Catalog 149, U-Z
271. UPDIKE, John. The Centaur and John Updike Reading from His Works. NY: Knopf, 1963. Updike's sixth book, a novel that was his first National Book Award winner and his first novel published after Rabbit, Run in 1960. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with light edge wear and a line of rubbing to the rear spine fold. Much nicer than is often the case with this title. Together with the LP recording of Updike reading an excerpt from The Centaur (NY: CMS Records, n.d.) and also reading five poems from Telephone Poles and Other Poems and the story "The Lifeguard" from Pigeon Feathers. Fine. For both:
272. UPDIKE, John. Invasion of the Book Envelopes. (Concord): Ewert (1981). A short, humorous spoof on the classic horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, using as the villain ubiquitous and impenetrable book mailers -- so-named after "a civic-minded, prize-winning author of the era" (Mailer collectors, take note). One of 125 copies printed for private distribution. One sheet, folded to make four pages. An ephemeral piece; one of the many Ewert limited publications (of Updike and others) and one with a small enough limitation that at this point, nearly 30 years after it was first issued, it has become quite uncommon. Fine.
273. UPDIKE, John. Rabbit is Rich. NY: Knopf, 1981. The limited edition of the third of his Rabbit Angstrom books, winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, a rare literary double. One of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket and a slightly edge-sunned slipcase.
274. UPDIKE, John. The Widows of Eastwick. NY: Knopf, 2008. The uncorrected proof copy of Updike's sequel to his 1984 The Witches of Eastwick, due to be published at the end of October, 2008. Tiny surface abrasion at the lower rear joint; else fine in wrappers.
275. (UPDIKE, John). The Best American Short Stories 1962. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1962. Updike contributes "Pigeon Feathers." Other authors honored here include Irwin Shaw, Flannery O'Connor, Donald Hall, Arthur Miller and Stanley Elkin, among others. Spotting to top edge; stray pen mark (not a remainder mark) to bottom edge; a near fine copy in a good dust jacket, chipped at the ends and corners and splitting along the rear flap fold. The number "587" is written in pencil on the front panel. This particular year in the B.A.S.S. series is unaccountably uncommon.
276. (UPDIKE, John). Penguin Modern Stories 2. (Middlesex): Penguin (1969). A paperback original collecting three stories by Updike, one by Sylvia Plath, and four by Emanuel Litvinoff. The Updike stories, "The Wait," "Bech in Romania," and "Man and Daughter in the Cold," were originally published in The New Yorker; this represents their first book publication. Signed by Updike. Spine-creased; rubbing to folds; very good in wrappers.
277. (UPDIKE, John). "Television Golf" in U.S. Open 1988. (Far Hills): (USGA), 1988. The magazine/program of the 1988 U.S. Open held at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Updike's piece was later collected in Golf Dreams. Corner creasing, with one short tear to upper spine fold; else near fine.
278. (UPDIKE, John). MARSHALL, Robert. The Haunted Major. (Hopewell): Ecco Press (1999). The first American edition of Marshall's 1902 golfing classic, published here with a ten-page introduction by Updike. This copy is signed by Updike. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
279. (Vietnam War). FITZGERALD, Frances. Fire in the Lake. The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam. Boston: Little Brown (1972). The uncorrected proof copy of her massive and controversial book, the first book from a general trade publisher to give voice to the Vietnamese side of the story of the war. A bestseller, a Book-of-the-Month club selection, winner of both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize; one of the most notable books of the Vietnam war and one of the first to examine policy, strategy, and tactics from a human perspective rather than a primarily geopolitical one, and as such one of the books that helped define how Vietnam would be viewed by future generations, and what the "lessons of Vietnam" would be, even for the military. "$12.50 July" and "July list" written on front cover. Near fine in wrappers. An important book, and an uncommon proof.
280. (Vietnam War). WOLFE, Michael. Man on a String. NY: Harper & Row (1973). The uncorrected proof copy of his first book, a suspense novel centered on a journalist in Vietnam. Quarto; tapebound. Small tear at crown; else fine. An unusual format, used by Harper during the early 1970s and suggestive of very few copies having been done.
