Catalog 144, T-Z
271. TAYLOR, Peter. In the Miro District. NY: Knopf, 1977. Taylor's own copy of this collection of stories: the "first finished copy," with a note of transmittal to Taylor from his editor at Knopf. Fading to spine and top stain; near fine, without dust jacket, possibly as presented. Subsequently (June 6, 1977, i.e., two months after publication) inscribed by Taylor to friends. Together with a typed postcard signed (initialed) by Taylor and sent to the same friends at a later date, thanking them for their sympathy when he was sick. A unique copy of this collection.
272. (Television). ER. Burbank: Warner Bros., 1994. Photocopied screenplay of Episode Thirteen, "Missing Persons." Marked December 9, but with revision pages through December 19. (Revision pages, although stipulated in six different colors, are here white.) Bradbound in printed cardstock covers. Signed by George Clooney, Anthony Edwards, Noah Wyle, Julianna Margulies, Eriq La Salle and Sherry Stringfield, respectively, Dr. Doug Ross, Dr. Mark Greene, Dr. John Carter, Carol Hathaway, Dr. Peter Benton, and Dr. Susan Lewis. A very near fine copy. Together with a 1995 publicity photo of the same cast.
273. THEROUX, Paul. The Black House. London: Hamish Hamilton (1974). Trace foxing to top edge; still fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket with a sticker removal abrasion to the lower front flap.
274. THEROUX, Paul. A Christmas Card. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978. A small volume published as a Christmas tale, with illustrations by John Lawrence. Signed by the author. Mild mottling to cloth; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a little foxing on verso.
275. THEROUX, Paul. London Snow. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980. A Christmas story. Signed by the author. Faint foxing to top edge; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
276. -. Same title, the limited edition. (Salisbury): (Michael Russell) (1979). One of 450 numbered copies signed by the author and illustrator, John Lawrence. Faint foxing to top edge; else fine in a near fine glassine dust jacket. With a copy of the prospectus laid in that is also signed by Theroux. This was Theroux's first signed limited edition. Scarce with the prospectus, especially with it signed.
277. THEROUX, Paul. World's End. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980. A review copy of the first American edition of this collection of stories. Signed by the author. Foxing to page edges and mottling to spine cloth; near fine in a fine dust jacket with promotional sheet laid in.
278. THEROUX, Paul. The Mosquito Coast. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982. A review copy of the first American edition of this novel of an iconoclastic individualist who moves his family to Central America to start anew, unencumbered by the trappings of civilization. A funny and sad satire of the Western values of self-reliance and the Protestant work ethic, which was made into a moderately well-received movie. Signed by the author. Faint foxing to top edge; else fine in a fine dust jacket with promotional sheet laid in.
279. -. Same title. The advance reading copy. Inscribed by the author. Slight spine fading; near fine in wrappers.
280. -. Same title, the limited edition. Copy #5 of 350 numbered copies, signed by the author. Slight spine lean; else fine in a slipcase with one corner bump.
281. THEROUX, Paul. The London Embassy. London: Hamish Hamilton (1982). The first U.K. edition. Signed by the author. Faint foxing to top edge; else fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
282. THEROUX, Paul. Sailing Through China. (Salisbury): Michael Russell (1983). The U.K. edition. A small volume recounting a trip down the Yangtze River, illustrated by Patrick Procktor. Signed by Theroux. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
283. THEROUX, Paul. The Kingdom By the Sea. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983. The American limited edition of this travel account of a journey around Great Britain, the author's adopted home. One of 250 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
284. THEROUX, Paul. Doctor Slaughter. London: Hamish Hamilton (1984). Signed by the author. Foxing to top edge; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a nick on the rear panel. No comparable U.S. edition.
285. THEROUX, Paul. Sunrise with Seamonsters. London: Hamish Hamilton (1985). The first British edition. Signed by the author. Top edge and flyleaf foxed; near fine in a very near fine dust jacket crimped at the crown.
