Catalog 134, N-Z
62. NIN, Anais. Unpublished Selections from the Diary. Athens: Duane Schneider Press, (1968). A small, hand-produced volume, printing excerpts from Nin's diary that were not included in the published volumes. One of 140 numbered copies signed by the author. Tapebound cardstock covers. Fine. Scarce.
63. O'BRIEN, Tim. Going After Cacciato. (NY): Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence, (1978). His third book, a magical realist novel about a recruit who decides to walk away from the Vietnam war and go to Paris overland. Winner of the National Book Award and one of the literary classics of the war. Fine in a very close to fine dust jacket with none of the spine-fading that commonly afflicts this title.
One of 26 Copies in a Welded Metal Slipcase
64. O'BRIEN, Tim. Friends and Enemies. Arizona: Synaesthesia Press, 2001. Two stories from O'Brien's award-winning collection The Things They Carried, bound back-to-back and printed by Jim Camp in an edition of 125 copies, of which this is one of 26 clothbound copies in an engraved and welded metal slipcase. Black cloth with paper labels; rice paper endpapers, with the text printed on a brighter and heavier stock than the wrappered issue. Signed by O'Brien and acclaimed artist Fritz Scholder, who provided the illustrations for each story. One of the most unusual and inventive small press/fine press efforts we have seen. A remarkable production. Heavy. Fine.
Signed by George Orwell
65. (ORWELL, George). The New Savoy. London: New Savoy Press (1946). Orwell contributes the story "A Hanging," which first appeared in The Adelphi and was subsequently collected in Shooting an Elephant. This copy is signed by Orwell as "Geo. Orwell" on the title page. Additionally signed by contributors Inez Holden, Betty Miller, Olivia Manning and Stevie Smith; Smith has also inscribed the book on the half-title in 1969. Several creases to front cover and dust soiling apparent on rear, white cover; very good in wrappers. [Fenwick B.26]. Orwell's signature is one of the rarest of 20th century authors.
66. PATCHEN, Kenneth. Orchards, Thrones and Caravans. (San Francisco): Print Workshop, (1952). First edition, vellum issue, of this collection of poems: one of 120 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a dust jacket with a faint spot near the crown; else fine. In custom clamshell box. One of the scarcer editions in the Patchen canon.
From One Nobel Prize Winner to Another
67. SOLZHENITSYN, Aleksandr. Typed Letter Signed. June 5, 1995. Written to Elie Wiesel, declining an invitation. In part: "I fully share your concerns for the full scope of today's -- purely unexpected -- problems, problems that besiege all humankind as it enters the twenty-first century. However, Russia's condition is so especially perilous that, having returned home in May 1994, I have been unable to leave here since that time, and see no possibility of traveling abroad at any time in 1995." 8-3/8" x 11-3/4"; folded in thirds for mailing; secretarial notation of receipt in lower corner; very faint edge creasing; else fine. Solzhenitsyn's letter probably refers to the December 1995 Hiroshima conference that was co-hosted by Wiesel's Foundation for Humanity. A rare and notable association between two Nobel Prize winners: Solzhenitsyn won the 1970 Nobel Prize for Literature; Wiesel won the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize.
68. STEGNER, Wallace. The Women on the Wall. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1950. His first collection of short stories, which had a first printing of only 4500 copies. Stegner was already revitalizing the literature of the American West, something he would continue not only with his own published work but would also encourage in his role as director of Stanford University's creative writing program, which turned out such writers as Ken Kesey, Larry McMurtry, Wendell Berry, Robert Stone, Tillie Olsen, and many others. Owner initials front flyleaf; a fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with trace edge wear, mostly at the spine extremities. A very nice copy.
69. STEINBECK, John. Tortilla Flat. NY: Covici Friede, (1935). His fourth novel, the first of Steinbeck's books to receive significant popular attention, because of its sympathetic portrayal of Monterey paisanos. Faint spine sunning; else fine in a very good, spine-darkened dust jacket with a couple spots on the front panel, shallow chipping at the spine extremities and splitting along the upper front spine fold. Printed during the Depression in an edition of only 4000 copies, this is a scarce book, especially in dust jacket. By comparison, The Grapes of Wrath, published four years later, had a first printing of 50,000 copies.
Publisher's File Copy, with Incorrect Publication Date
70. STONE, Robert. A Hall of Mirrors. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1967. Publisher's file copy of Stone's first book, a novel of drifters in New Orleans in the early Sixties caught up in the web of a quasi-religious political machine. Winner of the William Faulkner Award for best first novel of the year as well as a Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award. Publisher's Reference Library bookplate front pastedown; publicity photo of author laid in, with incorrect date of publication on the photo (January, 1967 vs. the actual publication date of August, 1967). Fine in a very good dust jacket with very mild rubbing and spine-sunning and a couple short edge tears. A unique copy of an important, award-winning first book.
