Catalog 164, F-I
66. FINK, Sheri. Five Days at Memorial. NY: Crown (2013). The advance reading copy of Fink's National Book Critics Circle Award-winning book about the decision to hasten the deaths of some of the weaker patients while awaiting (and losing hope for) evacuation of Memorial Medical Center in the midst of Hurricane Katrina. Expanded from Fink's Pulitzer Prize-winning essay for the New York Times Magazine, and with textual changes between this version and the final, published book. "July 13" written in marker on the lower edge of the text block (the book was published in September). Fine in self-wrappers. A landmark of investigative reporting. Scarce in the advance issue.
67. FITZGERALD, F. Scott. Tender is the Night. NY: Scribner, 1934. Fitzgerald's fourth novel, with a first printing of 7600 copies (compared with over 20,000 for The Great Gatsby), and the last novel published during his lifetime. Signed by the author: one of 19 copies signed by Fitzgerald in his home at the behest of the book buyer for the Baltimore department store Hochschild, Kohn. Tender is the Night, which Fitzgerald was hoping would redeem his sagging literary reputation, not to mention his dire financial straits, was a commercial failure -- even though today it is viewed as a major, if flawed, literary accomplishment. The book's failure, coming as it did at a time of great desperation -- Zelda was already hospitalized -- helped precipitate Fitzgerald's own mental breakdown, leading to his death in 1940 at the age of 44. Owner signature of Alice H. Green (likely of Baltimore), dated (apparently in error) "Feb, 1934," on the front flyleaf with author signature. Tender is the Night had a publication date of April 12, 1934, and we have found no evidence that copies of the book were available as early as February, although these may have been received by the store and signed by Fitzgerald prior to the official publication date. Trace foxing to edges of text block; shallow insect paths to covers; very good, lacking the dust jacket. Small Hochschild, Kohn label on rear pastedown. A notable rarity signed rather than inscribed: Fitzgerald inscribed a number of copies of this book to friends and other acquaintances, but he was seldom in a position to simply autograph copies of the book, as he did for Hochschild, Kohn, whose employee brought 25 copies to be signed but returned to the store with only 19. The whereabouts of the others are unknown; it's likely they were left with Fitzgerald and became part of the group of copies that he inscribed and gave away.
68. FLANAGAN, Richard. Wanting. (North Sydney): Knopf (2008). The advance reading copy of the true first (Australian) edition of this novel by the recent winner of the Man Booker Prize for The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Inscribed by the author in Tasmania in 2008 to another writer, "who led me to the spirit of Rilke, and much else besides -- warm wishes. Richard Flanagan." Several notations by recipient in text; near fine in wrappers. An uncommon advance copy and an excellent association copy.
69. FLANAGAN, Richard. The Narrow Road to the Deep North. (North Sydney): Knopf, 2013. The very uncommon true first (Australian) edition of the winner of the 2014 Man Booker Prize, a highly praised novel that moves between contemporary Australia and a 1943 Japanese POW camp in southeast Asia. This copy is inscribed by the author to another writer: "For _____, -- from whose writing I learnt the necessity of grasping hold of Rilke's 'spirit world' -- warmest wishes, Richard Flanagan." A nice inscription and an excellent association, in a volume that is by all appearances extremely scarce: we find no copies at all of the 2013 Knopf Australian edition listed for sale online. Upper front corner tapped otherwise fine in a fine dust jacket.
70. - . Same title, the uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition. NY: Knopf, 2014. With a letter from the publisher laid in to another writer, presenting the book and soliciting any comment or blurb the recipient might be willing to offer. Fine, in blue wrappers. Scarce.
71. FRANZEN, Jonathan. How to Be Alone. NY: FSG (2002). The advance reading copy of his first book of essays, published the year The Corrections won the National Book Award. Signed by the author in the year of publication, at the New York book store, Three Lives and Company, where the cover photograph was taken, and with the store's bookmark laid in. Fine in wrappers. Uncommon in the advance issue, especially signed.
