Catalog 148, M
117. MAILER, Norman. Oswald's Tale. NY: Random House (1995). The first trade edition (preceded by the Franklin Library edition) of Mailer's nonfiction study of Lee Harvey Oswald. Inscribed by the author. A little play to the spine, perhaps from the weight of the text block; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
118. MANN, Thomas. Doctor Faustus. NY: Knopf, 1948. The first American edition. Inscribed by Mann in the year of publication: "To Doris Dana/ whom I want to be one of/ the first American readers of this book/ Thomas Mann/ Pacific Palisades/ 8 October 1948." A little loss to spine gilt; near fine in a near fine, mildly spine-tanned dust jacket. Dana, besides being a friend of Mann's, was the partner of Gabriela Mistral, and a translator of her work. A piece on Mann, by Mistral, and translated by Dana, appeared in the volume The Stature of Thomas Mann, edited by Charles Neider, and Dana had provided Mann with an introduction to Mistral the previous year, thus allowing the two Nobel Prize winners, one from Germany and the other from Chile, to meet for the first time. A nice association, with an interesting and notable bit of literary history attached to it.
119. McCAFFREY, Anne. Manuscript Archive for Dragonsinger. [NY]: [Atheneum] [1975-1977]. Multiple drafts, nearly 1500 pages total, plus correspondence, as follows:
Corrected typescript, signed by McCaffrey. 273 pages, some ribbon copy, some carbon. With authorial corrections throughout. Fine. With original title, A Harper of Pern.
Corrected typescript, signed by McCaffrey. 288 pages, ribbon copy final draft, with authorial corrections in ballpoint and editorial corrections in blue pencil by Jean Karl, McCaffrey's editor at Atheneum. Fine. With a cast of characters, also signed by McCaffrey. Coffee stained, mostly in margin; near fine.
Corrected photocopied typescript. 288 pages. Photocopy of above, with further editorial corrections and copyeditor's markings. Last few pages worn, near fine. With a transmittal letter from the publisher, returning the manuscript to McCaffrey.
Partial working drafts of corrected manuscript. Approximately 523 pages, various paginations, some ribbon copy, some carbon copy, some photocopied pages with both authorial and editorial corrections. Includes several versions of the first chapter. Near fine.
Eight letters from Jean Karl to McCaffrey; two letters from Jean Karl to McCaffrey's agent, Virginia Kidd; one letter from Virginia Kidd to McCaffrey; and two carbons of McCaffrey's responses to Karl. The letters have mailing folds; some are on airmail stationery; one has an upper corner chip, probably from staple removal; but in total they are near fine or better. All address various aspects of the publication of Dragonsinger.
Dragonsinger, first edition. NY: Atheneum, 1977. Faint staining to lower front board; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a crease on the front flap.
A typed letter of provenance signed by McCaffrey, dated 17 December 1981 and detailing the contents of the archive (albeit imprecisely). Near fine. For all:
120. McCAFFREY, Anne. Rescue Run. Newark: Wildside Press, 1991. A limited edition, and the only hardcover edition, of this novella that first appeared in Analog magazine. Of a total edition of 276 copies, this is one of 26 lettered copies signed by McCaffrey and by Pat Morrissey, who provides the illustrations. Fine, without dust jacket, as issued, with silk ribbon marker bound in. An uncommon book by one of the most important fantasy and science fiction writers of the latter half of the 20th century; her first story in the Dragonriders of Pern sequence won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, and in 2005 she was named the 22nd Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America.
121. McCARTHY, Cormac. The Gardener's Son. (n.p.: n.p., n.d.) c. 1975-1976. McCarthy's script for the 1976 PBS film. 140 photocopied pages, with text that varies from the trade edition published by Ecco in 1996: significant changes in both camera directions and dialogue throughout, including four scenes that do not appear in the published version. Copied slightly off center, such that the last few letters of many words are missing; overall near fine. Scarce. Granted, a photocopy, but with provenance of three degrees of separation from the author, and in an envelope with a label that reads "Cormac McCarthy - The Gardener's Son / Duplicate copy." The copy of this script that went to Texas State University last year as part of the sale of McCarthy's literary archive was also a photocopy, suggesting that an "original" no longer exists. Together with a copy of the first trade edition [Hopewell: Ecco Press, 1996], which is fine in a fine dust jacket.
