Catalog 161, C-F
31. CARSON, Rachel. Chincoteague: A National Wildlife Refuge. Washington, D.C.: Fish and Wildlife Service, 1947. Issued as Conservation in Action No. 1, an 18-page illustrated booklet written by Carson. Rare: this is the first copy we've handled, although we've had multiple copies of several of her other early publications done by the Department of the Interior, as this one was. An early publication by the author of Silent Spring, perhaps the single most important volume in creating the modern environmental movement. Fine in stapled wrappers.
32. CARSON, Rachel. Parker River: A National Wildlife Refuge. Washington, D.C.: Fish and Wildlife Service, 1947. Issued as Conservation in Action No. 2, a 14-page illustrated booklet written by Carson. Rare; again, this is the first copy we've handled. Fine in stapled wrappers.
33. CARSON, Rachel. Mountains in the Sea. Chicago: Science Research Associates (1962). A volume in the SRA Pilot Library series published by Science Research Associates for reading comprehension programs in elementary schools. Mountains in the Sea is an excerpt from the 1958 Golden Press Young Readers Edition of The Sea Around Us, which was itself adapted by Anne Terry White from Carson's 1951 bestseller. This volume was published the same year as Silent Spring. "Resource" written inside the front cover; very mild rubbing along the spine; near fine in stapled wrappers. Uncommon, and very unlikely to be found in collectable condition given its intended use.
34. -. Another copy. Covers rubbed, with a small abrasion at the upper front edge. Very good in stapled wrappers.
35. CARVER, Raymond. Carnations. A Play in One Act. (Vineburg): Engdahl Typography (1993). A beautiful edition of a previously unpublished Carver play, issued posthumously. Carnations was originally written and performed in 1962, when the author was at Humboldt State University. Edited and with an afterword by Carver's bibliographer, William Stull, and with an introduction by Richard Cortez Day, a professor at Humboldt State and Carver's teacher during the years he was there. This is the deluxe edition, one of 26 lettered copies quarterbound in leather and black cloth, with marbled endpapers and gilt spine lettering. Spine a bit sunned, with a small nick to rear panel; else fine in black cloth slipcase.
36. CHEEVER, John. The Wapshot Chronicle. London: Victor Gollancz, 1957. The first British edition of his first novel, third book, and winner of the National Book Award. Slight foxing to edges of text block; else fine in a near fine dust jacket. An uncommon edition of an early book by one of the most highly praised of postwar American authors. Cheever's novel The World of Apples was a National Book Award finalist and his story collection, Stories of John Cheever, won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
37. CHEEVER, John and EGGERS, Dave. The Wapshot Scandal. (NY): Perennial (2003). First thus, a paperback reissue with an engaged and endearing introduction by Eggers noting that while Cheever's stories are well-remembered, his novels -- the two Wapshot novels in particular -- have suffered an undeserved neglect. Fine in wrappers.
38. CHILD, Lee. A Wanted Man. NY: Delacorte (2012). A Jack Reacher novel, the 17th in the bestselling series. Child's novels have been critically acclaimed, and the series' main character has become an iconic figure in crime fiction. The first movie adaptation of one of the books in the series came out to generally good reviews. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
39. COLWIN, Laurie. Happy All the Time. London: Chatto & Windus, 1979. The first British edition of the second novel, third book, by this much-loved writer who died unexpectedly in 1992 at the age of 48 of heart failure, and who had a small but passionate following at the time. Since her death, her reputation has endured and grown and her following has as well. This copy is inscribed and illustrated by the author with six drawings by her, five of them titled and signed. The drawings include: "A few flydells and a little girl," "Some hovells on a rug," "Another of the new octokitties with Mickey Mouse and two lamps," "Three hovenbys with critter intestines and one with a critter at the bottom of the garden," and "A kitty thinks: Gee how fortunate it is to live where kitties are free to roam and kill." These five drawings cover the four endpages and the dedication page; a sixth drawing, of a plant, covers the copyright page. In all, 12 cats, multiple plants, two lamps, a house, and a girl. A whimsical and endearing set of illustrations by a writer who, when asked for a self-caricature for Burt Britton's book of author's self-portraits, provided him with a picture of a plump, contented cat with flowers growing on its head. A bit of foxing to top edge; very near fine in a fine dust jacket. Unique.
40. CRAWFORD, Stanley. Log of the S.S. The Mrs. Unguentine. London: Jonathan Cape (1971). The first edition (British) of this comic novel. Used as a review copy of the American edition, with a 1972 Knopf review slip laid in. Inscribed by the author in 1976. Crawford has written three novels and two memoirs, including one about the garlic farm that he and his wife have operated in New Mexico for several decades. Mild foxing to top edge and slight bowing to boards; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a bit of dampstaining to the spine base that is mostly visible on verso. Overall an attractive copy of the true first edition of what many consider his best novel, which has been reprinted over the years a number of times, including by the University of New Mexico and the Dalkey Archive Press.
