of them for the first time in hardcover, with an introduction by George Will. One of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
259. LEONARD, Elmore. Bandits. NY: Mysterious Press (1987). The limited edition. One of 300 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
260. -. Same title, the first trade edition. NY: Arbor House (1987). Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
261. LEONARD, Elmore. Touch. NY: Arbor House (1987). The uncorrected proof copy of this novel that is a departure from the author's earlier mysteries and Westerns, being a "mainstream" novel with mystical and metaphysical elements. Fine in wrappers.
262. LEONARD, Elmore. Freaky Deaky. NY: Arbor House/Morrow (1988). A mystery set, like many of the author's books, in Detroit, where he grew up. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
263. LEONARD, Elmore. Killshot. NY: Arbor House/Morrow (1989). Another Detroit mystery. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
264. LEONARD, Elmore. Get Shorty. (NY): Delacorte (1990). A mystery that was the basis for the well-received film starring Danny DeVito. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
265. -. Same title, the advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers.
266. -. Same title, the "limited A.B.A. edition" of the advance reading copy. Inscribed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
267. (LEONARD, Elmore). The Tall T. NY: Avon (1957). First thus, an uncommon paperback original collecting Leonard's "The Tall T," (previously published as "The Captives") with stories by Steve Frazee and Noel M. Loomis. Published to coincide with the movie based on Leonard's story starring Randolph Scott. Fine in wrappers. A scarce book, especially in fine condition.
268. LESSING, Doris. Play with a Tiger. London: Michael Joseph (1962). A scarce play, published the same year as The Golden Notebook. Fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with two closed edge tears and slight rubbing at the crown.
269. LESSING, Doris. A Man and Two Women and Other Stories. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1963. The first American edition of this collection of stories, her first book published after the controversy, and success, of The Golden Notebook. A bit of discoloration to the rear board; near fine in a very good, mildly sunned dust jacket with some staining to the rear panel.
270. LESSING, Doris. The Four-Gated City. (London): MacGibbon & Kee (1969). A volume in the "Children of Violence" series, featuring Martha Quest and, in its speculative and visionary aspect, anticipating her later science fiction sequence. A fine copy in reversible dust jacket: the white side is spine-sunned and rubbed along the front spine fold, near fine; the verso, in deep blue, is fine.
271. LESSING, Doris. The Story of a Non-Marrying Man and Other Stories. London: Jonathan Cape (1972). Fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
272. LESSING, Doris. The Summer Before Dark. London: Jonathan Cape (1973). Fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
273. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Fine in wrappers.
274. LESSING, Doris. The Memoirs of a Survivor. London: Octagon (1974). Another speculative look at the future -- a dark vision extrapolated from the present and, as such, a politically charged novel. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
275. -. Same title, the first American edition. NY: Knopf, 1975. Signed by the author in 1985. Fine in a dust jacket with slight fading to the yellow spine lettering.
276. LESSING, Doris. To Room Nineteen and The Temptation of Jack Orkney. London: Jonathan Cape (1978). A two-volume collection of stories. Slight corner bump in volume one; else each copy fine in a fine dust jacket.
277. LESSING, Doris. Canopus in Argos: Archives. London: Jonathan Cape (1979-1983). Lessing's science fiction sequence, a departure from most of her earlier work (although foreshadowed a bit in the Children of Violence series). The five volume series: Shikasta; The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five; The Sirian Experiments; The Making of the Representative for Planet 8; and The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire. Fine in fine dust jackets.
278. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copies of the first four volumes. The first three volumes are near fine (Shikasta in tall wrappers); the fourth volume, The Making of the Representative for Planet 8, has a faint cup ring and rubbing to the front spine fold; very good.
279. LESSING, Doris. Shikasta. NY: Knopf, 1979. The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of the first volume in the Canopus in Argos series. Bump to crown; else fine in wrappers.
280. LESSING, Doris. The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five. NY: Knopf, 1980. The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of the second volume in the Canopus in Argos series. Faint corner creasing; still fine in tall wrappers.
