Catalog 141, A-E
2. ALLISON, Dorothy. Two or Three Things I Know For Sure. (NY): Dutton (1995). The photocopied typescript of this narrative work based on a performance piece that Allison wrote and performed after the success of Bastard Out of Carolina. Reproduces numerous changes and corrections, presumably authorial, including the excision of several long paragraphs, still visible. Edge tears to the cover sheet; otherwise fine. Together with the uncorrected proof copy, which is fine in wrappers.
3. ANDERSON, Maxwell. Winterset. Washington: Anderson House, 1935. Signed by the author and additionally inscribed in the year of publication to actor Harold Gould. Together with two autograph notes signed from Anderson to Gould: in one Anderson agrees to sign Winterset and extends appreciation for one of Gould's performances; in the second, which transmits the signed copy, he thanks Gould for his appreciation -- "which is the best one gets in this world." The book is a little sunned; near fine in a very near fine dust jacket. The notes are folded; else fine. Winterset was a great success for Anderson, winning the first ever New York Drama Critics Circle Award; he had won the Pulitzer Prize two years earlier for Both Your Houses. He later wrote Key Largo, basis for the famous Humphrey Bogart film, among many other plays over a career that spanned three decades. A very attractive copy and an excellent association copy.
4. (Anthology). Unmuzzled Ox, Vol. 1, No. 3. NY: Unmuzzled Ox, 1972. Contains an interview with W.H. Auden and poetry by Denise Levertov, Ed Sanders, Gerard Malanga, Gilbert Sorrentino and Ron Padgett, among others. Logo drawing by R. Crumb; all other drawings, including cover drawing, by Laurie Anderson. Slight spine sunning; fine in stapled wrappers. An early issue of this important little magazine, with an impressive list of contributors.
5. ASTURIAS, Miguel Angel. Mulata de Tal. Buenos Aires: Losada (1963). A "magical realist" novel by the Guatemalan Nobel Prize winner, who attempted to incorporate a mythic perspective -- and not coincidentally, a native American mythos -- into his writings. Inscribed by the author. Near fine in self-wrappers. A fragile book, issued in oversize wrappers and very scarce in good condition, let alone signed.
6. AUDEN, W.H. Auden Poems/Moore Lithographs. (n.p.): Petersburg Press (1974). Selections of poems by Auden; lithographs by Henry Moore. Folio. One of 150 numbered copies of the European edition, in red cloth, signed and numbered by Moore. With four loose images, each signed by Moore. The book is fine; the images are fine in folding red cloth chemise; both are enclosed in a fine, black cloth clamshell box. A beautiful volume, which the two began in 1972 and which, after Auden died in 1973, Moore dedicated to his memory.
7. BAKER, Nicholson. The Mezzanine. NY: Weidenfeld & Nicholson (1988). The uncorrected proof copy of his highly praised first book, which examines to great effect the minutiae of a few moments in the life of an ordinary office worker. Small sticker shadow and pencil erasure front cover; very good in lightly edge-sunned wrappers. A surprisingly uncommon proof, and a significant debut.
8. BAKER, Nicholson. Double Fold. NY: Random House (2001). A review copy of Baker's controversial book, subtitled "Libraries and the Assault on Paper," which caused considerable stir when portions of it were published in The New Yorker and even more when the entire book was published. The book is a polemic arguing against the destruction of paper by libraries, which favor microfiching and digitization, and the author uses a number of astonishing examples to make his case. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. Inscribed by the author: "To ___/ Careful reader -/ Kind regards,/ Nicholson Baker/ April 10, 2001." Fine in a fine dust jacket. A book that got a considerable amount of attention in the press but which is quite uncommon signed.
9. BALLARD, J.G. High-Rise. NY: HRW (1975). The first American edition of this "technological horror story" of the near future -- one of David Pringle's hundred best science fiction novels. Signed by the author. Slight splaying to front board; else fine in a near fine dust jacket.
