Catalog 125, A-B
2. ALGREN, Nelson. Notes from a Sea Diary: Hemingway All the Way. NY: Putnam (1965). Nonfiction, a collection of related travel essays and reflections on Hemingway, among other subjects. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
3. AMBLER, Eric. Background to Danger. NY: Knopf, 1937. The first American edition of his second novel, published in England as Uncommon Danger, and one of the handful of spy thrillers he wrote in the late 1930s that helped revolutionize the genre, being both more realistic and more politically aware than earlier efforts in the field had been. Ambler's successful formula became a model for later writers of spy novels, including John Le Carré, who took the realism and realpolitik one step further. Small owner name and address front flyleaf; some sunning to spine, mottling to boards and darkening to endpages; a tight, very good copy in a very good dust jacket with light edge chipping and rubbing to the folds.
4. AMBLER, Eric. Judgment on Deltchev. London: Hodder & Stoughton (1951). A spy novel by the British writer who brought an unprecedented degree of realism to the genre. Slight discoloration to extreme board edges; tiny burn rear pastedown; still near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Uncommon thus.
5. AMBLER, Eric. The Night-Comers. London: Heinemann (1956). An espionage novel set in Southeast Asian country just prior to a coup d'état. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with slight wear to the spine crown.
6. AMBLER, Eric. State of Siege. NY: Knopf, 1956. The first American edition of this novel which was published in England as The Night-Comers. Fine in a near fine dust jacket rubbed along the spine.
7. AMBLER, Eric. The Army of the Shadows and Other Stories. Helsinki: Eurographica (1986). A limited edition, one of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in self-wrappers.
8. AMIS, Martin. The Information. [NY]: Harmony (1995). Advance sheets of the first American edition, consisting of a bound photocopied typescript, reproducing typed and holograph corrections. Signed by the author. Literary agency stamp on front cover; several pages devoted to the marketing plan, including two pages describing the limited edition, here slated to be 250 numbered copies although it was released in a numbered edition of 100 and a lettered edition of 26. 8 1/2" x 11"; tapebound; fine.
9. -. Same title. The advance reading copy. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
10. ANDERSON, Sherwood. Dark Laughter. NY: Boni & Liveright, 1925. One of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. Rear hinge cracked; vellum spine a bit darkened and mottled, as is usual; foxing to top edge; very good, lacking the original publisher's slipcase.
11. ANGELOU, Maya. A Song Flung Up to Heaven. NY: Random House (2002). The uncorrected proof copy of the sixth volume in her autobiographical sequence that began, more than 30 years ago, with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Fine in wrappers.
12. (Anthology). Look Back in Love. Ten Bittersweet Stories of American Life. NY: Scholastic Book Services (1974). A paperback collecting stories by Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor, Dorothy Parker, James Baldwin, Philip Roth and John Updike. Spine creasing; near fine in wrappers.
13. (Anthology). Antaeus: The Autobiographical Eye. NY: Antaeus (1982). The uncommon hardcover issue of Antaeus 45/46. With contributions by Annie Dillard, John Fowles, Italo Calvino, Nadine Gordimer, Russell Banks, R.K Narayan, Tennessee Williams, Hermann Hesse, W.S. Merwin, Stanley Elkin, James Wright, Derek Walcott and many others. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and scarce thus.
14. (Anthology). New Writing 5. (London): Vintage (1996). Includes work by Murray Bail, A.S. Byatt, Louis de Bernières, Hilary Mantel, Timothy Mo, Julia O'Faolain, William Trevor, Alasdair Gray and many others. Fine in wrappers.
15. (Anthology). New Writing 6. (London): Vintage (1997). Includes work by Louis de Bernières, Penelope Fitzgerald, A.L Kennedy, John McGahern, David Malouf, C.K. Stead and many others. Tiny corner crease; still fine in wrappers.
16. ATWOOD, Margaret. Two-Headed Poems. NY: Simon & Schuster (1980). The first American edition. Inscribed by the author to another poet, a nice literary association. Paperclip mark to flyleaf and half-title; else fine in a near fine, spine-faded dust jacket.
17. ATWOOD, Margaret. Bodily Harm. NY: Simon & Schuster (1982). Inscribed by the author to another writer. Remainder mark, else fine in a near fine dust jacket.
18. AUCHINCLOSS, Louis S. A Writer's Use of Fact in Fiction. Los Angeles: The American College of Probate Counsel, 1984. Auchincloss' Joseph Trachtman Lecture, published as Volume 10 of The Probate Lawyer. Auchincloss, a Fellow of the College, was the first novelist to give the lecture. An interesting and unusual item by this writer who is also a lawyer. Fine in stapled wrappers.
