Catalog 157, K-L
110. KENNEDY, Jacqueline and James T. Farrell. Typed Letter Signed. 1983. A letter from Kennedy, written in her capacity as editor at Doubleday, rejecting three poems by the late James T. Farrell. Secretarially typed, but signed in full as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. A very courteous rejection, in which she says she was "extremely moved" by the poems, which she calls "lovely." Folded for mailing, one small spot not affecting text; else fine, with envelope. Farrell's three poems ("Unremembering Dreams," "Summer Moving Wind," and one untitled), apparently still unpublished, are also included; the poems are in holograph and each is signed by Farrell. Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a poem by Farrell was inserted into the Congressional Record.
111. KEROUAC, John. The Town and the City. NY: Harcourt Brace (1950). His first book, a novel published seven years before On the Road and the only book Kerouac published using his given name, John, rather than the more casual "Jack" under which his Beat novels were published. Kerouac later dismissed this novel as "dead": he came to consider the carefully crafted style to be artificial, and in opposition to the more free-flowing, jazz-inspired, improvisational writing of On the Road and his later books. The Town and the City is a partly autobiographical novel and as such can be viewed in the context of Kerouac's later books, which together comprised the "Duluoz sequence" -- a series of semi-autobiographical narratives which he considered to be the literal truth of his life, altered into "fiction" by the demands of publishers. While The Town and the City is not as self-consciously experimental as On the Road, it shows Kerouac's literary antecedents -- it is reminiscent of Thomas Wolfe -- and gives a clear indication that he saw himself as a writer long before he became a cultural icon. This copy is signed by the author, "John Kerouac," an early signature, as he later signed his books "Jack Kerouac," after the success of On the Road. Faint foredge foxing; else a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing to the upper spine and the spine extremities. A very attractive copy of a book that is seldom found signed.
112. KEROUAC, Jack. A Pun for Al Gelpi. Harvard Yard: Lowell House, 1966. A broadside of a parable involving Jesus and an apricot tree. Number 41 of 100 numbered copies signed by Kerouac. The first appearance of this poem, and its only appearance during Kerouac's lifetime. 6" x 19" and illustrated with a two-color block print by Nicole Hollander. The bibliography incorrectly lists the dimensions as 6" x 9" and omits the signature, suggesting that the bibliographer may not have seen a copy at the time of writing. Permanently mounted and then attractively matted and framed. Slight crease lower inch, just under the signature, else fine.
113. KEROUAC, Jack. Desolation Angels. NY: Coward McCann (1965). A major novel from the latter part of Kerouac's career and a volume in the "Duluoz Legend," Kerouac's fictionalized autobiographical sequence, this installment is set in the period 1956-57, just prior to the publication of On the Road. Introduction by Beat anthologist and critic Seymour Krim, who attempts to explain in a few short pages why Kerouac's writing is important -- what he brought to American literature that was decidedly original and why that matters. Concavity to spine; a near fine copy in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with light corner rubbing. Laid in is a postcard picturing Kerouac and Neal Cassady, signed by Carolyn Cassady, who took the photograph.
114. KESEY, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. NY: Viking (1962). Kesey's landmark first book, a pivotal novel of the literature of the Sixties, which helped to shape a generation's attitudes on issues of authority, power, madness and, finally, individuality. The early printings of the U.S. edition contain text that was later excised and changed after a lawsuit was brought against Kesey and his publisher by a woman who was a nurse at the institution which Kesey used as a model for the novel; she charged him with portraying a character that was based on her (and had the same first name) in a disparaging manner. The character was rewritten after the third hardcover printing, and later editions, including the mass market paperback and the "definitive" text in the Viking Critical Library Series, have an alternate, male character in her place. With an early inscription by the author: "To Joe, The slowly murmered [sic] [occasion /evasion?] equals the quick trick./ Ken Kesey." Kesey's handwriting is such that we can't make out the exact word he intended but the sense of it seems to be that a slowly murmured something -- allows the "quick trick": in an interview published on blotterati.com, Kesey recounts performing sleight of hand magic tricks since he was in high school, and says "My best work is this kind of stuff [magic tricks]...That has to do with art at its best. It leaves you with that little crack in your mind." Offsetting to lower pastedowns, a bit of spotting to lower board edge and a couple upper page margins; a near fine copy in a very good dust jacket, unfaded but with minor wear to the edges and joints, a short closed tear at the lower front spine fold, and several surface scratches to the rear panel. Still a nice copy, with one of Kesey's characteristic enigmatic inscriptions, suggestive of his fundamental view that the purpose of art, if not of life itself, is like the purpose of a magic trick -- to open one's mind just a crack so one can, as he put it, "see something that extends beyond the visible." An earlier inscription than the multicolored ones he did later in his life, and more revealing of Kesey as a writer, someone who enjoyed playing with words because of the power they had to surprise, and thus to open up the unanticipated, slightly dangerous unknown realm where possibilities multiplied. A great inscription in one of the key books of the 20th century.
