Catalog 138, P-S
127. PERCY, Walker. Symbol as Need. (NY): Fordham University (1954). An offprint of Percy's article from the Fordham University Quarterly, Thought, in which Percy uses Susanne Langer's book Feeling and Form to consider issues of language, representation, and the "human semiotic." This copy is signed by Percy. Ten pages; rust to staples; else fine. His first separate publication, preceding The Moviegoer by seven years.
128. PERCY, Walker. The Moviegoer. NY: Knopf, 1961. His first novel, winner of the National Book Award and the book that helped establish Percy as both an important Southern writer and as a chronicler of the spiritual malaise of modern America. Inscribed by the author: "Walker Percy/ all best to/ Elizabeth Hogan." Percy met Hogan when he spent three years in a sanatarium for tuberculosis in the 1940s. The two became good friends, and she appears in Patrick Samway's biography of Percy, both in the text and in a photograph. Well-read; one check mark in text; first signature starting; handling to boards and fading to spine cloth; about very good in a supplied dust jacket that is near fine but for tape shadows to the flaps and a piece of clear tape at the spine crown. The Linda Hobson bibliography gives the first printing as 1500 copies, although we have been told that it was more, perhaps as many as 3000; in either case, by today's standards -- or even by the standards of the time -- the first printing was tiny. A nice association copy of Percy's first novel.
129. PERCY, Walker. Lancelot. NY: FSG (1977). The uncorrected proof copy of his fourth novel, fifth book. Percy's first novel won the National Book Award, and his second and third were both finalists for the award. Inscribed by the author. Corner crease front cover, and printer's markings there ("SC"); near fine in wrappers.
130. 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.
131. PIERRE, DBC. Vernon God Little. (London): Faber and Faber (2003). His Guardian Prize- and Booker Prize-winning first novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
132. -. Same title. The advance reading copy. Extremely slight corner bump; still fine in wrappers.
133. -. Same title. (NY): Canongate (2003). The advance reading copy of the first American edition. Shallow dents to rear cover; near fine in wrappers.
134. PLYMELL, Charles. Apocalypse Rose. San Francisco: Dave Haselwood, 1966. The first book by this poet/collagist who is of partial Cherokee descent and was associated with the San Francisco Beat poetry scene and the hippie counterculture that emerged from it in the 1960s. Plymell was a close friend of Allen Ginsberg and lived with him and Neal Cassady in San Francisco. Ginsberg provides an introduction to this volume, which is dated October 28, 1966; his stridently antiwar poem, Wichita Vortex Sutra had been published two months earlier, in August, 1966. Plymell helped Ginsberg on some of the poems that appeared in Planet News, and Ginsberg, in his introduction to this volume, credits Plymell and his friends with "inventing the Wichita Vortex" in "a tradition stretching back...to Poe and earlier American vibration artists." This copy is signed by Plymell, by Ginsberg and by the publisher, Dave Haselwood. In addition, Plymell has added a half-dozen annotations to this volume with references to where things took place or who inspired a passage in a poem. A bit of soiling and light creasing to covers; very good in stapled wrappers.
135. POWELL, Dawn. "Paving the Way to Church" in Motordom, Vol. XIII, No. 12. (Albany): (Motordom Publishing), 1920. An article in the official publication of the New York State Automobile Association on the correlation between smooth roads and full pews. Five years before her first book. Vertically creased; small stain and tape repair at rear corners. Very good in stapled wrappers. A scarce, very early publication by one of the preeminent American women writers of the 1930s and beyond, who has been rediscovered in recent years by a new generation of readers, writers, and collectors.
136. (PROULX, Annie). "The Customs Lounge" in Worlds of If, Vol. 13, No. 4. (New York): (Galaxy Publishing), 1963. A two-page science fiction story by E.A. Proulx, whose first book (nonfiction) was published in 1980 and whose first collection of fiction was published in 1988, when she was 53 years old. Pages acidifying; spine end chipped; very good in wrappers. An extremely early piece of writing by this Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author, preceding her first book of fiction by 25 years.
137. -. Another copy. Pages acidifying; spine creased; sale price stamp and sticker to front cover; two small stickers to rear cover; still very good in wrappers.