122. McCARTHY, Cormac. Blood Meridian. NY: Random House (1985). His fifth book, a novel of the Old West, based on an actual series of events in 1849-1850 in Texas and Mexico, and rendered with an eye to bringing to life the surreal violence of the time and place. While McCarthy's most recent book, The Road, won the Pulitzer Prize, and his bestseller All the Pretty Horses won the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and No Country for Old Men was made into a film that swept the Oscars, there is a growing consensus that Blood Meridian is his most powerful and most accomplished novel. McCarthy's first five books sold fewer than 15,000 copies total -- this one selling only 1883 copies before it was remaindered. A film version is in production. Remainder stripe to top edge; else a fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with very slight edge nicks.
123. McCARTHY, Cormac. All the Pretty Horses. NY: Knopf, 1992. The advance reading copy of the first volume of the Border Trilogy, a landmark novel that won both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award and propelled its author to "instant" literary celebrity -- after nearly three decades of writing well-received literary novels in relative obscurity. Issued in wrappers and publisher's folding box, signed by the author, it was sent out in advance of publication to promote the book. Rumor has it that approximately 400 were to be done but the author quit after about 200, and declined to do any more. Fine in a near fine folding box.
124. McCARTHY, Cormac. No Country for Old Men. NY: Knopf, 2005. A novel of drugs and violence set in the contemporary Southwest, it reads like a combination of Blood Meridian -- McCarthy's classic novel of the brutality of the Old West -- and the work of Chuck Bowden -- the investigative reporter who has focused on the drug cartels of the borderlands between Mexico and the U.S. and chronicled the almost unimaginable violence of the drug culture there. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
125. -. Same title. The trade publisher's signed limited edition: one of an unspecified number of copies signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
126. -. Same title. (n.p.): (Miramax and Paramount)(2008). Promotional brochure and CD-ROM, apparently created for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences prior to the Academy Awards celebration, at which No Country for Old Men won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. 12-page brochure, with photographs (including McCarthy with the Coen brothers) and excerpts from the novel. Pocket in rear holds a CD-ROM which features the Coen brothers' screenplay, excerpts from McCarthy's novel, and a half dozen newspaper/periodical features on the film. Fine. Together with a copy of the first trade edition [NY: Knopf, 2005]. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with slight color bleed on the interior of the jacket at the spine base.
127. (McCARTHY, Cormac). TALLY, Ted. All the Pretty Horses. (n.p.): (n.p.)(n.d.). Ted Tally's screenplay for the 2000 film based on McCarthy's 1992 National Book Award-winning novel. Tally won an award from the National Board of Review for the best screenplay of the year, and was nominated for two other awards for his writing. 101 pages, photocopied, claspbound in printed cover. Vertical fold to covers; near fine. Uncommon.
128. McCARTHY, Mary. The Mask of State: Watergate Portraits. NY: HBJ (1974) Second printing. Inscribed by the author to the President of Vassar College, where her papers have been institutionalized: "To Virginia Smith/ again, my thanks,/ Mary McCarthy." A nice association copy of a book by the preeminent American woman of letters of the 20th century. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a crease on the front flap. Scarce signed.
129. McMURTRY, Larry. Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen. (NY): Simon & Schuster (1999). Nonfiction, a reflection on storytelling, and "as close to an autobiography as his readers are likely to get." Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Uncommon signed.
130. McPHEE, John. The Crofter and the Laird. (Isle of Colonsay): (House of Lochar)(1998). A later edition, published on the Hebridean Island of McPhee's forefathers that serves as the subject of the book. Signed by the author. An uncommon edition, presumably done in small quantities by a small local press, and extremely scarce signed. Fine in wrappers.
