Catalog 126, R-S
307. ROHMER, Sax. White Velvet. Garden City: Doubleday Doran, 1936. A novel by the author of the classic Fu Manchu series of fantasy novels. Inscribed by the author and signed with his trademark "$ax." Bookplate front pastedown; spine-sunned; handling to boards; very good in a very good, modestly edgeworn dust jacket with a dusty rear panel. Very scarce in dust jacket and especially so signed.
308. ROTH, Philip. Goodbye, Columbus. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1959. Later printing of the author's first book, a collection of short fiction including the title novella -- which was the basis for a well-received movie in the Sixties -- and five short stories. Winner of the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award. Inscribed by the author in 1989. Dampstaining to lower spine area; very good in like dust jacket: little of the dampening is visible on the jacket, but it has adhered to the boards there. An attractive copy of the author's first book, albeit a later printing.
309. ROTH, Philip. Portnoy's Complaint. NY: Random House (1969). His landmark fourth book, a comic novel and one of the defining volumes of its time. Inscribed by the author in 1989. Recipient's signature on flyleaf; fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket internally tape strengthened at the spine ends. In custom slipcase. A very nice, inscribed copy of Roth's first important novel.
310. ROTH, Philip. My Life as a Man. NY: HRW (1974). A nearly immaculate copy of Roth's eighth book. Inscribed by the author in 1989. Faint vertical crease to spine; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
311. ROTH, Philip. Novotny's Pain. Los Angeles: Sylvester & Orphanos, 1980. An attractively bound limited edition, one of 300 numbered copies signed by the author. Clothbound; fine. In a custom slipcase.
312. ROTH, Philip. The Prague Orgy. London: Cape (1985). The first British edition of a volume not separately published in the U.S. Inscribed by the author in 1989. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a ridge in the lamination on the front panel and internal tape-strengthening to the edges. A scarce title, especially signed.
313. ROTH, Philip. The Counterlife. NY: FSG (1987). The first trade edition, preceded by the Franklin Library edition. Inscribed by the author in 1989. Fine in a fine dust jacket. While the Franklin Library edition is somewhat common, signed trade editions are scarce.
314. ROTH, Philip. The Facts. NY: FSG (1988). His autobiography. Inscribed by the author to the former President of Dartmouth College in 1989. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
315. ROTH, Philip. Deception. NY: S&S (1990). A novel, the predecessor to Roth's unprecedented winning of every major American literary award in the 1990s, at least once. Inscribed by the author in 1992. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
316. ROTH, Philip. American Pastoral. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Signed by the author in 1998. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Very scarce signed trade edition of this novel.
317. (ROTH, Philip). "Eli, the Fanatic" in Commentary, Vol. 27, No. 4. (NY): American Jewish Committee, 1959. A story by Roth that was collected in Goodbye, Columbus. Faint label removal shadow front cover; nick at spine base; about near fine in wrappers.
318. (ROTH, Philip). "Salad Days" in Modern Occasions, Vol. 1, No. 1. (Cambridge): Modern Occasions, 1970. A 20 page story, inscribed by Roth in 1989 at his contribution. Mild sunning; near fine in wrappers.
319. (ROTH, Philip). OZICK, Cynthia. Typed Letters Signed. June 16, 1972, 2 A.M.; June 19, 1972; and October 5, 1972. Three letters from Ozick to an editor at Holt Rinehart Winston and each concerning the publication of Roth's book The Breast. In the earliest letter: "Hooray for Philip Roth, Unexpected Feminist! And (consider Claire's visits) Gay Liberator for Lesbians! -- I nearly fell out of bed (I was reading in bed; no book ever demanded more to be read in bed)...One knows when one is reading something that will enter the culture." She writes again two days later in a continued fit of enthusiasm: "...the book ought to be kept out of the hands of every writer in America...with that sort of brain around, why bother? I predict that after its publication there will be a great desert of non-novel writing...everyone will dry up, there will be mass suicides..." The third letter appears to have been written following a publication party, "The Greatest Party of All Time (Including Eternity)," afterwhich "Paradise will be all anti-climax." She apologizes for not eating the meal and passes along Roth's comment that "they coulda put the price of your meal into an ad." The blurb eventually used for publicity was an amalgam of sentences from these letters. The letters are folded in sixths for mailing; else fine. Together with the publisher's file copy of blurbs from Ozick and nine other writers including Anthony Burgess, Brian Moore, Edward Hoagland, Reynolds Price and Geoffrey Wolff, among others. And also together with a letter on The Breast from Saul Maloff; one photocopied letter on The Great American Novel from Walter Blair; and two letters (one official and one unofficial) on The Great American Novel from Bob Crichton. An interesting insight into the commentaries of several important writers on another writer, most especially Ozick's commentary, as a Jewish-American writer, on Roth-celebrated for his judaism but at times lambasted by feminists for the sexual content of his writing. For all:
320. (ROTH, Philip.) "Looking at Fischl" in Eric Fischl. NY: Mary Boone (1988). Roth provides the text for this exhibition catalog, which reproduces a number of the artist's works in color. An attractive production, and a little-known Roth appearance in print. Quarto; fine in wrappers.