138. PYNCHON, Thomas. V. Philadelphia: Lippincott (1963). His first book, winner of the Faulkner Foundation Award for best first novel of the year. With elaborate inventiveness, labyrinthine plots and a sometimes paranoid comic sense, Pynchon became the postmodern standard against whom all writers since have been measured. Each of his first three novels won one or more of the major literary awards given out in this country. Uneven top stain and fading to board edges; a near fine copy in a very good, modestly rubbed dust jacket with a small stain near the upper edge and short corner tears. A nice copy of an important first book, and notably lacking the spine fading that one usually finds with this title.
139. -. Same title. The advance reading copy. Some cover creasing; spine creased from binder's glue and somewhat sunned; a very good copy in wrappers.
140. -. Same title. 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 very near fine dust jacket with a faint spot on the rear spine fold and unnecessary internal tape-strengthening to the crown. An uncommon edition, especially in nice shape.
141. PYNCHON, Thomas. Pynchon's Short Stories. Tokyo: Nan'un-do's (1982). An English language textbook with Japanese annotations, edited by Masao Shimura. First and only edition thus, printing two Pynchon stories -- "Lowlands" and "The Secret Integration." Faint crease at front spine fold; else fine in wrappers. An uncommon volume; we've never seen one before. Mead D8.
142. PYNCHON, Thomas. Slow Learner. Boston: Little Brown (1984). An advance issue of this collection of five early stories, with a new introduction by the author. Each of these stories was being offered for sale in unauthorized, bootleg editions at the time; this volume was Pynchon's attempt to take the bottom out of the market for piracies of his own writings. In keeping with his secretive approach, he reportedly requested that no proofs be printed of this book prior to publication; instead, a very small number of folded and gathered signatures were prepared and laid into proof dust jackets and issued as advance copies; the usual number cited for such copies is "about 10." This is one of those sets of sheets, "f&g's," laid into a dust jacket. Other than some light creasing to the jacket from where it overlays the sheets, fine.
143. (PYNCHON, Thomas). "The Small Rain" in Cornell Writer, Vol. 6, No. 2. [Ithaca]: Cornell University, 1959. Pynchon's earliest published story (see note next entry), not including his high school writings. Pynchon also serves on the editorial board. Mead B7. Hint of a crease throughout; still very near fine in stapled wrappers. Scarce.
144. (PYNCHON, Thomas). "Mortality and Mercy in Vienna" in Epoch, Vol. IX, No. 4. (Ithaca): (Cornell), 1959. The first appearance of this story by Pynchon, later collected in Stories from Epoch and then pirated in a separate pamphlet. One of Pynchon's two earliest published stories (not including high school writings), both of which were published in the spring of his senior year at Cornell. Mead's bibliography lists this appearance in print as B8a, after that of "The Small Rain" In Cornell Writer 6, No. 2, published in March of 1959. The contributors page in this volume, however, states that "This issue of Epoch presents the first published stories of two new writers, TOM PYNCHON and RONALD SUKENICK." Signature of Edward Mendelson inside front cover; Mendelson taught at Yale and Columbia, edited the 1978 volume Pynchon, and provided a preface for Pynchon Malta and Wittgenstein. Spine- and edge-darkened; else fine in stapled wrappers. A scarce, early Pynchon appearance in print.
145. (PYNCHON, Thomas). "Entropy" in The Kenyon Review, Vol. 22, No. 2. (Gambier): (Kenyon College), 1960. The first appearance of this story that was later collected in The Best American Short Stories 1961 and in Nelson Algren's Own Book of Lonesome Monsters in 1962 and 1963, in Gallery of Modern Fiction in 1966, and several more times before being published separately in a pirated edition in 1983 (although the piracy is dated 1957); it was finally collected in Pynchon's Slow Learner in 1984. A little rubbing and creasing to the spine; a bit of darkening to the rear panel; still near fine in wrappers.
146. (PYNCHON, Thomas). "Low-Lands" in New World Writing 16. Philadelphia: Lippincott (1960). Precedes his first novel by three years. Other contributors include Tillie Olsen and John Knowles, among others. This is the scarce hardcover issue. "File Copy" stamps of literary agency Russell and Volkening on the front flyleaf; fine in a very good dust jacket with small chips at the corners and extremities.
