Catalog 130, P-Q
220. PALEY, Grace. Enormous Changes at the Last Minute. NY: FSG (1973). A review copy of the second collection of stories by one of the most highly acclaimed contemporary masters of the short story. Nominated for the National Book Award. Dusty top edge, else fine in a fine dust jacket.
221. PALEY, Grace. New and Collected Poems. Gardiner: Tilbury House (1992). Inscribed by the author in 1995. This is the simultaneous issue in wrappers; near fine.
222. PARKER, Dorothy. Death and Taxes. NY: Viking, 1931. The limited edition of her most famous collection of poems, one of 250 numbered copies signed by the author. Parker was the only female founding member of the famed Algonquin Round Table. Foxing and creasing to pages; abrasion to cloth covers and a small chip to the spine label, not affecting any text; very good, lacking the original publisher's slipcase.
223. PATCHEN, Kenneth. Red Wine and Yellow Hair. NY: New Directions (1949). A collection of poetry, one of 2000 copies. This copy is inscribed by the author to his photographer at New Directions in the year of publication. Very good in a very good, spine- and edge-sunned dust jacket.
224. PATCHEN, Kenneth. Wonderings. (NY): New Directions (1971). The hardcover issue of this collection of picture poems. According to Morgan, one of only 100 hardcover copies printed. Inscribed by the author to poet and playwright Jim Schevill and his wife, Margot, in the year of publication. Trace bump to crown; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
225. PATON, Alan. Too Late the Phalarope. NY: Scribners, 1953. The first American edition of this novel, which explores South Africa's racial situation. Between the publication of Cry, the Beloved Country and this book, Paton founded the South African Liberal Party, which opposed apartheid and presented a non-racial alternative to government policy, although such a change in South Africa's political system was still decades away. Inscribed by the author to Van Wyck Brooks in 1954, and bearing the ownership signature of Brooks. Near fine, lacking the dust jacket. Books signed by Paton are notably scarce, and significant literary associations even more so.
226. PAZ, Octavio and Charles Tomlinson. Air Born/Hijos del Aire. Mexico City: Pescador, 1979. Poems co-written by the authors, printed in a total edition of 391 copies, this being one of the issue in wrappers. Not signed on the colophon, but inscribed by Paz to Roman Jakobson and his wife, Christine "with friendship and admiration." Jakobson is widely considered one of the greatest linguists and thinkers of the 20th century and his influence has been pervasive. A wonderful association between a Latin American Nobel Prize winner and one of the important intellectual figures of the century. Near fine.
227. PERCY, Walker. Lancelot. NY: FSG (1977). His fourth novel. Inscribed by the author to writer and critic Richard Gilman: "For Dick Gilman/ with all admiration. From Commonweal/ days to now -- / Walker Percy." Gilman was the author of a number of books of essays and criticism and was drama critic for Commonweal magazine, for which Percy wrote in the 1950s and to which Percy's inscription alludes. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a small chip threatening at the upper rear panel. A nice association copy.
228. PERCY, Walker. Bourbon. Winston-Salem: Palaemon Press (1979). The first separate edition of a work that first appeared in Esquire in 1975. Limited to 230 copies signed by the author, of which this is one of 30 presentation copies hors commerce and is additionally inscribed by Percy. Fine in saddle-stitched self-wrappers.
229. PERELMAN, S.J. Chicken Inspector No. 23. NY: Simon & Schuster (1966). A collection of short, humorous pieces, most of which first appeared in The New Yorker. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication, "with affection immeasurable." Fine in a fine dust jacket. Books signed by Perelman are relatively uncommon; copies in fine condition are especially so.
230. PHILLIPS, Jayne Anne. Counting. NY: Vehicle Editions (1978). The issue in wrappers of her second book, a collection of poems and prose poems, one of 474 copies of a total edition of 500; inscribed by the author to Seymour Lawrence in the year of publication. Additionally, laid in is an autograph postcard signed "the counter." Lawrence became Phillips' publisher with her next book, Black Tickets, which was her first collection of prose and the first book she had published by a major publisher. The postcard is fine; the book near fine.
231. PHILLIPS, Jayne Anne. Black Tickets. (NY): Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence (1979). The uncommon hardcover issue of her well-received first collection of stories. Inscribed by the author in the month after publication. This title was issued simultaneously in hardcover by Delacorte and as a paperback by Dell/Delta. The hardcover used the same sheets as the paperback, an acidic paper that tends to brown with age. These pages are slightly browned, otherwise this is a fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
232. PHILLIPS, Jayne Anne. How Mickey Made It. St. Paul: Bookslinger Editions, 1981. An attractive limited edition of this story, one of 150 numbered copies. Signed by the author and additionally inscribed to Seymour Lawrence: "For the heroic Uncle Sam,/ intrepid publisher --/ love, JA." Clothbound without dust jacket; spine-sunned; near fine.
233. - Another copy. One of 150 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine.