286. THEROUX, Paul. O-Zone. London: Hamish Hamilton (1986). Signed by the author. Page edges darkening; else fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
287. THEROUX, Paul. The Shortest Day of the Year: A Christmas Fantasy. (Leamington Spa): Sixth Chamber Press (1986). A short story published in an attractive limited edition of 201 copies, this being one of 26 lettered copies bound in quarter leather and signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
288. THEROUX, Paul. The White Man's Burden. London: Hamish Hamilton (1987). A play, for which there has been no comparable U.S. edition. Signed by the author. Foxing to top edge and pages browning with age, as is typical with the paper used for this volume; else fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
289. THEROUX, Paul. Chicago Loop. London: Hamish Hamilton (1990). A controversial novel about a serial killer, which was published while the controversy surrounding Brett Easton Ellis's American Psycho was still current. Precedes the American edition by several months. Signed by the author. Faint foxing to top edge; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
290. THEROUX, Paul. The Happy Isles of Oceania. London: Hamish Hamilton (1992). Travel in the South Pacific; a massive volume (500+ pages). Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
291. THEROUX, Paul. Sir Vidia's Shadow. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of Theroux's account of the falling out between himself and his almost lifelong friend and mentor V.S. Naipaul. Fine in wrappers. Reportedly, there were textual differences between this proof and the final published book, although we have not confirmed that.
292. THOMPSON, Hunter S. Screwjack. Santa Barbara: Neville, 1991. Thompson's first limited edition: a collection of three short pieces by Thompson, along with a half-mad letter to the publisher that serves as introduction to the volume. There were 300 numbered copies and 26 lettered copies: this is one of an unspecified number of "presentation copies" (as stated on the colophon) signed by Thompson. Fine without dust jacket, as issued. We don't know how many such presentation copies there may have been, but we've never seen another.
293. (THOMPSON, Hunter S.). CLIFFORD, Peggy. To Aspen and Back. NY: St. Martin's (1980). A review copy of Clifford's social history of Aspen, with an 8-page introduction by Hunter Thompson. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with one small chip and an edge tear to the rear panel; review material laid in. Jacket blurbs by Thomas McGuane and John Nichols. Also provided, at no charge, is the uncorrected proof copy, which boasts of the Thompson introduction on the cover, although it is not printed within.
294. (TOIBIN, Colm). Seeing is Believing. Moving Statues in Ireland. (Laois): Pilgrim Press (1985). A paperback original, edited by Toibin, exploring the cultural (or spiritual) phenomenon of reports of statues moving in Ireland in 1985. Toibin also contributes an introduction and one essay. Pages edge-toned; else fine. An uncommon work, at least in the U.S., by the Irish writer whose novel The Master was universally acclaimed as one of the best novels of 2004.
295. TWAIN, Mark. The Oxford Mark Twain. NY/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. The signed limited edition of this 29 volume set; one of 300 sets printed, this being number 148. These volumes were created as facsimiles of the first editions, at least in their pages, presenting Twain to the contemporary world with the same look that he first appeared in his own time. The publisher did not try to reproduce the elaborately decorated covers, however, reportedly because of the cost involved in doing so. Signed by series editor Shelley Fisher Fishkin and also signed by the 58 people who provided introductions and afterwords to each volume, including Kurt Vonnegut, E.L. Doctorow, Toni Morrison, Arthur Miller, Gore Vidal, Cynthia Ozick, George Plimpton, Ward Just, Erica Jong, Ursula LeGuin, Bobbie Ann Mason, Russell Banks, Frederick Busch, Walter Mosley, Erica Jong, and many others, both literary figures (who provided the introductions) and Twain scholars (who provided the afterwords). One volume, The Stolen White Elephant, has a nick to the jacket crown; otherwise the set is fine in fine jackets. A massive production, and beautifully executed, with original contributions by some of the best writers of our time; very scarce now.