41. CRONIN, Justin. A Short History of the Long Ball. Tulsa: Council Oak Books (1990). His first book, winner of a National Novella Award. Signed by the author. Remainder stamp lower page edges; fine in a fine dust jacket. Cronin received critical acclaim and commercial success with his 2010 novel The Passage.
42. CRONIN, Justin. Mary and O'Neil. (NY): Dial (2001). His first full-length novel, winner of a PEN Hemingway Award and Whiting Writers' Award. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
43. CRONIN, Justin. The Passage. NY: Ballantine (2010). His acclaimed and bestselling post-apocalyptic horror novel, about a future plague of vampires resulting from a medical experiment gone awry. The first volume in a trilogy; the second volume, The Twelve, was published in 2012. This copy has the textual misprints on pages 268-270 corrected. One of an unspecified number of copies signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with the publisher's "signed copy" label on the front panel.
44. -. Same title, the Waterstone's signed limited edition. (London): (Orion Books)(2010). One of a reported 5000 copies signed by the author on a tipped-in "Limited Signed First Edition" title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with a Waterstone's signed copy label on the front panel.
45. CROWLEY, John. Suppose One Were A Fish. [Seattle]: Incunabla, 2007. A broadside excerpt from Crowley's Little, Big, issued in conjunction with what was to be the 25th anniversary edition of Crowley's World Fantasy Award-winning novel, which, six years later, is still a work-in-progress but has yet to be published (a website, www.littlebig25.com, provides updates). A 24" x 37" poster, with art by Peter Milton, whose haunting drawings, etchings, engravings and prints were to grace the new edition. When Little, Big was first published, Ursula LeGuin famously wrote that "all by itself it calls for a redefinition of fantasy"; Thomas Disch called it "the greatest fantasy novel ever." The literary critic Harold Bloom listed three books by John Crowley, including Little, Big, in his book The Western Canon. Bloom is listed as providing an Introduction to the anniversary edition of the novel. One can get a sense, from this poster, of the aesthetic of the anniversary volume, as one can from various parts of the above website. Rolled; else fine.
46. -. Same title, the lettered limited edition of the poster, one of 26 lettered copies, this being letter "L," signed by John Crowley, artist Peter Milton, editor John Drummond and book designer John D. Berry. Rolled; else fine. A scarce artifact of a publishing project that is still underway, associated with one of the best-loved and most highly regarded fantasy novels of all time.
47. CRUMLEY, James. The Wrong Case. NY: Random House (1975). His second book and his first mystery, introducing Milo Milodragovitch, a down-at-the-heels alcoholic private investigator. When Crumley died in 2008, the Washington Post obituary said that his "poetic and violent tales of crime in the American West made him a patron saint of the post-Vietnam private eye novel" and said he inspired a generation of mystery writers that included Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, and Michael Connelly -- all of them bestselling and critically respected novelists. Upper corners bumped, a strip of sunning to lower board edges; near fine in a very near fine dust jacket with just a small mark near the lower front flap fold.
48. CUMMINGS, E.E. Original Sketch of "Woman and Fawn." c. 1921. In the 1920s, E.E. Cummings was a regular contributor of both writing and artwork to The Dial magazine, which was the preeminent Modernist journal of its time, publishing such writers as Joyce, Pound, Eliot, Cocteau, William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, Ford Madox Ford and such artists as Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse and Kandinsky. Cummings was only 25 years old when his first pieces were accepted for The Dial and, notably, it was the only place where his poems and his artwork were published side by side on a regular basis. The January, 1921 issue had four drawings and a poem ("Puella Mea") by Cummings: this is Cummings' original sketch for one of those drawings, perhaps the most well-known of them, of a fawn on its hind legs, next to a nude woman, beneath a tree. This sketch was used as his pencil transfer, and as such is drawn on both sides of the paper. The final product, which was ink and graphite on paper, is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a bequest of Scofield Thayer, Cummings' friend and mentor and the editor of The Dial. This sketch is on 8 3/8" x 10 7/8" paper, with a 5" x 9" pencil border. Stained and chipped, mostly in the right margin; very good. With a Gotham Book Mart exhibit number (#245) in the upper left hand corner, where a chip is pending. A copy of The Dial, Vol. LXX, No 1 [NY: Dial, 1921], with the published drawing is included and is near fine with a small spine nick and the usual wear to the yapped edges. An iconic image in its very first incarnation.
49. CUNNINGHAM, Michael. The Hours. NY: FSG (1998). The uncorrected proof copy of his highly praised fourth book, which is derived from Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway and which won the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award, a rare literary double. Basis for the award-winning film with Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep. Publication date changed from September to November on rear cover. Near fine in wrappers. A scarce proof: there was an advance reading copy in pictorial wrappers that is more common; the proof, in plain, light green printed wrappers, is much less common.