115. KESEY, Ken. Guguk Kusu [Cuckoo Bird]. [Turkey]: Altin Kitaplar, 1976. A Turkish edition of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Name (?) front flyleaf; acidic paper darkening with a few pages creased in the upper margin; still near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
116. KESEY, Ken. Kesey's Garage Sale. (NY): (Viking) (1973). The wrappered issue of this collection of shorter pieces, spanning the years of the Sixties, when Kesey's activities moved far from the strictly literary path he had been on when he wrote his first two novels. According to the author, the pieces were not conceived as a book but instead were drawn from various sources and put together, much as the title suggests, like the items in a garage sale. Prior to publication, Kesey had led the Merry Pranksters on their famous cross-country bus trip, become a counterculture hero and advocate, and been a fugitive from the law, spending time in Mexico dodging the consequences of a pot bust. With an introduction by playwright Arthur Miller and contributions by Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, Ken Babbs, Paul Krassner, and others. Heavily illustrated with sketches by Kesey, photographs, etc. Signed by Kesey in glitter and feathers, one of the more elaborate such signatures we have seen. Also signed by Allen Ginsberg and Ken Babbs. Rubbing to folds, typical glitter migration; near fine.
117. KESEY, Ken. The Day After Superman Died. Northridge: Lord John, 1980. A story about Neal Cassady, Kesey's longtime friend, sometime mentor, and the driver of the Merry Pranksters' bus on its legendary cross-country trip as well as Kerouac's companion on the trip that formed the basis for On the Road, in which Cassady was the model for the main character, Dean Moriarty. Issued in an edition of 300 numbered copies and 50 specially-bound, deluxe numbered copies: this has the binding of the deluxe issue but is unnumbered because where the printed colophon reads "This is number..." Kesey has handwritten "The last!" (Oddly, this does not make it number 50, as a number 50 has been sighted.) Signed by the author. Spine faded, otherwise fine, without jacket, as issued. A unique copy.
118. (KESEY, Ken). Millers' Log 1952. Springfield: Springfield High School, 1952. Kesey's high school yearbook, from his junior year. Inscribed by Kesey to fellow junior Frances McGinnis in red colored pencil: "Fran, I sure will miss your tight sweaters and sexy glances from english. Ken Kesey [with a sketch of a rabbit coming out of a top hat]." In addition to his junior class picture, Kesey is pictured on the football team, the wrestling team (three times), in the National Thespian Society, and as a member of Varsity S (in charge of "keeping order at school sponsored activities and generally upholding the school's reputation"). A couple dozen other inscriptions, some rubbing to the corners; near fine.
119. (KESEY, Ken). Notes from The Cuckoo's Nest. (n.p.): Pioneer [c. 1975]. A compendium of information on the book, the play, and mostly the film, edited and with an essay and notes by Charles Kiselyak. Contains the back story on the film's evolution, as well as portions of the screenplay and the continuity script. The screenplay segments show at least one round of the revisions the script underwent. The essay also goes into the controversy around the film, including the lawsuits. Kesey reportedly was so infuriated by the production as it turned out that he considered having his name removed from the film credits. In particular, he was incensed at the casting that had Jack Nicholson in the role of McMurphy, the protagonist of the story and, by all accounts, a strapping lumberjack-type figure in Kesey's tale. Signed by Kesey on the front cover. Large format, illustrated, missing the laser disks that were housed in pockets inside the covers, but offered here with a separate, unopened set of laser disks. The disks are fine; the book is near fine, without dust jacket, as issued. The laser disk release of Cuckoo's Nest must of necessity be the scarcest of the various video releases of the film, since the format was only in existence for a few years and never really gained traction with the public. Kesey, because of his contempt for the film, would normally have nothing to do with copies of it. It is possible, perhaps even likely, that this is the only signed copy of the laserdisk edition of Cuckoo's Nest that exists. A rarity, and an interesting, succinct history of the book and film. Despite Kesey's distaste for the movie, it was the first film in 40 years to sweep the five main Oscars, for best film, director, actor, actress and screenplay.
