Catalog 154, C-E
23. CALDWELL, Erskine. Some American People. NY: McBride (1935). A review copy of his first book of nonfiction, a commentary on and survey of some areas of the U.S. particularly hard-hit by the Depression, and profiles and vignettes of a number of representative individuals. Inscribed by the author to Stuart Wright: "Stuart W. getting close to the end, Erskine C." Wright was a bibliographer of such writers as Walker Percy, Randall Jarrell, Andrew Lytle, Peter Taylor and others, and the owner of Palaemon Press, a small press that specialized in publishing Southern authors. Owner signature of Florence Luntz to front pastedown; trace wear to spine ends; very near fine in a near fine, slightly dusty dust jacket with a tiny tear at the upper front spine fold. Publisher's review slip laid in, giving the publication date, October 21, 1935. A very nice association copy of an important Caldwell book, and rare as an advance issue, particularly signed.
24. CALVINO, Italo. The Path to the Nest of Spiders. London: Collins, 1956. The first English-language edition of Calvino's first book, inscribed by the translator, Archibald Colquhoun, in the year of publication. Tiny corner bumps; a near fine copy in a very good dust jacket with slight spine fading, light chipping to corners and crown, and a small creased edge tear. Scarce.
25. CARTER, Charlotte. Rhode Island Red. (London): Serpent's Tail (1997). The first book by this African American writer, a mystery novel. This British edition is the true first, preceding the American. Warmly inscribed by the author to a well-known poet with "much love, as ever" and signed "Charlotte." Carter has gone on to write a series of well-received mystery novels. Tiny ink dot to foredge; still fine without dust jacket, as issued.
26. CARVER, Raymond. Fires. London: Collins Harvill, 1985. The first British edition of this Carver retrospective, originally published in 1983 by his early small press publisher, Capra, on the heels of his critical and commercial success. This British edition was a slightly different collection than the American one, lacking a couple of pieces that appeared in the U.S. edition and including a couple that did not. This copy is inscribed by Carver to novelist Robert Stone: "For Bob - with fond memories of the stay in Port Angeles. With love - Ray - July 22, 1985." Stone visited Carver at his home in Port Angeles, Washington, a couple of times, ostensibly for fishing trips including one with Tobias Wolff and Richard Ford -- an impressive gathering of American literary fishermen. Stone called Carver "the best American short story writer since Hemingway" and, speaking at Carver's memorial service, Stone borrowed a line from his own essay on Chekhov, the writer to whom Carver has most frequently been compared, and called Carver "a hero of perception." Foxing to pages edges and endpages, not affecting inscription; a very good copy in a very good, lightly edgeworn dust jacket with foxing, mostly on verso, and slight fading to the spine title. Association copies of Carver's books are highly uncommon, and this is one of the best we have seen.
27. CARVER, Raymond. Typescript of his Address at the University of Hartford. (West Hartford): (University of Hartford)(1988). A photocopy of the original typescript of the speech Carver gave when he received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree at the university. The speech is transcribed in the program of the Commencement (a copy of which is included here). The typescript differs from the published version in paragraphing and in the deletion of one 17-word clause, which has been circled in ink on the photocopy -- thus providing an earlier view of the text of the speech. A rare ephemeral piece. The typescript is near fine; the program is fine.
28. CHATWIN, Bruce. The Songlines. (London): London Limited Editions (1987). A limited edition of Chatwin's best book -- a "novel of ideas," as the publisher puts it, of Australian aborigines, and of the questions about man that arise from the vast gulf that separates the culture of contemporary, Western civilized man from that of the wandering tribes of Australia, whose "dream tracks" or "songlines" delineate both a physical and a psychic geography. One of 150 numbered copies signed by the author. Mild top edge foxing; else fine in a near fine, original glassine dustwrapper. Scarce.
29. CHEEVER, John. The Uncollected Stories of John Cheever, 1930-1981. (Chicago): Academy Chicago (1988). The uncorrected proof copy of this book that was never published, leaving 55 of the 68 stories contained in the book still uncollected. Cheever chose only 61 of his published stories for the 1978 Knopf collection, The Stories of John Cheever, which won the Pulitzer Prize. A decade later, a small mom-and-pop publisher, Academy Chicago, arranged to publish 68 previously uncollected stories. The project got as far as the printing of proof copies before the Cheever family, with the assistance of agent Andrew Wylie and the lawyer Martin Garbus, managed to cancel the contract that Mary Cheever had signed allowing for the publication of this volume. Academy Chicago later published a collection of 13 stories originally planned for this volume, but the remainder of the stories herein have never been available in book form. One of the publishing rarities of the last several decades, and a trove of stories by one of the great American writers of the 20th century, whose work was recently included in the Library of America series -- with only two of the stories from the later collection included, and none of the uncollected 55. Fine in wrappers. Together with a copy of the later collection, and with Anita Miller's book Uncollecting Cheever, an account of the legal case surrounding the book.
