skip to main content

Catalog 129, G

NOTE: This page is from our catalog archives. The listings are from an older catalog and are on our website for reference purposes only. If you see something you're interested in, please check our inventory via the search box at upper right or our search page.
186. GADDIS, William. The Recognitions. NY: Harcourt Brace (1955). The advance reading copy of his landmark first novel, which was largely disdained by critics upon publication but later gained a critical reconsideration, with the new consensus being that it was one of the most impressive American novels of the postwar era. Two of Gaddis' three later novels went on to win the National Book Award. Mildly spine-sunned but otherwise fine in wrappers. An exceptionally nice copy of this bulky, fragile volume.

187. -. Another copy. Spine-sunned but otherwise fine in wrappers. Again, a very nice copy of this bulky and fragile volume.

188. GADDIS, William. JR. NY: Knopf, 1975. The uncorrected proof copy of his second novel; winner of the National Book Award. Extensive reviewer's notes on both sides of rear cover and verso of rear blank, as well as a few marginal annotations within the text: clearly a copy that was put to its intended use. Very good in wrappers. A bulky proof, few copies of which were likely to have been issued and only a small number of which will have survived.

189. GADDIS, William. Carpenter's Gothic. (NY): Viking (1985). The uncorrected proof copy of his third novel, the shortest and most accessible of his books. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Two tiny spots to covers; still fine in wrappers.

190. GAINES, Ernest J. Bloodline. NY: Dial, 1968. The uncorrected proof copy of his uncommon third book, his first collection of stories. Gaines has been reported as saying that his short stories were the best writing he had done to that point, but the book was largely ignored by critics -- as story collections often are -- until the success of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Gaines, one of the most esteemed African American authors of his generation, was a graduate of Wallace Stegner's Stanford Writing Workshop in 1957 and the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" in 1994. Fine in tall, ringbound wrappers and signed by the author. A scarce book and an extremely scarce proof, especially signed.

191. GAINES, Ernest J. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. NY: Dial, 1971. The uncorrected proof copy of his fourth and perhaps best-known book, a fictional autobiography of a former slave that was made into a well-received movie. Warmly inscribed by the author in 1988. Foxing to spine; near fine in tall, padbound wrappers. A fairly scarce book in the first edition; the proof is quite uncommon due to its fragile format.

192. GAINES, Ernest J. A Gathering of Old Men. NY: Knopf, 1983. The uncorrected proof copy. A novel, told from the perspectives of fifteen different first-person narrators and made into a television movie in 1987. Signed by the author. Faint tanning to spine; still fine in wrappers.

193. -. Another copy. Fine in wrappers.

194. GAINES, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. NY: Knopf, 1993. The uncorrected proof copy. His sixth novel, and first in ten years. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, this book was also instrumental in Gaines's being selected for a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant in 1994. In 1997, Oprah Winfrey made it a selection of her book club, and the book also received the Southern Writers' Conference Award, the Louisiana Library Award, the John Dos Passos Award, the Langston Hughes Award, and the Amistad Award. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers. Not to be confused with the more common advance reading copies that were issued in a cardstock box.

195. GALLANT, Mavis. Overhead in a Balloon. Toronto: Macmillan, 1985. The uncorrected proof copy of the true first edition of this collection of stories. Although exact numbers are hard to come by, it is increasingly clear that most Canadian proofs are printed in tiny quantities, often as few as a couple of dozen copies. Gallant won the Governor General's Award for her story collection, Home Truths. Fine in wrappers.

196. GALLANT, Mavis. In Transit. (Markham): Viking (1988). The uncorrected proof copy of the true first edition (Canadian) of this collection of stories originally published in The New Yorker in the 1950s and 60s, and are here collected in book form for the first time. Near fine in wrappers. Again, a scarce Canadian proof.

197. GARCIA MARQUEZ, Gabriel. Chronicle of a Death Foretold. NY: Knopf, 1983. The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of this short novel, his first to be published after he won the Nobel Prize in 1982. Fine in wrappers.

198. GARCIA MARQUEZ, Gabriel. Of Love and Other Demons. NY: Knopf, 1995. A hardcover advance copy. An attractive production, in unstamped illustrated boards that differ from the published binding. Fine in publisher's sealed paper sheath black paper with white text and a peekaboo hole through to the illustrated binding. One of the more unusual advance copies of recent years.

199. GARDNER, John. Grendel. NY: Knopf (1971). The uncorrected proof copy of Gardner's third novel, which many think his best. A retelling of the Beowulf legend from the perspective of the monster, this novel allowed Gardner to incorporate his knowledge as a scholar of old English literature into his contemporary fiction in a way no other of his books did. This proof is in tall wrappers, reproducing page numbers in holograph, and with the title page and cover reproduced from typescript. Small price and publication month written in ink on the front cover. Fine in a custom slipcase. A very scarce proof.

200. -. Another copy. Fine in tall wrappers with a large, enthusiastic note from Gardner's editor at Knopf written across the front cover.

201. GARDNER, John. Jason and Medeia. NY: Knopf, 1973. An epic poem retelling the Greek myths. This is an uncorrected proof copy, with a publicity photograph of the author laid in. Very good in tall wrappers. Signed by the author. Very uncommon, especially signed.