281. LESSING, Doris as SOMERS, Jane. The Diary of a Good Neighbor. London: Michael Joseph (1983). The first of Lessing's pseudonymous books, written to test her theory that the publishing industry works on the basis of credentials and name recognition, not literary merit. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
282. LESSING, Doris as SOMERS, Jane. If the Old Could. London: Michael Joseph (1984). The pseudonymous sequel to The Diary of a Good Neighbor. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
283. LESSING, Doris. The Good Terrorist. (London): London Limited Editions (1985). A return to the form of the realistic political novel after the Canopus in Argos series. This is the limited edition. One of 250 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in glassine dustwrapper.
284. LESSING, Doris. Prisons We Choose to Live Inside. London: Jonathan Cape (1987). The text of Lessing's Massey Lectures: five lectures given under the auspices of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1985. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
285. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Fine in wrappers.
286. LESSING, Doris. The Fifth Child. London: Jonathan Cape (1988). A horror story, again a departure from her earlier work. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
287. -. Same title, uncorrected proof. Minor corner crease; else fine in wrappers.
288. LESSING, Doris. Love, Again. (NY): HarperCollins (1995). The hardcover advance reading copy. Fingerprint on verso of front flyleaf; else fine in a fine pictorial slipcase. An unusual and elaborate format for an advance copy.
289. (LESSING, Doris). BRUECK, Eric T. Doris Lessing: A Bibliography. (London): Metropolis, 1984. Of a total edition of 255 copies, this is one of 55 numbered copies signed by Doris Lessing. With a short introductory note by her. Fine, without dust jacket, as issued.
290. LEVERTOV, Denise. Life in the Forest. (NY): New Directions (1978). The limited edition of this collection of poems, one of 150 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
291. LEVERTOV, Denise. Pig Dreams. Woodstock: Countryman Press (1981). Poems about a pig named Sylvia, with pastel drawings by Liebe Coolidge. One of 150 numbered copies signed by the author and the artist. Fine in fine dust jacket and cardstock clamshell case, which has two small corner tears from opening.
292. LEVERTOV, Denise. From El Salvador: Requiem and Invocation. Concord: William B. Ewert, 1983. A broadside poem. One of 186 copies. 5 3/4" x 8 3/4". Fine, in original mailing envelope (with a couple of smudges) that prints Levertov's return address.
293. LEWIS Sinclair. Ann Vickers. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran, 1933. A limited edition of 2350 copies printed on rag paper. Bookplate front pastedown; light sunning to cloth; near fine in a very good, spine-creased dust jacket with a stray mark to the rear panel and horizontal tears at mid-spine and the front flap fold.
294. LEWIS, Sinclair. Cass Timberlane. NY: Random House (1945). A few small spots to foredge; else fine in a dust jacket with a couple short edge tears and some very shallow chipping to the top edge; about near fine. A nice copy of a cheaply produced wartime book.
295. LONDON, Jack. The Little Lady of the Big House. NY: Macmillan, 1916. A novel by the author of The Call of the Wild, The Sea Wolf, and others. Owner name front pastedown; slight professional restoration to joints and crown; near fine in a jacket also restored to near fine by way of professional repairs to the edges and folds. Virtually unknown in dust jacket; no reference we consulted mentioned the existence of the jacket, and one reference we found referred to the dust jacket the book was "rumored" to have been issued in. A very nice copy of a London rarity.
296. LOWELL, Robert. Lord Weary's Castle. NY: Harcourt Brace (1947). Later printing of Lowell's first book, winner of the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Inscribed by Robert Duncan to poet Landis Everson in 1948. Name ("Everson") on front pastedown; dampstained lower board edges; very good in a good, dampstained dust jacket with modest rubbing and edge creasing. A nice association.
297. LOWELL, Robert. The Mills of the Kavanaughs. NY: Harcourt, Brace (1951). Lowell's second major book. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
298. LOWELL, Robert. The Oresteia of Aeschylus. NY: FSG (1978). A posthumously published 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. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
299. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Fine in wrappers.
300. LURIE, Alison. Foreign Affairs. NY: Random House (1984). An advance review copy of the first trade edition of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with publisher's review slip and promotional material laid in.
301. -. Same title. The uncorrected proof copy. Near fine in wrappers.
302. LUX, Thomas. Memory's Handgrenade. Cambridge: Pym-Randall, 1972. The author's second collection of poems, one of 400 hardcover copies of a total edition of 1000. Mild edge-sunning to cloth; else fine in a near fine, rubbed dust jacket.