147. (PYNCHON, Thomas). "Under the Rose" in The Noble Savage 3. Cleveland: World Publishing (1961). A story by Pynchon in a collection co-edited by Saul Bellow. Signature of Edward Mendelson on title page. Production crease to lower spine; else fine in wrappers.
148. (PYNCHON, Thomas). Proceedings, Second Series, No. 26. NY: (American Academy of Arts and Letters), 1976. Prints William Styron's speech awarding the William Dean Howells Medal to Thomas Pynchon (for Gravity's Rainbow), which in its text includes Pynchon's letter declining the award. Also includes William Gaddis' acceptance of the National Book Award for J.R. and a Norman Mailer speech on writing and writers. Fine in wrappers. Mead B23.
149. (PYNCHON, Thomas). Pynchon. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall (1978). Critical essays on Pynchon, edited by Edward Mendelson, and including an essay by him. Other contributors include Frank Kermode and Paul Fussell, among others. Spine creased and faded; very good in wrappers.
150. (PYNCHON, Thomas). FARI A, Richard. Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me. NY: Viking (1983). The reissue of Fariña's first and only novel, originally published in 1966. With a new introduction by Pynchon which details his and Fariña's relationship at Cornell and afterward. Issued simultaneously in paperback and hardcover, this is a hardcover copy. This edition was printed on cheap paper which is darkening slightly with age; otherwise fine in a very near fine, lightly spine-faded dust jacket with a nick at the crown.
151. (PYNCHON, Thomas). Pynchon Malta and Wittgenstein. Malta: Malta University (1995). Five essays by Petra Bianchi, Arnold Cassola and Peter Serracino Inglott, with a preface by Edward Mendelson. Fine in wrappers.
152. (PYNCHON, Thomas). LOPEZ, Ken. Catalogue. Hadley: Ken Lopez Bookseller (n.d.). Catalogue of the Clifford S. Mead collection of Pynchon items, offered for sale in its entirety approximately 15 years ago for a total price of $12,500. Approximately 400-500 items listed. Mead's collection became the basis for the Pynchon bibliography he assembled, which was published in 1989. Photocopied sheets, in acetate binder.
153. (RANKIN, Ian). "Billy Bone" in End of Story. (Glasgow): BBC Scotland (2004). A contest book, printing partial stories by eight authors, issued in an edition of 20,000 copies and hidden about the United Kingdom, where those who found them could finish one of the stories for a chance to become part of a televised writing contest. 17,000 entries were received, which were narrowed to a shortlist of a half dozen stories per author, with the author choosing the best ending to his or her story. The eight authors included are Rankin, Joanne Harris, Alexei Sayle, Sue Townsend, Fay Weldon, Shaun Hutson, Marian Keyes and Ed McBain. Tiny spot to foredge; else fine in wrappers. Uncommon; never formally circulated in the book trade.
154. REMARQUE, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. Boston: Little, Brown (1929). The first American edition of one of the classic war -- and, ultimately, anti-war -- novels of the 20th century, which was made into an Academy Award-winning movie, winning Best Picture and Best Director Oscars in 1930. Playwright Maxwell Anderson received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay. Remarque's account of the experiences of a group of young German soldiers in World War I, written a decade after the war ended, captured the horrors of war and the disillusionment and destruction of an entire generation of young men, a theme that applied not just to his native Germany, where the book was a bestseller when it was published early in 1929, but elsewhere in Europe and America, where it has become a timeless classic. Owner name front flyleaf; a near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with several closed edge tears. A very nice copy of an important book, seldom found in this condition because of the fragile nature of the jacket.
