Catalog 139, John Updike
160. UPDIKE, John. Typed Note Signed. Dated "Jan 1" [1980]. One paragraph, agreeing to sign books for the recipient's wife. Written on the verso of the colophon for the limited edition of Problems. Signed in blue, with recipient's address hand-written in pink across the top; the colophon has some math written in pink. Folded in thirds for mailing; else fine.
161. UPDIKE, John. Typed Note Signed. Dated Jan 2 [1984?]. Addressed to "Gentlemen," Updike queries, "Did you guys run that little squib you elicited from me years ago, about Reviews that Hurt, or some such?" He has taped a newspaper clipping where his response is alluded to, although Updike never saw the article run. 5" x 8". Folded for mailing; fine.
162. UPDIKE, John. Typed Postcard Signed. March 14 [1984]. Addressed to a collector, and saying, in total: "That's some tricky little tricycle rider you sent me, and I do thank you. I hope you don't miss him too much around your house. He's been very active on the linoleum floor of ours." Fine.
163. UPDIKE, John. Typed Post Card Signed. March 12 [1985]. Addressed to a collector, and saying, in total, apparently in response to another unsolicited gift from the collector: "My goodness. Well, thank you. I think what you call a duck is actually a goose. I fear that at this rate you will be emptying your entire house into mine. Think of my soaring insurance rates." Fine.
164. UPDIKE, John. Typed Note Signed. April 5, (no year). A paragraph explaining that some signed books were returned to him and requesting a self-addressed stamped mailer to get them to their proper destination. He adds, "At any rate, my usual limit for signing is three." Signed (initialed) by the author. An uneven 5" x 5" page, with two pieces of edge tape, presumably from prior mounting; else fine.
165. UPDIKE, John. The Poorhouse Fair. NY: Knopf, 1959. Updike's second book, first novel, winner of the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, for a novel which, despite not being a commercial success, was nonetheless "a considerable literary achievement." Also nominated for the National Book Award. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with a vertical wrinkle on the front panel, a small internal stain on the verso of the front panel, a tiny pinhole at the upper spine, and tape shadows on the flaps. Overall, an attractive copy, most of the flaws probably attributable to a dust jacket protector having been affixed at one time in the past, and having shrunk slightly over time.
166. -. Another copy. Shallow fading to cloth at spine base; near fine in a very good dust jacket with several corner chips.
167. UPDIKE, John. Rabbit, Run. NY: Knopf, 1960. Updike's second novel, which introduced Rabbit Angstrom and began the sequence of novels that will likely stand as his major work, a four-volume series spanning 30+ years. The chronicle of Rabbit Angstrom is a chronicle of America in the postwar era, and Updike has become without question -- in large part on the basis of this series -- the most collected living American author. This copy is inscribed by Updike, who has also transcribed the last three sentences of the book. A fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with slight rubbing to the crown and a short closed edge tear on the rear panel. A beautiful copy of this book, with a lengthy inscription by the author, and very scarce thus.
168. -. Another copy. A review copy. Small owner label on flyleaf, and a quote from the book transcribed in pencil on the rear free endpaper; slight dampening to top stain and lower spine; still near fine in a very good dust jacket with wear to the folds and dampstaining that is mostly visible on the verso. A quite attractive copy of this book, with little of the jacket wear or fading that one commonly encounters, and quite uncommon as an advance copy.
169. UPDIKE, John. The Centaur. NY: Knopf, 1963. His sixth book and fifth work of fiction, a novel that was his first National Book Award winner. Sunning to board edges; near fine in a very good dust jacket with modest general wear.
170. -. Same title. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with light edge wear and a line of rubbing to the rear spine fold. Together with the LP recording of Updike reading an excerpt from The Centaur (NY: CMS Records, n.d.). Updike also reads five poems from Telephone Poles and Other Poems and the story "The Lifeguard" from Pigeon Feathers. Fine. For both:
171. UPDIKE, John. Telephone Poles and Other Poems. NY: Knopf, 1963. His second collection of poems. Date written on verso of front flyleaf; near fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with one chip and one splotch to front panel.
