Catalog 163, J-L
84. JACKSON, Shirley. Life Among the Savages. NY: FSG (1953). The first of the two well-received collections of family stories and reminiscences written by the author of such dark tales as The Lottery and The Haunting of Hill House. Inscribed by Jackson to her [husband's] aunt and uncle: "For Aunt Anna and Uncle Henry. With love - Shirley/ May 1953." Aunt Anna and Uncle Henry appear (or, rather, are announced as to be coming on Sunday) on page 222. Two reviews of the book, dated in June, have been laid in, causing offsetting to the front endpapers. Bump to upper outer front corner and some fading to the spine cloth; a very good copy in a very good dust jacket with rubbing to the joints and light edge wear. A good family association copy of a family memoir, by an acclaimed writer who was known to steer clear of the public eye and who therefore signed a relatively small number of books in her lifetime. She died in 1965, at the age of 48.
85. JACKSON, Shirley. We Have Always Lived in the Castle. NY: Viking (1962). A novel of the macabre. This book was one of Time magazine's 10 best books of the year for 1962. Inscribed by Jackson to her [husband's] aunt and uncle: "For Aunt Anna and Uncle Henry. With love. Shirley." Some tanning to the spine cloth; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. An interesting association copy of the last of her books published in her lifetime, and in which, among other events, an aunt and an uncle are poisoned. Along with The Lottery and The Haunting of Hill House, this book is in part responsible for there being a set of annual literary awards named after Shirley Jackson, "for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic."
86. JOYCE, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. NY: Huebsch, 1925. Sixth printing. Lionel Trilling's copy. Signed by Trilling, who has added "Madison," as in the University of Madison where he taught in the late '20s. With the bookplate of both Lionel and Diana, with a New York address, on the upper front pastedown. And lastly, with one annotation by Trilling in the book at the point at which Stephen is espousing on his emerging "theory of the esthetic." Trilling adds "can excrement or a child or a louse be a work of art." Perhaps a not-surprising comment by the author of Sincerity and Authenticity. Spine cloth rubbed and title barely visible; a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket. An interesting copy of one of Joyce's great works.
87. KEENE, Brian. No Rest for the Wicked. (Stockholm): Imaginary Worlds (2001). Keene's virtually unfindable first book, a collection of stories. Keene has since gone on to win two Bram Stoker awards, including one for his first novel in 2003, The Rising, an early novel in the zombie craze that has pervaded pop culture in recent years. Warmly inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Bookplate of the recipient, another author, on the front flyleaf. A couple of small spots to the cloth; near fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a couple of tiny nicks along the folds. Very scarce: published by a short-lived specialty press in Sweden, whose books were printed in quantities measured in the hundreds, not thousands like a U.S. specialty publisher. Laid in is the brochure for Keene's instructional program on Guerilla Marketing.
88. KEROUAC, Jack. Doctor Sax. NY: Grove (1959). A novel that is part of his Duluoz saga, a multi-volume, semi-autobiographical account of the author's life and times. Most of Kerouac's friends, family and acquaintances appear in his novels, thinly disguised: he had intended to write the sequence as a self-invented genre that stuck strictly to the "truth," albeit with the free-flowing rhythm and style of his inventive, spontaneous prose but was persuaded early on that the legal and logistical difficulties of such an approach were insurmountable. As such he followed through on the plan, simply changing the names of the various characters he chronicled. This copy is inscribed by Allen Ginsberg in 1986: "I helped invent the "husk of doves" image [pp. 109 and 218] on 6th Ave and Waverly Place in conversation walking with Kerouac around was it 1952? Allen Ginsberg/ 5/29/86/ Memphis." An ex-library copy: abrasions to the pastedowns, some dampstaining and tape shadows to the boards, a few instances of notes in the text, and a photo of Kerouac tipped to the half title; in a good, price-clipped dust jacket with rubbing to the folds, a bit of dampstaining, and internal tape strengthening to the spine extremities. The hardcover issues of Kerouac's Grove Press titles were done in very small quantities; most copies were issued in a softcover binding. This copy of the hardcover, annotated by Ginsberg, is a Beat novelty that recounts a small footnote to the Beat generation history.
89. KEROUAC, Jack. Lonesome Traveler. NY: McGraw-Hill (1960). A collection of short pieces whose common thread is the author's travels. Written in Kerouac's rambling, autobiographic style and illustrated with sketches by Larry Rivers, who provided the dust jacket art. This copy is inscribed by Rivers: "For Paul/ Poor Jack K./ Poor Larry R./ & Poor Paul B./ 20 yrs later in Southampton/ Larry Rivers/ July '81." Laid in is a letter from River's sister and personal assistant agreeing to handle the signing. Bump to crown; near fine in a very good, spine- and edge-tanned dust jacket with shallow chipping to the crown.
90. KEROUAC, Jack. A Vegum Uti [On the Road]. Reykjavik: Mal Og Menning, 1988. The Icelandic edition of On the Road, translated and signed by Olafur Gunnarsson. Bound in full red leather, fine. An uncommon edition, especially with the translator's signature.