296. TYLER, Anne. Ladder of Years. Franklin Center: Franklin Library, 1995. The true first edition, a limited edition with a special introduction by Tyler about the genesis of the book. Signed by the author. Leatherbound, all edges gilt, with a ribbon marker bound in. This is the issue in the medium blue binding; there was also a deep navy, almost black binding. Priority of the bindings is unknown, but given the Franklin Library's penchant for having the color of the ribbon marker either match the leather or be of a neutral, yellow-gold shade to match the stamping, it's possible that the darker binding is the later issue, as the ribbon color is closer to the medium blue; in any case, it is unusual for there to be different colored bindings for a Franklin Library publication. Fine.
297. TYLER, Anne. Digging to America. NY: Knopf, 2006. Her latest novel, signed by the author on a tipped in leaf. Unlike most books of this type, the signed leaf is tipped in before the front free endpaper rather than after it. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
298. UPDIKE, John. The Poorhouse Fair. London: Gollancz, 1959. The first British edition of Updike's second book, first novel. Inscribed by Updike to the parents of his brother-in-law: "To Jonnie and Bradley Fisk/ with apologies that this edition, authentic in all other respects, lacks the slanderous camera-portrait of the author by their son./ John Updike." Irving Fisk took some of the book jacket photos of Updike in the early days, including the one on the rear panel of the dust jacket of the American edition of this book. A nice family association copy, with a lengthy and humorous inscription by Updike. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with a little tanning to the spine and several closed edge tears.
299. UPDIKE, John. Rabbit, Run. [NY: Knopf, 1960]. A piracy of Updike's second novel and the first in the acclaimed Rabbit series. Pirated from sheets of the third printing and printed on thin, cheap paper and brown boards, but with a ribbon marker bound in. About near fine in a very good, rubbed dust jacket.
300. UPDIKE, John. Buchanan Dying. NY: Knopf, 1974. A review copy of his first play ("meant to be read"), about President James Buchanan. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Not an especially uncommon title, but scarce as an advance copy, especially signed.
301. UPDIKE, John. Problems and Other Stories. NY: Knopf, 1979. Inscribed by the author: "For Molly Fix/ the greatest typist ever to knit Norwegian sweaters/ Love, Uncle John." Updike has added a drawing of holly leaves. While in college in the mid-70s, Molly Fisk, Updike's niece, worked for her uncle re-typing some of his British publications and converting the spelling back into American English. Very slight board edge sunning; else fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
302. UPDIKE, John. The Carpentered Hen. NY: Knopf, 1982. First thus, the Knopf reissue of his first book, a collection of poems published by Harper & Brothers in 1958 and here with a new foreword by Updike. Inscribed by the author: "For jolly old Irving/ who has been supplanted as this book's photographer but who otherwise remains secure in the heart of the author/ All best, John." Irving Fisk was Updike's brother-in-law when he took the photograph used on the original edition of The Carpentered Hen. A near fine copy in a very good, mildly spotted and rubbed dust jacket.
303. UPDIKE, John. Hugging the Shore. NY: Knopf, 1983. A massive collection of essays and criticism from The New Yorker and elsewhere. Inscribed by the author: "For Molly Fisk/ not only my prettiest typist but my best/ Love, Uncle John." A fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with a crease on the front flap. A nice family association copy.
304. UPDIKE, John. Facing Nature. NY: Knopf, 1985. A review copy of this collection of poetry. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a closed edge tear at upper front gutter. Publisher's promotional bookmark laid in.
305. UPDIKE, John. Roger's Version. NY: Knopf, 1986. A review copy of the first trade edition. Fine in a near fine, spine and edge-sunned dust jacket with review slip and promotional postcard laid in.
306. VERHAS, Theodor. Dreissig Handzeichnungen. (n.p.): Manheimer Bibliophilen-Gesellschaft, 1932. A limited edition reproducing a number of this important 19th century German artist's sketches. One of 250 copies; numbers 1 through 4 were bound in leather. This is copy #5. Fine in a very good slipcase.
