Catalog 164, P-R
165. PATCHETT, Ann. Bel Canto. (NY): HarperCollins (2001). Her fourth novel, which won the Orange Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and is perpetually rumored to be headed to the screen. Warmly and lengthily inscribed by Patchett in the month after publication to a childhood friend, "who is as cool, funny, and lovely as you were in your youth...more so. I'm so glad to see you again and so glad to know that you sing. Much love, A." Patchett has also signed her name in full above the inscription. Small label removal abrasion on the front pastedown under the flap, else fine in a fine dust jacket. A nice association copy of a much-praised novel.
166. PERCY, Walker. The Last Gentleman. NY: FSG (1966). His second novel, which some consider his best, despite the fact that his first, The Moviegoer, won the National Book Award. This book and two of his other novels, Love in the Ruins (1971) and The Second Coming (1980, and a sequel to The Last Gentleman) were also finalists for that award. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication: "Good luck to another hopeful writer -- ___ ___/ with thanks from Walker Percy/ June 13, 1966." Slight sag to text block, and some fading to spine cloth and top stain; a very good copy in a near fine, lightly rubbed dust jacket.
167. (Photography). BUCKLAND, Gail. Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955-the Present. NY: Knopf, 2009. A book dedicated not so much to the history of rock and roll as to recognizing the photographers who created and have preserved our visual imagery of rock. More than 200 photographs of rock and roll legends, with commentary emphasizing the photographers rather than the subjects. This copy is signed by Buckland ("Rock on!") and by photographers Bob Gruen (here photographing John Lennon) and Godlis (here photographing Patti Smith). Gruen was John Lennon's personal photographer when he lived in New York, and he has published books of his photographs of The Clash, the Rolling Stones, and others. Godlis is known for his photographs of the punk movement, and recently crowdfunded the publication of an edition of his photographs from the Bowery and CBGB's from 1976-79. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Uncommon with the signatures of not only the author but of two such prominent photographers in the field.
168. PRICE, Reynolds. Clear Pictures. NY: Atheneum, 1989. A memoir by this Southern writer who is most well-known for his novels but who also wrote poetry and a number of books of nonfiction. Inscribed by the author to Virginia Spencer Carr, biographer of both Carson McCullers and Paul Bowles, "with warm good hopes" in 2006. Previous owner gift inscription on the front pastedown under the front flap, else fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket. A good association copy.
169. PRICE, Reynolds. Noble Norfleet. NY: Scribner (2002). A novel spanning thirty years in the life of a character who is traumatized in the late 1960s by a family catastrophe and by the overwhelming societal events of those years, including the political assassinations and the character's time serving in Vietnam. Inscribed by the author in 2006. Top stain faded; near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
170. PRICE, Reynolds. A Serious Way of Wondering. NY: Scribner (2003). Nonfiction: "The Ethics of Jesus Imagined." Late in his life, especially after he developed a serious illness that left him a paraplegic, Price wrote a number of books on religious themes and reflections, which were universally well-received. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication to Virginia Spencer Carr with "affection & hope." Fine in a fine dust jacket, with a couple of Carr's notes to herself laid in, one with Price's email address.
171. PRICE, Reynolds. Letter to a Godchild. NY: Scribner (2006). Subtitled "Concerning Faith," the book is an expansion of a letter Price wrote to his honorary godson, expanded and generalized for other children as well. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication to Virginia Spencer Carr. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
172. PURDY, James. Children is All and Cracks. (n.p.): (n.p.), 1961/1962. Mimeographed typescripts of two one-act plays, which were collected in his 1962 volume entitled Children is All. Inscribed by Purdy on the title page of Cracks to the poet Quentin Stevenson "with the sincere admiration of James" and additionally signed, James Purdy. Children is All (1961) runs 41 pages; Cracks (1962) runs 16 pages. Each is near fine; stapled in the upper left corner. Purdy was a controversial author whose works explored, among other things, gay themes at a time when this was taboo; his popularity and critical reception suffered as a result, but many of his more celebrated contemporaries considered him a genius and a great writer, among them being Tennessee Williams (who wrote a blurb for the book publication of Children is All); Edward Albee (who produced Purdy's play Malcolm); and Gore Vidal, who called him "an authentic American genius" and wrote in the New York Times article entitled "James Purdy: The Novelist as Outlaw" that "Some writers do not gain wide acceptance because their work is genuinely disturbing. Purdy is one of them." As best we can determine, OCLC lists only two copies of the former typescript and one of the latter in institutional collections. Another collection lists "photocopies" of these two plays, but these productions predate plain paper photocopying. Scarce works by a writer whom Jonathan Franzen called "one of the most undervalued and underread writers in America."