281. (Vietnam War). WOLFE, Michael. The Chinese Fire Drill NY: Harper & Row (1975). The uncorrected proof copy of his third suspense novel set in Vietnam, and the least common of the author's novels. Fine in wrappers.
282. VONNEGUT, Kurt, Jr. Welcome to the Monkey House. London: Jonathan Cape (1969). The first British edition of these short stories, a collection reprising most of the stories in Canary in a Cat House plus fourteen others. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a little dustiness to the rear panel and a small crease on the front flap.
283. (VONNEGUT, Kurt). Waterscapes, Landscapes. (East Hampton): (Glenn Horowitz) (1999). Vonnegut provides the introduction to this booklet showcasing the paintings of April Gornik and published to coincide with an exhibit of her work. This is the trade edition. Fine in stapled wrappers.
284. -. Same title, the limited edition. One of 100 numbered copies. Signed by Vonnegut and Gornik. Clothbound; fine in a fine slipcase. An attractive production, with 12 color plates tipped in.
285. WALLACE, David Foster and COSTELLO, Mark. Signifying Rappers. NY: Ecco Press (1990). A nonfiction book about rap music. His first book of nonfiction, after one novel and a collection of short stories. Signed by Wallace. For all that Wallace's fiction was admired and emulated, five of his six books published from 2000 on were nonfiction, and some have suggested that because his nonfiction was so relatively accessible compared to his fiction, it may comprise a more lasting legacy for him. Only issued in wrappers. A half dozen underlinings/marginal lines in text; near fine.
286. WALLACE, David Foster. Infinite Jest. Boston: Little Brown (1996). A huge book (nearly 1100 pages), which impressed many critics and readers with its scope and its satirical critique of popular culture as well as with the author's erudition. Fine in a fine dust jacket. In the wake of the author's tragic suicide, this will likely stand as his magnum opus.
287. WALLACE, David Foster. Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. Boston: Little Brown (1999). A collection of stories. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a shallow scratch to the rear panel. Laid in is a printed sales pitch for the audio version of the book, which was released simultaneously with the hardcover, as well as a copy of the review of this collection in The New York Times Book Review (which said, among other things, that it was possessed of "a vandalizing spirit").
288. WESTLAKE, D.E. Philip. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell (1967). A scarce children's book by the prolific mystery writer, Donald Westlake. Westlake is known for his caper novels and his hard-boiled series featuring the thief "Parker" (no other name) written under the pseudonym "Richard Stark," among others. He has won three Edgar Awards (in three different categories) and nearly two dozen of his novels or stories have been made into movies. He also was nominated for an Oscar for his screen adaptation of Jim Thompson's The Grifters. This is a very scarce children's book, written by Westlake and illustrated by Arnold Dobrin. In the publisher's "library binding," but not an ex-library copy. Faint foxing to page edges, else a fine copy in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
289. (WHARTON, Edith). "More Love-Letters of an Englishwoman" in The Bookman, Vol. 12, No. 6. NY: Dodd Mead, 1901. A parody by Wharton of the Love Letters of an Englishwoman, an anonymous, supposedly posthumous, collection of letters actually authored by Laurence Housman. Published in the year Wharton built The Mount, her estate in Lenox, Massachusetts. Pages partially uncut, a few edgetorn in opening; near fine in wrappers with a small spine chip and foredge tears.
290. WHITE, E.B. World Government and Peace. NY: F-R Publishing, 1945. The first separate appearance of selected, unattributed, "Notes and Comment" that were published in The New Yorker from 1943 to 1945. All of them bear on questions of the war, and the underlying issues of nationalism and divergent political interests. White, with a knack for the witty metaphor and the pithy quote, dismantles much of the overblown rhetoric of the day, in favor of a common sense approach that would seem radical if it were not phrased so simply and felicitously. A pink "R" on the front wrapper and splitting from the bottom fold; near fine in stapled wrappers. A scarce White "A" item; we have never handled another.