307. VONNEGUT, Kurt. Player Piano. London: Macmillan, 1953. The first British edition of his first book, a satire on automation and the Electronics Age. Signed by Vonnegut with a self-caricature. An extremely scarce edition: 3000 copies were printed and something like 1000 of them were pulped. When the publisher decided to reprint the book in the late 1960s, they reported that they were unable to locate a single copy, even in the British Museum; and Asa Pieratt and Jerome Klinkowitz were unable to locate a copy when they compiled Vonnegut's bibliography. Heavy foxing to foredge and endpages; a very good copy in a good, foxed, spine-faded and price-clipped dust jacket with a couple chips and edge tears and a fading Macmillan Overseas Library stamp on the front flap. In a custom clamshell case.
308. VONNEGUT, Kurt. Breakfast of Champions. (NY): Delacorte Press (1973). Vonnegut's fiftieth birthday present to himself and his characters: the author uses this novel to grant many of his previous characters their freedom (most notably Kilgore Trout who, unable to make it on the outside, returns in later books). Foxing to page edges, previous dampening to spine cloth; about near fine in a near fine dust jacket with fading to the spine lettering.
309. WARREN, Robert Penn. Audubon. A Vision. NY: Random House (1969). Inscribed by the author and signed "Red," the nickname used by his close friends. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a long, closed edge tear at the lower front spine fold.
310. WASSERSTEIN, Wendy. Old Money. NY: Harcourt (2002). The uncorrected proof copy of the next-to-last play by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Inscribed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
311. WELTY, Eudora. Henry Green: A Novelist of the Imagination. (n.p.): The Texas Quarterly, 1961. The first separate edition, an offprint of this essay from the special issue Britain 2 of The Texas Quarterly, reportedly one of only 25 copies. This copy is signed by Welty. Fine in stapled wrappers. One of the scarcest items in the Welty canon.
312. WHITE, E.B. Poems and Sketches of E.B. White. NY: Harper & Row (1981). The uncorrected proof of this compilation of pieces, many of them never collected before. This copy was sent to Edward Hoagland for review and bears his notes on the first and last pages and annotations (checkmarks and x's) throughout. Hoagland wrote a favorable, and moving, review for The New York Times which was published on November 8, 1981. Spine-sunned, one corner crease; very good in wrappers. A nice working copy of this proof, annotated by an important writer.
313. WHITEHEAD, Colson. Apex Hides the Hurt. NY: Doubleday (2006). A novel by the author of The Intuitionist, John Henry Days, and The Colossus of New York, all of them wildly different works. Whitehead is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant." Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with Whitehead's "Author Trading Card" laid in (produced by the Booksmith in San Francisco).
314. WILDER, Thornton. The Ides of March. NY: Harper & Brothers (1948). The limited edition of this novel by the author of The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Our Town: one of 750 numbered copies signed by the author on a tipped-in colophon. Near fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with wear to the corners and folds.
315. WILLEFORD, Charles. High Priest of California and Wild Wives. San Francisco: Re/Search Publications (1987). First thus, a hardcover limited edition of these two novels, bound back-to-back. Both were originally published only in paperback, in the 1950s. One of 250 numbered copies signed by the author. Rubbing to board edges; else fine in a near fine, spine-faded dust jacket.
316. WILLEFORD, Charles. Kiss Your Ass Goodbye. (Miami Beach): Dennis McMillan, 1987. The limited edition of this Miami novel, by the author of the acclaimed Hoke Moseley series. One of 400 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
317. WILLIAMS, Joy. The Changeling. Garden City: Doubleday, 1978. The uncorrected proof copy of her second novel. Glue residue on most of the front panel where the publisher's info sheet was pasted (now laid in); near fine in tall wrappers. Scarce.
318. WILLIAMS, Tennessee. Battle of Angels. Murray, UT: Pharos, 1945. The first book by the author of such classics of American drama as A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie and Night of the Iguana, among others. This is a play, written with a grant Williams received in 1940, and published as Pharos Numbers 1 and 2 in the spring of 1945. In an afterword to the play, Williams recounts the disastrous opening it had in Boston in 1940. His first success came later in 1945, with The Glass Menagerie, and his reputation continued to grow from there. The half title on this copy is corner clipped, but otherwise this is an extremely bright, fine, fresh copy in wrappers; scarce thus.
