Catalog 127, B-C
23. BALDWIN, James. Blues for Mr. Charlie. London: Michael Joseph (1965). The first British edition of his third play, (first published), a story centered around the killing of a young Negro in the Deep South -- loosely based on the events surrounding the murder of Emmitt Till in Mississippi in 1955 -- and dedicated to the memory of Medgar Evers and the children of Birmingham, Alabama, who had been killed in the year preceding publication -- events that helped to ignite the Civil Rights Movement in this country in the early 1960s. Copyright information blacked out; else fine in a near fine dust jacket with a sticker removal abrasion on the front panel.
24. BALDWIN, James. Going to Meet the Man. NY: Dial Press, 1965. A collection of short stories, which includes three that had never been published before in any form. Fine in a near fine, mildly rubbed, price-clipped dust jacket.
25. 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. There is a selected bibliography as well as an interesting appendix that shows the change in values of certain books from 1980 to the present. Signed by the author. Mr. Basbanes signed 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 Benevolent Fund -- a fund set up to aid booksellers in need, whether ABAA members or not. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
26. (BASKIN, Leonard). O'NEILL, Eugene. The Iceman Cometh. NY: Limited Editions Club, 1982. O'Neill's play, illustrated by Leonard Baskin with drawings and a lithograph. 2000 numbered and signed copies were produced; this copy is stamped "printer's copy/ out of series" and is signed by Baskin. Fine without dust jacket, as issued; without the slipcase that the published copies had, but which this copy probably never had.
27. BERRYMAN, John. Homage to Mistress Bradstreet. NY: Farrar Straus Cudahy (1956). A long poem, with woodcut illustrations by Ben Shahn. Small bump to upper edges; thus near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a small stain on the rear panel.
28. BURGESS, Anthony. 99 Novels. NY: Summit (1984). Burgess' selection of his choices for the best 99 novels in the English language since 1939, with his comments about each. An influential volume, with many obvious and some surprising choices. Remainder dot bottom page edges otherwise fine in a fine dust jacket.
29. BURKE, James Lee. Lay Down My Sword and Shield. NY: Crowell (1971). The third of Burke's early novels, the last before a hiatus from publishing that lasted over a decade. This book also seems to be the scarcest of his three early novels, surpassed in scarcity only by the hardcover issue of his story collection The Convict. Its scarcity is probably explained in part by the fact that it was issued by a publisher not well known for publishing fiction: of the mainstream trade publishers that issued Burke's first three novels, Crowell was by far the smallest and the least inclined toward publishing fiction. This is the issue in beige cloth, with the title stamped in copper. There is also, to the best of our memory, an issue in beige cloth stamped in pink and an issue in mustard cloth, also stamped in pink. This copy is inscribed by the author to another writer on the entirety of the front flyleaf: "To ___,/ With best regards from/ one old Bread Loafer/ to another (Please do not/ feel you need to read this/ book now). I like the picture/ on the back, primarily because/ there's nothing else on the flap./ Recently, the newspaper ran/ my photograph between ads/ for a hygiene spray and/ the Orkin Co./ All the best,/ Jim Burke." Trace foxing to the cloth edges; otherwise fine in a near fine dust jacket with shallow chipping at the spine extremities and a creased tear at the upper rear spine fold. An excellent inscription and a nice literary association.
30. (BURROUGHS, William). The Beats. Greenwich: Fawcett/Gold Medal (1960). A paperback original collecting Burroughs, Ginsberg, Kerouac, Snyder, Mailer. Corso, Ferlinghetti, Di Prima, etc. This copy is inscribed by William Burroughs to Nelson Lyon, who was the co-producer of Dead City Radio, a spoken word CD that Burroughs did in the late 1980s, with musical backing by Sonic Youth and others. Mild age-toning; very near fine, without creases. An important early anthology of Beat writing, seldom found in such good condition, let alone signed.
31. CAPOTE, Truman. The Muses are Heard. NY: Random House (1956). An account of a trip Capote took to Russia with a U.S. theater troupe involved in a production of Porgy and Bess. The first volume of nonfiction by the author of the classic In Cold Blood. Fine in a near fine, slightly rubbed dust jacket.
32. (CAPUTO, Philip). YOUNG, John Sacret. A Rumor of War. (n.p.): (CBS), 1979. Part Two of the shooting script of Young's teleplay of Caputo's novel, which was one of the first personal accounts of the war to be published after the fall of Saigon and to receive wide distribution. Caputo recounted his experiences in Vietnam as a Marine, which ended in a court-martial when two of his troops killed two civilians. The television movie, which ran to 3 hours and 20 minutes, was shown in two parts and this is the script for the second part. This script is signed by Caputo. 107 pages; bradbound in pictorial CBS cardstock covers; near fine.
33. CAREY, Peter. War Crimes. (St. Lucia): University of Queensland Press (1979). The first edition of his uncommon second book, like his first, a collection of stories. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Foxing and light staining to foredge; near fine in a near fine, very slightly spine-faded dust jacket. A scarce book, particularly with a contemporary inscription.
34. CAREY, Peter. The Tax Inspector. (St. Lucia): University of Queensland Press (1991). The true first edition of this novel by the author of the Booker Prize-winning Oscar and Lucinda and The True History of the Kelly Gang, among others. Affectionately inscribed twice by the author, once on the title page and once on the dedication page to a recipient "who deserves two pages of her own." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
35. CARSON, Rachel. "Indoor Ocean" in This Month, Vol. II, No. 6. (NY): (Association for the Promotion of International Understanding), 1946. Five pages about the world's only oceanarium, in Marineland, Florida. Condensed from an article in London's Transatlantic. Near fine in digest-sized stapled wrappers.