30. CHILD, Lee. Worth Dying For. NY: Delacorte (2010). The first American edition of the 15th novel in the author's popular Jack Reacher mystery series. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
31. CHILDRESS, Mark. Crazy in Alabama. NY: Putnam (1993). His fourth book, which one blurb compares to a collaboration between Flannery O'Connor and Stephen King, and another compares to Harper Lee and Truman Capote. Warmly inscribed by Childress to another writer in 1994: "For ___ ___ -- Pal of the High Country -- it's an honor to know ye." Foxing to top edge; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. A nice association copy.
32. CLARK, Joseph. Jungle Wedding. NY: Norton (1999). His first book, a collection of stories. Inscribed by the author to another writer: "Thank you for the inspiration and for continuing to write such righteous works. Hope I can be up to the standard." With a full page handwritten fan letter from Clark laid in. The letter is folded, with a corner crease; near fine. The book is fine in a fine dust jacket.
33. COETZEE, J.M. The Novel in Africa. (Berkeley): (Townsend Center for the Humanities)(1999). The text of a lecture Coetzee delivered in November, 1988. Printed as Occasional Paper 17. No edition stated; presumably the first and only edition: it appears to be uncommon; we have seen it only twice before. Thin spine is faded; else fine in wrappers. Uncommon.
34. CONNELLY, Michael. Chasing the Dime. Boston/NY: Little Brown (2003). Inscribed by the author: "____, Don't answer the phone." Slight sag to text block; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with dampstaining visible on verso.
35. CONROY, Frank. "He began sleeping in the guest room..." Berkeley: Black Oak Books, 1993. A broadside excerpt from Body & Soul, printed on the occasion of a reading by the author. 6 1/2" x 11 1/2". Fine.
36. CONROY, Pat. The Great Santini. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1976. The author's third book, first novel, which was made into a well-received movie. Inscribed by the author in 1988: "To ___, who runs a marvelous bookstore in the loveliest city. All love, Pat Conroy." Conroy has just published a book, My Reading Life, about the books that have been important to him, and it's clear that a good bookstore would also be something the author would readily appreciate. A nice inscription on an important first novel by one of the bestselling and most beloved writers in America today. Fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with small corner chips.
37. CONROY, Pat. The Lords of Discipline. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980. His second novel, set in a military school very similar to The Citadel, which Conroy attended. Inscribed by the author: "To ___, who runs the best bookstore in the world's prettiest city. All love and praise, Pat Conroy." Like The Great Santini and later The Prince of Tides, this was made into a well-received film. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with the slightest touch of wear to the crown. A very nice copy, with a nice inscription.
38. CORSO, Gregory. American Express. Paris: The Olympia Press (1961). A humorous autobiographical novel by the Beat poet, published in the Traveller's Companion series, which also published William Burroughs, J.P. Donleavy, Terry Southern and others. With illustrations throughout by the author. Fine in wrappers, in a fine dust jacket, and very uncommon thus.
39. CRAIS, Robert. Stalking the Angel. NY: Bantam (1989). The second Elvis Cole mystery, and the first to be published in hardcover in the U.S.. Cole is a Vietnam vet, and his experiences in Vietnam play a part in the series, helping to shape his character and his reactions to events. Signed by the author. Fine in a mildly-rubbed, near fine dust jacket. An early entry in this award-winning and now bestselling mystery series.
40. CRAWFORD, Stanley. Gascoyne. NY: Putnam (1966). The first book by the author of, among others, The Log of the S.S. the Mrs. Unguentine, a comic novel that was recently reissued to much praise by the Dalkey Archive Press. Crawford has written five novels and several books of nonfiction, including one about the garlic farm that he and his wife have operated in New Mexico for over 30 years. This copy is signed by the author. Fine in a very good, spine-faded dust jacket with modest edge wear. An important first book, and uncommon signed.
