Catalog 135, R-S
274. (RACKHAM, Arthur). PHILLPOTTS, Eden. A Dish of Apples. London/NY: Hodder & Stoughton (1921). Poetry by Phillpotts, illustrated by Rackham with numerous black & white illustrations and three tipped-in color illustrations. One of 500 numbered copies signed by the author and the illustrator. Near fine.
275. RANKIN, Ian as HARVEY, Jack. Witch Hunt. (London): Headline (1993). The true first edition of his first book under the (disclosed) pseudonym of Jack Harvey. Signed by the author as "Ian Rankin." Mild acidification to page edges; very near fine in a very near fine dust jacket. An uncommon title, written and published well before Rankin became the bestselling author he is now.
276. RANKIN, Ian. Fleshmarket Close. (London): Orion (2004). His most recent novel, a John Rebus mystery. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
277. RAPHAELSON, Samson. The Jazz Singer. NY: Brentano's (1925). The play that formed the basis for the 1927 movie with Al Jolson, and which was the first full-length feature film with sound. It was later adapted for the screen two more times. Signed by Raphaelson at Christmas in the year of publication. Faint foredge foxing; else fine in a near fine, spine-faded dust jacket with one chip at the lower rear flap fold. The most famous play by one of the leading American playwrights for over two decades, seldom found in jacket, and especially uncommon signed.
278. REED, Ishmael. Catechism of d Neoamerican Hoodoo Church. London: Breman, 1970. A collection of poems by this African-American writer, issued by a small British house. Inscribed to Gwendolyn Brooks, "with love from Dudley [Randall]." Randall was a longtime friend of Brooks, and the publisher of Broadside Press, a small press devoted to publishing African-American, and other minority, writers, and which published several volumes by Brooks. A nice association copy. Fine in stapled wrappers.
279. RICE, Anne. The Vampire Chronicles. NY: Knopf, 1990. First thus, a three volume boxed set of Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned. Each volume is signed by the author. Spines a bit dulled; else fine in a near fine slipcase with the bookplate of author Stanley Wiater, a three-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association.
280. RUSHDIE, Salman. Shame. London: Jonathan Cape (1983). The second in his series of books dealing with Islam and the countries of the East, beginning with Midnight's Children and ending with The Satanic Verses. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Signed by the author. Minimal wear; near fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
281. RUSHDIE, Salman. The Satanic Verses. (London): Viking (1988). The true first edition of this controversial book, published in England several months before the U.S. publication. An ambitious novel and an imaginative tour de force, the book seems destined to become part of literary history by virtue of its notoriety -- it prompted a death sentence on Rushdie by Islamic fundamentalists, causing him to go into hiding for years -- rather than its considerable literary accomplishment. Winner of the Whitbread Prize and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Inscribed by the author. Faint edge foxing; still fine in a spine-faded; else fine dust jacket.
282. SANCHEZ, Sonia. Under a Soprano Sky. Trenton: Africa World Press (1987). The hardcover issue of this collection of poems by the award-winning African-American poet. Inscribed by the author to Gwendolyn Brooks, "Friend. Sister. Comrade in struggle. Continue to walk your most beautiful walk." Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
283. SARTON, May. Encounter in April with Correspondence. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1937. Her first book, a well-received collection of poems. Warmly inscribed by the author: "For Beulah B. Brown/ with warm remembrance of those[?] days/ in her house!/ April 14, 1941/ May Sarton." Laid in are two typed letters signed to Mrs. Brown (one undated; another, with envelope, from May 1946); one autograph note signed with envelope; a holograph poem (unsigned) written on an index card; and a full page of holograph notes (unsigned) written on the verso of hotel stationery. The letters are primarily concerned with arrangements for speaking engagements; the notes also seem to concern the underlying impetus for a college tour. The book is a bit edge-sunned, thus near fine in a very good dust jacket with sunning and wear to the upper edge; the writings are fine, with the exception of the hotel stationery which is chipped across the top edge, not affecting text. For all:
284. SCHIFFER, Michael. Ballpark. NY: S&S (1982). A review copy of the author's first book, a baseball novel. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Laid in is a typed note signed by the author, written on the publisher's stationery.
285. SHIELDS, Carol. The Stone Diaries. Toronto: Random House (1993). Her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which also won Canada's Governor General's Award -- the highest literary prize given in that country -- as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Orange Prize. Also shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
286. -. Another copy. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a Vintage Canada Reading Group Guide (from a later date) laid in. A nice copy of the award-winning novel, with an uncommon ephemeral piece laid in.