173. PYNCHON, Thomas. Bleeding Edge. NY: Penguin Press, 2013. The advance reading copy of this Pynchon novel, set in New York City between the end of the dot-com boom and the terrorist attack of 9/11. Pynchon proofs have been issued in small quantities and carefully guarded prior to publication in recent years, and few have made it into the market. Fine in wrappers.
174. (PYNCHON, Thomas). Almanacco Letterario Bompiani 1965. Milan: Bompiani, 1965. An Italian periodical, printing, (in Italian), "In Which Esther Gets a Nose Job" ("In cui Esther si fa fare la fattura al naso"), a seven-page excerpt from V., Pynchon's first novel, published in 1963. Also included is work by Burroughs, Ginsberg, Gaddis, Eco, Barthelme, Hubert Selby, Jr., Chandler Brossard, Frank Yerby, and others. Thick quarto; creased at spine, with the glue drying just enough for the text block to begin separating, thus a good copy in wrappers.
175. (RANKIN, Ian). REGILD, Christoffer. Intense Scotland. (Copenhagen): Politisk Revy (2001). A bilingual picture book with brilliant color photos by Regild and a two-page introduction by Rankin (two pages in English; two pages in Danish). Quarto. Very small bumps at the lower board edges; else fine without dust jacket, as issued. An attractive and uncommon book.
176. ROBINSON, Marilynne. Absence of Mind. New Haven: Yale University Press (2010). The advance reading copy of the third book of nonfiction, essays on science and religion, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist. A few nicks to front cover from label removal, and a small bit of staining to the rear cover; very good in wrappers. Scarce in an advance issue.
177. (ROBINSON, Marilynne). The Brown Reader: 50 Writers Remember College Hill. NY: Simon & Schuster (2014). The advance reading copy of this collection of original writing by Marilynne Robinson, Rick Moody, Jeffrey Eugenides, Donald Antrim, Edwidge Danticat, Susan Cheever, Lois Lowry, Andrew Sean Greer, Meg Wolitzer, David Shields, Jincy Willett, and many others reminiscing about their time at Brown. A collection notable both for the extraordinary and amusing range of experiences included and also, frequently, for its behind the scenes glimpses of these authors as, not just emerging writers, but emerging adults. Robinson contributes "Higher Learning," about, among other things, discovering the writing of Jonathan Edwards. Because of the extent to which publishers' promotional efforts have become digitally oriented in recent years, printed advance copies like this one have become increasingly scarce, even more so than they had been in prior years when their numbers were already only a tiny fraction of the numbered of copies published. Trace wear to the spine ends; very near fine in wrappers.
178. (RODGERS, Jimmie). America's Blue Yodeler, 6 Issues. (Lubbock): (Jim Evans)(1952-1954). The first six issues (Volume 1, Nos. 1-4; Volume 2, Nos. 1 & 2) of the newsletter of the Jimmie Rodgers Fan Club, devoted to one of the first superstars of country music, who is often called "the father of country music," and who influenced generations of singers and songwriters. Rodgers died in 1933 at the age of 35, and the fan club was the brain child of a collector who spent more than a decade trying to assemble a complete collection of Rodgers' recordings. Rodgers was one of the first three inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an early influence on rock, and has been the subject of a number of tribute albums, including one put together by Bob Dylan. Each newsletter is one sheet folded to make four pages; the first two issues are folded in sixths and fourths, respectively; the last four issues are folded in half vertically. Each has a small price in ink in the upper right corner. The set is very good.