19. BAKER, Dorothy. Trio. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1943. The second novel by the author of Young Man with a Horn, which was a Houghton Mifflin Fellowship winner and the basis for a well-received film. A bit of spotting to top stain and upper edge of board; thus near fine in a fine dust jacket. A very crisp copy of a book that seldom turns up this way.
20. BANKS, Iain M. The Player of Games. London: Macmillan (1988). The author's sixth book, science fiction. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
21. -. Same title, a review copy of the first American edition. Fine in a fine dust jacket with promotional material laid in.
22. BANKS, Iain M. The State of the Art. Willimantic: Mark V. Ziesing, 1989. The trade edition of this short novel, which was also issued as a limited edition. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
23. BANKS, Iain. Canal Dreams. London: Macmillan (1989). Fine in a fine dust jacket.
24. BANKS, Iain. The Crow Road. (London): Scribners (1992). A massive novel, over 500 pages, and as such a marked departure from much of the author's earlier work. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
25. BANKS, Russell. The Book of Jamaica. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980. Second printing. Inscribed by the author to two writers, "next time my place or yours" and dated 1981 in Aspen. Cocked with modest foxing; near fine in a very good, rubbed and spine-faded dust jacket with one small chip at the upper edge.
26. BANKS, Russell. Success Stories. NY: Harper & Row (1986). A collection of stories, whose venues range from New England to Latin America to Southeast Asia. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication to two fellow-writers "at home and in love." A nice sentiment and nice association. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
27. BARNES, Julian. Before She Met Me. London: Jonathan Cape (1982). His second book, for which there was no U.S. hardcover edition. Fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
28. BARNES, Julian. Flaubert's Parrot. NY: Knopf, 1985. The first American edition of his breakthrough book, a combination of fiction, literary history, criticism and biography, and one of the most highly praised books of the decade. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
29. BARNES, Julian. Staring at the Sun. London: Jonathan Cape (1986). Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a shallow scratch to the front panel.
30. -. Same title. (London): London Limited Editions (1986). One of 150 numbered copies signed by the author. Covers slightly splayed. Fine in glassine dustwrapper with a little wrinkling at the lower edge.
31. BARNES, Julian as KAVANAGH, Dan. Going to the Dogs. (London): Viking (1987). The fourth novel in his pseudonymously published series featuring Duffy, a bisexual ex-cop. A few page corners turned; else fine in a fine dust jacket with a thin bump in the lamination on the rear panel.
32. BARNES, Julian. A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters. London: Jonathan Cape (1989). Fine in a fine dust jacket.
33. BARNES, Julian. Talking it Over. NY: Knopf, 1991. The advance reading copy of the first American edition. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers and publisher's cardstock box.
34. BARTON, Ralph. God's Country. A Short History. NY: Knopf, 1929. The noted caricaturist's first full-length book. With a two-page autograph letter signed tipped to the front endpages, in which Barton writes his belated condolences to one Mrs. Lynch on the death of her husband, explaining that he has "been traveling about - visiting Charlie Chaplin in Hollywood, crossing the ocean four times in two months [the letter is written from France] - building a house, etc." The book is edge-sunned; the spine cloth is separating; a good copy, lacking the dust jacket, the front panel of which is tipped to the rear pastedown.
35. BASBANES, Nicholas. Among the Gently Mad. NY: Henry Holt (2002). The latest book to chronicle the world of rare books and book collecting, by the author of A Gentle Madness and Patience & Fortitude. Subtitled "Perspectives and Strategies for the Book Hunter in the Twenty-first Century," the book contains numerous anecdotes but is at the same time more of a guide to navigating the contemporary rare book world than his earlier volumes were. As such, it is truly the first guide to book collecting for the 21st century, and the first to take note of, and attempt to put into context, the impact of the internet on book collecting, and collecting in all fields. An interesting Appendix shows the change in values of certain books from 1980 to the present, as well as a selected bibliography. Signed by the author. Mr. Basbanes attended the Boston Antiquarian Book Fair, where we were exhibiting, and kindly consented to sign a number of copies of his book as a benefit for the ABAA Benevolent Fund. We figure one good turn deserves another, and will follow Mr. Basbanes' example and donate our profits from the sale of this title to the ABAA's Benevolent Fund -- a fund set up to aid booksellers in need, whether ABAA members or not. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
36. -. Another copy. Signed by the author. Nicked at the base of the spine; very near fine in like dust jacket.
37. -. Another copy. Signed by the author. Fingerprints to boards; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a tear at the base of the spine.
38. BASS, Rick. The Watch. NY: Norton (1989). His first book of fiction, a highly praised collection of short stories. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication to two writers: "For ___ & ___ -/ Great to meet you -- / hope you like/ some of these, any,/ (hold breath, cross/ fingers), more[?]../ Best wishes,/ Rick Bass/ Park City/ '89." Fine in a fine dust jacket.