131. (McPHEE, John). Princeton '53 Tenth Reunion. (Princeton), 1963. McPhee provides the introduction to this volume published two years prior to his first book, and he also contributes a biographical paragraph on his ten years out of Princeton. There is also a paragraph by Frank McPhee that ends: "If you plan to print this, have John McPhee edit it; he is the family brain and writer." At the time this was published, McPhee was still employed at Time magazine; he had not yet moved to The New Yorker, although his profile indicates that he had sold some of his writing to that magazine. Name whited out from front flyleaf; dusty rear panel; still a near fine copy in wrappers. An early and scarce John McPhee book appearance: we have only seen this title on the market once before.
132. MILLER, Henry. Original Typescript of "Joey and Tony." c. 1976. A memoir of Miller's Brooklyn childhood friends, brothers Joey and Tony "Imhof" (actually "Insley"), which appeared in Henry Miller's Book of Friends. Thirteen page typescript: two copies, both the ribbon copy and a carbon copy. Several holograph corrections to the ribbon copy, presumably by Miller; this manuscript was among the papers that remained in Miller's personal archive at the time of his death. Paperclip marks to top corner; else fine. Housed in a handmade box by artists Louise Roarty and Donald Wiltse: the box is painted wood with leather straps, colored pictorial pastedowns and descriptive, evocative inserts. Listed as A43 in Henry Miller: A Personal Archive by Roger Jackson and Wm. Ashley, 1994, a copy of which is included.
133. MILLER, Henry. The Smile at the Foot of the Ladder. (NY): New Directions (1958). First thus, reprinting a work that originally appeared in 1948, and in a binding not described by Shifreen and Jackson -- unprinted cream-colored paper boards. Inscribed by Miller to his second wife, June Mansfield, on the half-title page: "To June from Henry 3/30/60." June was Henry's wife and his muse: it was she who inspired him to give up his previous life, move to Paris, and pursue his art and writing. A spectacular association copy. Spine and edge-sunned; near fine, without dust jacket. An anomalous edition -- perhaps an author's copy.
134. (MILLER, Henry). Henry Miller Exhibition. Tokyo: Art Life Association (1968). The catalog of Miller's Japanese exhibition of his watercolors, which was arranged by his fifth wife, Hoki. Inscribed by Miller to his second wife, June, in 1968, on the rear cover. The inside covers reproduce a letter and a statement in English by Miller; the rest of the text is predominantly in Japanese. Approximately 8 1/4" x 10", with a cover art by T. Yokoo, the most prominent Japanese pop artist of the era. Miller was a celebrity in Japan, and his marriage to Hoki made them the subject of gossip columns and enormous public attention. Near fine in stapled wrappers.
135. MILLER, Sue. Correspondence Archive. c. 1980. Five letters, all pertaining to her first published story, "Expensive Gifts." Three autograph letters signed; one autograph note signed; one typed letter signed. The first, a brief, handwritten note, says, in its entirety: "March 13/ Dear Fiction Editor, I'm enclosing my short story 'Expensive Gifts' for your consideration. Sue Miller." Miller was writing to the fiction editor of Ploughshares, DeWitt Henry. The guest editor for this issue (Fall 1980) was Jay Neugeboren. A note from Henry is written across the bottom: "Jay - I'd say take this one. (Anne Bernays is introducing her as a 'discovery' at the 3/20 PEN meeting). If you don't want it, hell I'm interested enough I'd want to try it on Jayne Anne - or maybe you should send it back to me. D./ P.S. What do you think of P. 8 bottom as possible ending?" Bernays had been Miller's teacher in a course at Harvard's Extension School, and "Expensive Gifts" had been written for her class. There are several editorial notes (Neugeboren's) on the back of the page, but Neugeboren obviously takes Henry's suggestion, as Miller writes to Neugeboren on June 4 explaining that her delay in responding came from having been out of town and that she is open to the kind of editorial changes he suggested and "very eager to have others read my work in print." The third letter (typed) provides Miller's detailed reactions to four of the changes Neugeboren had suggested, e.g.: "I worry a little about eliminating 'reminders of lovemaking.' It always seems to me in writing about sexual things that to be absolutely clear is essential, given the enormous range of experience, background, skill at denial, and degree of repression people bring to sexual issues..." The fourth letter, obviously later in time, thanks Neugeboren for a note he had sent her about a story she had published in The Atlantic, and Miller goes on to describe the chain of events that linked her appearance in The Atlantic directly to his having accepted her story for Ploughshares. The final letter is more chatty, giving notes on family, job and writing, and suggesting a visit, but it also expresses gratitude: "I still feel the sense of having once been a discovery, a protege, of yours." This one is signed "Love, Sue." Miller's first novel, The Good Mother, received excellent reviews and was made into a highly successful movie. This small archive provides an interesting glimpse at a crucial moment in the literary life of the young and promising writer. The typed letter has an inconsequential edge tear and a bit of paperclip rust, otherwise all items are fine.