172. -. Same title. (London): Deutsch (1964). The first British edition. Offsetting to half title; else fine in a rubbed dust jacket, about near fine.
173. UPDIKE, John. The Same Door. NY: Knopf, 1963. The second printing of his third book and first collection of stories, first published in 1959. Signed by the author. A little mottling to upper spine cloth; near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
174. UPDIKE, John. A Child's Calendar. NY: Knopf (1965). A book of poems, one for each month. This is the third of Updike's books for children done in the Sixties, this being the trade binding (there was also a library binding done). Small, faint spot of dampstaining at the spine base; else fine in a very good dust jacket with modest, internally tape-strengthened edge wear and minor dampstaining visible on the verso. Signed by the author on the front free endpaper. One of Updike's scarcest titles from the Sixties. Illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert.
175. UPDIKE, John. Verse. (NY): Fawcett/Crest (1965). A paperback original, being a compilation of The Carpentered Hen and Telephone Poles with a one-poem foreword by Updike for this edition. Signed by the author. Trace edge rubbing; still fine in wrappers.
176. UPDIKE, John. The Music School. NY: Knopf, 1966. The second issue of this collection of short fiction, with page 46 being a cancel. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with tiny corner chips and several closed tears.
177. UPDIKE, John. Bath After Sailing. (Stevenson): (Country Squire) (1968). A single poem, and his first book to be issued as a limited edition. Updike had one limited edition done earlier, a broadside, but this was the first to be issued in book form; he has had dozens since. One of 125 numbered copies signed by the author. Trace edge sunning; else fine in saddle-stitched cardstock covers. One of the most difficult Updike titles to find.
178. UPDIKE, John. Couples. NY: Knopf, 1968. The first of his novels to be both a critical and a substantial commercial success. Glue bleeding through on front joint; else fine in a very good dust jacket with a chip at the lower back panel and creases to both flaps.
179. UPDIKE, John. On Meeting Authors. Newburyport: Wickford Press, 1968. An unsigned limited edition of an essay that first appeared in the New York Times. Of a total edition of 250 copies, this is Copy No. 1. Mild spine sunning; else fine in stapled wrappers. Laid in is a handwritten note from "Bill" to "Ron," "Thanks for your wisdom, encouragement and help at every stage of this enterprise. Sue and I send warmest Christmas wishes to you and Helen." Presumably a publisher's copy -- the first copies of a limited edition are frequently reserved for the publisher or some other significant contributor, and the letter seems to attest to the involvement of the previous owner in the production, although we have not ascertained the identities of "Bill" and "Ron" so far. One of Updike's earliest limited editions, done the same year as Bath After Sailing and The Angels. Although the limitation of this title is larger than either of those, we have seen it less often and it appears to be scarcer in the market. An attractive copy, and a special one, both by virtue of being #1 and also according to the letter laid in.
180. UPDIKE, John. Three Texts from Early Ipswich. Ipswich: 17th Century Day Committee, 1968. Written by Updike for performance on "Seventeenth Century Day," August 3, 1968. Of a total edition of 1300 copies, this is one of 50 numbered copies signed by the author. A very early limited edition for Updike, and a very small limitation. Fine in stapled wrappers.
181. UPDIKE, John. Bottom's Dream. NY: Knopf (1969). An illustrated fantasy set to music, adapted from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The third Updike adaptation to appear in this series, the first having been The Magic Flute in 1962 and the second, The Ring, in 1964. Oblong quarto with text by Updike and illustrations by Warren Chappell. This is the issue in the trade binding; remainder stripe; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
182. UPDIKE, John. Midpoint. NY: Knopf, 1969. A collection of poetry. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a few spots of rubbing.