287. -. Same title, the first American edition. (NY): Viking (1994). Signed by the author on the title page in 1995. Shields has also proudly added the words "the Pulitzer Prize [underlined]" to her signature. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
288. SHIELDS, Carol. Typed Note Signed and Holograph Poem. 1997. A typed note transmits a poem Shields has written out longhand on a separate page. The note, on University of Manitoba stationery, states "I am so sorry to be late in sending you a poem, a favorite of mine, by Emily Dickinson. Good luck with your project./ --and all good wishes." Signed by the author. The poem she sends is "There is No Frigate Like a Book." Near fine in hand-addressed envelope.
289. SHUTE, Nevil. On the Beach. London: Heinemann (1959). The film edition of this novel first published in 1957. Stanley Kramer's 1959 film of this apocalyptic novel was nominated for two Academy Awards. Page edges foxed; near fine in a very good dust jacket faded on the spine and foxed on the rear panel.
290. SNYDER, Gary. Myths & Texts. (NY): Totem/Corinth (1975). A later printing of his second book, first published in 1960. Inscribed by Snyder to another writer. Mild spine sunning; else fine in stapled wrappers. A nice association copy.
291. SNYDER, Gary. Left Out in the Rain. New Poems 1947-1984. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1986. Second printing of this collection of poetry, which includes early work dating from up to 13 years before his first book. Inscribed by Snyder to another writer in 1990. Corner crease; near fine in wrappers. Again, a nice association copy; while Snyder has been extremely generous about signing books over the years, significant association copies seldom show up on the market.
292. SOBELL, Helen. You, Who Love Life. (NY): (Sydmar Press) (1956). Poetry, with lithographs by Rockwell Kent and an introduction by Ring Lardner. Signed by the author under the title [You, Who Love Life] "Farewell!/ Helen." Sobell's poems are highly political, as might be expected from a woman who was a strong advocate of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg before their executions: Sobell's husband was arrested in Mexico on conspiracy to commit espionage with the Rosenbergs. Kent, a longtime radical, illustrated the book. Very mild edge toning; fine in stapled wrappers.
293. SPENDER, Stephen. "David Hockney's Magic Quest." 1987. Photocopied typescript, 11 pages, reproducing the author's substantial holograph corrections. Together with an autograph letter signed transmitting the piece to the editor of Art & Antiques magazine. Together with the proof sheets for the article corrected by Spender and with an autograph note signed transmitting the proofs, "with some slight corrections made by David over the telephone." Spender has also struck out the "Sir" from "Sir Stephen Spender" in the byline: "I don't sign myself 'Sir' in my writing. It is my fault, of course, that I ever attempted a title but I think it looks silly put to a book or article." Also together with an autograph note signed and a typed letter signed preceding the article and agreeing to the details. Items are folded for mailing; the typed letter is near fine, the other items are fine. Envelopes included. As a young man in the 1930s and 40s, Spender was considered, along with W.H. Auden, one of the most important poets of his generation. In later years, he wrote less poetry and more criticism, and it is as a "man of letters" that he is known now, rather than strictly for his poetry. He was invited to become a Companion of Literature by the Royal Society of Literature, the highest honor of the society and a position that is limited to 10 individuals at a time. In 1982, Spender published Chinese Journal, an account of a trip to China he took with Hockney and a book that was illustrated by Hockney. In 1991 Hockney and Spender collaborated on an elaborate artist's book, Hockney's Alphabet. For the archive:
294. STEADMAN, Ralph. The Little Red Computer. (Lexington/Tucson): Steam Press, 2004. A limited edition of this story by Steadman, originally written in 1969, before the author had ever seen a computer, here with a new introduction by the author. Illustrated by Steadman. Sylph Chapbook Number 5, a production of Sylph Publications and Petro III Graphics. Of a total edition of 66 copies, this is one of 50 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine without dust jacket, as issued.
295. STEADMAN, Ralph. Flowers for the Moon. (Lexington/Tucson): Steam Press, 2004. A story first published in 1974, with a new introduction by the author and illustrations by him. Sylph Chapbook Number 6, a production of Sylph Publications and Petro III Graphics. Of a total edition of 66 copies, this is one of 50 numbered copies signed by Steadman. Fine without dust jacket, as issued.
296. STEADMAN, Ralph and PALMER, Tony. Born Under a Bad Sign. (Lexington/Tucson): (Isolde Films/Steam Press) (2004). First thus, a reissue jointly produced by Sylph Publications and Petro III Graphics. Originally published in 1970, this book by the noted British film director, who worked with the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and others, is a reflection on the youth culture of the late 1960s. Of a total edition of 150 copies, this is one of 100 numbered copies signed by Palmer and Steadman. Reproduces the original, brief foreword by John Lennon. Fine without dust jacket, as issued.
297. -. Same title. One of 26 lettered copies signed by Steadman and Palmer. Includes "Pop Pedestal," an original collage and silkscreen print signed by Steadman. Fine, without dust jacket, in clamshell box.