41. CRUMLEY, James. The Last Good Kiss. NY: Random House (1978). His third book, second mystery, written in a hardboiled style with a comic edge. Inscribed by Crumley to Andre Dubus: "God Andre all those fucking years since Iowa City -- I don't know how we survived. Take care/ Jim Crumley/ 11/23/79." Foxing to top edge of text block, else fine in a near fine, mildly spine-tanned dust jacket with light edge wear. A great association copy between two of the best writers of their generation.
42. CRUMLEY, James. The Collection. (London): Picador/Pan (1991). The first combined edition of his three mysteries, The Wrong Case, The Last Good Kiss and Dancing Bear. With an introduction by Crumley for this edition. Inscribed by Crumley to his British editor: "Peter - This is like winning the International Book Award. Many, many thanks for this edition." Fine in a fine dust jacket. Laid in is an autograph note signed from Crumley to his editor, on Crumley's wedding invitation, on which the editor is invited to the wedding and updated on the page count of Crumley's latest book.
43. CRUMLEY, James. One to Count Cadence. (London): Picador (1994). This first British edition of Crumley's first book, of GIs in the Philippines in the early '60s, before being shipped to Vietnam. First published in the U.S. in 1969. Age-toning to page edges; else fine in wrappers. From the library of Crumley's U.K. editor.
44. DELILLO, Don. "On February 14, 1989..." (NY): (Rushdie Defense Committee USA)(1994). A flyer issued in support of Salman Rushdie on the fifth anniversary of the Iranian death edict issued against him in response to The Satanic Verses. DeLillo, himself a master of imagining the individual's fictive response to seeping cultural-political forces, asks us to imagine Rushdie's reality. One page folded to make four pages; the text is unattributed to DeLillo on the flyer, but DeLillo was named as author in a letter accompanying the initial distribution, and a photocopy of that letter is included. 450,000 copies of the flyer were printed but few are likely to have been preserved. Fine.
45. (DELILLO, Don). "Take the A Train" in Epoch, Vol. 7, No. 1. Ithaca: Cornell University, 1962. DeLillo's second published story, credited to "Donald DeLillo." His first story was also published in Epoch, in the Winter, 1960 issue. This story was included in the anthology Stories From Epoch: The First Fifty Issues (1947-1964). Foxing to foredge; near fine in stapled wrappers. An important early appearance in print by one of the celebrated American novelists. Scarce.
46. (DELILLO, Don). "Baghdad Towers West" in Epoch, Vol. 17, No. 3. Ithaca: Cornell University, 1968. DeLillo's fifth published story, his fourth for Epoch. Published during the time he was working on Americana, his first novel. Edge-tanning to covers and a 1" chip at the crown. Very good in wrappers.
47. DRABBLE, Margaret. A Brief History of My Addiction. (London): Warren Editions, 1974. The first separate appearance of a piece that 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.
48. (EGGERS, Dave). Teachers Have It Easy. NY: New Press (2005). Nonfiction, subtitled "The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America's Teachers." Eggers, who has co-founded writing centers in various cities around the country and is a strong education advocate, teams up with a teacher and a journalist to examine the widespread phenomenon of teachers being underpaid in our society. Signed by Eggers and by co-authors Daniel Moulthrop and Nínive Clements Calegari. With an introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Fine in a fine dust jacket. An uncommon Eggers item to find signed.
49. EHRLICH, Gretel. Geode/Rock Body. Santa Barbara: Capricorn Press, 1970. The first book by the author of The Solace of Open Spaces and Heart Mountain, among others, a collection of poems. This is one of 550 copies of the issue in wrappers, of a total edition of 600 copies. Inscribed by the author in 1992. Mild edge-sunning; else fine.
50. ELLIOTT, Bob; GOULDING, Ray; VONNEGUT, Kurt. Write If You Get Work: The Best of Bob & Ray. NY: Random House (1975). A collection of skits by the famous radio and TV comics, who were elected into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1995. Bob and Ray had a career that spanned five decades, from radio in the 1940s to television in the 1980s, including several appearances on Saturday Night Live and a movie made with several of the Saturday Night Live stars; Elliott's granddaughter joined the cast of SNL in 2009, becoming the third generation of the family to appear on the show. This copy is inscribed by Elliott and Goulding to Nelson Lyon, one of the writers for Saturday Night Live. Small stain to foredge and shallow sunning to board edges; near fine in a very good, spine-sunned dust jacket with mild edge wear. Foreword by Kurt Vonnegut. Very uncommon signed, and a nice association copy as well.