10. BASBANES, Nicholas. A Gentle Madness. NY: Holt (1995). His highly praised volume on book collecting and book collectors, which became something of a bestseller, being reprinted numerous times, and was also a National Book Award nominee. A little-known fact about this book is that each of the eight hardcover printings the book went through is textually distinct; in particular, there is material in this first printing that was taken out of later printings. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with promotional material laid in.
11. BERRY, Wendell. The Unforeseen Wilderness. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1971. An extended essay on Red River Gorge in the author's native Kentucky, heavily illustrated with photographs by Gene Meatyard, whose work is represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution, among others. Signed by the author. Previous owner name on verso of half-title, otherwise near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
12. BIOY-CASARES, Adolfo. La Estatua Casera. Buenos Aires: Jacarenda, 1936. One of a first edition of 100 numbered copies of this early collection of brief prose pieces, with one illustration by Silvina Ocampo, Bioy Casares' future wife and sister to Victoria Ocampo, founding editor of the influential Argentine avant garde literary magazine, Sur. Near fine in blue self-wraps. A very nice copy of a fragile, early work by the author of such pivotal works as The Invention of Morel and A Plan for Escape. Bioy-Casares was a longtime friend and collaborator with Jorge Luis Borges, with whom he helped reshape the direction of Latin American literature and, ultimately, world literature, in the Thirties and Forties. A beautiful copy of a scarce and fragile book by an important Latin American author.
13. BOGOSIAN, Eric. "The Revolutionary Aesthetic of Beauty." 1984. Typescript, two pages, of an essay calling for, or calling out, the death of Modernism and advocating art that "adds value to our experience rather [than] comment on how bereft our existence is of value." Signed (in the form of a handwritten copyright notice and also in the form of an envelope presenting the essay to its publisher) and bearing the author's holograph corrections. Bogosian is well-known and highly respected as both a playwright and an actor. Folded in thirds for mailing; else fine.
14. (Book Collecting). AHEARN, Allen and Patricia. Book Collecting 2000. NY: Putnam (2000). By the authors of Collected Books: The Guide to Values. This volume updates their earlier Book Collecting; the bulk of the volume is an extensive price guide to authors' first books -- which expands and updates the list from their previous editions and tracks the price history of those titles that were included earlier. The first 115 pages contain, in our opinion, the most extensive and thoughtful commentary on modern book collecting that can be found in any single volume. The Ahearns have also included a section listing the winners of the major literary awards that are most avidly pursued by collectors -- the Pulitzers, National Book Awards, Edgars, Caldecotts, etc. There are sections on knowledgeable buying, pricing questions, auctions, catalogues, appraisals, collecting for investment, proofs and advance copies, caring for your books, and much more. An invaluable resource. Every collector should have one (virtually every dealer already does). Signed by the authors. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
15. (Book Collecting). AHEARN, Allen and Patricia. Collected Books: The Guide to Values, 2002 Edition. NY: Putnam (2001). The latest edition of the standard guide to book values by the authors of Book Collecting. This volume updates their 1991 and 1998 Collected Books, with values for more than 20,000 books and a section for identifying first editions. The Ahearns have put together the most useful single-volume reference books in the book trade. The listings in this guide include not only estimated prices but details regarding issue points where applicable. This is probably the only book that virtually every dealer in the U.S. owns a copy of and is indispensable, both for dealers who must assess a wide range of material and for collectors who focus in one or a few areas. Just the changes in values since the last edition was published in 1998 are an invaluable reference and can easily repay the cost of the book. An essential guide. Signed by the authors. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
16. BORGES, Jorge Luis and BIOY-CASARES, Adolfo. "BUSTOS DOMECQ, H." Seis Problemas Para Don Isidro Parodi. Buenos Aires: Sur (n.d.). First edition of this collection of six short mysteries, or spoofs of mysteries, one of the more unlikely selections by "Ellery Queen" for inclusion in the "Queen's Quorum" list of the best mysteries ever. This first edition was published some 40 years prior to its translation and publication in this country, and some have speculated that it was chosen for QQ largely for its being esoteric and difficult to acquire. Inscribed by "H. Bustos Domecq" in Bioy-Casares' hand -- the pseudonym being the one he and Borges, good friends, used on their collaborations. With two small holograph corrections to the text, presumably in Bioy-Casares' hand. Rebound in quarter cloth and marbled paper boards, with original wrappers bound in. The original wrappers are a bit spotted; the binding is fine.
17. BOWLES, Paul and WILLIAMS, Tennessee. Three. NY: Hargail Music Press (1947). Sheet music by Bowles for a poem by Tennessee Williams. Bowles and Williams collaborated a number of times during the period prior to Bowles's first novel, The Sheltering Sky (1949), when his primary creative work was as a composer. Miller E40, approximately 1000 copies printed. Broadsheet, folded to make four pages. 9 1/8" x 12 1/8". Minor chipping and dampstaining to edges; very good. Scarce.
18. BOWLES, Paul. The Sheltering Sky. London: John Lehmann (1949). The first edition of Bowles's landmark first novel, a tale of Westerners abroad in North Africa, one of the seminal novels of the Beat generation and an influential book in the decades since. Signed by the author. Only 4000 copies of the British edition were printed; the first printing has become quite scarce in recent years. Near fine, with sunning on the spine -- as is common with this title, even when it has been protected by the dust jacket -- minor foxing to page edges and a small bookstore label on the lower pastedown, in a near fine, lightly spine-sunned dust jacket with trace wear at the crown. Trade editions signed by Bowles are uncommon; signed copies of his first novel are particularly scarce. A very attractive copy of a book that is seldom found in this condition, let alone signed.
19. -. Another copy. Owner name to flyleaf and taped tear and stain on half title; page edges foxed; very good in a very good, lightly spine-tanned, price-clipped dust jacket with shallow chipping to the spine ends, rubbing to the spine folds and a little edge creasing.
20. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. The Octopus Frontier. San Francisco: Carp Press, 1960. Brautigan's uncommon fourth book, and his third collection of poems. Although there is no indication of the size of the edition either in the book itself, in Lepper, or in the bibliography published in 1990, all of Brautigan's books that precede Confederate General from Big Sur are exceptionally scarce and seem to have either been done in very small quantities or to have disappeared over the years as such slight, fragile volumes are wont to do. Cover photograph by Gui de Angulo, daughter of folklorist Jaime de Angulo. Fine in stapled wrappers.
21. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. Xerox Candy Bar. (n.p.): (n.p.)(c. 1967). Holograph broadside poem written in ink by Brautigan. 9" x 12". According to Keith Abbott, a woman commissioned Brautigan to do a broadside poem, which he planned to do by hand but he first needed to practice larger handwriting: his normal handwriting was quite small, barely legible at times. When Abbott found this sheet while helping Brautigan clear newspapers from his porch, Brautigan let him keep it. It is unknown whether Brautigan ever delivered a finished version to the woman; no other copies have surfaced nor has it been reproduced. Rough left edge where page was torn from sketch pad; else fine. Manuscript material by Brautigan is extremely scarce, especially unpublished.
22. (BRAUTIGAN, Richard). J Magazine 4. (n.p.): (n.p.) (n.d.)[c. 1959]. Small literary magazine from San Francisco, with contributions by Brautigan, Robert Duncan, Jack Spicer, and others. Seventeen stapled mimeographed yellow pages, with a water-colored cover. 8 1/2" x 11" pages, folded once; light crease near the double staple; else fine. J magazine ran for eight issues; Spicer edited issues 1-5; the art editor was Fran Herndon, who is likely responsible for the cover. An important and ephemeral production; rare.
23. (Broadsides). Portfolio I. (Washington, DC/Paris): Black Sun Press, 1945. The first issue of this folio "magazine," assemblages of broadside pieces, both literary and visual, edited by Caresse Crosby. Includes work by Henry Miller, Kay Boyle, Gwendolyn Brooks, Alex Comfort, Romare Bearden, Selden Rodman, and Harry Crosby, among others. The broadsides are fine, and laid into string-tied, spiral bound boards. Additionally laid into a folding paper portfolio envelope; the condition of the envelope is spotted and fragile. An interesting undertaking, which continued into 1948 and produced six issues total.
24. BRUEN, Ken. Priest. London: Bantam (2006). The latest book by this Irish hard-boiled writer who has only recently begun to be widely known in the U.S. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
25. BUKOWSKI, Charles. Burning in Water Drowning in Flame. Los Angeles: Black Sparrow, 1974. Collects the poems from three of his collections from the 1960s -- Crucifix in a Death Hand, It Catches My Heart in Its Hands, and At Terror Street and Agony Way -- in addition to a group of new, previously unpublished poems. One of 300 numbered copies signed by the author. Spots to top edge; near fine in publisher's cloudy acetate dustwrapper.
26. BUKOWSKI, Charles. Love is a Dog from Hell. Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow, 1977. A collection of new poems from 1974-1977. One of 300 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in publisher's cloudy acetate dustwrapper.
27. BURROUGHS, William S. Original Painting. "The Golden Triangle - The Gold Heart." 1988. Acrylic and spray paint on poster board. 20" x 32". Mounted and framed to 24" x 36". This painting formed part of the Seven Deadly Sins exhibition at The Writer's Place, Kansas City, Missouri, January 14 - February 11th, 1993. The image is of a gold triangle and heart spray painted against a background acrylic image of black, blue and gray. Signed by Burroughs. Fine.
28. (BURROUGHS, William S.). HERMAN, Jan; PLOOG, Jürgen; WEISSNER, Carl. Cut Up or Shut Up. (Paris): (Argentzia) (1972). Experimental fiction, in part using the cut-up technique that Burroughs and Brion Gysin explored and popularized in the 1960s. Introduction, "Tickertape," by Burroughs, running across the tops of the pages. One of 100 numbered copies signed by the authors Herman, Ploog and Weissner. This copy additionally inscribed by Jan Herman to poet Clark Coolidge. A nice association copy of a scarce avant garde collaboration. Fine in wrappers and dust jacket.
29. (BURROUGHS, William S.). William S. Burroughs Literary Archive. (Hadley): Ken Lopez Bookseller (2005). A catalog/brochure describing the Burroughs archive previously known as the "Vaduz archive" and printing in facsimile a number of items from the archive, including Brion Gysin calligraphy, photographs of Burroughs and others, visual poetry by Burroughs, and other items. An overview of the archive, with description of its contents and essays on its history and importance in the context of 20th century literature. The archive was recently purchased by the Berg Collection at the New York Public Library, which also purchased the Jack Kerouac archive a few years ago. Fine in wrappers.
30. CARSON, Rachel. Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1962. The most important book ever published on environmental issues: Silent Spring single-handedly caused the banning of the pesticide DDT by documenting its deleterious side effects on the natural food chain, and in so doing its author engendered a consciousness that, today, has become reflexive and pervasive. Carson was inspired to write the book by a letter from a friend imploring her to find someone in Washington who could have an influence on stopping the spraying of pesticides in her area, which were killing the local songbirds; because of Carson's renown for her earlier books on the sea, her friend imagined that Carson might well have sway that an ordinary citizen wouldn't. As Carson's research progressed, the story grew larger and more complex -- and potentially more threatening to the chemical industry. Controversy was inevitable: chemical industry spokesmen routinely denied her requests for information; biologists who offered information and help requested anonymity for fear of losing their jobs. When portions of the book were published in a three-part series in The New Yorker, the reaction of the industry was swift and furious, including a huge public relations campaign extolling the benefits of chemical use in society as well as threats to withdraw advertising from any magazines or newspapers that favorably reviewed the book. The controversy, however, only generated more interest, and more sales. Silent Spring was chosen as a Main Selection of the Book of the Month Club; President Kennedy ordered the Science Advisory Committee to study the effects of pesticides; and Congressman John V. Lindsay entered the first third of the New Yorker article into the Congressional Record. By the end of the year, over 40 bills had been introduced to regulate pesticide use in various states, mostly as a result of Silent Spring. Throughout the writing of the book, Carson waged a personal battle against cancer; she died in 1964. Trace corner wear to cloth; still a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with a little edge rubbing and a couple short edge tears.
31. CARSON, Rachel. Food from the Sea: Fish and Shellfish of New England. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, 1943. A 74-page booklet written by Carson in her position as aquatic biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The first of four such Conservation Bulletins Carson wrote, each focusing on a different geographic region. Front and rear covers within a breath of detaching at spine; about very good in stapled wrappers.
32. (CARSON, Rachel). "Unexplained Mysteries of the Ocean Deeps" in Fate, Vol. 11, No. 8. (Evanston): (Clark Publishing), 1958. Carson gets the cover story with an excerpt from her 1950 book The Sea Around Us, which won the National Book Award. Here, Carson's work shares space with tales of the supernatural. Small quarto; paper darkening with age; near fine in wrappers.
33. -. Another copy. Pages darkened with age; moderate wear to spine; very good in wrappers.
34. CARVER, Raymond. Winter Insomnia. (Santa Cruz): (Kayak Books) (1970). Carver's second book, a collection of poetry, published in an edition of 1000 copies attractively designed and printed by George Hitchcock, with prints by Robert McChesney. Signed by the author. Very shallow dampstaining lower edge; near fine in yellow wrappers (there was also a variant in white wrappers, of which four copies are known).
35. CARVER, Raymond. The Pheasant. Worcester: Metacom Press, 1982. A single story by Carver published as a limited edition. There were 150 numbered copies in wrappers; 26 lettered hardcover copies; and four copies in variant marbled paper bindings, marked on the colophon as "Trial" copies. This is one of the four trial copies in hardcover, signed by the author. One of the scarcest issues of any Carver edition. Fine.
36. CARVER, Raymond. Cathedral. NY: Knopf, 1983. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of stories that confirmed Carver's preeminent place among American short story writers of the day, and signaled a full-fledged resuscitation of the short story in American literature. Signed by the author. Spine sunned; two staple holes front cover; near fine in wrappers. An uncommon proof, especially signed.
37. CARVER, Raymond. Vitamins. (n.p.): Granta (n.d.)[c. 1984]. In 1984, Carver's story "Vitamins" appeared in Granta magazine. Granta produced offprints of the story for the author's own use. While the pages appear to be tearsheets from the magazine, the front cover bears no correlation to any page from the magazine, and thus would appear to set these offprints apart from actual tearsheets and identify them as an "A" item. There were reportedly 25 copies done. This copy is signed by Carver on the title page. Loose sheets, stapled in one corner. Fine.
38. CARVER, Raymond. Those Days. Elmwood: Raven Editions, 1987. A collection of early pieces by Carver written prior to the publication of his first book, Near Klamath. William Stull turned these up in the course of bibliographic research, and he edited them and provided notes and an Afterword. Carver himself wrote an introduction. Perhaps the most attractive of the many limited editions that Carver did: it was designed and printed by Carol Blinn of Warwick Press, whose work is prized by collectors of contemporary fine printing; the marbled paper used in the binding was done by Faith Harrison, whose work is also highly admired in fine press circles; and the quarter-leather binding was done by Gray Parrot Letterpress. There were three issues, two of which were offered for sale: 100 numbered copies in wrappers, 26 lettered copies in marbled paper boards; and 14 "presentation" copies, never offered for sale, bound in quarter-leather and marbled paper boards, of which this is one. This is the printer Carol Blinn's copy, so noted on the colophon, and is signed by Carver. One of the scarcest items in the Carver oeuvre. Fine in acetate dustwrapper.
39. (CASSADY, Neal). PLUMMER, William. The Holy Goof: A Biography of Neal Cassady. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall (1981). The uncorrected proof copy of the only full-length book so far about Cassady, who was the inspiration for Dean Moriarty, the main character in Jack Kerouac's On the Road and later the bus driver for Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters on their legendary cross-country trip that instigated the birth of the 1960s counterculture. Slight corner crease; very near fine in wrappers. An uncommon proof.
40. CHANDLER, Raymond. The Long Goodbye. London: Hamish Hamilton (1953). The true first edition, preceding the U.S. edition, of this Philip Marlowe novel that is credited with stretching the mystery genre to serve as a legitimate vehicle for social commentary in a way that none of Chandler's previous novels -- nor others' -- had done. These days, this is one of the primary purposes of mystery fiction -- as a vehicle for exploring one aspect or another of contemporary society, culture, even history. Made into a film in 1973 by Robert Altman with a screenplay by Leigh Brackett. Slight handling to boards; a very near fine copy in a dust jacket lightly restored to fine.
41. CHEEVER, John. The Way Some People Live. NY: Random House (1943). His scarce first book, printed during wartime in an edition of only 2750 copies. A collection of stories, almost none of which were ever reprinted in Cheever's lifetime (or since); Cheever pointedly did not include them in his later collections, and his family blocked publication of a posthumous collection that would have included them. A little sunning to the cloth at the crown; very near fine in a near fine, slightly spine-faded dust jacket with a few edge tears and one small gutter nick. Uncommon in dust jacket: the pulpy wartime paper tends to get brittle and chip into pieces, and most copies lose the jacket altogether eventually. A very attractive copy of an uncommon and important first book.
42. CHEEVER, John. The Stories of John Cheever. NY: Knopf, 1978. A massive volume, which includes all the stories from five of his six previous collections (The Way Some People Live -- his first book, which he declined to reprint during his lifetime -- being the exception) as well as four stories that had never previously appeared in book form. Its publication was the literary event of the season, and the collection won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Inscribed by the author in 1979. A bit of dampstaining visible to the extreme top edges of the last 20 pages and the top of the verso of the jacket: thus near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
43. COOVER, Robert. Spanking the Maid. NY: Grove Press (1982). The hardcover issue of the first trade edition of this short novel, signed by the author. The trade edition was published simultaneously in hardcover and paperback, with most copies being issued in the paperback format and the hardcover becoming, over the years, quite scarce. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
44. CREWS, Harry. A Feast of Snakes. NY: Atheneum, 1976. The uncorrected proof copy. Crews switched publishers for this book, and the trade edition is less common than some of his other titles from the same period. Publication date in ink on front cover; near fine in wrappers.
45. CRUMB, R. The Otis Brothers. (Cathedral Station): Flying Crow Records (1981). 33 RPM LP record with cover art by R. Crumb. The record album is fine in a very near fine cover with one small spot on verso, not affecting Crumb's artwork. Together with the 45 RPM recording of "Automobile Blues" and "Side Swipe" by The Cool Drivers. One of the scarcest of Crumb's pieces illustrating album covers: estimates of the first, and only, printing of the album put it at 1000 copies, and very few have shown up on the market. A rare piece by one of the most notable of the artists who came into prominence via the underground comix of the 1960s, and has since been acclaimed as an important American original and been made the basis of a well-received documentary film.
46. CUMMING, Charles. The Spanish Game. (London): Michael Joseph (2006). The third novel by this young author who has, according to a number of critics, revitalized the espionage novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
47. (CUNNINGHAM, Michael). WOOLF, Virginia. The Voyage Out. NY: Modern Library (2000). The first Modern Library edition of Woolf's first book. With a 35-page introduction by Michael Cunningham, who used Woolf's life and her novel Mrs. Dalloway as a departure point for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Hours. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Signed by Cunningham.
48. DELILLO, Don. White Noise. (NY): Viking (1985). Winner of the National Book Award, an award for which DeLillo has been nominated twice since. Fine in a fine dust jacket. A beautiful copy, and surprisingly uncommon thus.
49. DE VRIES, Peter. But Who Wakes the Bugler? Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1940. The first book by the longtime New Yorker humorist. Warmly inscribed by the author, "recalling a most delightful and all too brief vacation," and signed "Peter." Top stain faded; near fine in a very good, spine-faded dust jacket chipped at the extremities. The book and jacket are illustrated by Charles Addams, who later gained fame as creator of "The Addams Family"; this is a very early appearance of his artwork. An uncommon first book, especially scarce signed.
50. DRABBLE, Margaret. A Brief History of My Addiction. (London): Warren Editions, 1974. The first separate appearance of a piece that first appeared in the Sunday Times in 1973, in which Drabble shares her delight in raising children. One of 150 copies privately distributed for the publishers "to celebrate the birth of Daisy Victoria Gili." 4 1/2" x 5 1/4". Fine in self-wrappers. Scarce.
51. DRURY, Tom. The End of Vandalism. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. Drury's first book, which won him recognition as one of Granta's top 20 young American novelists. Inscribed by the author to Annie Dillard and signed, "Love, Tom." Dillard provides a jacket blurb on the rear panel: "Brilliant, wonderfully funny...It's hard to think of any novel -- let alone a first novel -- in which you can hear the people so well. This is indeed deadpan humor, and Tom Drury is its master." Near fine (read) in a near fine dust jacket, with a "Compliments of the Author" card laid in as a bookmark.
52. DUBUS, Andre. Separate Flights. Boston: Godine (1975). Bound galley sheets of his second book, and the first collection of the short fiction for which he won a considerable reputation. Winner of a Boston Globe award for fiction. 10" x 12"; printed on rectos only; ringbound in cardstock covers. Publication date (June, 1975) and price handwritten on cover; the date of the proof (2/27/75) is also handwritten on the cover. Formerly taped across lower page edges; near fine. Rare; we've never seen or heard of another copy.
53. DUBUS, Andre. Blessings. Elmwood: Raven Editions, 1987. The first separate edition of this story by Dubus, expanded from its magazine publication back to its intended length. An attractive limited edition, designed and printed by Carol Blinn of Warwick Press. Of a total edition of 70 copies, this is one of 10 presentation copies, this copy having belonged to Blinn herself. Signed by Dubus. Fine in acetate dustwrapper taped at the edges.
54. DUNCAN, Robert and COLLINS, Jess. Boob Number One and Boob Number Two. [San Francisco]: [Self-Published] [1952]. Broadside collages by Jess Collins, edited by Duncan. Number One is Jess's first separate publication, preceding his first book by eight years. Slight edge-sunning, else fine. Number Two consists of the Duncan poem "Whose this liddl boob coming?," reproducing Duncan's holograph with a photo. Fine. Each done in an edition of only 250 copies. An early, uncommon collaboration by two of the key figures of the San Francisco Beat renaissance in the 1950s.
55. DURRELL, Lawrence. The Alexandria Quartet. NY: Dutton (1962). The American limited edition of this collection of the four parts of the Alexandria Quartet into one volume. Much scarcer than the U.K. limited edition, of which there were 500 copies, this is one of 199 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in acetate dustwrapper and slipcase with one corner bump.
56. (EGGERS, Dave). Might 1. (San Francisco): (Gigantic Publishing) (1994). The first issue of Eggers' first publication, which lasted for sixteen issues and, as an irreverent and humorous literary magazine, set the stage for the eventual creation of McSweeney's. Quarto; stapled wrappers. Fine. Uncommon, especially in fine condition.
57. (EGGERS, Dave). CHEEVER, John. The Wapshot Scandal. (NY): Perennial (2003). First thus, a paperback reissue with a new introduction by Eggers. Fine in wrappers.
58. EGOLF, Tristan. Skirt and the Fiddle. NY: Grove (2002). The second book by the author of the highly praised Lord of the Barnyard, who committed suicide in May, 2005. This copy is signed by Egolf. His posthumous third book, Kornwolf, was released earlier this year. Fine in a fine dust jacket.