91. KEROUAC, Jack. On The Road. The Original Scroll. (NY): Viking (2007). The prepublication advance reading copy (designated "Advance Uncorrected Proofs" by the publisher) of the original version of Kerouac's classic, On The Road, which was typewritten on a series of sheets that amounted to a 120-foot long scroll. In a highly publicized auction, the scroll itself was sold a few years ago for well over $2 million. This, then, is the first published edition of it, and this advance copy is the first version of it to reach any part of the public, outside of the publisher. A scarce advance copy; we haven't had or seen another. Fine in wrappers.
92. KESEY, Ken. "Wayne Altenhoffen stood up with a black ledger and opened it with a flourish..." Berkeley: Black Oak Books, 1992. A broadside excerpt from Sailor Song, attractively printed by Okeanos Press and issued on the occasion of a reading by the author. Although not called for, this copy is signed by Kesey. 6 5/8" x 12 3/8", matted to 12 3/8" x 18 1/2". Slight smudge to the broadside; slight wave to the mat; very near fine. OCLC locates only three copies.
93. KING, Stephen as BACHMAN, Richard. Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man. (NY): Signet (1977-1982). Four Signet paperback first printings; the first four titles King wrote under the Bachman pseudonym. At the time these were written, King's authorship of them was a well-kept secret. King's publisher at the time of the first Bachman novel, Doubleday, reportedly told King that he was too prolific, and that if he published too many books too quickly he would over-saturate the market and hurt the sales of all his books. King was, at the time, a moderately successful young author, but not the bestselling writer he had become by the end of the Bachman series. The fifth book in the Bachman series, Thinner, which was the first to be released in hardcover, sold 28,000 copies in its initial print run and then ten times that number when it became known that Bachman was a pseudonym of Stephen King. Stamp of another writer inside the front covers; each is about near fine in wrappers. A very hard set to assemble these days: currently only one copy of the first book is available online, and no copies of the second and third.
94. (KINSELLA, W.P.). "Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa" in Aurora, New Canadian Writing 1979. Toronto/Garden City: Doubleday, 1979. The first appearance in print of this story that later became the title story for a Canadian collection by Kinsella, and then was expanded into the novel that was titled simply Shoeless Joe and became the basis for the movie Field of Dreams. Rubbing to the edges and folds; very good in wrappers.
95. LAGERKVIST, P�r. The Dwarf. NY: L.B. Fischer, 1945. The first American edition, and first English-language edition, of his first book to be published in English. Signed by the author. Translated from the Swedish by Alexandra Dick. Lagerkvist won the 1951 Nobel Prize for Literature, and The Dwarf is considered one of his three most important novels, all of which focused on the question of Man's relation to God. Mild tanning to the boards; near fine in a very good, spine-tanned dust jacket growing fragile at the folds. A very nice copy. Because The Dwarf was published under wartime production restrictions using cheap thin paper, it seldom turns up in attractive, collectible condition, and books signed by Lagerkvist, who also wrote Barabbas and The Sybil among many others, are extremely scarce.
96. LAMOUR, Dorothy. Original Typescript of My Side of the Road. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall (1980). The original typescript of Lamour's autobiography, as told to Dick McInnes. Signed by Lamour on the title page, and again at the end of the text (by design, as the book ends with a reproduction of Lamour's signature and the sign off, "Aloha"). More than 300 pages, on rectos only. One assumes Lamour would not have typed this (hence the "as told to"), but this draft bears Lamour's holograph corrections in blue ink, as well as what amounts to an entirely different draft by the editor in black ink, in addition to the copyeditor's emendations. Virtually every page of the book has numerous changes, and the typescript has several interesting anecdotes that were deleted from the final book one involving Clark Gable, another Lee Marvin, a third Bob Hope. A revealing look at the book as a work-in-progress. The manuscript has been bound in blue cloth, with gilt stamping on the spine. Bound in is a letter from the publisher returning the manuscript to the author and stating that's it's been a delight to be involved with the project and calling Lamour "a gem among authors." Laid in is a set of captions for the book's photographs. Also included is an inscribed first edition of the autobiography: "Jackie, Dear - Good luck - God bless you - and Aloha! Dottie (Dorothy Lamour)/ P.S. It's been great working with you and making you a friend - You're a Doll." Laid in is a signed photograph of Lamour: "Good luck! Dottie Lamour." The manuscript as bound is fine; the book is near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Not only an interesting look at the earlier draft(s) and evolution of a Hollywood legend's autobiography, but also a revealing look at the publication process which, though barely more than 30 years ago, seems to be a relic of another, far-distant era. Unique.