319. WILLIAMS, Tennessee. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. (NY): New Directions (1955). One of the three or four of Williams' plays which have come to be considered classics of the American theater. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Drama Critics Award for best play of the 1954-55 season. This is the first issue. Fine in a near fine dust jacket but for tape residue at the spine extremities and some foxing to the verso.
320. WILLIAMS, Tennessee. The Night of the Iguana. (NY): New Directions (1962). One of Williams' greatest plays, winner of a New York Drama Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
321. WILLIAMS, Thomas. Ceremony of Love. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill (1955). The first book by Williams, who won the National Book Award in 1975 for The Hair of Harold Roux. Inscribed by the author in 1977, referring to the book as an "early, early, somewhat wet-behind-the-ears novel." Dampstaining to lower cloth; very good in similarly-afflicted, very good dust jacket.
322. WILSON, Edmund. Memoirs of Hecate County. Garden City: Doubleday Doran, 1945. The uncorrected proof copy of this novel, his first. A very fragile production: tall sheets from galleys, bound in plain brown wrappers. Spine cocked and wrappers edgeworn; overall, only good but an exceptionally scarce state of this book, the only copy we have ever seen or heard of, and dating from an era when the production of bound proofs was still a novelty, and not something that publishers did routinely.
323. WILSON, Harvey Leon. Merton of the Movies. Garden City: Doubleday Page, 1922. An early novel of Hollywood that was adapted first for the theater, then as a silent movie and finally, 25 years later, as a sound film starring Red Skelton. One of the earliest Hollywood novels, about an aspiring actor. Listed in 100 Books on Hollywood & the Movies. Cloth mottled; near fine in a very good dust jacket with several closed edge tears, a rear gutter nick, and light foxing to the spine. Overall an attractive copy of an important book.
324. WILSON, S. Clay. Autograph Note. May 10, 2002. A note to Nelson Lyon, ostensibly returning a movie, but accomplishing far more in a 2 1/2" x 6" space. Includes travel plans, Mother's Day wishes, and a Checkered Demon. Unsigned, but obvious, and accomplished: more polished than a mere sketch. Fine.
325. (WINTERSON, Jeanette). "I used to live on a long stretchy street" in Walking on the Water. (London): Virago (1983). Winterson's first book appearance, a short story that prefigures Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit in theme. Also includes an entertaining biographical statement. Small corner creases; still about near fine in wrappers. Laid in are two photographs of the street provided by Winterson's bibliographer, Linda Langham. Uncommon.
326. YATES, Richard and STYRON, William. Lie Down in Darkness. Watertown: Ploughshares Books, 1985. Yates's screenplay of Styron's novel. This is an advance copy consisting of bound 8 1/2" x 11" sheets. Velobound; fine. With two letters from the publisher laid in, one announcing the book, the second correcting the ISBN number given in the first letter. An extremely scarce item; probably only a small handful were produced.
327. CUMMINGS, E.E. "Brown Brook." 1948. Oil on canvasboard. 12" x 16". Signed by Cummings on the verso, where the date of June, 1948 is written, along with "14 Tree Trunks" and the initials "M.M." (Marion Morehouse). This painting was part of an exhibit at the Gotham Book Mart some time in the late '60's or '70s and bears their notation "GBM #325." Although a prolific painter, Cummings seldom signed his work. Fine.
328. CUMMINGS, E.E. "Pale Moon." 1939. Oil on cardboard. 15 1/2" x 18". Also signed by Cummings on the verso, where he has added the date 2/9/38 and an "A." Additionally noted on verso: Gotham Book Mart #825, the title and dimensions, and "M24708M gray with two tone insert." The painting has an upper left corner chip and is horizontally scored 1" from the bottom edge; near fine.