291. WHITE, E.B. Stuart Little. London: Hamish Hamilton (1946). The first British edition of White's first children's classic, published six years before Charlotte's Web. This edition was produced after the war but bears the markings of England's wartime books -- thin paper for the text block and dust jacket, thin boards for the binding -- and is thus extremely fragile. Gift inscription on the front flyleaf, else fine in a very near fine dust jacket. An exceptional copy of a scarce edition of this modern classic.
292. WHITE, E.B. The Geese. Newton: Tamazunchale Press, 1985. A miniature book printing a single selection from Essays of E.B. White. One of 250 numbered copies. Leatherbound, all edges gilt, with marbled endpapers by Faith Harrison. Fine, without dust jacket, as issued.
293. WHITE, E.B. Natural History. (n.p.): (n.p.), 1985. A single poem published in an edition of approximately 500 copies on the occasion of White's death. White wrote "Natural History" for his wife, Katharine, in 1929, the year they were married. Its subject is White's returning to his wife; Katharine preceded her husband in death by several years. A single sheet, folded once, to make four pages and featuring a photograph of White by Jill Krementz. Covers slightly dusty, else fine.
294. (WILLIAMS, Terry Tempest). QUAMMEN, David. The Song of the Dodo. NY: Scribner (1996). An advance reading excerpt printing two of the ten chapters from Quammen's ground-breaking volume focusing on "island biogeography in an age of extinction." This copy is signed by fellow author Terry Tempest Williams, who has added the note "For Comment." Dampstaining to lower edges, not affecting text; near fine in wrappers.
295. (WILLIAMS, Terry Tempest). SCHELL, Jonathan. The Fate of the Earth. NY: Knopf, 1982. Schell's extended reflection on the fate of the earth in the wake of a nuclear war; first published as an entire issue of The New Yorker. This copy is intimately inscribed by Williams, in part: "May we continue to share a social conscience and a love for all that is alive." Fine in a near fine, mildly spine-sunned dust jacket with one edge tear and a price sticker on the rear panel.
296. WILSON, Edmund. Manuscript of the Introduction to The Complete Works of Kate Chopin. (n.p.): (n.p.)(n.d.)[c. 1969]. A four-page typescript, with Wilson's holograph corrections. Also with Wilson's typed name at the end of the piece and Wilson's signature in pencil at the top: "Please send me a proof of this. Edmund Wilson/ Wellfleet, Mass." We have no way of knowing whether Wilson got his proof: the manuscript does differ from the final text by several words. The Complete Works of Kate Chopin, edited by Per Seyersted, was first published by the Louisiana State University Press in 1969; it was reprinted in paperback in 2006 and a first printing of the 2006 edition is included here. This was the volume that completed the resurrection of Kate Chopin's literary reputation, from that of being an obscure and largely forgotten regional writer to being one of the important American authors of the 1890s. The inclusion of an introductory assessment of her work, and that of Seyersted, by no less a figure than Wilson -- probably the preeminent American man of letters at the time -- seemed designed to put the critical weight of the literary establishment behind this new evaluation of her work. Wilson reports that prior to this work, he had difficulty finding her stories to read, and in order to read her first novel he had to go to the microfilm at the Library of Congress. The typescript is folded once and has staple removal holes at the upper left corner; the top page is evenly sunned; near fine. An important manuscript, both by a major American author and about a major American author.
297. (WOLFF, Tobias). Brothers. NY: Hyperion (1999). Portraits and celebrations of brothers, introduced by Tobias Wolff. With contributions by Richard Ford, Frank McCourt, James Alan McPherson, Steve and Mark O'Donnell, and David Sedaris, among others. This copy is signed by Wolff. Quarto; fine in a fine dust jacket.
298. WOOLF, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. London: Hogarth Press, 1925. Her fourth novel, printed at her and her husband's press, and one of Woolf's best-loved books. The first edition was 2000 copies. Woolf was one of a small handful of women to have more than one book named to any of the lists of the great books of the 20th century, and this was one of the titles cited. A stream-of-consciousness novel, it was made into a film in 1997 with Vanessa Redgrave in the title role. It also played a key role in the novel The Hours by Michael Cunningham, and the movie that was made from that book. Gentle spine lean, trace rubbing to cloth corners; a near fine copy, lacking the rare dust jacket. A much nicer copy of this fragile book than one usually sees.
