Catalog 155, N-O
127. NAIPAUL, V.S. The Mystic Masseur. NY: Vanguard (1959). The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of the Nobel Prize winner's first novel. Naipaul is a Trinidadian author of Indian descent, one of the giants of contemporary English literature, and one of the most astute, if acerbic, Western commentators on Third World issues. Spine and a bit of the lower rear edge darkened, apparently from binder's glue rather than sun; some light dustiness to covers and a few gentle turns to page corners; very good in wrappers. An exceedingly scarce proof, dating from the period when proofs were not routinely produced, let alone saved and filtered into the rare book market. We've only ever seen one other copy.
128. NAIPAUL, V.S. Mr Stone and the Knights Companion. (London): Deutsch (1963). The uncorrected proof copy of this early novel by the Nobel Prize winner, his fifth book. Small ink number on summary page; modest creasing and edge-sunning to covers; very good in wrappers. A scarce Naipaul proof: this is the only copy we've seen.
129. NERUDA, Pablo. The Captain's Verses. NY: New Directions, 1972. Long galley sheets of this bilingual collection by the Chilean poet, issued after he won the 1971 Nobel Prize for literature. Approximately 7" x 22", printed on thin proofing paper. Folded in half; outer leaf well creased; otherwise near fine. An extremely uncommon state of the book, fragile and probably produced in tiny quantities. This copy has a mailing label and publisher's summary sheet attached; otherwise we would have assumed it to have been done for in-house use because of the format.
130. NERUDA, Pablo. Residence on Earth. NY: New Directions, 1973. Long galley sheets of this bilingual collection, a new translation of one of Neruda's important collections, originally published in three volumes in the 1930s and '40s. Approximately 7" x 22", printed on proofing paper. Folded in half; outer leaf well creased; otherwise near fine. Neruda died later the same year that this collection was published.
131. NICHOLS, John. The Magic Journey. NY: Holt Rinehart Winston (1978). The uncorrected proof copy of the second, and scarcest, book in Nichols' acclaimed New Mexico trilogy, which began with The Milagro Beanfield War and concluded with The Nirvana Blues. Modest diagonal creasing to front wrapper; literary agency stamp front and rear wrappers; near fine.
132. NIN, Anais. The Diary of Anais Nin, Vol. V: 1947-1955. NY: HBJ (1974). The uncorrected proof copy of this volume. Large quarto; bound galleys, printed on rectos only, a format that suggests relatively few would have been produced, as it is a bulky and unwieldy book and would have been more expensive to print than standard size proofs. Near fine in wrappers.
133. NIN, Anais. The Diary of Anais Nin: Vol. VI: 1955-1966. NY: HBJ (1976). The uncorrected proof copy. Publicity information heavily glued to the inside front cover and first leaf, with some bleed-through on the latter. Near fine in tall wrappers. This was the last book of Nin's journals to be published while she was still alive.
134. NUNN, Kem. Tapping the Source. NY: Delacorte (1984). The uncorrected proof copy of Nunn's powerful first book, one of the great hard-boiled novels of the past 30 years, set in the surfing subculture of Southern California. Nominated for the National Book Award. Light foxing to top edge and tiny spot to foredge; near fine in plain yellow printed wrappers. Includes the Robert Stone blurb that appears on the dust jacket of the finished book, which puts Nunn in a class with Raymond Chandler and James Crumley.
135. O'BRIEN, Tim. Northern Lights. (NY): Delacorte/Lawrence (1975). The uncorrected proof copy of his second novel, a tale of two brothers in the wilderness of northern Minnesota, one of them a war veteran, the other a veteran of the protests against that war. Approximately 5 1/4" x 10 1/2", with holograph page numbers. This copy has the publication date and price handwritten on the front cover, along with a note of transmittal, in part, "...this is the guy who has all the friends in Mpls..." O'Brien is a relentless reviser and re-writer, and this proof varies from the published text in at least one substantial degree -- a two-page section in the proof has been deleted from the final book. Minor corner stain, light edge-sunning and a bit of surface soiling; very good in tall wrappers. Scarce: we've only seen a couple of copies in the last two decades or more.
136. O'BRIEN, Tim. The Things They Carried. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of related stories that share a number of characters as well as the narrator -- a "Tim O'Brien" whose experience bears certain similarities to the author's own, as well as a number of differences. Selected as one of the best books of the year in all categories by the editors of The New York Times Book Review and named one of the best works of American fiction in a 25-year period in those same pages; also winner of the Heartland Award, among others, including a National Magazine Award for the title chapter. Not quite a novel in the usual sense but more tightly structured than the usual collection of stories, it is a meditation on war and death, and on the place that storytelling has in bringing these unfathomable experiences within our grasp. Extremely slight bump; still very near fine in wrappers.
137. OLSEN, Tillie. Yonnondio from the Thirties. (NY): Delacorte Press (1974). The uncorrected proof copy, as well as a review copy, of her first novel, begun in 1934 -- a chapter of it was published in the Partisan Review that year -- and put aside for nearly 40 years while the author raised her four children and attended to the tasks of survival. The uncorrected proof copy is inscribed by the author to noted bookseller Burt Britton: "Dear Burt - I am sorry you have this - I am sorry I could not prevent this edition with its changes made by an impertinent copy editor, and a publisher who refused to print corrections to original copy, and all the changes and revisions I felt necessary after seeing these proofs. The paperback is right. Tillie." Olsen has also signed her name in full on the same page; written an illegible note ("genuine ...."), initialed the front cover; corrected the publication date on the information sheet on the inside front cover; and added "and an unnamed copyeditor" to the author credit. A hint of spine sunning, else fine in wrappers. Together with a review copy of the first edition, signed by Olsen on the title page, and inscribed by her under the front flap: "For Burt Britton, Book Lover - See note in uncorrected page proof. Thank you for caring for this anyway. Tillie Olsen 1976." Fine in a very near fine, mildly spine-sunned dust jacket, with review slip laid in. Books inscribed by Olsen -- whose handwriting is so tiny as to be almost unreadable -- are uncommon. The proof and the book are housed together in a custom clamshell case.
138. 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 the 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 likely in smaller numbers as well. Co-winner of the Booker Prize. Small stains to covers; near fine.
139. ORWELL, George. Selected Writings. London: Heinemann (1958). The uncorrected proof copy of this posthumous collection of thirteen essays, edited by George Bott. This is a working copy, with copyeditor's marks throughout. A fragile example, with several small stains to cover; still holding out at very good in wrappers. Scarce. Together with an ex-library copy of the first edition for reading or reference: a very good copy with splayed boards. Extremely uncommon to see a working copy of an Orwell proof.