Catalog 159, L
99. LANSDALE, Joe R. Dead in the West. NY: Space and Time, 1986. A review copy of this early book by Lansdale, only issued in softcover. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication: "For Stan, a weird Western. Thanks for having us in Rhode Island." Stanley Wiater's bookplate inside front cover; near fine in wrappers, with publisher's promotional material laid in.
100. LANSDALE, Joe R. The Nightrunners. Arlington Heights: Dark Harvest, 1987. A publisher's copy (indicated as "P/C" on the colophon) of the deluxe edition, which was issued in a numbered limitation of 300 copies. This copy is signed by Lansdale and is also signed by Dean Koontz and by Gregory Manchess, who provide the introduction and the illustrations, respectively. Slightly musty, else fine in a near fine dust jacket and a very good, edge-stained slipcase.
101. LANSDALE, Joe R. Cold in July. NY: Bantam (1989). A publisher's copy (indicated as "P/C" on the colophon) of the limited edition, which was issued with a numbered limitation of 100 copies. Signed by Lansdale on the colophon. The colophon is laid in, having detached as the glue with which is was tipped in has dried. Glue stains at hinge and light spine crease, with the ownership stamp of Stanley Wiater inside the front cover. Very good in wrappers. An uncommon issue of this paperback original.
102. LANSDALE, Joe R. The Drive-In 2. NY: Bantam (1989). The uncorrected proof copy. Inscribed by the author to Stanley Wiater prior to publication: "For Stan the Man -- My last sequel." Wiater's bookplate inside the front cover; edge-sunned with small crown bump; near fine in wrappers.
103. LANSDALE, Joe R. God of the Razor. Holyoke: Crossroads Press (1992). An out of series copy of the limited edition, which had a limitation of 500 copies. Signed by the author. Stamp of Stanley Wiater inside the front cover; near fine in stapled wrappers.
104. LANSDALE, Joe R. My Dead Dog, Bobby. Sacramento: Cobblestone Books, 1995. One of 750 numbered copies signed by Lansdale and by Norman Partridge and Joe Vigil, who provide the introduction and the illustrations, respectively. Bookplate of Stanley Wiater inside the front cover; fine in stapled wrappers.
105. LANSDALE, Joe R. Freezer Burn. Holyoke: Crossroads Press, 1999. The uncorrected proof copy of this limited edition. Signed by the author. Comb-bound with both printed and acetate covers. Stamp of Stanley Wiater on half title; near fine in wrappers. Scarce.
106. LANSDALE, Joe R. Duck-Footed. (Burton): Subterranean Press, 2003. An out of series copy from an edition of 750 copies in wrappers and 26 hardcovers, signed by the author. Additionally inscribed by Lansdale on the half title. Fine in stapled wrappers.
107. LE CLEZIO, J.M.G. Fever. London: Hamish Hamilton (1966). The first English language edition of his second book. Inscribed by the author, with the added line (in French): "there is no imagination/ there are no memories." Recipient's name to front flyleaf; fine in a very good dust jacket with several edge tears and a small sticker removal shadow to the front panel. Uncommon book by the Nobel Prize winner, and scarce signed. The U.K. edition appears to precede the U.S. edition.
108. -. Same title, the first American edition. NY: Atheneum, 1966. Inscribed by the author, "with all my thanks." Recipient's signature front flyleaf; small spot to top stain; light sunning to board edges; near fine in a very good, rubbed and price-clipped dust jacket with moderate edge wear and mild fading to the red block on the spine.
109. LE CLEZIO, J.M.G. The Flood. NY: Atheneum, 1968. A review copy of the first American edition. Inscribed by the author on the half title. Recipient's signature front flyleaf; trace sunning to board edges; else fine in a very good, lightly rubbed dust jacket with mild edge wear. A scarce early book by the Nobel Prize winner, and extremely uncommon signed or inscribed, especially as an advance copy. A nice association: the recipient was the organizer of a literary festival in which the author participated long before his Nobel Prize.
110. LE CLEZIO, J.M.G. Terra Amata. NY: Atheneum, 1969. The first American edition of this novel. Inscribed by the author, "with my friendly thoughts." Recipient's signature front flyleaf; a fine copy in a very good, spine-sunned dust jacket. Scarce signed.
111. LE CLEZIO, J.M.G. The Book of Flights. NY: Atheneum, 1972. The first American edition. Inscribed by the author. Recipient's signature and date (1973) front flyleaf; fine in a very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with one short, closed edge tear. A very nice copy of an uncommon book.
112. LE CLEZIO, J.M.G. War. (London): Jonathan Cape (1973). The hardcover issue of the first English language edition of this novel set in Vietnam and written during the Vietnam war. Experimental fiction, as his early writing tended to be: this book takes place over a span of 10,000 years. Inscribed by the author. Recipient's signature front flyleaf. Some fading to top stain, else fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with a small, mended chip at the upper rear panel.
113. -. Same title. (London): Wildwood House (1973). The simultaneous softcover issue of the first English language edition, published in the U.K. at the same time as the Jonathan Cape hardcover edition. Inscribed by the author. Recipient's signature front flyleaf. Near fine in wrappers.