183. UPDIKE, John. Rabbit Redux. NY: Knopf, 1971. The second book in the author's highly praised Rabbit Angstrom series. Nominated for the National Book Award. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Not an uncommon book, by any means, but absolutely fine copies are somewhat scarce.
184. -. Another copy. A couple page corners turned; else fine in a very mildly spine-faded dust jacket.
185. -. Same title. The limited edition, the first book in the Rabbit Angstrom series to be issued as a deluxe signed edition, and only the second Updike novel to receive such treatment. One of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in acetate dustwrapper and a very near fine slipcase with trace rubbing at the corners.
186. UPDIKE, John. Six Poems. (n.p.): Aloe, 1973. One of the earlier and scarcer of his limited editions, having had a small printing and been done at a time before he was as widely collected as he later became. Of a total edition of 126 copies, this is one of 26 lettered copies signed by the author. Faint, thin strip of fading along the top edge of the front cover, otherwise fine in saddle-stitched self wrappers.
187. UPDIKE, John. Buchanan Dying. NY: Knopf, 1974. His first play, about President James Buchanan. Signed by the author. Verso of dust jacket heavily dampstained from cloth; this is a near fine book in a very good dust jacket that outwardly presents as very near fine.
188. UPDIKE, John. Query. (n.p.): Albondocani (1974). A card with a poem by Updike, used as a holiday greeting. One of 400 copies, of which this is one of 240 without the publisher's name printed on the page with the greeting. Fine in stapled wrappers.
189. -. Same title. One of 75 copies of the suppressed first issue, with the front cover drawing printed upside down. Fine in stapled wrappers. Uncommon.
190. UPDIKE, John. Picked-Up Pieces. NY: Knopf, 1975. His second collection of nonfiction prose -- essays, articles, reviews. This is the limited edition, one of 250 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a mildly spine-tanned dust jacket, in a fine slipcase. A nice copy of a large, bulky book, which had the smallest limitation of any of the Updike titles issued by Knopf.
191. -. Another copy of the limited edition, signed by the author. Fine in a near fine, mildly spine-tanned dust jacket, in a near fine slipcase, which has a short crack at one edge.
192. UPDIKE, John. Marry Me. NY: Knopf, 1976. A collection of related stories. Signed by the author on the front flyleaf, above a patch of glue residue. Possible ex-lending library copy: additional glue residue on pastedowns where the flaps were once affixed. Very good in a near fine dust jacket.
193. -. Same title. The limited edition. One of 300 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a slightly spine-tanned dust jacket, in a fine slipcase.
194. UPDIKE, John. Tossing and Turning. NY: Knopf, 1977. Poetry. Signed by the author. A hint of sunning to the spine ends; still fine in a very near fine dust jacket that may have some slight, even sunning. Uncommon signed.
195. UPDIKE, John. The Coup. NY: Knopf, 1978. A novel about an African political coup, a sharp break from his usual focus on middle- and upper middle-class suburban Americans. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with two edge tears on the front panel and a tiny spot upper edge of rear panel.
196. -. Same title. [NY: Knopf, 1978]. The Quality Paperback Book Club edition. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers. Trade paperback format following the design of the dust jacket of the publisher's edition; no comparable edition was offered for sale by the publisher.
197. -. Same title. (London): Deutsch (1979). The first British edition. Small sticker shadow front pastedown; fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
198. UPDIKE, John. Three Illuminations in the Life of an American Author. NY: Targ Editions, 1979. A Bech story, produced as a limited edition in bibliophile William Targ's attractive series. One of 350 numbered copies, signed by the author. Fine in marbled boards, lacking the plain paper dust wrapper.
199. UPDIKE, John. Problems and Other Stories. (Queensland): U. of Queensland Press/Andre Deutsch (1980). The first Australian edition of this collection of stories, published a year after the American edition. Fine in a slightly spine-faded, near fine dust jacket. An uncommon edition.
200. UPDIKE, John. Rabbit is Rich. NY: Knopf, 1981. The limited edition of the third of his Rabbit Angstrom books, winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, a rare literary double. One of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket and slipcase.