97. LANSDALE, Joe and SHINER, Lewis. Private Eye Action as you like it... Holyoke, MA: Crossroads (1998). The limited edition of this collection of early detective stories by Lansdale and Shiner, originally published in the late 1970s and early 1980s, prior to the authors' first books, but not collected in book form before this. Of a total edition of 1126 copies, there were 1000 copies in wrappers, 100 numbered hardcovers in grey cloth and dust jacket, and 26 lettered hardcovers bound in full red leather. This is letter "X" of the deluxe edition of 26 copies, signed by Lansdale and Shiner. An extremely scarce issue of a scarce title. Both Lansdale and Shiner have had successful writing careers since these stories were first published: Shiner won a World Fantasy Award for his novel Glimpses, and Lansdale has won nine Bram Stoker Awards as well as an Edgar, among many others. The red leather is spotted at the edges, thus overall very good without dust jacket, presumably as issued.
98. LEARY, Timothy. Start Your Own Religion. (Millbrook): (Kriya Press)(1967). Advice for dropping out, turning on and tuning in, as based on Leary's experience founding L.S.D. (The League of Spiritual Discovery). Includes By-Laws and guidelines for the legal incorporation of a new religion. One of Leary's most important books, written while he was at Millbrook during the height of the counterculture. Illustrated with numerous photographs, many of them from Millbrook. Leary was a counterculture guru/celebrity at the time, and at the peak of his influence. Legal troubles a year later resulted in his being sent to prison, eventually escaping with the help of an underground political group and going into exile. This volume is one of his scarcest publications. Foxing to covers, and a tiny price and chip to rear cover; near fine in stapled wrappers.
99. LEARY, Timothy. Starseed. San Francisco: Level Press (c. 1973). A "transmission" by Leary from Folsom Prison, timed with the arrival of the comet Kohoutek. This is a photocopy of nine pages of typewritten text on five stapled 8 1/2" x 11" pages. The last page also reproduces a hand-drawn yin-yang symbol with eight trigrams around it and reference to one of the hexagrams of the I Ching none of which appeared in the published version of this book, which was done by the Level Press and issued as a booklet; this version presumably preceded. According to Leary's bibliographer and the woman who typed Leary's manuscripts for him, including Starseed, this could have been made from Leary's own typescripts (she would have corrected the typos, she said) and issued in small numbers prior to the formal publication. A similar process took place for Neurologic, which was published in late 1973 but had a stapled, prepublication issue done in May of that year that the bibliographer called a "trial issue." Starseed was formally published in September of 1973, and this version if what the principals say is correct would likely have been done sometime around the time that the Neurologic "trial copy" was done (Neurologic was formally published slightly later in the year than the Level Press Starseed). In any case, an extremely scarce variant of one of Leary's scarcer books, unseen by the bibliographer or by Leary's typist. Near fine.
100. (LE CARRÉ, John). MANDEL, Loring. The Little Drummer Girl. [Burbank]: Burbank Studios, 1983. Second draft screenplay, dated May 1, 1983. Le Carr�'s novel of the Arab-Israeli conflict, particularly the covert aspects of terrorist and anti-terrorist activities on fronts often far-removed from the Middle East itself, was filmed by George Roy Hill and starred Diane Keaton and Klaus Kinski. Mandel's screenplay was nominated for an Edgar Award. Claspbound photocopied sheets in cardstock Burbank Studio "Pan Arts" covers. Slight foxing to the upper edge of the rear wrapper; one page has a couple of pencil marks. Near fine.
101. LEIBER, Fritz. Two Sought After. NY: Gnome Press (1957). The first collection of stories featuring his sword-and-sorcery characters Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser to appear in hardcover; the stories were originally published in pulps, starting in the 1930s. Inscribed by the author: "For Stanley Wiater, on the occasion of our interview for Fangoria on Oct 13, 1984, at World Fantasy Con 10 at Ottawa, with all sorts of good wishes, Fritz Leiber." With Wiater's Gahan-Wilson designed bookplate on the front pastedown. In the first issue binding, black boards lettered in red. Name apparently whited out on the title page; acidic paper browning with age. Still, near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
102. LEWIS, Sinclair. The Man Who Knew Coolidge. NY: Harcourt Brace (1928). Lewis' novel of Lowell Schmaltz, "friend of Babbitt and constructive citizen." One-third of the story was first published in "that volcanic magazine, The American Mercury." The Man Who Knew Coolidge is one of Lewis' lesser known titles but followed on the heels of some of his greatest successes. In the 1920s, he published Main Street, which his biographer called "the most sensational event in twentieth-century American publishing history" to that point, followed by Babbitt in 1922, Arrowsmith in 1925, and Elmer Gantry in 1927. Babbitt was awarded the Pulitzer Prize but Lewis declined the honor. In 1929, Lewis published Dodsworth, and in 1930 he became the first American writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Fine in a fine dust jacket; a beautiful copy of one of the books that laid the foundation for his Nobel award.
103. LOPEZ, Barry. River Notes. Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel (1979). The uncorrected proof copy of his fourth book, a companion volume to his first, Desert Notes, and to his later collection, Field Notes. A collection of short stories that have the feel of prose poems as well as reflective, personal essays. Although Lopez makes it a practice not to sign advance copies (we have only ever seen one instance where he had, and that was a volume he edited), this copy is inscribed by Lopez: "For ___/ with my very best wishes/ Barry Lopez." A fragile padbound proof; fine in wrappers and scarce, especially signed.