114. LE CLEZIO, J.M.G. The Giants. NY: Atheneum, 1975. The first American edition. Inscribed by the author. Recipient's signature front flyleaf. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a small abrasion at the lower rear spine fold.
115. -. Another copy. Inscribed by the author, "this journal from a dwarf." Recipient's signature front flyleaf; fine in a near fine dust jacket with the spine lettering faded from orange to yellow.
116. LE CLEZIO, J.M.G. Desert. (St. Amand): Folio (1991). A French-language paperback reissue of a book originally published in 1980. Inscribed by the author "from a fan of Toronto festival," to the organizer of a Canadian literary festival. Recipient's signature on first blank. Fine in wrappers.
117. LE CLEZIO, J.M.G. Diego & Frida. (Paris): Stock (1993). First edition (French). A biography of the Mexican painters Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, the married couple who redefined modern Mexican art at the time of the Mexican revolution. Warmly inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Le Clezio has also drawn a heart above the title and added "Dos Corazones Felices" (two happy hearts). Recipient's signature on the first blank; fine in wrappers. A nice inscription by the Nobel Prize winner.
118. LEE, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott (1960). The first issue of the advance reading copy of her first and only novel, a huge bestseller upon publication, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the basis for an Academy Award-winning film. The book has become a cultural touchstone and has retained its relevance as a commentary on, and criticism of, racial discrimination since its original publication in the early years of the Civil Rights movement. Interestingly, the publisher's note on the advance copy describes the book in terms that would seem more suitable for light summer beach reading than for a Gothic novel of racism and prejudice set in the deep South: it promises to "furnish a jackpot of sales during the summer" and calls the publication of this first novel "rare fun and lift"; the Truman Capote blurb emphasizes the book's humor and calls it "so funny and so likeable." None of this is too unusual for publishing hyperbole, but in retrospect it seems ironic that this book was marketed in this way. There were two prepublication issues of the book: this one, with the Courier typeface, publication announced as "in July," and cover text apparently addressed to booksellers, is presumed to be the first issue, with the later issue having a sheet overlaying the front cover with more polished typesetting, a publication date specified as July 11, and cover text more generally aimed at readers. Slight spine lean; mild spine creasing; one small red spot and some edge-sunning to the off-white wrappers. A near fine copy of the first prepublication issue of one of the great American novels of the century; one of the nicer copies we have seen.
119. L'ENGLE, Madeleine. Dare to Be Creative! Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1984. The text of a lecture given by L'Engle at the Library of Congress in November, 1983, primarily on the issue of censorship: "...every new question is going to disturb someone's universe..." An uncommon piece by the author of the children's classic A Wrinkle in Time, among others. The pamphlet is 30 pages; L'Engle's text runs 18 pages. Stapled wrappers. Fine.
120. LEONARD, Elmore. Bandits. NY: Arbor House (1987). A mystery by the prolific author, who breathed new life into the hardboiled genre in the 1970s and '80s. Inscribed by the author: "For ___ ___, a Jays fan but a good guy. With very best wishes." Recipient's signature front flyleaf; fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket. A nice personal inscription, with a hint of the author's well-known humor.
121. LEONARD, Elmore. Killshot. NY: Arbor House/Morrow (1989). Inscribed by the author in the year of publication: "For ___ ___/ who took off for Italy when he heard I was coming." Recipient's signature front flyleaf; fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a little lamination lift to the top edge of the front panel and a small sticker (Macmillan of Canada) over the price on the front flap.
122. LESSING, Doris. The Habit of Loving. NY: Crowell (1957). The first American edition of this collection of stories, by the author of The Golden Notebook, among others. Lessing was the only woman to be grouped together with Britain's "angry young men" of literature in the Fifties. Inscribed by the author in 1991, with "love." Recipient's signature front flyleaf; faint age toning to some pages; a very near fine copy in a very good, rubbed dust jacket, with fading to the red spine lettering.
123. LETHEM, Jonathan; MARTIN, Walter; MUNOZ, Paloma. Travelers. (NY): Aperture (2008). Whimsical and eerie photographs of snow globes by Martin and Munoz, with an 8-page story, "Traveler Home," by Lethem. Inscribed by Lethem. Tear to the lower margin of the first page of his story; else fine in illustrated boards, without jacket, as issued. Little-known work by Lethem, and uncommon signed.
124. LOEB, Harold A. Doodab. NY: Boni & Liveright, 1925. The first book by this novelist and publisher who was also a figure in the American expatriate community in Paris during the 1920s. Loeb helped Hemingway get his first book, In Our Time, published in the U.S.: in fact, it was when Leon Fleischman, Boni & Liveright's literary scout, came to Paris with the contract for Doodab for Loeb that Hemingway turned over the stories that Liveright published later that year. Despite the support and encouragement Loeb gave Hemingway, he became the basis for the character Robert Cohn in The Sun Also Rises, an unflattering portrait that Loeb later tried to correct in his 1959 memoir The Way It Was. Foxing to endpages and edges of text block; near fine in a very good dust jacket with some blended staining and tanning, minor edge chipping and a narrow, closed tear at mid spine.