201. -. Another copy. Fine in a fine dust jacket, in a slipcase with a thin strip of edge-sunning.
202. UPDIKE, John. Bech is Back. NY: Knopf, 1982. Editorial copy of the second of his humorous books featuring writer Henry Bech, an Updike alter-ego. This is a first printing, marked with two changes to be made for the third printing, indicated on the front free endpaper and also on the pages where the changes are to be made. Presumably it was too late to make changes in the second printing. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with "marked copy" label at spine base. An interesting, probably unique, copy.
203. -. Same title. The uncorrected proof copy. Inscribed by the author. Uneven sunning to front cover; near fine in wrappers. Proofs signed by Updike are fairly uncommon.
204. UPDIKE, John. The Witches of Eastwick. NY: Knopf, 1984. The uncorrected proof copy of Updike's suburban fantasy, made into a well-received and award-winning movie with Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer. Chosen by British critic David Pringle as one of the hundred best fantasy novels of the postwar era. This is the first issue proof, which contains passages that were not in the later proof or in the published book. Fine, in red wrappers.
205. UPDIKE, John. Roger's Version. Franklin Center: Franklin Library, 1986. A limited edition; leatherbound, all edges gilt, with a silk ribbon marker bound in. Signed by the author. With a special introduction by Updike for this edition in which he discusses the novel's original title (Majesty), research and academia, Hawthorne and heterosexuality. An interesting essay by Updike, over and above the novel itself. Fine.
206. -. Same title. The first trade edition. NY: Knopf, 1986. Inscribed by the author to the President of Dartmouth College, a longtime collector of modern literature. Updike was a Montgomery Fellow at Dartmouth twice, in 1980 and 1989. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
207. UPDIKE, John. Trust Me. NY: Knopf, 1987. A collection of stories. Inscribed by the author to the President of Dartmouth College. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
208. UPDIKE, John. S. NY: Knopf, 1988. An epistolary novel based on an ashram similar to that operated by the popular guru Rajneesh during the 70's and 80's. Inscribed by the author, again to the President of Dartmouth College. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
209. -. Same title. The limited edition. One of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
210. UPDIKE, John. Self-Consciousness. NY: Knopf, 1989. His first volume of memoirs. Slight foredge foxing and trace sunning to cloth; near fine in a fine dust jacket. Signed by the author.
211. UPDIKE, John. Mites. Northridge: Lord John Press, 1990. A miniature book of poems, measuring approximately 3" x 2 1/4". Of a total edition of 226 copies, this is one of 26 lettered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
212. UPDIKE, John. Rabbit at Rest. NY: Knopf, 1990. The concluding volume in the Rabbit series. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. This is the first trade edition; the true first was issued by the Franklin Library. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Not uncommon, but perfect copies are harder to come by than one might think.
213. -. Same title. The trade publisher's limited edition. One of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a near fine slipcase with wear to corners.
214. UPDIKE, John. Memories of the Ford Administration. NY: Knopf, 1992. The uncorrected proof copy. Near fine in wrappers.
215. UPDIKE, John. Brazil. NY: Knopf, 1994. The advance reading copy of this novel that was something of a departure for Updike, being far removed from the familiar suburban milieu of most of his fiction. Fine in pictorial wrappers.
216. -. Another copy of the advance reading copy. Spine-sunned; else fine in wrappers.
217. -. Same title. Franklin Center: Franklin Library, 1994. The limited edition. Leatherbound, all edges gilt, with a silk ribbon marker bound in. With a special introduction by Updike for this edition. Signed by the author. Fine.
218. UPDIKE, John. The Afterlife and Other Stories. NY: Knopf, 1994. The uncorrected proof copy. Fine in wrappers.
219. UPDIKE, John. Toward the End of Time. NY: Knopf, 1997. A novel that was initially published to mixed reviews: Margaret Atwood, in The New York Times Book Review, loved it; David Foster Wallace, a self-proclaimed Updike fan, wrote a scathing review of it in The New York Observer. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
220. -. Same title. The uncorrected proof copy. Very near fine in wrappers.
