Catalog 129, B
27. -. Another copy. Fine in wrappers and signed by the author.
28. -. Another copy. Signed by the author: "Nicholson (1-900) Baker." Slight bump to spine base, else fine in wrappers and enclosed in the publisher's plain brown paper wrapper. Fine.
29. BALDWIN, James. Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone. NY: Dial Press, 1968. Bound galleys of the author's fourth novel. Printed in double columns; square spiralbound quarto, 10" x 10". A bit edge-sunned; small stain to front cover; near fine. An uncommon format, suggesting few were done.
30. BANKS, Russell. Hamilton Stark. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978. The uncorrected proof of his first novel for a major publishing house, after a paperback novel and a collection of stories published by the Fiction Collective. Very good in wrappers. In copies we have seen of this proof, the final page has not been bound in. In some copies it is laid in; in this copy it is stapled inside the rear cover. A scarce state of this book by an author who gained wider public recognition after the critically acclaimed movies were made of two of his novels, The Sweet Hereafter and Affliction.
31. BANKS, Russell. Trailerpark. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981. The uncorrected proof copy of his sixth book of fiction, a collection of related stories set in a New Hampshire trailer park. A fine copy, laid into a near fine proof dust jacket. With publisher's promotional material laid in. Uncommon thus.
32. BANKS, Russell. Affliction. NY: Harper & Row, 1989. The uncorrected proof copy. Shot from the author's typescript sheets and reproducing a number of holograph corrections, particularly near the end of the book. Near fine in wrappers. Basis for an award-winning movie by Paul Schrader.
33. BARKER, Clive. The Damnation Game. NY: Putnam (1987). The uncorrected proof copy of the American edition of the first novel by a writer who is now considered a contemporary master of the horror genre. Light scuff to front cover but still fine in wrappers.
34. BARKER, Clive. The Thief of Always. (NY): HarperCollins (1992). The advance reading copy of this novel by the author of the highly successful horror sequence, "The Books of Blood." Fine in wrappers, and inscribed by the author on the title page.
35. -. Another copy. Fine in wrappers, and signed by the author on the title page.
36. 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.
37. BARNES, Julian. England, England. London: Jonathan Cape (1998). The British advance reading copy of a novel that was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Fine in wrappers, with an invitation to the publication party laid in.
38. BARRETT, Andrea. Lucid Stars. (NY): (Dell) (1988). The advance reading copy of her first book, which was published as a Delta paperback original. Trace rubbing at folds, else fine in wrappers. Barrett won the National Book Award for Ship Fever and Other Stories. Prepublication copies of books that are published in softcover are generally quite uncommon.
39. BARRETT, Andrea. Secret Harmonies. (NY): Delacorte Press (1989). The uncorrected proof copy of her second book, and her first to be published in hardcover. Fine in wrappers, with promotional sheet laid in.
40. BARTH, John. Letters. NY: Putnam (1979). The uncorrected proof copy of this elaborately constructed epistolary novel, by the author of The Sot-Weed Factor. This is a fine copy in an oversize proof dust jacket (rumpled where the jacket overhangs the book), inscribed by the author. A scarce proof at this point, and uncommon signed.
41. BARTH, John. The Friday Book. NY: Putnam (1984). The uncorrected proof copy of his first book of nonfiction. Inscribed by the author. Very good in wrappers.
42. BATCHELOR, John Calvin. The Birth of the People's Republic of Antarctica. NY: Dial (1983). The uncorrected proof copy of his second book, a fantastic, post-holocaust novel that involves, in part, a war in the Falkland Islands but was written several years before an actual war there brought those remote islands into the consciousness of most Westerners. Pringle, who selected this as one of his hundred best science fiction novels, calls this "a post-modern epic which at times recalls some of the masterpieces of the 19th-century American novel." There was an advance reading copy in pictorial wrappers; the proof, however, is uncommon. Fine in wrappers.
43. -. Another copy. Near fine in wrappers.
44. BAUSCH, Richard. Violence. Boston: Houghton Mifflin/S. Lawrence, 1992. The advance reading copy. Inscribed by the author to Seymour Lawrence: "For Sam,/ who has shown me in/ five short months more about/ the art of publishing, than anyone/ else has in the 10 years I've/ been writing books. With/ awe & admiration -/ Richard Bausch/ 1991" i.e., prior to publication. Fine in wrappers.
45. -. Same title. The uncorrected proof copy. Also inscribed by the author to Seymour Lawrence in 1991. Corner of first couple pages wrinkled; else fine in wrappers. Uncommon: because of the advance reading copy that was done of this title, there appear to have been fewer proofs than usual of it.