36. CARVER, Raymond. Winter Insomnia. (Santa Cruz): (Kayak Books) (1970). Carver's second book, a collection of poetry, published in an edition of 1000 copies attractively designed and printed by George Hitchcock, with prints by Robert McChesney. Inscribed by the author in 1983 "with luck and warm wishes," and signed "Ray Carver." Fine in yellow wrappers (there was also a variant in white wrappers, of which three copies are known).
37. 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 on the title page and additionally inscribed by Carver on the half-title in 1984 in Iowa City, at the Writers' Workshop. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a tiny edge tear at the upper rear spine fold. An attractive copy of an important book, and scarce inscribed.
38. CARVER, Raymond. Cathedral. NY: Knopf, 1983. His third collection of stories to be published by a major trade publisher, and a major literary event 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. Inscribed by the author in Iowa City 1984. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
39. CARVER, Raymond. Fires. Essays, Poems and Stories. NY: Vintage (1984). First thus, a paperback reprint of Carver's 1983 retrospective collection, but adding a Paris Review interview. Inscribed by the author on the title page and additionally signed by him there. Fine in wrappers.
40. CARVER, Raymond. Where Water Comes Together with Other Water. NY: Random House (1985). Carver's first collection of poetry to be published by a New York publisher -- 17 years after his first book, and only after he had had three highly praised collections of stories published. Winner of the prestigious Levinson prize from Poetry magazine. Signed by the author on the title page and additionally inscribed by Carver on the flyleaf in 1986 in Iowa City, to the former President of the University of Iowa. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
41. CARVER, Raymond. My Father's Life. Derry/Ridgewood: Babcock & Koontz (1986). The first U.S. book publication of this memoir by Carver, which was originally published in Esquire and was also included in the British edition of the collection Fires but not in the original U.S. edition of Fires. Of a total edition of 240, this is one of 200 numbered copies in saddle-stitched wrappers. Signed by the author. Fine.
42. CARVER, Raymond. Elephant and Other Stories. London: Collins Harvill, 1988. A collection of seven stories for which there is no comparable U.S. edition. Five of the stories appeared in Where I'm Calling From -- copyright problems reportedly kept the publisher from reissuing the other stories included in that collection. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
43. (CARVER, Raymond). Carver Country. NY: Scribner (1990). Quarto, with photographs by Bob Adelman and text from Carver's stories and from his unpublished letters. With an introduction by Tess Gallagher. Bumped lower corner; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Laid in is an unused postcard featuring a photograph of Carver by Marion Ettlinger.
44. CATHER, Willa Sibert. April Twilights. Boston: Richard G. Badger/The Gorham Press, 1903. Cather's first book, a collection of poems that was published by a vanity press in Boston -- i.e., in effect a self-published volume. Cather had been publishing poems in magazines for several years, and the modest reputation she had developed caused Richard Badger to contact her proposing a book, albeit one whose publication Cather would have to subsidize. She later was embarrassed by the verse, and in 1908 bought up the remaining copies in order to destroy them. Ultimately, this was the only collection of poetry Cather published, although a revised version of it was issued in 1923, after her reputation as a novelist had solidified to the point where the publication of her early poetry could be considered something of a literary event. Modest handling and foxing; spine label darkened with one corner chip; small dent to upper front board. A very good copy without dust jacket.
45. CHASE, Joan. During the Reign of the Queen of Persia. NY: Harper & Row (1938). The uncorrected proof copy of her first book of fiction, for which she won the PEN/Hemingway Award. This copy is inscribed by Chase to one of the judges for the Award. Laid in is an invitation to the award ceremony. One spot rear cover; else fine in wrappers. A nice association copy of a well-received first novel.
46. CHILD, Lee. Tripwire. London: Bantam (1999). The advance reading copy (called by the publisher "Book Proof" on the front cover) of his third crime novel, featuring Jack Reacher. The U.K. edition is the true first. Fine in wrappers.
47. CHILD, Lee. Echo Burning. London: Bantam (2001). The hardcover issue of this Jack Reacher novel, with the U.K. edition again being the true first. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
48. CHILD, Lee. Persuader. London: Bantam (2003). The hardcover issue of the newest Jack Reacher novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
49. CONROY, Frank. Stop-Time. NY: Viking (1967). One of the classic memoirs of the Sixties, a highly praised, literate coming-of-age account. Inscribed by the author in Iowa City in 1982. Nearly imperceptible remainder star on pastedown; fine in a near fine, mildly edgeworn dust jacket with a remainder star on the front flap.
50. CONROY, Frank. Midair. NY: Dutton (1985). The second book, and first book of fiction, by the author of the classic memoir Stop-Time. This collection of short stories was eighteen years coming. Inscribed by the author in 1986. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
51. CONROY, Frank. Body & Soul. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. His third book and first novel. Warmly inscribed by the author in 1997. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
52. CROWLEY, John. The Translator. (NY): Morrow (2002). A mainstream novel set at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, by the author of a number of highly praised, award-winning fantasy novels, including the classics Little, Big and Aegypt. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
53. CRUMLEY, James. The Pigeon Shoot. Santa Barbara: Neville, 1987. A mystery screenplay by Crumley, issued in a limited edition of 376 copies. This is an unnumbered presentation copy, hand-lettered with the recipient's name and signed by the author. In the full-leather binding of the lettered edition. Dampstaining to spine and both joints and part of the front cover, with a bit of discoloration to endpages and mild waviness to the inner corners of a couple dozen pages. A good copy, without dust jacket, as issued.