221. -. Same title. Franklin Center: Franklin Library, 1997. The limited edition of this novel. Signed by the author, with a special introduction by him for this edition. Leatherbound, page edges gilt, with a silk ribbon marker bound in. Fine.
222. UPDIKE, John. Bech at Bay. NY: Knopf, 1998. The uncorrected proof copy of his 49th book, subtitled "A Quasi-Novel," and a sequel to Bech: A Book and Bech is Back. Fine in wrappers.
223. UPDIKE, John. The Women Who Got Away. Concord: Ewert, 1998. The first separate publication of a story that originally appeared in The New Yorker. Of a total edition of 150 copies, this is one of 15 copies bound in quarter leather, signed by the author and with a signed original print by Barry Moser laid in. Fine. An extremely small limitation for an Updike book.
224. UPDIKE, John. Licks of Love. NY: Knopf, 2000. A collection of short stories and a novella, "Rabbit Remembered," which is a sequel to the Rabbit Angstrom sequence. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
225. -. Another copy. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket with anti-theft device on verso.
226. UPDIKE, John. Seek My Face. NY: Knopf, 2002. A novel loosely based on the life of Lee Krasner and her marriage to Jackson Pollock. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
227. UPDIKE, John. Villages. NY: Knopf, 2004. The uncorrected proof copy of his 21st novel. Bumped at heel; near fine in wrappers.
228. (UPDIKE, John). "The Old Tobacconist" in 75 Aromatic Years of Leavitt & Peirce in the Recollection of 31 Harvard Men. Cambridge: Leavitt & Peirce, 1958. A very early appearance in print by Updike, Roberts B2. Harvard alumni commemorate the 75th anniversary of a pool hall/tobacco store. This is the hardcover issue and is fine in a heavily chipped glassine dustwrapper, presumably original. Inscribed by Richard Ehrlich, Harvard graduate and the President of Leavitt & Peirce, in 1960: "For ___ ______, with the aromatic good wishes of Richard A. Ehrlich, June 1960." Ehrlich also provides a foreword. Time magazine review laid in. A very scarce book in the hardcover printing, and Roberts' checklist doesn't note there having been a dust jacket.
229. -. Same title, the issue in stapled wrappers. Upper outer corner bumped; else fine.
230. (UPDIKE, John). Five Boyhoods. Garden City: Doubleday, 1962. Five writers each write about coming of age in a decade of the first half of the twentieth century. Updike writes of the 1940s and the book includes a photograph of the author at the age of eight. Near fine in a very good dust jacket.
231. (UPDIKE, John). Penguin Modern Stories 2. (Middlesex): Penguin (1969). A paperback original collecting three stories by Updike, four by Emanuel Litvinoff, and one by Sylvia Plath. The Updike stories, "The Wait," "Bech in Romania," and "Man and Daughter in the Cold," were originally published in The New Yorker, and this represents the first book publication of any of them. Signed by Updike at his first contribution. Spine-creased; small upper edge stain; very good in wrappers.
232. (UPDIKE, John). "The Dilemma of Ipswich" in Ford Times, Vol. 65, No. 9. Dearborn: Ford Motor Company, 1972. A 5" x 7" promotional booklet featuring stories, recipes, and Ford advertising. Updike's essay was published the following year (with a least one textual change) as a limited edition entitled A Good Place. This issue of Ford Times also includes "Babe Ruth's Pocket" by Wright Morris. Fine in stapled wrappers.