Signed by Hunter Thompson, Sonny Barger, & with Steadman Drawing
71. THOMPSON, Hunter S. Hell's Angels. London: Allen Lane/Penguin, 1967. The first British edition of Thompson's first book, which he wrote after spending a year hanging out with members of the famous motorcycle gang, and ended up getting beaten up by several of them. One of the first examples of the participatory journalism that Thompson perfected (and later named gonzo journalism). This is a remarkable, unique copy in several respects. It is in a white paper dust jacket -- all others we've seen are silver paper -- that has the flap copy reversed: the normal front flap copy, and price, here appear on the rear flap and vice versa. The photo of Thompson on the rear panel lacks the border usually found around the image. In all likelihood this was a trial jacket of some sort, and later changed. In addition, this copy has been signed by the author (in full, and with his first name also printed within the signature) and also has an original drawing of Thompson by Ralph Steadman on the title page, signed by Steadman. Finally, it is signed by Sonny Barger, the longtime President of the Oakland (California) chapter of the Hell's Angels -- probably the most famous, and notorious, chapter, and Barger probably the most famous individual "Angel." In addition, laid into the book is a white note card with a comment by Kurt Vonnegut about Thompson: "Hunter is crazy as a bedbug." The card is signed by Vonnegut. The book has some mottling to the spine cloth; near fine in a dust jacket with some edge tears and wear; about very good. Thompson at one point thought that the British edition had only been issued in paperback, as he had never seen a hardcover of it. In our experience it is much scarcer than the American edition, and this copy of it is unique and, with all its attributes, the best copy we've ever seen.
72. THOMPSON, Hunter S. and STEADMAN, Ralph. Fire in the Nuts. Woody Creek/Loose Valley/Blue Grass/High Desert: Gonzo International/Steam Press/Petro III Graphics/Sylph Publications (2004). A limited edition of an early, unpublished story by Thompson, with 13 illustrations by Steadman. Of a total edition of 176 copies, this is one of 150 numbered copies signed in full by Thompson and Steadman. Quarterbound in black Asahi cloth with illustrated panels and leather spine label stamped in gold. Fine.
73. (THOMPSON, Hunter S.). STEADMAN, Ralph. The Sheriff. (Lexington): (Joe Petro III), 1995. A silkscreen, 30-1/2" x 44", by Ralph Steadman, one of the most notable of contemporary artists, whose work is perhaps most familiar to the general reading public -- or at least most readily identifiable -- in the illustrations he did for some of Hunter Thompson's books, in particular Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. This is one of 77 numbered and signed by Steadman and initialed by Thompson. Steadman and Thompson collaborated on this piece, derived from a photograph of Thompson from the time he ran for Sheriff in Aspen, CO; a huge splash of red, resembling blood, covers Thompson's head. A striking, almost shocking, image. Rolled, fine.
74. THOMPSON, Jim. Heed the Thunder. NY: Greenberg (1946). The scarce second novel by this master of the noir thriller. Thompson's first three books were published in hardcover, apparently did not sell well, and thereafter all of his novels were issued as paperback originals, many of them in the short-lived but now considered classic Lion Library series. Thompson went on writing pulp fiction for decades but it was only in recent years that he has been retrospectively recognized as a master of the genre. Several of his novels have been turned into well-received movies, including The Grifters, Coup de Torchon, The Getaway (twice) and others. This book was published by a small publisher that mostly did reprints and remainder issues. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with two tiny edge nicks and a very thin tear at the mid-spine. An exceptionally attractive copy of this scarce novel.
Mark Twain to Bret Harte, Mentioning Tom Sawyer
75. TWAIN, Mark. Autograph Letter Signed, to Bret Harte. [1876]. Dated July 13. Two small pages written on one sheet, approximately 7" x 10", folded to make four pages. Twain writes to Harte, with whom he had a longstanding friendship dating from their time in San Francisco, when both were young writers and were part of the San Francisco literary scene of the 1860s, with Harte at the time being the more well-known of the two, although his fame did not yet extend beyond California. When Harte was made editor of the new literary weekly, The Californian, he hired Twain as a writer. Their friendship continued for years, even after they went their separate ways, and shortly after this letter was written, when Twain returned to the U.S. from abroad, Harte visited him in Hartford, Connecticut, and the two collaborated on the play Ah Sin. The play, produced the following year, was only a moderate success at best, and tensions grew between Harte and Twain that ultimately led to the breakup of their friendship. In this letter, Twain asks Harte for an autograph to give to a clergyman he has met in Ireland who is an autograph collector and "a mighty good fellow -- for a Christian." He also recounts that he has "just finished writing the book to-day (900 pages MS.,)" -- "the book" being Tom Sawyer -- "but can't print now, because I have a book going through the press at this time," referring to Sketches, New and Old. The letter is signed "Mark." A wonderful association between two of the most prominent American writers of the 19th century, written on the day Twain finished one of his most famous books, and referring to its manuscript.