202. GARDNER, John. Freddy's Book. NY: Knopf, 1980. The uncorrected proof copy of this novel set up as a novel-within-a-novel and in part based on Nordic literature and legends, a field with which Gardner was familiar, as a scholar of Old English literature and its antecedents. Fine in tall wrappers. Unlike other Gardner proofs, this one contains the artwork that was included in the finished book.

203. -. Another copy. Several marginal notes in text; cup ring front cover; near fine in wrappers. With publisher's description and printer's sample pages laid in.

204. GARDNER, John. The Art of Fiction. NY: Knopf, 1984. The uncorrected proof copy of the companion volume to On Becoming a Novelist, subtitled "Notes on Craft for Young Writers." Derived from Gardner's classes in creative writing and published posthumously. Near fine in wrappers.

205. GARRETT, George. The Succession. Garden City: Doubleday, 1983. The uncorrected proof copy of this book that was the second volume in his highly praised trilogy of historical novels, this one being set in Elizabethan England. Small tear to bottom edge of front cover, otherwise near fine in tall wrappers. Warmly inscribed by the author "with raging admiration." Garrett was recently named the Poet Laureate of Virginia.

206. GASS, William. Reading Rilke. NY: Knopf, 1999. The uncorrected proof copy. A meditation on both the poet and the problems of translation as presented in the Duino Elegies, Gass's translations of which are included in this volume. Near fine in wrappers with dust jacket art stapled inside the front cover.

207. GAVIN, Thomas. The Last Film of Emile Vico. (NY): Viking (1986). The uncorrected proof copy of the author's second book, a well-received Hollywood novel set in 1938. Inscribed by the author "with friendship" in 1997. Spine-tanned; else fine in wrappers.

208. GELBER, Jack. Sleep. NY: Hill and Wang (1972). The uncorrected proof copy of this play by the author of The Connection, one of the early and controversial off-Broadway successes, who is also known for his association with The Living Theater, an experimental theater group. Notes in text and name of Richard M. Buck on cover. Very good in tall wrappers. Uncommon.

209. GINSBERG, Allen and Louis. Family Business. (NY): Bloomsbury (2001). The uncorrected proof copy. Selected letters between Ginsberg and his father. Fine in wrappers.

210. GOLDING, William. Free Fall. London: Faber & Faber (1959). The uncorrected proof copy of his fourth novel. Ink name on the front cover (the reviewer assigned?) and mild edge and spine staining (apparently from the spine glue). A very good copy of a scarce, early proof. Bound in green wrappers.

211. -. Same title. The uncorrected proof copy. Bound in light gray wrappers, with no indication of priority. Near fine.

212. GORDIMER, Nadine. The Conservationist. London: Cape (1974). The proof copy of the first British edition of this novel. Near fine in wrappers with publisher's plain printed label affixed to the front cover. A scarce proof, and the Nobel Prize-winner's only Booker winner. This is the "first state" proof, issued for the U.K. market; some copies of this proof were later sent to the U.S. publisher, and had Viking's label affixed over the British publication information.

213. GORDIMER, Nadine. A Soldier's Embrace. London: Cape (1980). The uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition of this collection of stories by the South African Nobel Prize winner. Signed by the author in 1998. Abrasion to half title (from a binding flaw, it would appear); near fine in wrappers.

214. -. Same title. NY: Viking (1980). The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition. Mildly spine-sunned; else fine in wrappers.

215. GORDIMER, Nadine. The House Gun. (London): Bloomsbury (1998). The uncorrected proof copy of this novel. Signed by the author. A couple small spots; near fine in wrappers, with publisher's promotional sheets laid in.

216. GORDON, Mary. Final Payments. NY: Random House (1978). The uncorrected proof copy of the author's first book, a well-received novel. Fine in wrappers. Because of the wide distribution of the advance reading copy, which was issued in pictorial wrappers, this proof is relatively scarce.

217. GRAU, Shirley Ann. The Condor Passes. NY: Knopf, 1971. The advance reading copy of her fifth book, a novel, and her first to be published after she won the Pulitzer Prize in 1965 for The Keepers of the House. Inscribed by the author. Near fine in wrappers.

218. GRAU, Shirley Ann. The Wind Shifting West. NY: Knopf, 1973. The uncorrected proof copy of her sixth book, a collection of stories. Inscribed by the author. Fine in wrappers. Proofs from this era are uncommon, and this book is uncommon signed in any edition.

219. GROOM, Winston. Forrest Gump. Garden City: Doubleday, 1986. The advance reading copy of the author's fifth book, a comic novel of a Vietnam vet whose simple-minded perspective provides fertile ground for satirical social commentary: a Jim Harrison blurb calls it "a line bred out of Voltaire and Huck Finn." Near fine in illustrated wrappers, which reproduce in a single color the artwork that was later incorporated onto the dust jacket of the finished book. Basis for the 1994 film that was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, and won six.

220. GRUMBACH, Doris. Chamber Music. NY: Dutton (1979). The advance reading copy of this novel by one of the preeminent American women of letters of the second half of the 20th century. Fine in wrappers and inscribed by the author "with gratitude" in the month of publication.

<< Back to Catalog Index