46. BAUSCH, Richard. Rebel Powers. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin/S. Lawrence, 1993. The advance reading copy. Inscribed by the author to Seymour Lawrence: "This advance copy/ of my sixth novel/ by/ Richard Bausch/ is for the great and/ powerful wizard of Houghton/ & formally of Delacort [sic],/ who is/ the finest publisher in the big and/ not always honorable history of/ publishing and whose allegiance/ to writers & to American writing/ is nonpareil -- with love from/ one of the fortunate ones he has/ given his mind & heart to/ in this business./ 1993." As fine and revealing an inscription as one could hope for. Fine in wrappers.
47. BAXTER, Charles. Through the Safety Net. (n.p.): Viking (1985). The uncorrected proof copy. A well-received collection of stories, which was the author's first book from a major trade publisher, after a couple of poetry chapbooks and a story collection from a university press. Fine in wrappers. In our experience, quite an uncommon proof.
48. BAYER, William. Peregrine. (NY): (Congdon & Lattes) (1981). The uncorrected proof copy of this novel which won the Edgar Award for Best First Mystery Novel and introduced the character, NYPD detective Frank Janek, who appeared in several subsequent novels. Fine in wrappers.
49. BECKHAM, Barry. My Maine Mother. NY: Walker and Company (1969). The galley sheets of the first book by this African-American writer. Approximately 6 1/2" x 12"; ringbound at the top edge. Inscribed by the author in 1974. The book was later published with the title "My Main Mother." Covers edgetorn; near fine. Very uncommon, and an important first novel.
50. BELLOW, Saul. To Jerusalem and Back. NY: Viking (1976). Bellow's first book of nonfiction, a personal account of the author's visit to Israel in 1975, published the year he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. This is the uncorrected proof copy, which shows the change in subtitle from "A Personal Syllabus" to "A Personal Account." Spine- and edge-sunned; very good in wrappers. Together with a copy of the first edition. Fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with one edge tear and a gutter nick. An uncommon proof.
51. BERGER, John. To the Wedding. NY: Pantheon (1995). The advance reading copy of this novel, a luminous addition to the body of AIDS literature. Fine in wrappers, encased in publisher's pictorial cardstock slipcase, and signed by the author.
52. BERGER, Thomas. Killing Time. NY: Dial, 1967. The uncorrected proof copy of his fourth book, and the first to be published after the critical acclaim for the award-winning Little Big Man. Inscribed by the author "To my friend ____/with affection." General dust soiling; near fine in wrappers.
53. BERGER, Thomas. The Feud. (n.p.): Delacorte (1983). The uncorrected proof copy of this novel by the author of Little Big Man and Neighbors, both of which were made into notable Hollywood films. Signed by the author. Mildly spine-tanned; else fine in wrappers.
54. BERRIAULT, Gina. The Lights of Earth. San Francisco: North Point, 1984. The uncorrected proof copy of this novel by the author of The Stone Boy and The Infinite Passion of Expectation, among others. Her story collection Women in Their Beds, published in 1997, won the PEN Faulkner Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Reviewer's notes (Alan Cheuse's?) on rear blank. Near fine in wrappers and proof dust jacket.
55. BERRY, Wendell. What Are People For? Berkeley: North Point, 1990. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of essays by the noted nature writer and advocate of agrarian values, in part on the connection between nature and nature writing: "My subject is my place in my world, and I live in my world... If I have damaged my subject, then I have damaged my art." Also includes essays on Edward Abbey and Wallace Stegner. Signed by the author. Fine.
56. (BERRY, Wendell). Wendell Berry. Lewiston: Confluence Press (1991). The uncorrected proof copy of this biography and bibliography of Berry, with contributions by Wallace Stegner, Terry Tempest Williams, Donald Hall, Gary Snyder, and many others. Includes the first publication of the Berry story "Are You All Right?" Fine in wrappers. An uncommon proof, with original contributions by a number of important writers, including Berry himself.
57. BISHOP, Elizabeth. The Collected Prose. NY: FSG (1984). The uncorrected proof copy. Includes eight short stories and much nonfiction that was unpublished at the time of her death. Edited and introduced by Robert Giroux. Fine in wrappers with publication information stapled inside the front cover.
58. BOWLES, Paul. Without Stopping: An Autobiography. NY: Putnam (1972). The uncorrected proof copy of the first book of the author's memoirs. Bowles became one of the most influential figures of the postwar literary movement that came to be known as the "Beats" as a result of his stature as an expatriate writer, living in Morocco and immersing himself in the foreign culture, including the drug culture, there. Bowles's novels, notably The Sheltering Sky and Let It Come Down, often depict alienated Westerners confronting a foreign sensibility whose meaning and import eludes them, and who find themselves in over their heads in situations they don't understand, which can quickly turn dangerous, even fatal. As a metaphor for Western innocence and arrogance, his fiction transcends its locales and resonates with a more universal set of insights, as applicable to Southeast Asia, for example, as to Morocco. Indeed, it was during the 1960s at the height of the counterculture inspired in part by protest against the Vietnam War, that Bowles went from being a celebrated but obscure literary figure to being a cultural hero, whose experiments with drugs antedated by a generation those of the 1960s, and whose recognition of the strangeness and power of the cultural "Other" was beguiling to a new generation in rebellion against its own culture. Such icons of the Beat Generation, and later the counterculture, as Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and others, would often visit Bowles in Tangier or Marrakech. This proof copy has a publisher's information label on the front cover, which is torn away at the edges and has an ink price notation on the label, but overall this is at least a very good copy in tall wrappers. Casual inspection reveals at least small changes from the published volume throughout the book.