136. MINOT, Susan. Rapture. NY: Knopf, 2002. Advance copy of this novella, in the form of 8 1/2" x 11" bound photocopied typescript, reproducing several holograph corrections. Publisher's fact sheet bound in, stating selling points. The book takes place as the interior monologues of two characters, a man and a woman, during a single sexual act. The first printing was 60,000 copies; there were probably no more than a couple of dozen copies created in this format. It was selected as a New York Times Notable Book for 2002. Marginal smudge to page 2 and cover scratch; else fine. An early, uncommon format.
137. MOODY, Rick. Surplus Value Books: Catalog Number 13. (Santa Monica): Danger Books/(Indulgence Press) (1999)[2002]. The first hardcover edition of this book that is virtually a novella in the form of a book dealer's catalog. Moody has created a hilarious and touching self-contained world where the values accorded to the items for sale (dollars) and the values inherent in them (significance, artistry, passion) are in running comic contrast. Moody has his tongue in his cheek but also his heart on his sleeve: many of the entries embody a sensitivity and tenderness surprising in such a send-up. An effective, even haunting riff on rare book catalogs. First published in 1999 in a wrappered edition of 1213 copies, this edition is limited to 200 hardbound copies, of which this is one of 174 numbered copies signed by the author and by the publisher, David Ford. Attractively bound in quarter leather and white paper boards. Fine in a fine slipcase. List price:
138. MORRIS, Wright. About Fiction. NY: Harper & Row (1975). A review copy of this collection of essays on writing and reading by the National Book Award-winning author. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with review slip laid in. Together with the uncorrected proof copy. Text block separating due to drying spine adhesive; thus very good in tapebound wrappers. An unusual format: a small nearly square octavo which suggests that very few copies were done. We have never had another proof copy of this title. For both:
139. MORRISON, Toni. What Moves at the Margin. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi (2008). The advance reading copy of this volume of selected nonfiction by the Nobel Prize winning author. Thirty years of writings, divided into "Family and History," "Writers and Writings," and "Politics and Society." Fine in wrappers. Typically, advance copies like this are done in small quantities by university presses.
140. MOSLEY, Nicholas. Catastrophe Practice. London: Secker & Warburg (1979). Three plays ("not for acting") and a short novel. Inscribed by Mosley in 1980. Top edge foxing; near fine in a near fine, spine- and edge-faded dust jacket. An uncommon book signed; Dalkey Archive Press, which has prided itself on republishing important, challenging and under-recognized fiction, reprinted this title in 1989, one of seventeen books it has published by Mosley, the most by any author.
141. (MUNRO, Alice). "How I Met My Husband" in The Play's the Thing. (Toronto): Macmillan (1976). A collection of four original television dramas by Munro, Hugh Hood, Eric Nicol, and Favor Moore with Frank R. Scott. Only issued in wrappers. Creasing and rubbing to covers; very good. An uncommon appearance in print by this award-winning Canadian author.