321. (ROTH, Philip). Conversations with Philip Roth. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press (1992). Interviews from 1960 to 1991. Interviewers include Joyce Carol Oates, George Plimpton, Ian Hamilton and Katharine Weber, among others. One of approximately 500 hardcover copies; there was a simultaneous issue in wrappers. Inscribed by Roth in the year of publication. Two check marks on contents page; light corner bumping; near fine in similarly corner bumped dust jacket. Uncommon in hardcover, and especially so signed.
322. (ROTH, Philip). APPELFELD, Aharon. Beyond Despair. NY: Fromm International (1994). Three lectures by Appelfeld and the text of a conversation between Appelfeld and Roth that first appeared in the New York Times Book Review. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Signed by Roth.
323. (RUSHDIE, Salman). The Rushdie Letters. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press (1993). The American edition (simultaneous with the British and Irish editions) of this compilation of open letters written by various authors to Rushdie during his "One Thousand Days in a Balloon" (which essay of Rushdie's is also included). Contributions by Peter Carey, Nadine Gordimer, Margaret Atwood, William Styron, Mario Vargas Llosa, Norman Mailer, Kazuo Ishiguro, Graham Swift, Paul Theroux and Tom Stoppard, among others. Rushdie adds a reply. This is the hardcover issue. Fine without dust jacket, as issued. An important contribution to contemporary literature in light of the fatwa issued against Rushdie for his writings in The Satanic Verses.
324. -. Same title, the softcover issue. Signed by Rushdie. Fine in wrappers.
325. SARTON, May. Of Friendship at Christmas. (n.p.): (Self-Published), 1952. A broadside, Sarton's annual Christmas greeting. 8 1/2" x 11", printed in green ink. One tiny edge tear and staple holes to upper corner; near fine.
326. SEBOLD, Alice. The Lovely Bones. (London): Picador (2002). The first British edition of her acclaimed second book, first novel, a story told from the point of view of a murdered girl and the surprise bestseller of the publishing season. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
327. SNYDER, Gary. Riprap. (Ashland): Origin Press, 1959. His first book, a collection of poems printed in Japan and published in an edition of 500 copies in paste papers, sewn Japanese style. Snyder's poetry has spanned the era from the Beat generation, when his references to Japanese and Chinese culture and poets were esoteric, to the present day, when there has been such a cross-fertilization of cultures that references to haiku or the game of Go are completely accessible to the mainstream. Snyder himself was instrumental in creating the links to bridge that cultural gap, which is one of the lasting contributions of the cultural upheavals of the 1960's. A very near fine copy, signed by the author.
328. SNYDER, Gary. Snow Flies, Burn Brush, Shut Down. Salt Lake City: Ken Sanders, 2003. A broadside, printing a Snyder poem from 1954, five years before his first book was published. One of 100 numbered copies signed by the author, and published on the occasion of the opening of the new Salt Lake City Public Library. 12" x 19". Fine.
329. SOLZHENITSYN, Alexander. Stories and Prose Poems. NY: FSG (1971). The first American edition of this collection of novellas, short stories and prose poems issued shortly after Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize. Inscribed by the author. Small coffee stain to foredge; near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket. In custom slipcase. Solzhenitsyn, the most important chronicler of the Soviet system and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, lived in exile for decades before returning to Russia after the fall of the Communist system. During this time, he was notably reclusive, and books signed by him are exceedingly scarce.
330. SOLZHENITSYN, Alexander. The Love-Girl and the Innocent. London: The Bodley Head (1974). Later printing of the British edition of this play. Inscribed by the author in 1991. Fine in a mildly-sunned, price-clipped dust jacket.
331. -. Same title. NY: FSG (1974). Later printing of the American edition. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
332. SOLZHENITSYN, Aleksandr. The Gulag Archipelago. NY: Harper & Row, (1974). The first American edition of the first volume of his classic condemnation of the Soviet state security apparatus, a combination of personal and social history, political analysis, autobiography and documentary. One of the most influential books of its time. Inscribed by the author. Possible ex-lending library copy: glue residue front flyleaf; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. An extremely uncommon signed copy of the author's most famous work, which single-handedly helped bring down the Soviet system, by alerting Western readers to a little-known aspect of the abuses of its totalitarianism.
333. SOLZHENITSYN, Alexander. Lenin in Zurich. NY: FSG (1976). The first American edition of Solzhenitsyn's novelization of the time Lenin spent in Switzerland prior to the establishment of the Soviet state. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with two small scratches on the rear panel. In custom slipcase. Books signed by Solzhenitsyn, a notable recluse as well as being a Nobel Prize winner, are very scarce.