155. RICE, Anne. Interview with the Vampire. NY: Knopf, 1976. Her acclaimed first book, the first in the Vampire Lestat series, and one of the unlikeliest success stories of the publishing season. Modest hardcover sales of the book would not have led one to imagine the long-term popularity and success of Rice's later books in the Vampire Lestat series, nor did they predict the huge success this novel had in paperback, selling millions of copies. Even so, Rice's novels did not begin to approach such sales again until her next vampire novel, published after two mainstream historical novels. Rice's vampire novels are unprecedented bestsellers as well as being critically acclaimed, and even her erotic novels of sado-masochism have achieved a kind of mainstream success that defies prediction. This is the scarcest of the books, particularly in nice condition, as the gold foil dust jacket is notoriously prone to wear. Slight sag to text block; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with the red-letter outline faded on the spine.
156. RICE, Anne. Publisher's Dummy for Pandora. [NY]: [Knopf][1998]. Publisher's mock-up for this collection of vampire tales, consisting of a proof dust jacket taped to a Spanish edition of Pope John Paul's Crossing the Threshold of Hope. Note laid in stating that despite a higher page count, Rice's book "will bulk up the same." Produced in small numbers as an aid for the sales force, it is likely that very few copies will have survived. Fine, with trace edge wear, some of which appears to be photocopied.
157. (ROBINSON, Marilynne). "My Western Roots" in Old West-New West. Moscow: University of Idaho Press, 1993. A collection of essays that grew out of the Western Literature Association's annual conference in 1989. In addition to Robinson's own piece, there is also an essay by Sheila Ruzucki O'Brien on what was lost in the filming of Robinson's novel Housekeeping. This is a fine, clothbound copy without dust jacket, as issued. There was a simultaneous wrappered issue; the hardcover is uncommon.
158. ROTH, Philip. The Dying Animal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. A novel featuring professor David Kepesh, who first appeared in Roth's novella The Breast in 1973, and again in his novel The Professor of Desire. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Roth's stature as a novelist has continued to grow over the last fifteen years; he has won every major literary award in the U.S. and is frequently talked about as a potential Nobel candidate.
159. ROY, Arundhati. The God of Small Things. (London): Flamingo (1997). The first novel by this young Indian author, winner of the Booker Prize, and a book that very quickly had numerous additional printings. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
160. RUSH, Norman. Mating. [NY]: Knopf, 1991. Advance copy of his first novel, second book, consisting of the first 99 pages of photocopied typescript, tapebound together with a note to the sales reps which serves as the cover and the publisher's fact sheet with selling points ("brilliantly funny" has been downgraded to "witty). The typescript reproduces a number of holograph changes, making this an early version of the text. This title went on to win the National Book Award. 8 1/2" x 11"' fine. An unusual early view of a National Book Award winner.
161. RUSHDIE, Salman. Midnight's Children. London: Jonathan Cape (1981). The first British edition of Rushdie's second book, winner of Britain's Booker Prize and the first book in his ambitious sequence of novels of the Muslim world, which culminated in The Satanic Verses and the death sentence that was imposed on him by Muslim fundamentalists. The American edition is the true first, preceding the British (they were both printed in the U.S.). This British edition is the more desirable edition for "following the flag" and it is also considerably scarcer than the U.S. edition, with 2500 copies printed (the British book market being approximately one-fifth the size of the U.S. market). An important book that launched Rushdie's literary career as it represented a quantum leap from the subject matter and accomplishment of his first novel. This title was later named as the outstanding title among all the Booker Prize winners -- the so-called "Booker of Bookers." Signed by the author. A hint of foxing to the bottom page edges; still fine in a fine dust jacket, without any of the fading that so commonly afflicts this title.
162. RUSSO, Richard. Magic Hour. Hollywood: Scott Rudin Productions (1996). A revised first draft of the 1998 film that was released under the title Twilight. Written by Russo and director Robert Benton and starring Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing, John Spencer and James Garner, among others. Bradbound photocopy; the title page reproduces a holograph note ("Revised 8/1/96 the Newest"), which obscures the author names except for the "usso" of Russo. Slight wear to outer pages; else fine. An uncommon work by the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Empire Falls.
163. SHAARA, Michael. The Killer Angels. NY: David McKay (1974). His second novel, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and, according to many, the best novel about the Civil War battle of Gettysburg, and, with Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage, one of the best Civil War novels ever written. Slight spine slant; trace wear at spine ends: very near fine in a very near fine dust jacket. A beautiful copy of a book that, because of its cheap perfectbound construction, is seldom found in fine condition. In custom quarter-leather clamshell box, albeit with "Shaara" mis-spelled.