234. PHILLIPS, Jayne Anne. Fast Lanes. (NY): Vehicle (1984). A small press volume, the first book appearance of this story, with illustrations by Yvonne Jacquette. Issued in an edition of 2026, this is one of 26 lettered copies, signed by the author and the illustrator. Additionally, this copy is inscribed by Phillips to Seymour Lawrence: "For Uncle Sam --/ my companion/ in the fast lane --/ love,/ the speedy witch/ Jan. 24, '85." This story was later reprinted as the title story of a collection of Phillips' fiction published in 1987 by Dutton/Lawrence. Fine in a near fine slipcase. One of Phillips' scarcest publications, and an excellent association copy.
235. PLATH, Sylvia. Artwork. 1941-1942. Three pencil drawings, executed when Plath was eight and nine years old, and shortly after the death of her father, Otto, in 1940. It was at this young age that Plath first retreated into the worlds of both poetry and art: her first poem was published in The Boston Herald in 1941, the same year that a drawing of hers, of a plump lady in a feathered hat, won a dollar prize in another newspaper contest. Plath has claimed that it was her mother's reading Matthew Arnold's "The Forsaken Merman" to her that sparked her poetic imagination, and the first drawing here, "Mer-maid Land," is an underwater scene of a mermaid, fish and castle, with the mermaid shown again, larger, on a fold-over leaf. Signed "Sylvia July 20, 1941." In 1941, Plath was flower girl at her Aunt Dorothy's wedding; in 1942 she performed the same role for her Uncle Frank. The second drawing is of a bride, in profile, in wedding dress, and is signed "Sylvia" and dated "1942" by Plath's mother, Aurelia. The final drawing, of a woman preparing to curtsey, is described on the verso by Plath's mother: "Sylvia drew this to illustrate the costume planned for the Minuet Group in the Pageant given May 1942. Sylvia was in the group." Aurelia (presumably) has also written "Keep" on the front. This drawing is also in pencil, but with the costume colored in orange crayon. The first drawing is approximately 5 1/2" x 5"; the second and third each 4" x 6". The first and third show some foxing (the latter with one closed edge tear); the second some even acidification.
236. PLATH, Sylvia. Self-Portrait. A 19" x 25" self-portrait by Plath, executed in pastels. Undated, but probably from her teen years in the late 1940s, based on her hair style, comparison with photographs from the period, etc. The portrait was presumably done from a photograph, as the subject is looking away from the artist. Plath is known to have done at least one other self-portrait on this scale, now located in the collection of the Lilly Library at Indiana University. A remarkable image by the woman whose writings came to be emblematic of the soul-searching and self examination of an entire generation of women writers and artists. Plath's struggles with the twin demons of her literary talent and her self-doubt created an ineradicable record of the woman-as-artist contending not only with her own questions but with those thrust upon her by the prejudices of society. For this, she became, following her suicide within weeks of the publication of her first (autobiographical) novel, an icon of the fledgling women's movement, which questioned not only the boundaries and limitations of the self but, more importantly perhaps, the social structures that set those boundaries. Plath's mastery of the craft of portraiture is limited: her anatomy is far from perfect; but her intent to capture the essence of her subject -- herself -- is boldly realized not only in the outer depiction of her hairstyle and nondescript clothing, but more importantly in the intensity of the gaze captured by the artist/subject. Plath's self-portrait would be remarkable if it contained only her eyes, which look askance with a combination of intensity and vulnerability that perhaps could only have been wrought by the artist herself. We have never seen such an artwork by this author offered on the market in the past: all of Plath's significant works having been long institutionalized. Once creased near the lower edge, apparently to display the image without showing the hands; small red stamp lower left corner; else fine. Matted and framed to 23 1/4" x 30". A stunning view of the literary artist as revealed by herself as a visual artist. Unique. NOTE: Frieda Hughes and Warren Plath have said they believe the subject of this portrait to be Arden Tapley, a friend of Sylvia's in high school. We have not been able to verify this, and the portrait came directly from Plath's mother to the collector from whom we bought it via the bookseller who handled the sale of Plath's papers, and was identified by these sources as a self-portrait. Since this information seems to have originated with Aurelia, who kept close track of Sylvia's work [see the items listed above], we are reluctant to dispute it.
237. PLATH, Sylvia. The Colossus and Other Poems. NY: Knopf, 1962. The first American edition of the author's first book, which has nine fewer poems than the British edition of 1960. The Colossus was her only collection of poetry published in her lifetime, and only one other of her books was published before she committed suicide -- the autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. This is a fine copy in a very near fine, slightly spine-sunned dust jacket with trace wear at the crown. Probably the nicest copy we have seen or handled.
238. PLATH, Sylvia. "LUCAS, Victoria." The Bell Jar. London: Heinemann (1963). Plath's largely autobiographical novel, which she published pseudonymously in hopes of avoiding the consequences of being recognized by her friends and neighbors, and their recognizing themselves in her book. The novel's clearcut exposition of its heroine's pain and attempted suicide was reinforced by its author's actual suicide (barely a month after publication), lending a mythic dimension to the book. Slight spine lean; else fine in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing to the folds and spine ends. A very attractive copy of one of the literary high spots of the second half of the twentieth century, and a very scarce book in the original edition.