299. WOOLF, Virginia. Three Guineas. London: Hogarth Press, 1938. Woolf's considered responses to being asked for a guinea from three separate sources: a society for the preservation of peace; a women's college; and a society for obtaining employment for women. This is the first issue, in lemon yellow cloth boards. Boards mottled and endpapers foxed; very good in a very good, foxed and spine-tanned dust jacket with imperceptible, professional strengthening to the folds.
300. WROBLEWSKI, David. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. (NY): Ecco (2008). The advance reading copy of the author's highly acclaimed first book, which received excellent reviews, went into multiple printings, and just recently was selected for Oprah Winfrey's book club, which caused another 750,000 copies to be printed. The ARC, however, is very scarce; we've only seen a couple of them. Fine, with three pages of promotional material laid in.
301. YEVTUSHENKO, Yevgeny. A Precocious Autobiography. NY: Dutton, 1963. A review copy of the first American edition of the Russian poet's autobiography, which includes his comments on such American writers as Salinger, Hemingway and Kerouac. Suggestively inscribed by the author. Fine in a near fine, rubbed and price-clipped dust jacket, with review slip laid in.
302. YEVTUSHENKO, Yevgeny. The Bratsk Station and Other Poems. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1967. The first British edition of this collection of poems, with a preface by the author and a foreword by poet Peter Levi. Frankly inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
303. -. Same title, the first American edition. Garden City: Doubleday/Anchor, 1967. Signed by the author. Only issued in wrappers in this country; fine.
304. YEVTUSHENKO, Yevgeny. Stolen Apples. Garden City: Doubleday, 1971. A collection of Yevtushenko's poetry, translated by eight different authors including John Updike, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, James Dickey, Richard Wilbur, Stanley Kunitz and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Inscribed by Yevtushenko "with admiration." Dampstaining to the front board and a few spots to the foredge; very good in a near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
Addenda
304. ROWLING, J. K. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. (London): Bloomsbury (2005). The sixth book in the acclaimed Harry Potter series, one of the bestselling series of all time, with over 400 million books sold, and the basis for a popular series of movies as well. When this book was first issued it set a record by selling more than 9 million copies in the first 24 hours, in the U.K. and U.S. (a record later broken by the final installment in the series). This copy is signed by the author on a publisher's bookplate prepared in advance of the first edition and given out for promotional purposes. Bloomsbury issued a tiny number of signed bookplates with the image of the swirling fire from the cover of the book and which stated "Not for Sale" and never released any more of them, blank or signed. Rowling was already so popular that book signings had become logistically near-impossible. This copy has the bookplate affixed to the dedication page, a location that Rowling herself has frequently used when inscribing books for specific individuals, suggesting perhaps that this copy may have come from her directly. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket, and while the book had a huge first printing, authentic signed copies and copies with the publisher's signed bookplate are extremely scarce.
305. SALINGER, J. D. Nine Stories. NY: Modern Library (1959). The first Modern Library edition of Salinger's second book, his first collection of short stories. This copy is inscribed by the author and signed "Sonny Salinger" on the verso of the half-title. Salinger was called "Sonny" when he was growing up in New York City and abandoned the name when he was sent away to Valley Forge Military Academy at the age of 14. The only people who knew him as "Sonny" were people who knew him when he was a boy; while we have not determined the relationship between Salinger and the recipient of this book, by 1959 Salinger hadn't used the name "Sonny" in more than two decades; and by this time he was living in Cornish, N.H., and immersed in the reclusiveness for which he has become well-known, and which continues to this day. It is likely that "Lili Lefforts" (?) Was a childhood friend, probably of his parents; we have seen one other Salinger book from this period (actually, 1956) inscribed as "Sonny Salinger," and it was to the parents of a friend, who had been friends of his own parents. Salinger's autograph is exceptionally scarce; a signature as "Sonny Salinger" is one of the rarest in modern literature. Very good in very good dust jacket.