120. (KESEY, Ken). STRELOW, Michael, ed. Kesey. Eugene: Northwest Review Books (1977). The hardcover issue of this collection of writings by and about Kesey. Includes introductory essays by Malcolm Cowley and John Clark Pratt (the editor of the Viking Critical Library edition of Cuckoo's Nest); selections from Kesey's manuscript notes for Cuckoo's Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion; and a number of other previously unpublished writings and drawings by Kesey, including excerpts from Seven Prayers by Grandma Whittier. Signed by Ken Kesey and by the editor, Michael Strelow. Corner tap; else fine in a near fine dust jacket with a small cup ring on the front panel. The hardcover issue is relatively uncommon, as there was a simultaneous issue in wrappers. It is especially scarce signed by Kesey.
121. (KESEY, Ken). On The Bus. NY: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1990. A pictorial guide to Kesey's and the Merry Prankster's cross-country bus trip in 1964, "and the birth of the counterculture." With forewords by Hunter Thompson and Jerry Garcia, "flashbacks" by Ken Babbs and text by Paul Perry, and an introductory excerpt from Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, originally published in 1968 and, despite Wolfe's not having been "on the bus" -- i.e., one of the Pranksters himself -- still one of the most compelling and immediate accounts of that trip. This volume has reflective commentary by Robert Stone, Ed McClanahan, Gurney Norman, Malcolm Cowley, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, and many other who were involved with, or influenced by, the trip. Illustrated with numerous black-and-white photographs, and a handful of color photos. This copy is signed by Ken Kesey, Robert Stone, Tom Wolfe and Ed McClanahan, and scarce thus. Fine in wrappers.
122. KIM, Richard E. The Martyred. NY: George Braziller (1964). The first novel, about the Korean War, by a young Korean who served with the Army of the Republic of Korea during the war there. Nominated for the National Book Award. Inscribed by the author on Christmas the year prior to publication to two writer friends the author had met and gotten to know at the Iowa Writers Workshop in 1962: "with bitter-sweet memories yet, above all, affectionately." Near fine in a very good, spine and edge-tanned dust jacket with chipping to the lower rear flap fold.
123. KINCAID, Jamaica. Annie John. NY: FSG (1985). Her second book, first novel, which expands on themes she touched on in her collection of stories, notably the plight of young, strong-willed girls born into a life of poverty. Inscribed by the author to Nicholas Delbanco and his wife, "with much love." Kincaid's pen ran out in the middle of the inscription: two colors are used. Fine in a very near fine, slightly spine-sunned dust jacket. A nice association copy: Delbanco was responsible for Kincaid's moving to Bennington to teach at Bennington College; and Kincaid and her then-husband, Allen Shawn (the dedicatee of this book), lived in Delbanco's house when they first settled in Vermont.
124. KING, Stephen. The Stand. NY: Doubleday (1978). One of King's early novels, published by Doubleday in a remarkably cheap binding. A massive book -- 823 pages -- but nonetheless, a larger edition with "restored" text was issued in 1990. This copy belonged to Burton Hatlen, King's English Professor at the University of Maine, and bears his underlinings and marginal notations, as well as a short list of the pages that have typos. Hatlen wrote a critical work on King's The Shining; he was one of the three dedicatees of King's novel The Long Walk, written as Richard Bachman and published the year after this book; and King mentions Hatlen in his book On Writing. Hatlen apparently read the book closely: his underlinings and comments begin a couple of hundred pages into the book and continue sporadically until the next to the last page, and his marginal comments respond to the text as well as putting it in context. At one point he cites "Gollum and Smeagol," Tolkien's fictional character, for comparison with one of King's characters. This copy has also been signed by King at a later date. A bulky volume, with an indentation to the spine; otherwise near fine in a very good dust jacket with several small chips and edge tears. A wonderful association copy, with a letter of provenance laid in.