50. CURTIS, Edward S. Original Photogravure from the Harriman Expedition. 1899/1901. Three images by Curtis taken during the Harriman Alaska Expedition of 1899. Entitled "Members of the Expedition on St. Matthew Island" and published in 1901 in Harriman Alaska Expedition. Three images, on one sheet, show botanist Frederick Coville and naturalist William Brewer; author John Burroughs and naturalist John Muir; and geologists Benjamin Emerson and Grove Karl Gilbert. The credit line reads "Photographs by Curtis"; the printer line reads "John Andrew & Son." 6 5/8" x 10". The Harriman Expedition was a major scientific project of its time: a wealthy philanthropist/adventurer gathered what amounted to a superstar team of scientists, artists, photographers and naturalists to explore the Alaska coast from Seattle to Siberia and back. Edward Curtis, who had primarily been a portrait photographer for Seattle's upper classes in the early stages of his career, had developed a friendship with George Bird Grinnell, an expert in Native American cultures who had been invited on the Harriman expedition. As a result of their connection, Curtis was invited along as a photographer. It was as a result of this trip and a later trip he took with Grinnell to photograph the Blackfeet Indians in 1900 that Curtis developed the idea for his massive photography project to document the North American Indians while it was still possible, a venture that took decades and essentially destroyed his life but left as a legacy one of the greatest photographic achievements ever, and was also one of the greatest ethnographic projects ever undertaken involving American Indian tribes, creating not only a photographic record but an aural one of languages and oral traditions at risk of being lost forever. The Burroughs and Muir image here is a particularly fortuitous one: they were among the most famous participants in the expedition -- two of the best-known naturalists in America, known as "the two Johnnies" to the other participants: there are relatively few images of the two of them together, however. A wisp of edge sunning, else fine.
51. DI PRIMA, Diane. The Revolutionary Letters. (n.p.)[Santa Fe, NM]: (Noose and Earth Read Out Southwest)(1971). Di Prima had been publishing her controversial and provocative "letters" in various configurations since two editions in 1968, which contained 15 poems. This edition of Revolutionary Letters is an oversized mimeograph production with 43 poems, and was issued for free and without copyright. The printed dedication is to Bob Dylan, and the colophon states "Power to the people's mimeo machines!" Although not called for, this copy is signed by the author and has four holograph corrections, presumably in her hand. 8 1/2" x 14", stapled in the left margin, with red covers. Two different paper stocks used; one darkening. Near fine. An unknown number of copies were done, but this appears to be one of the scarcest editions of this title, and is especially uncommon signed.
52. (DUBUS, Andre). Into the Silence. Cambridge: Green Street Press, 1988. An uncommon collection of stories edited by Dubus, one of the most acclaimed writers of short fiction of his time and father of novelist Andre Dubus III. Contributors include Gina Berriault, Mark Costello, Susan Dodd, Pam Durban, Tobias Wolff, Thomas Williams and others, most of whose writings in this volume are the first book appearances of their respective pieces. No indication of a hardcover edition. Fine in wrappers.
53. (ELLROY, James). Scene of the Crime. Photographs from the LAPD Archive. (NY): (Harry N. Abrams)(2004). Quarto; police photographs of Los Angeles crime scenes from the 1930s to the 1960s, a time that seems to have been rife with particularly gruesome and brutal crimes. Ellroy, perhaps the leading contemporary writer of LA neo-noir, provides the introduction. William Bratton, at the time the Chief of the LA Police, provides a foreword. Signed by Ellroy as "O.J." and dated 12/16/2004. Also signed by Bratton, and dated on the same day. Fine in pictorial boards and wraparound band, as issued.
54. (Film). BERG, A. Scott. Goldwyn. NY: Knopf, 1989. Berg's biography of Hollywood film pioneer Samuel Goldwyn. Inscribed by the author to Bette Davis: "for Bette Davis/ with thanks for your contribution to this book and with best regards, Scott Berg/ March, 1989." With Bette Davis' bookplate on the front pastedown. Davis appears in the book on about a dozen pages, including a photograph; she appeared in Goldwyn's 1941 film The Little Foxes, which was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Actress (Davis) and Best Picture. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with just some crimping to the spine extremities. A notable association copy of the definitive biography of this important figure in the history of filmmaking. Berg's biography of the legendary editor Maxwell Perkins, who edited Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe, won a National Book Award.
55. FORD, Richard. Independence Day. NY: Knopf, 1995. The second book in Ford's three-book Frank Bascombe sequence. Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award. Signed by the author. Mildly cocked, with a bit of shelf wear to the base of the spine; near fine in a near fine dust jacket sunned at and near the spine. With the errors on pages 281 and 289.