39. BAYER, William. Peregrine. [NY]: Congdon & Lattès (1981). A novel that won the Edgar Award for Best First Mystery Novel. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
40. BECKER, Stephen. Dog Tags. NY: Random House (1973). A novel of World War II and the Korean War by the author of Season of the Stranger and A Covenant with Death, among others. Signed by the author on the front free endpapers. Slight fading to upper board edges; else fine in a near fine dust jacket that has been internally tape-strengthened at a crease on the lower front panel.
41. (BELLOW, Saul). "The Swamp of Prosperity" in Commentary, Vol. 28, No. 1. NY: American Jewish Committee, 1959. A 3-page review by Bellow of Philip Roth's Goodbye, Columbus. "Unlike those of us who came howling into the world, blind and bare, Mr. Roth appears with nails, hair and teeth, speaking coherently... My advice to Mr. Roth is to ignore all objections and to continue on his present course." Name in the Table of Contents circled on cover; spine-faded; pages acidifying; very good in mildly edgeworn wrappers.
42. -. Another copy. Rubbing and fading to covers; pages acidifying; closed tear upper spine; small ink note on first page; good in wrappers.
43. BENEDICT, Pinckney. The Wrecking Yard. NY: Doubleday/Talese (1992). The second collection of stories by the author of Town Smokes, and his first hardcover publication. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
44. BENNETT, Rick. The Lost Brother. NY: Arcade (1996). His well-received second mystery. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
45. BESTON, Henry. The Outermost House. NY: Rinehart & Co. (1949). A reissue of Beston's classic account of a year spent in a house on the dunes of Cape Cod, with a new introduction for this edition by the author. Inscribed by the author: "For Herbert Faulkner West/ from his old friend/ of the Outermost House/ Henry Beston." West was a Dartmouth professor, book collector and author; in 1939, Beston had provided the foreword to West's The Nature Writers. West's bookplate front pastedown; boards bowed; near fine in a very good dust jacket with a couple small scuffs and stains and several tiny edge chips. Laid in is Beston's handwritten return address clipped from an envelope; Beston's obituary; and two autograph notes signed from Beston's widow, Elizabeth, to West: "Before he [Beston] died, he had the satisfaction of feeling that life had given him very nearly everything he had wanted from it." These are folded for mailing; else fine.
46. BETTS, Doris. Beasts of the Southern Wild and Other Stories. NY: Harper & Row (1973). Second printing. Inscribed by the author to another writer in 1977. Cloth and page edges foxed; very good in a very good dust jacket with wormholes at the flap folds.
47. BOWLES, Paul. The Sheltering Sky. London: John Lehmann (1949). The first edition of Bowles's landmark first novel, a tale of Westerners abroad in North Africa, one of the seminal novels of the Beat generation and an influential book in the decades since. One critic commented that Bowles was "a master of cruelty and isolation and the ironies of the search for meaning in an inadequately understood environment." Bowles's expatriates, in their search for meaning and their explorations of the North African cultures and their experimentation with the drugs of northern Africa, were the model for many who followed, more or less, in their footsteps in the 50s and 60s and since -- much as Jack Kerouac's characters in On the Road have provided a model for succeeding generations. Inscribed by the author: "For ___ ____/ (as you call it: 'the real Sheltering Sky.')" on the title page. In addition to the inscription, this copy is signed by Paul Bowles on the half-title and by Jane Bowles, the dedicatee, on the dedication page. Only 4000 copies of the English edition were printed, and the book was reprinted several times in short order; the first has become quite scarce in recent years. This is a very good copy with some shelf wear to the lower edge of the front board, in a very good dust jacket with light edge wear and a few small chips. Trade editions signed by Bowles are uncommon; signed copies of his first novel are exceedingly scarce, and ones that have also been signed by Jane -- who suffered a severe stroke in 1957 at the age of 39 -- are truly rare.
48. BOWLES, Paul. Selected Songs. Santa Fe: Soundings Press, 1984. The first collection of Bowles's published and unpublished songs, with lyrics by Bowles, Jane Bowles, Tennessee Williams, Gertrude Stein, D.H. Lawrence, Federico Garcia Lorca, William Saroyan and others. Fine in wrappers.
49. BOWLES, Paul. Concerto for Two Pianos, Winds and Percussion. Santa Fe: Soundings Press, 1989. First thus, a revised, restored edition of the full score and the first time it was formally published in book form: the previous version had been a mimeograph of the score as Bowles originally wrote it in 1949. Fine in wrappers and quite scarce. Bowles's only major, full-length composition, written for a septet and issued on a long-playing record in 1950.
50. BOYD, William. School Ties. NY: Morrow (1986). The first American edition. Two screenplays, "Good and Bad at Games" and "Dutch Girls," plus an essay by Boyd on British boarding schools. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.