298. STEINBECK, John. The Grapes of Wrath. NY: Viking (1939). The greatest novel by this Nobel Prize winner, one of the greatest American novels ever, and the great American novel of the Depression era. Steinbeck fused social consciousness with literary artistry in a particularly American and individualistic way, refusing to allow his writing to become doctrinaire the way a number of the proletarian novelists of the Thirties did; the body of Steinbeck's work has stood the test of time considerably better than that of most of his contemporaries, especially those who tackled the same social issues that he did. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and basis for an Oscar-winning film in 1940. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket with trace rubbing at the corners. An exceptionally nice copy of a book that shows wear readily, usually in the form of fraying to the jacket and/or sunning to the spine. This copy has neither of those flaws and is crisp and bright and is exceedingly scarce thus.
299. STONE, Robert. Children of Light [aka A Hall of Mirrors]. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1967. The uncorrected proof copy of Stone's first book, originally entitled Children of Light but which had the title changed after these proofs were set as a result of the publisher learning that another novel with that title was to be published that year. The title was taken from a Robert Lowell poem and the new title, "A Hall of Mirrors," was taken from one of the lines of that poem -- ironically, a line that was edited out of later versions of the poem by Lowell. Stone's book was awarded the prestigious Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award -- an award previously given to such first novels or first books as Robert Penn Warren's Night Rider, Philip Roth's Goodbye, Columbus and Margaret Walker's Jubilee. It also won the Faulkner Foundation Award for best first novel of the year. The proof copy differs from the published text in two respects (that we have noted): the epigraph, the verse from the Lowell poem, is not present; and minor changes in the text have been made in two places, which resulted in two cancel leaves being inserted in the published first editions. 57 copies of the proof were printed in late 1966, with publication scheduled for "2/67," according to a label pasted inside the proof. What with the title change and the change to the text, publication was ultimately held up until August, 1967. When shown this copy of the proof of his first book, the author at first did not recognize it and then, after realizing what he was holding, inscribed the book on the half-title "For ____/ uncoverer of wonders!/ Robert Stone." He claimed he had never seen one before, including at the time of the book's publication. In over 25 years of handling Stone's books, and being on the lookout for this proof, we have never seen another copy, let alone seen one offered for sale. Our co-writer of the Robert Stone bibliography, Bev Chaney -- who worked at Houghton Mifflin at the time this was published -- had a copy that he kept in a bank vault, and we only ever saw a photograph of it. That copy went to an institution when Chaney's Robert Stone collection was sold in its entirety. Slight edge wear to the wrappers, and a little bit of dampstaining to the edges of them; still very good in tall ringbound wrappers. An elusive proof of an important first book.
300. - . Same title, the first edition. This is a review copy, with the review slip laid in giving the publication date as August 21, 1967. This copy is inscribed by Jack Kerouac to his brother-in-law: "John [Sampas], hope you/ enjoy this/ Jack Kerouac." Underneath Kerouac's inscription, Stone has inscribed the book: "Hope he did/ Robert Stone." A near fine copy in dust jacket, with excellent provenance.
301. - . Same title, the first English edition. London: Bodley Head (1968). A very uncommon edition, with a single printing estimated to have been 1000 copies. This edition reprints a glowing blurb by Wallace Stegner, Stone's teacher at the Stanford Writing Workshop, with a hilarious misprint: instead of printing that "Stone writes like a bird, like an angel...like someone so high on pot that he is scraping his shoes on the stars," this edition has Stegner saying that Stone was "like someone so high on pot that he is scraping his shoes on the stairs" -- a very different image. Small owner name on flyleaf; light page edge foxing; near fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with two closed edge tears.
302. SUZUKI, Daisetz Teitaro. A Miscellany of the Shin Teaching of Buddhism. Kyoto: Shinshu Otania Shumusho, 1949. An early book by this Zen writer, who was the first to introduce Zen to the West. Alan Watts, the first Western popularizer of Zen and a counterculture hero in the 1960s, cited Suzuki's writings extensively in his own works. Inscribed by the author to Dorothy Norman "with the regards of the author." Offsetting to endpages and trace rubbing to crown; very near fine in a fragile, very good dust jacket with tiny chips at the spine ends and a split threatening at the front spine fold. A nice copy of an important book, seldom found signed.
303. SUZUKI, D.T. Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist. NY: Harper & Brothers (1957). An important book comparing Western and Eastern traditions of mysticism, by the Zen scholar whose works introduced Zen Buddhism and the principles of the Mahayana sect to the west. Inscribed by the author to Dorothy Norman in the year of publication, and signed in Japanese. Paperclip rust to front endpages where Suzuki quote has been clipped; else fine in a very good dust jacket with rubbing to the front flap fold and crown and a thin line of staining to the rear panel.