233. (UPDIKE, John). Honorary Degree of Doctor of Literature. Easton, PA: Lafayette College, 1974. An honorary Doctorate of Literature, presented to John Updike, in whose portrayals "we have shared in the fearsome tentativeness of the growing and of the aging, we have felt the mute frustrations of the drably unfulfilled in work and sex, we have lived the numbed quiescence of that 20th century Everyman known as Rabbit...." In the embossed leather binder are the presenter's typed address and the diploma, together with the first issue of the diploma in which there is a printer's error ("this this thirty-first day of May, 1974"), and a typed postcard to Updike from the President's office stating that a corrected diploma (here present) will be sent out. All items fine. Unique.
234. (UPDIKE, John). Program for a Reading. (New York): Poetry Center, 1981. A program for Updike's reading at the Poetry Center of the 92nd St. Y on November 9, 1981. One sheet, folded to make four pages. Unlike many Poetry Center programs, this one does not include excerpts from the reader's works, only a brief biography, which mostly consists of a partial list of Updike titles. Fine.
235. (UPDIKE, John). Distinguished Pennsylvania Artist Award. Harrisburg, PA: Senate of Pennsylvania, 1983. 1983 Distinguished Pennsylvania Artist Award as presented to John Updike, native of Shillington, who has "earned a faithful following and critical acclaim for his disciplined and subtle writing, much of it authenticated by his Pennsylvania childhood and family experiences. His unique use of metaphors and humor lend a highly recognizable quality to his writing, and has earned him a reputation as one of the most significant novelists in our generation...." 8 1/2" x 14", with the Seal of the Senate of Pennsylvania. Fine, in near fine embossed leather binder. Unique.
236. (UPDIKE, John). The Best American Short Stories 1984. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984. The uncorrected proof copy. Edited and with an introduction by John Updike. With stories by Andre Dubus, Paul Bowles, Madison Smartt Bell, Mavis Gallant, Susan Minot, Joyce Carol Oates, Cynthia Ozick, Lowry Pei, Jonathan Penner, Norman Rush and James Salter, among others. Very near fine in wrappers.
237. (UPDIKE, John). The Art of Adding and the Art of Taking Away. Cambridge: Harvard College Library, 1987. The catalogue of an exhibition of Updike's manuscripts at the Houghton Library, with an introduction by Updike and a number of his manuscript drafts reproduced in facsimile. Inscribed by Updike to his British publisher: "For André [Deutsch]/ a souvenir of/ his most recent/ trip to Beverly Farms/ All best,/ John Updike/ 9/7/87." Updike then crossed out the "Updike" in the signature. Quarto; spine and edge-sunned; near fine in wrappers. With a letter of provenance, authenticating the origin of this copy as Deutsch himself. A very nice inscription and association.
238. (UPDIKE, John). TALLENT, Elizabeth. Married Men and Magic Tricks: John Updike's Erotic Heroes. (Berkeley): Creative Arts Book Co. (1982). A study of sexuality in the novels and stories of John Updike, which precedes Tallent's own novel and story collections. There was both a hardcover and a simultaneous softcover issue of this book; this is the uncommon hardcover issue. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
239. (UPDIKE, John). "Television Golf" in U.S. Open 1988. (Far Hills): (USGA), 1988. The magazine/program of the 1988 U.S. Open held at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Updike's piece was later collected in Golf Dreams. Corner creasing, with one short tear to upper spine fold; near fine.
240. (UPDIKE, John). MARSHALL, Robert. The Haunted Major. (Hopewell): Ecco Press (1999). The first American edition of Marshall's 1902 golfing classic, published here with a ten-page introduction by Updike. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by Updike.
241. (UPDIKE, John). TWAIN, Mark. The Diary of Adam and Eve. (London): (Hesperus) (2002). First thus, with an introduction by Updike. Fine in self-wraps.
242. (UPDIKE, John). O'HARA, John. Appointment in Samarra. NY: Vintage (2003). First thus, a paperback edition of O'Hara's first book, for which Updike contributes an introduction. The introduction is approximately two paragraphs shorter than that Updike provided (as a separate insert) to the BOMC edition in 1988, and at least one paragraph has been altered. Fine.