164. SMILEY, Jane. A Thousand Acres. NY: Knopf, 1991. Her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
165. SOUTHERN, Terry. The Magic Christian. NY: Random House (1960). Southern's second novel to be published in this country, and the basis for the 1969 movie starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. Inscribed by the author in February, 1960, the month of publication. Southern was one of the key figures in American popular culture in the 1960s, creating or contributing to such iconic works as Dr. Strangelove, Easy Rider, Barbarella and, of course, his novel with Mason Hoffenberg, Candy. Light ding to rear board; near fine in a very good dust jacket with rubbing to the rear panel and fading and chipping to the spine and one short, closed edge tear on the front panel. Books signed by Southern are uncommon, especially contemporary presentation copies.
166. SOUTHERN, Terry and HOFFENBERG, Mason. "JOHNS, Dr. L." Probably Did It Herself. (n.p.): Athenas Press (n.d.)[c. early '60s]. A piracy of the pseudonymously published and banned Candy. Here the original title as well as the original pseudonym ("Maxwell Kenton") have been changed. Candy, first published by the Olympia Press in 1958, has been called "the first comic pornographic novel" and, at one time, "the most talked about novel in America." Legal issues, including the attempt to ban the book as obscenity, made it perhaps the most frequently bootlegged title in 20th century American literature, with numerous unauthorized editions coming out during the period that the book was in legal limbo. It was legally published in the U.S. in 1964, eventually selling millions of copies in America alone, in various editions. A small paperback with faint sunning; near fine.
167. SPIEGELMAN, Art. The Compleat Mr. Infinity. (San Francisco): (San Francisco Comic Book Company) (1970). Apparently, Spiegelman's first solely authored "book," a ten-page comic strip cut at comic strip size and stapled at one end. Mostly sex and violence; one mouse. Reportedly, there were about 500 copies printed. A very early work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Maus, revealing his counterculture beginnings. Fine.
168. SPIEGELMAN, Art. Every Day Has Its Dog. (NY): (Raw Books) (1979). Published by Raw Books, founded in 1977 by Spiegelman and his wife, Francoise Mouly. One of Raw's "MailBooks," this one solely drawn and authored by Spiegelman and featuring, predominantly, dog puns. A small 8-page book with the back cover formatted as a postcard for mailing. Slight edge-sunning; near fine; never sealed, addressed or mailed.
169. STEINBECK, John. Of Mice and Men. NY: Covici Friede (1937). Steinbeck's classic short novel of a couple of hobos drifting during the Depression, which has twice been translated to the screen. This is the first issue, with "pendula" on page 9 and a bullet between the "8's" on page 88. Slight edge foxing and a tiny corner bump; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a lower edge crease and two short edge tears, but without any of the spine fading that usually afflicts this title. A beautiful copy of one of Steinbeck's key books. In custom full morocco clamshell case.
170. (STONE, Robert). BOWLES, Paul. The Stories of Paul Bowles. (NY): Ecco Press (2001). A posthumous collection of short stories, the form for which Bowles was most famous, with an introduction by novelist Robert Stone. A massive collection, over 600 pages, spanning five decades. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by Stone.
171. (STOPPARD, Tom). CHEKHOV, Anton. The Seagull. London: Faber and Faber (1997). First thus, translated and with an introduction by Stoppard. Ex-library copy, with a small stamp on the title page, a smaller spine label, a piece of clear tape on the inside front cover and a bar code and thin label removal abrasion to the flyleaf. Apart from the intentionally inflicted flaws, the book would be fine in wrappers. Uncommon.
172. STYRON, William. Lie Down in Darkness. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill (1951). The author's first book, a well-received autobiographical novel, which was nominated for the National Book Award. Bookplate front pastedown; cloth sunned and a bit bumped; a very good copy in a very good, edgeworn and price-clipped dust jacket. An important debut.
173. SWIFT, Graham. Last Orders. (London): Picador (1996). A novel by the author of Waterland, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the Guardian Fiction Prize. This title won the Booker Prize. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.