59. BOYLE, T. Coraghessan. Budding Prospects. NY: Viking (1984). The uncorrected proof copy of this humorous novel of marijuana growing in the northern California wilds. For whatever reason, the trade edition of this novel is one of Boyle's least common titles; the proof is, as might be expected, considerably scarcer still. Signed by the author. One faint corner crease; else fine in wrappers.
60. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. Trout Fishing in America. London: Jonathan Cape (1970). The uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition of this collection first published in the U.S. in 1967 and which was Brautigan's first commercial success, becoming an underground classic and later, among other things, lending its title to the name of an acclaimed folk-rock duo. This was Brautigan's first work published in the U.K., simultaneously with In Watermelon Sugar. A little creasing to the spine, apparently from the glue; else fine in wrappers.
61. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. The Hawkline Monster. NY: Simon & Schuster (1974). The uncorrected proof copy of the first of Brautigan's "genre" novels -- inventive takes on established conventions in fiction, this one being, as he called it, "A Gothic Western." Very slight crown bump; else fine in wrappers.
62. -. Another copy. Very faint spine creasing; else fine in wrappers. Proofs from this era are uncommon, having been done in smaller quantities than was usual in later years, and with fewer of them having been saved at the time and filtered into the rare book trade.
63. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. Willard and his Bowling Trophies. NY: Simon & Schuster (1975). The uncorrected proof copy of one of the novels from the middle period of Brautigan's career, when he was experimenting with different approaches to traditional "genre" novels, this one being subtitled "A Perverse Mystery." Near fine in wrappers. Uncommon.
64. BROWN, Alan. Audrey Hepburn's Neck. NY: Pocket Books (1996). The advance reading copy of this well-received first novel. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
65. BROWN, John Gregory. Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery. (NY): (Houghton Mifflin) (1994). The uncorrected proof copy. This is shot from manuscript, rather than having been typeset, a format which typically suggests small distribution and is considerably scarcer than the glossy advance reading copy of this title that was issued. Fine in wrappers.
66. BROWN, Larry. On Fire. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 1994. The uncorrected proof copy of his fifth book, his first book of nonfiction an extended personal essay on his life as a firefighter. Fine in printed wrappers and signed by the author.
67. BROWN, Rosellen. Street Games. Garden City: Doubleday, 1974. The uncorrected proof copy of her first book of fiction, a collection of stories. Brown's later fiction has won several awards and one of her novels, Before and After, was made into a popular movie with Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson. Publisher's informational sheet present but detached from front cover, leaving glue residue there. Mild creasing to rear cover; still near fine in tall wrappers. Uncommon format.
68. BROWN, Rosellen. The Autobiography of My Mother. Garden City: Doubleday (1976). The uncorrected proof copy of her third book and first novel. Warmly and extensively inscribed by the author two months prior to publication: "____/ How Gerda would love you/ (for your enthusiasm, your vigorous/ devotion)! Whether or not you'd/ want to be loved by Gerda is/ another story)./ But for now I, who made/ Gerda, love you. I hope that's/ sufficient.../ Rosellen." Partial title written on the lower page edges; glue residue showing on front label; very near fine in tall wrappers. An uncommon proof, and a nice inscription.
69. (BULLINS, Ed). The New Lafayette Theatre Presents Plays with Aesthetic Comments by Six Black Playwrights. NY: Doubleday (1973). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection, which was issued only as a paperback original. Contributors include Bullins, Sonia Sanchez, Richard Wesley and others. Edited and signed by Bullins. Near fine in tall wrappers, with the text printed on the rectos only. Scarce.
70. BURKE, James Lee. A Stained White Radiance. NY: Hyperion (1992). The fifth book in the Robicheaux series. This is the advance reading copy. Inscribed by the author. Fine in wrappers. The rear cover prints a letter to the reader from Burke which does not appear elsewhere.
71. BURKE, James Lee. Burning Angel. NY: Hyperion (1995). The advance reading copy of this novel in Burke's award-winning Dave Robicheaux series. Fine in wrappers. Signed by the author.
72. BUSCH, Frederick. Girls. NY: Harmony Books (1997). The advance reading copy of this novel. Busch has been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award twice, and for the National Book Critics Circle Award once. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers.