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Catalog 141, N-R

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183. NABOKOV, Vladimir. Camera Obscura. London: John Long [1936]. The author's own copy of his first book to be published in English. Translated by Winifred Roy and bearing the name "Vladimir Nabokoff-Sirin." The bibliographer located only seven copies of this title, five of them in institutional libraries. Camera Obscura was published by John Long, the same publisher of Nabokov's novel Despair, virtually all copies of which were destroyed in a warehouse during the war, according to Nabokov. Presumably the unsold copies of this title -- and most of the copies printed are likely to have remained unsold -- would have been in the same warehouse, which would account for its great scarcity. Nabokov was displeased with this translation of his work and did not allow it to be reprinted. His own translation appeared two years later in the U.S. under the title Laughter in the Dark. Label front pastedown: "From the library of Vladimir Nabokov, Palace Hotel, Montreaux, Switzerland." Fine, lacking the rare, virtually unknown, dust jacket.

184. NABOKOV, Vladimir. Nikolai Gogol. Norfolk: New Directions (1944). The first edition, in the "Makers of Modern Literature" series by New Directions. A fine copy of the first issue, with five titles listed on the verso of the half-title, in a near fine first issue, brown paper dust jacket with slight wear at the spine extremities. A very nice copy of this wartime book.

185. NABOKOV, Vladimir. Nine Stories. (Norfolk): New Directions (1947). A collection of stories only issued in wrappers, as the second issue of Direction magazine, a literary magazine each issue of which was devoted to the work of one author. Near fine in spine-tanned oversize wrappers.

186. NABOKOV, Vladimir. Speak, Memory. London: Gollancz, 1951. The first U.K. edition, and the first edition with this title, having been published in the U.S. as Conclusive Evidence earlier in the year. This is the first issue book, in blue-green cloth, in the first issue dust jacket, without the Daily Mail Book of the Month logo on the spine and front flap. The first issue is quite scarce. Mild foxing to page edges; near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with a short tear at the lower rear spine fold.

187. NABOKOV, Vladimir. Pnin. Garden City: Doubleday, 1957. A short comic novel. Fine in a near fine, lightly spine-faded dust jacket. The dust jacket is Juliar's variant b, with the code underneath the price on the front flap rather than above it, although it's not clear if he implies priority.

188. NABOKOV, Vladimir. A Hero of Our Time. Garden City: Doubleday Anchor, 1958. A paperback original of this translation by Nabokov of the 1840 novel by Mihail Lermontov. Fine in wrappers, with a cover illustration by Edward Gorey. This is Nabokov's own copy, with the label from his estate inside the front cover A very nice copy -- Nabokov presumably didn't have to read copies of his own books, so copies from his library are generally in very fine condition.

189. NABOKOV, Vladimir. Nabokov's Dozen. Garden City: Doubleday, 1958. A collection of thirteen stories, of which three are translations from Russian, one from French, and nine were written in English. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with foxing at the flap folds.

190. NABOKOV, Vladimir. Invitation to a Beheading. NY: Putnam (1959). A novel, translated by Dmitri Nabokov from the Russian, which was originally published in 1938. This is the first English-language edition. Fine in a fine dust jacket. A beautiful copy of a book that seldom turns up this way.

191. NABOKOV, Vladimir. Poems. Garden City: Doubleday (1959). All of Nabokov's poems in English from 1942-1957. This is the variant with "A25" in the lower right corner of page 44, the presumptive first issue (the other variant has "A26"). Light mottling to boards and faint offsetting to front flyleaf; still near fine in a fine dust jacket.

192. NABOKOV, Vladimir. The Song of Igor's Campaign. NY: Vintage Books (1960). A 12th century Russian epic translated by Nabokov, only issued in wrappers in the U.S. This is Nabokov's own copy, with the estate ownership label inside the front cover. The words "not corrected" handwritten on half title, in an unknown hand but dating from the period of Nabokov's ownership. Fine in wrappers.

193. NABOKOV, Vladimir. Notes on Prosody. (NY): Bollingen (1963). An offprint from a then-upcoming four-volume work in the Bollingen series on Pushkin's Eugene Onegin. This piece comes from Nabokov's second Appendix to his commentary on the novel. One of 200 copies printed, of which 30 went to the author and the others were retained by the Bollingen Foundation. This is one of the 30 copies that went to Nabokov, with his ownership label inside the front cover. Fine in wrappers.

194. NABOKOV, Vladimir. The Gift. NY: Putnam (1963). The first American edition and first edition in English; a translation of a novel that appeared in Russian in 1952, with a new foreword by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. A beautiful copy of a book that is seldom found in such condition.

195. NABOKOV, Vladimir. The Defense. NY: Putnam (1964). The author's own copy of this novel, originally written in Russian in 1929 and published in Germany in 1930. This is the first American edition and first English-language translation. Nabokov's estate's ownership label on the front pastedown. Small spot to front cloth; still fine in a fine dust jacket.

196. NABOKOV, Vladimir. The Eye. NY: Phaedra, 1965. Nabokov's own copy of the first English-language edition of this short novel originally published in Russian (in Paris) in 1930. This is the issue without the publisher's address line, Juliar's variant b. Nabokov's estate's ownership label on the front pastedown. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

197. NABOKOV, Vladimir. Despair. NY: Putnam (1966). The first American edition, and the second English translation of this novel that first appeared in Russian. Nabokov did both the translations, first for a British edition that was published in 1937 and then, nearly 30 years later, for this edition. He also revised the text somewhat and, according to an author's note, reinstated "an important passage which had been stupidly omitted in more timid times." This is Nabokov's own copy, with his estate's ownership label on the front pastedown. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

198. NABOKOV, Vladimir. The Waltz Invention. (NY): Phaedra, 1966. A play by Nabokov, originally published in Russian in 1938. This is Juliar's variant a, the presumed first issue. Nabokov's own copy, with his estate's ownership label on the front pastedown. Page signatures darkening; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket with trace wear at the spine extremities.

199. NABOKOV, Vladimir. Poems and Problems. NY: McGraw-Hill (1971). Thirty-nine poems in Russian, with their translations; fourteen poems written in English; and eighteen chess problems, with their solutions. Fine in a fine dust jacket, which retains its bright red coloring, with no fading or visible wear.

200. NABOKOV, Vladimir. Details of a Sunset and Other Stories. NY: McGraw Hill (1976). The first edition of this collection of stories that were written between 1924 and 1935 and translated by Dmitri Nabokov in collaboration with his father. Again, this is Nabokov's own copy, with his estate's label on the front pastedown. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

201. (NABOKOV, Vladimir). Three Russian Poets. Norfolk: New Directions (1944). The hardcover issue of this translation by Nabokov of works by Pushkin, Lermontov and Tyutchev. A selection in the New Directions "Poets of the Year" series. Nabokov's own copy, with his estate's ownership label on the front pastedown. Lower spine tap; still fine in a fine dust jacket. A beautiful copy of a fragile book.

202. NAIPAUL, V.S. A Flag on the Island. (London): Deutsch (1967). A collection of eleven stories set in England, India and the West Indies by the Nobel Prize winner. This is a copy of the British trade edition, used as a review copy of the American edition in lieu of an American proof: a slip from the American publisher identifying this volume as "Uncorrected proofs" is taped to the front flyleaf. Trace top edge foxing; still fine in a near fine dust jacket.

203. NAIPAUL, V.S. The Mimic Men. NY: Macmillan (1967). The first American edition of this novel, which won the W.H. Smith literary award for an outstanding contribution to English literature. Inscribed by the author to the former President of Dartmouth College. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Books signed by Naipaul are relatively uncommon

204. NAIPAUL, V.S. Three Novels. NY: Knopf, 1982. First thus. Collects three early novels -- The Mystic Masseur, The Suffrage of Elvira and Miguel Street, all of them originally published in the late 1950s. This is the first U.S. publication of The Suffrage of Elvira. Inscribed by the author to the former President of Dartmouth College. Fine in a mildly spine-toned dust jacket.

205. NAIPAUL, V.S. Finding the Center. NY: Knopf, 1984. The first American edition. Two narratives: "Prologue to an Autobiography" and "The Crocodiles of Yamoussoukro," a nonfiction account of political change in the Ivory Coast. Inscribed by the author, again to James Freedman, the former President of Dartmouth College. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with light creasing at the spine ends.

206. NICHOLS, John. Dancing on the Stones. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press (2000). The hardcover issue of this collection of essays by the author of The Milagro Beanfield War and other novels. There were only 500 copies issued in hardcover. Warmly and lengthily inscribed by the author in the year of publication to a former neighbor and signed "with love always/ John/ (Nichols)" with self-caricature. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

207. OATES, Joyce Carol. Rumpled Bed. Derry: Rook Society, 1976. A broadside poem, intended to be published in a stated edition of 100 numbered and signed copies, but never issued. Most copies were destroyed, reportedly at the author's request, and it's estimated that approximately 10 copies survive. This copy is both unnumbered and unsigned, as have been all copies that have surfaced. 8 1/2" x 11". Fine. Rare: the last copy we saw was over ten years ago.

208. O'BRIAN, Patrick. The Mauritius Command. London: Collins, 1977. The uncorrected proof copy of this early volume in the series of highly acclaimed maritime novels featuring Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend Dr. Maturin. Routing initials on flyleaf; corner bump and spine slant; read; a near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with wear at the spine crown. The first volume in the bestselling series, Master and Commander, has been made into a movie. Very uncommon.

209. OLSON, Charles. The Maximus Poems. NY: Jargon/Corinth Books, 1960. The limited edition of the first combined edition of these poems, originally published in 1953 and 1956 in a pair of oversize limited editions. One of the most important achievements of American poetry in the postwar era, on a par with Pound's Cantos and Williams' Paterson. Olson was influential on an entire generation of poets by virtue of his presence at Black Mountain College in the Fifties, and The Maximus Poems stand as his major poetic work. One of 75 numbered copies; the total hardcover printing consisted of 101 copies. This copy is inscribed by the author in 1965. Fine, without dust jacket, as issued. Very uncommon in hardcover, and especially so signed or inscribed.

210. (OLSON, Charles). Psychedelic Review, Vol. 1, No. 3. (Cambridge): (Psychedelic Review) (1964). The Aldous Huxley memorial issue. Olson's contribution is from The Maximus Poems. Inscribed by Olson on the front cover in the year of publication. Other contributors include R. Gordon Wasson, Timothy Leary, Albert Hofmann and Alan Watts. A couple pencilled underlinings in text; spine-sunned; near fine in wrappers.

211. ONDAATJE, Michael. The English Patient. NY: Knopf, 1992. An advance copy of the first American edition, in the form of a bound photocopied typescript. With publisher's rep's notes copied on front cover urging the recipient to read it and reporting that it is "the book this fall that Sonny [Mehta, editor-in-chief of Knopf] is most passionate about." An early and uncommon format, issued prior to the bound proofs and probably in smaller numbers as well. Co-winner of the Booker Prize. Small stains to covers; near fine.

212. ONDAATJE, Michael. "We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes..." (n.p.): (Okeanos) (1993). Broadside excerpt from The English Patient. 9" x 6". Although not called for, this copy has been signed by Ondaatje on verso. Fine.

213. ORWELL, George. The Road to Wigan Pier. London: Gollancz, 1937. The Left Book Club Edition, i.e., the true first edition (although more common than the later first trade edition) of this passionate book documenting unemployment and working class life in Depression England. Owner name front flyleaf; spine sunned; covers splayed; read. A very good copy in wrappers of this early book by the author of Animal Farm and 1984.

214. -. Same title. NY: Harcourt Brace (1958). The first American edition. Corners tapped, else fine in a near fine dust jacket with one edge tear and internal tape-strengthening at the crown.

215. PALEY, Grace. The Little Disturbances of Man. Garden City: Doubleday, 1959. The first book, a collection of stories, by a writer who has helped define the role of women and politics in contemporary literature: engaged without being didactic, Paley focuses on both the ordinariness and the wonder of everyday life. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine, spine- and edge-darkened dust jacket.

216. PARKS, Gordon. A Poet and His Camera. NY: Viking (1968). A book of photographs and poems by this groundbreaking and multi-talented African-American artist. Parks was the first African-American photographer to work for Life and Look magazines, as well as the first African-American to work for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration. In addition, as a filmmaker, he wrote, produced and directed The Learning Tree, which in 1989 was one of only 25 films placed in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Warmly inscribed by Parks "with love, love, love." Fine in a near fine dust jacket.

217. PATON, Alan. Cry, the Beloved Country. NY: Scribner (1948). An advance copy of the first American edition of Paton's first novel, a modern classic of racial prejudice under South Africa's apartheid system -- a bellwether book for race relations in this country as well as a searing exposé of conditions in Paton's own country. Bound signatures (penultimate signature laid in unbound); near fine, laid into a good dust jacket, chipped at the head and torn along the front spine fold. A very scarce prepublication state of this landmark of 20th century literature.

218. PAZ, Octavio. Viento Entero. Delhi: (Caxton Press), 1965. A limited edition of this single poem by the Mexican Nobel Prize winner, published in India when the author was the Mexican Ambassador to that country. He resigned from diplomatic service in 1968 in protest of the government's bloody suppression of student demonstrations during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. One of 197 copies signed by the author. This copy is additionally inscribed by Paz to Selden Rodman "con un abrazo cordial" in the month after publication. A mildly sunned, near fine copy in wrappers, in a discolored glassine dustwrapper. A nice association between two major cultural figures of the Americas.

219. PEACOCK, Doug. Walking it Off. (Salt Lake City): Dream Garden Press (2005). The limited, "Hayduke," edition of this memoir by the author of Grizzly Years, who was the basis for the Hayduke character in Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang. Much of this book is concerned with the author's recollections of Abbey, particularly around the time of his death. Of a total edition of 500 copies, this is one of 25 numbered advance copies signed by the author. Fine without dust jacket, as issued.

220. PELECANOS, George P. Hell to Pay. Boston: Little Brown (2002). The second of his novels to feature Derek Strange and Terry Quinn. This is the deluxe limited edition. One of 78 lettered copies quarterbound in leather and signed by the author. Pelecanos is one of the most highly praised of the contemporary hard-boiled novelists, and has also earned acclaim as a script writer for the television show The Wire, a gritty urban drama that has been praised for its realism and intensity. Fine in a fine dust jacket and slipcase.

221. PEREZ-REVERTE, Arturo. The Dumas Club. London: Harvill (2000). Marc Atkins' copy of the second printing of the second British paperback edition, with his studio stamps inside the front cover. Atkins took the photographs used for this edition's cover design and half-title: the book was first published in England in 1996, but this was the first printing to be issued with this cover and interior photograph. Together with a proof sheet of the final design; two prints by Atkins on the same theme (row of books) used in the final design; and one print, signed by Atkins on verso, of the ghost of a nun, not used. All elements fine. Unique.

222. PINTER, Harold. The Trial. London: Faber and Faber (1993). The Nobel Prize winner's screenplay of Kafka's classic. Fine in wrappers. Uncommon in the first printing.

223. (PYNCHON, Thomas). MULFORD, A. Cornell. Two Hundred Fifty Years of Christ Episcopal Church Oyster Bay, L.I. (Hempstead): (Salisbury Printers) (c. 1955). Inscribed by Mulford to Thomas Ruggles Pynchon (Sr.), father of the noted author. Near fine in stapled wrappers.

224. (PYNCHON, Thomas). PLATER, William M. The Grim Phoenix. Reconstructing Thomas Pynchon. Bloomington: Indiana University Press (1978). A critical study of Pynchon's writings. Cloth mottled; near fine in a very good, spine- and edge-sunned dust jacket.