125. KING, Stephen. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. (NY): Scribner (1999). A novel in which a lost girl channels the strengths (at the time) of Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Tom Gordon for comfort. Signed by King. With the bookplate of horror writer Stanley Wiater on the front pastedown; fine in a fine dust jacket. One of King's scarcest trade editions to find signed, presumably because of the difficult logistics of handling a Stephen King book signing in recent years, due to his extreme popularity. This copy was a gift to attendees at a dinner celebrating King's 25th anniversary as a published writer, which Wiater attended with his wife. A limited edition of this title was published several years later, and a pop-up edition of it was done as well. But signed copies of the trade first edition are exceedingly scarce.
126. KING, Stephen. The Green Mile #1-6. (NY): (Penguin)/Signet, (1996). First printings of the monthly installments of King's six-part novel, an interesting publishing experiment which hearkened back to the serial publications of the nineteenth century. Each volume has the ownership stamp of horror writer Stanley Wiater and, apart from the hint of a corner crease to the cover of Volume 6, each is fine in wrappers. For the set:
127. LE CARRÉ, John. A Most Wanted Man. (London): Hodder & Stoughton (2008). A hardcover advance copy of Le Carré's novel of several individuals caught up in the competing agendas of rival spy agencies in the era of 21st century terrorism threats. Hodder & Stoughton issued a trade edition and a 500-copy limited edition of this title (and Waterstone's issued a 1000 copy limited edition). Although this resembles the Hodder limited edition in its black binding and cover design, it is a smaller format, with promotional text on the front and back covers. A fine copy without dust jacket, as issued. Apparently scarce.
128. (LEE, Harper). The Corolla. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama, 1947. The yearbook of the University of Alabama, where Harper Lee studied law between 1945 and 1949. Lee is shown as the editor of the humor magazine Rammer Jammer, sitting on the Board of Publications, voted one of the "campus personalities," pictured as a student of law, and mentioned as a member of Chi Omega and of Triangle, an honor society of seniors who provide guidance to freshmen. In all, at least a half dozen pictures of Lee. Before completing her degree requirements, Lee left law school for New York City, where she worked as an airline reservations clerk while writing To Kill a Mockingbird. A near fine copy.
129. LESSING, Doris. The Grass is Singing. London: Michael Joseph (1950). The first edition of the first book by the 2007 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Signed by the author. Cocked; with sunning to spine and board edges and an owner name in pencil on the half title; a very good copy in a very good dust jacket with shallow chipping to the spine crown, a bit of tanning to the spine, and foxing that is mostly visible on verso. Complete with the "Daily Graphic/ Book of the Month/ Book Society Recommend" wraparound band. Laid in is a 1950 review with the subtitle: "Rhodesian Woman Expresses Frank Opinions in Controversial Novel." Lessing grew up in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and because of her strong views about race was prohibited from visiting that country for more than a quarter century, from the mid-1950s until 1982. She was similarly banned from South Africa from 1955 until 1995. An important first book, uncommon signed, and with the ephemeral wraparound band present.
130. LOVECRAFT, H.P. Dagon and Other Macabre Tales. Sauk City: Arkham House, 1965. A collection of stories by the master of horror fiction. One of 3000 copies printed. Bookplate of horror writer Stanley Wiater on the front flyleaf, with his ownership label on the front pastedown and front jacket flap. Bookplate partially abraded. Near fine in a near fine jacket.
131. LOVECRAFT, H.P. The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions. Sauk City: Arkham House, 1970. This copy belonged to horror writer Stanley Wiater and bears his Gahan Wilson-designed bookplate on the front flyleaf: Wilson also designed the dust jacket for this edition. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a hint of sunning to the spine.
132. -. Same title. (Sauk City): Arkham House (1989). A review copy of the "Corrected Third Printing." With the bookplate of Stanley Wiater. Fine in two dust jackets (the outer one having just a bit of rubbing to the front flap fold). Review slip laid in.