239. -. Same title. London: Faber and Faber (1966). Later edition, and the first edition published under Plath's own name, preceding the American edition by a full five years. Owner name on flyleaf; cocked; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with mild rubbing to the folds and a bit of wear at the crown.
240. -. Same title, the first American edition. NY: Harper & Row (1971). Not published in the U.S. for nearly a decade after the original British publication. Owner name on pastedown under front flap; mild fading to top stain; a very near fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with some slight edge nicks.
241. PLATH, Sylvia. Crossing the Water. NY: Harper & Row (1971). The first American edition of this posthumously published collection of poems from the period between The Colossus and Ariel. Mild edge-sunning to boards; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
242. PLATH, Sylvia. Three Women. (n.p.: n.p., n.d.) [Oakland: c. 1970-75]. The first American edition, a piracy, of this poetic dialogue in the voices of three women -- a wife, a girl, and a secretary. Originally written as a radio script and produced on the BBC in August of 1962. There was a limited edition published in England in 1968. With a Kathe Kollwitz artwork reproduced on the front cover. One short edge tear; else fine in oblong stapled wrappers.
243. PLATH, Sylvia. Among the Narcissi. [Ashington]: MidNAG [Mid-Northumberland Arts Group] (n.d.) [c. 1971]. Broadside poem, illustrated in three colors by Birtley Aris. 16 1/2" x 23 1/2" on poster paper. One of 300 copies printed, reportedly. An attractive, illustrated production of this Plath poem and the first separate appearance of it, published the same year that it appeared in the collection Winter Trees. Rolled; else fine.
244. PLATH, Sylvia. Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams. NY: Harper & Row (1979). The first American edition of this collection of short stories, prose, and diary excerpts that had not previously been published. The American edition collects a number of pieces that were not included in the earlier British edition. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
245. (PLATH, Sylvia). STEINER, Nancy Hunter. A Closer Look at Ariel: A Memory of Sylvia Plath. NY: Harper's Magazine Press (1973). A memoir by a friend and college roommate of Plath. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
246. (PLATH, Sylvia). WAGNER-MARTIN, Linda. Sylvia Plath. London: Chatto & Windus (1988). A biography of Plath that draws on journals of hers that were unavailable to previous biographers. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
247. (PLATH, Sylvia). ALEXANDER, Paul. Rough Magic. (NY): Viking (1991). A biography of Plath by the editor of Ariel Ascending. Remainder mark, slight spine base bump; fine in a fine dust jacket.
248. PORTER, Katherine Anne. A Christmas Story. (n.p.): Mademoiselle, 1958. A Christmas story by Porter about her niece, who died at the age of five. The story first appeared in 1946, and was reissued later in 1967 by Delacorte, when Seymour Lawrence was publisher there. This copy is signed by the author and additionally inscribed to Lawrence. Boards sunned; joints split and portions of the spine chipped away. Well-worn; only good; without dust jacket, as issued.
249. POWERS, Richard. Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance. NY: Morrow (1985). Two volumes: the first edition and the uncorrected proof copy of one of the most highly praised first novels of recent years -- a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and winner of the Rosenthal Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters for a book of "considerable literary achievement." These copies belonged to author Nicholas Delbanco, who provided a blurb for the dust jacket of the trade edition. The proof has slight fading to the spine and the upper front cover, and is otherwise fine in wrappers; the trade edition is fine in a near fine dust jacket with short creased tears at the lower edge of the rear panel. Promotional postcard laid in, also featuring the Delbanco blurb. As close to an association copy as one can get with Powers' books, as the author has steadfastly refused to sign copies of his works. For all:
250. POWERS, Richard. The Gold Bug Variations. NY: Morrow (1991). The uncorrected proof copy of his third novel, a dazzling display of verbal pyrotechnics which once again earned him high praise, award recognition, and comparisons with the best of the postmodern writers such as Pynchon. Like his first book, a nominee for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Winner of Time magazine's Book of the Year award. This copy belonged to author Nicholas Delbanco, who provided a dust jacket blurb for Powers' first book, and has a letter from the publisher -- also Delbanco's publisher -- to Delbanco laid in. Mildly spine-sunned; else fine in wrappers.
251. PROULX, E. Annie. Accordion Crimes. (NY): Scribner (1996). Her first book after the success of The Shipping News, which had won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
252. PYNCHON, Thomas. V. NY: Modern Library (1966). The first Modern Library edition of his first book, published just after his second novel, The Crying of Lot 49, was issued. Fine in a near fine, mildly spine-faded and rubbed dust jacket. An uncommon edition, especially in nice shape.
253. PYNCHON, Thomas. The Crying of Lot 49. NY: Bantam (1982). The 21st printing of the Bantam paperback edition of his second novel. Inscribed by Pynchon inside the front cover in 1986. Mild fading and slanting to the spine; modest cover creasing; about near fine in wrappers. Pynchon, along with J.D. Salinger, is one of the most reclusive American authors, and books signed by him are exceedingly scarce.