334. SOLZHENITSYN, Aleksandr. The Gulag Archipelago 3. NY: Harper & Row, (1978). The first American edition of the third volume of Solzhenitsyn's classic work. Inscribed by the author. Probably an ex-lending library copy: glue residue to endpages and inner flaps; otherwise near fine in a near fine dust jacket. A common book, but extremely scarce signed.
335. SOLZHENITSYN, Alexander. Victory Celebrations. London: The Bodley Head (1983). The first British edition of this little-known play by the Nobel Prize winner. Inscribed by the author in 1991. Fine in a fine dust jacket. No comparable U.S. edition was published; the play was included in a U.S. collection three years after the U.K. publication.
336. SOLZHENITSYN, Alexander. Rebuilding Russia. NY: FSG (1991). The first American edition of this important book by the Russian Nobel Prize winner, written just before the collapse of the Soviet Union and during the period of perestroika. Inscribed by the author in 1991, adding "(finally an accurate/ translation)." The translator was Alexis Klimoff. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
337. (SOLZHENITSYN, Aleksandr). BROME, Robert. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. (Woodstock): Dramatic Publishing Co. (1963). A one-act play based on Solzhenitsyn's first book, an account of life inside the Soviet gulag, which was the first exposure to the outside world of the conditions in, and even the existence of, the Soviet prison camps. Fine in stapled wrappers. Laid in is a note from Leonard [?] saying "Mr. S. doesn't consider this 'his' and thus did not sign it." A little-known version of perhaps the most important work by Solzhenitsyn, short of The Gulag Archipelago.
338. STEGNER, Wallace. The Preacher and the Slave. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1950. Stegner's novel of the life of Joe Hill, the iconic figure of the labor movement in the early part of the 20th century whose association with the Industrial Worlders of the World -- the "Wobblies" -- was legendary and inspirational, both to contemporary union activists and to later generations. His songs became anthems for the I.W.W. and one of them gives its title to this book. This copy is signed by the author; very scarce thus. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with rubbing to the spine and several short edge tears, one internally tape-mended.
339. STEVENSON, Robert Louis. Father Damien. NY: Scribner, 1916. Stevenson's passionate defense of Father Damien, famous for his work with leper's in Hawaii's leper colony, which was first published in 1890, just after Damien's death and Stevenson's visit to the colony. Owner name front flyleaf; near fine, without dust jacket. Reprinted from the 1890 Edinburgh edition.
340. STONE, Robert. Bay of Souls. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. The advance reading copy of the latest novel by the author of the National Book Award-winning Dog Soldiers and Damascus Gate, which was nominated for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Fine in wrappers.
341. STOPPARD, Tom. Dirty Linen and New-Found-Land. NY: Grove (1976). The first American edition of these two plays. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
342. STOPPARD, Tom. Night and Day. London: Faber and Faber (1978). The uncommon hardcover edition of this play about two war correspondents in a fictional African country during a rebellion. Pencilled owner name front flyleaf; fine in a fine dust jacket.
343. -. Same title, the first American edition. NY: Grove (1979). The hardcover issue. Fine in a mildly edge-sunned dust jacket.
344. STOPPARD, Tom. Every Good Boy Deserves Favor and Professional Foul. NY: Grove (1978). The hardcover issue of the first American edition. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
345. STOPPARD, Tom. Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth. London: Faber and Faber (1980). The hardcover issue of the first Faber edition. Originally published, only in wrappers, by the Inter-Action Company in 1979. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
346. STOPPARD, Tom. The Real Thing. Boston: Faber and Faber (1984). The hardcover issue of the first American edition of this Tony Award-winning play. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
347. STOPPARD, Tom. Four Plays for Radio. London: Faber and Faber (1984). Collects Artist Descending a Staircase, Where Are They Now?, If You're Glad I'll Be Frank, and Albert's Bridge. This is the scarce hardcover issue; cheap acidic paper browning slightly with age, otherwise fine in a fine dust jacket.
348. STOPPARD, Tom. Indian Ink. London: Faber and Faber (1995). The hardcover issue. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
349. STOUT, Rex. Forest Fire. London: Faber & Faber (1934). The uncorrected proof copy of the first U.K. edition of Stout's fourth novel, and his last novel published before he introduced Nero Wolfe, the character for whom he is best known and has achieved something approaching literary immortality. This proof copy, of which no other example is known as best we can tell, was retrieved from the attic of Stout's home in Brewster, N.Y., after his death, and was presumably his own copy. Pages uncut. Darkening and edge-chipping to plain tan wrappers; one corner stain on rear cover. A tight, very good copy of this fragile and exceedingly scarce item.