76. UPDIKE, John. The Dance of the Solids. [NY]: (Scientific American) (1969). The first separate edition. One of 6200 copies printed as Christmas cards to be issued with W.H. Auden's A New Year Greeting (not present). Very faint abrasion to front cover; else fine in stapled wrappers. Lacking the cardboard sleeve that combined the two booklets, but in a custom cloth slipcase. While the print run of this small item was not particularly small, especially when compared with the many limited editions Updike has done, the nature of its distribution -- as a freebie to Scientific American subscribers -- suggests that most copies have been lost or discarded, and its rarity has been legendary for many years now. This is the first copy we've had, or seen, in several years. Updike was not nearly as "collectible" in 1969 as he became in later years, probably accounting for how few people would have saved this.
77. UPDIKE, John. The Ring. NY: Knopf, (1964). The second of Updike's collaborations with Warren Chappell, adapting an opera -- in this case, Wagner's -- for young people, with Updike providing the text and Chappell the illustrations. Oblong quarto, this is the trade edition in dust jacket [Roberts A10a] and in our experience is more difficult to find than the library binding in illustrated boards, which was issued without dust jacket. One of the more uncommon of the early Updike books. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and especially scarce thus.
Vonnegut's Scarcest Hardcover
78. VONNEGUT, Kurt. The Sirens of Titan. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1961. The first hardcover edition, and Vonnegut's scarcest trade hardcover: only 2500 copies printed, of which one can guess that half or more will have gone to libraries. A little foxing to top edge and fraying to spine crown; near fine in a very good dust jacket with wear at the crown, a bit of rubbing to the front flap fold and a small puncture to the rear panel. Nominated for a Hugo Award.
Signed, with a Caricature Self-Portrait
79. VONNEGUT, Kurt. Cat's Cradle. NY: HRW (1963). One of his greatest novels, which manages to both condemn and celebrate science, religion and the qualities of humans. "A quietly satirical consideration of mankind and its need for sympathy and compassion, proposing that we live by foma, lies that make for human happiness." One of Pringle's 100 best science fiction novels. Signed by the author with a self-caricature. Fading to boards; foxing to endpages; about near fine copy in a good dust jacket with some foxing and rubbing and a small ink mark on the front cover and internally repaired with archival tape along the edges and front spine fold. In a custom clamshell case. Also nominated for the Hugo Award, and chosen by the Modern Library as one of the best 100 novels of the 20th century.
Signed, with a Caricature Self-Portrait
80. VONNEGUT, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five. (NY): Delacorte (1969). His masterwork, a powerful fictional memoir of his experiences during the Allied fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany. Vonnegut's philosophical reflections on the tragic absurdity of humankind are embedded in an impressionistic, pessimistic yet comic science fiction tale that is a high spot of the literature of the 1960s and since. The first printing was 10,000 copies and the book eventually sold more than 60,000 copies in hardcover and innumerable in paperback, becoming a classic of its era and a standard on college campuses -- at first by word-of-mouth and later as part of the canon. Slight mottling to cloth, as is common with this title. Near fine in a dust jacket that is slightly darkened overall but still at least very good. Signed by the author with a self-caricature. An attractive copy in a handsome custom clamshell box of Japanese Asahi cloth and with marbled paper designed to match the dust jacket of the book. Like Cat's Cradle, this was both nominated for a Hugo Award and later chosen by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.
81. (WARHOL, Andy). Aspen, Vol. 1, No. 3. (NY): (Roaring Fork)(1966). A magazine in a box; this being the "Fab" issue, designed by Warhol and resembling a Fab detergent box. Contents include reproductions of paintings by Warhol, de Kooning, Johns, and others; a flex-disc by The Velvet Underground's "Loop" on one side and Peter Walker's "White Wind" on the other; an essay by Lou Reed on rock and roll music; a copy of The Exploding Plastic Inevitable, the Warhol Factory's one-shot underground newspaper; a flip book of the Jack Smith film Buzzards over Baghdad with Warhol's The Kiss on the other side; a "Ten Trip Ticket Book" printing excerpts from the Berkeley Conference on LSD; and more. Contents are complete, including loose advertisements laid in and a subscription form for the magazine. The flex-disc has a small ridge; otherwise the contents are fine, in a rubbed, near fine clamshell "Fab" box. A landmark issue of an important underground publication. Uncommon.
82. WELTY, Eudora. Music from Spain. Greenville: Levee Press, 1948. A limited edition of this short story, one of 775 numbered copies signed by the author. Her first signed limited edition. Very faint spine-sunning; else fine, without dust jacket, as issued. A remarkably fresh, crisp copy of this title.
83. WILLIAMS, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. (NY): New Directions (1947). Williams' most famous play, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama and made into an Oscar-winning film by Elia Kazan. Slight sunning to the front free endpaper, but otherwise the book is essentially immaculate; the dust jacket is spine-sunned and also shows some sunning to the upper portion of the front panel. A very attractive, crisp copy of a 20th century high spot.
84. WOOLF, Virginia. Monday or Tuesday. NY: Harcourt Brace, 1921. The first American edition of this early collection of short fiction, in which Woolf explores the stream of consciousness technique that she used to great effect in later novels. One of 1500 copies. Very slight foxing to cloth; else fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket. By far the most attractive copy we've seen.