225. (PYNCHON, Thomas). STARK, John. Pynchon's Fictions. Athens: Ohio University Press (1980). A critical study. Foxing to top edge; else fine in a near fine dust jacket.

226. (PYNCHON, Thomas). COWART, David. Thomas Pynchon. The Art of Allusion. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press (1980). A critical study. Foxing to top edge; near fine in a near fine dust jacket.

227. (PYNCHON, Thomas). SCHAUB, Thomas H. Pynchon: The Voice of Ambiguity. Urbana: University of Illinois Press (1981). A critical study. Near fine in a very good, rubbed dust jacket with a small chip at the crown.

228. (PYNCHON, Thomas). COOPER, Peter L. Signs and Symptoms. Thomas Pynchon and the Contemporary World. Berkeley: University of California Press (1983). Top edge foxing; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket.

229. RANKIN, Ian. "HARVEY, Jack." Bleeding Hearts. (London): Headline (1994). The second of his books written under the disclosed pseudonym ("Ian Rankin writing as Jack Harvey"). Rankin had moved to France in 1990 to write full-time, and his John Rebus novels had not yet become the automatic bestsellers they later became. His agent suggested he write a series of pseudonymous mainstream thrillers, and he signed a contract to produce three of them. Two of them, Witch Hunt, the first of his thrillers, and Bleeding Hearts, the second, have become among the most difficult Rankin books to find in the first editions. This copy is signed by the author as Ian Rankin. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

230. (RANKIN, Ian). "Voyeurism" in New Writing Scotland 3. (Aberdeen): Association for Scottish Literary Studies (1985). A short story by Rankin in this collection, which preceded his first book and was only issued in wrappers. Signed by Rankin at his contribution, with an added "knots and crosses" (tic tac toe). Spine evenly sunned; else fine. Uncommon, especially signed.

231. (RANKIN, Ian). Criminal Minded. (Edinburgh): Canongate (2000). Rankin provides the introduction to this collection of crime fiction by five other writers: Anthony Bourdain, Jon A. Jackson, James Sallis, Andrew Vachss and Douglas E. Winter. Signed by Rankin. Only issued in wrappers; corner crease rear cover, else fine.

232. (RANKIN, Ian). REGILD, Christoffer. Intense Scotland. (Copenhagen): Politisk Revy (2001). Quarto, a bilingual picture book with photos by Regild; introduction by Rankin in English and Danish. Very small bump at the lower board edge; else fine without dust jacket, as issued. An attractive and uncommon book.

233. ROBBINS, Tom. "GOMEZ, Slick." Still Life With Woodpecker. (n.p.): (n.p.)(n.d.). An unproduced screenplay of his 1980 novel, written pseudonymously as "Slick Gomez" by Robbins, who has altered the novel's ending and given himself a cameo appearance in the script. Signed by the author as both Robbins and Gomez. Photocopied sheets, bradbound in plain black covers. Fine.

234. ROBINSON, Marilynne. Mother Country. NY: FSG (1989). The uncorrected proof copy of her second book and first book of nonfiction, about the nuclear industry in Great Britain. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers. The author wrote the acclaimed novels Housekeeping and Gilead and books signed by her are somewhat uncommon.

235. ROTH, Philip. The Anatomy Lesson. NY: FSG (1983). The first trade edition of the third book in the Zuckerman trilogy. Inscribed by the author in 1989 to James Freedman, the former President of Dartmouth College. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

236. (RUSHDIE, Salman). The Rushdie Letters. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press (1993). The American edition (simultaneous with the British and Irish editions) of this compilation of open letters written by various authors to Rushdie during his "One Thousand Days in a Balloon" (which essay of Rushdie's is also included). Contributions by Peter Carey, Nadine Gordimer, Margaret Atwood, William Styron, Mario Vargas Llosa, Norman Mailer, Kazuo Ishiguro, Graham Swift, Paul Theroux and Tom Stoppard, among others. Rushdie adds a reply. This is the softcover issue. Signed by Rushdie. Fine in wrappers.

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