72. (Fugitive Poets: MOORE, Merrill and DAVIDSON, Donald). LITTLEDALE, H. Wordsworth and Coleridge. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford, 1924. A 1924 reprint of this 1798 volume of lyrical ballads, inscribed by Fugitive poet Merrill Moore to fellow Fugitive Donald Davidson. Moore has also written his own name and from whom and where and when he received the book initially. The rear pastedown has a note, in Davidson's hand ["The language of prose. 'The Female Vagrant.' 70"] about a verse on page 70 that he has marked with a marginal notation. A very good copy without dust jacket and a very good association copy between two of the most prominent figures of one of the major American literary movements of the 20th century.
73. GADDIS, William. A Frolic of His Own. NY: Poseidon Press (1994). An advance copy in the form of tapebound 8 1/2" x 11" galleys, the earliest issue of this novel, probably prepared primarily for in-house use and early readers. Precedes the issue in plain blue printed wrappers and the later advance issue with a pictorial cover resembling the dust jacket art. Spine slant; and handling apparent to covers; a very good copy. Gaddis's fourth novel and his second National Book Award winner.
74. GALSWORTHY, John. The White Monkey. London: Heinemann (1924). The first book in the second trilogy making up Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga -- i.e., the fourth book in the series and the first in the Modern Comedy trilogy. The Forsyte Saga and its sequels are considered the masterwork of Galsworthy's career. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932. Signed by the author, "very cordially," in the year of publication. Moderate foxing to text block; offsetting to front flyleaf; very good in a very good, spine-tanned dust jacket with several small edge chips. There was a signed limited edition of this book, but signed copies of the trade edition, particularly in the pictorial dust jacket, are quite uncommon.
75. HADDON, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time in Trial Dust Jacket. London: Jonathan Cape, 2003. Winner of both the Whitbread Award and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, The Curious Incident was released simultaneously in an edition for adults (by Jonathan Cape) and for children (by David Fickling). This copy, which is signed by Haddon, is the adult edition, in both the issued dust jacket and an unused trial dust jacket (white, with the poodle photo on both front and back; the Ian McEwan blurb only, here on the back rather than the front panel; and without the Arthur Golden and Oliver Sacks blurbs). The Curious Incident was adapted to both film and stage, winning an Olivier Award for Best New Play. Fine in fine dust jackets. Scarce with trial jacket.
76. -. Same title. A 4-page promotional flyer (with the McEwan blurb); and a set of five Fickling promotional postcards with Volkswagens of varying colors and featuring either a quote from the book, from the publisher, or from Ian McEwan, Arthur Golden, or Oliver Sacks. Together with two copies of the Fickling jacket, which are near fine; the flyer and the postcards are fine. Uncommon promotional ephemera.
77. -. Same title. A promotional T-shirt with a "Curious?" tagline and a stabbed dog graphic. Blue, V-neck, "one size" (small-ish), 100% cotton; fine. A different design than the "Curious" t-shirts that are sold at the National Theatre Shop in conjunction with the theatrical release of this title.
78. -. Same title. A promotional cardboard mobile with five Volkswagens: 2 red, 1 blue, 1 black, 1 yellow; therefore, according to the code of the book, signifying neither a Good Day nor a Black Day. Fine. The only such mobile we have seen.
79. HARRINGTON, Alan. The Revelations of Dr. Modesto. NY: Knopf, 1955. His first novel. Inscribed by the author to another writer in the year of publication: "To ___ ___/ enroute to the edges of the world, as far from Centralism as anyone could be. Hope you enjoy Dr. Modesto." A satire of conformity in the 1950s, by a writer who was noted for his black humor, and who used his humor as a vehicle for social criticism. Harrington was friends with Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary, and while he isn't usually thought of as a Beat writer or a counterculture writer, those writers were his closest peers. Near fine in a very good, spine-sunned dust jacket.
80. HAZZARD, Mary. Idle and Disorderly Persons, with Correspondence. Seattle: Madrona, 1981. A novel of the antiwar movement and its effect on the lives of the two main characters. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Together with two pieces of correspondence from Hazzard to the recipient: an autograph postcard signed and an autograph letter signed, each from 1982. The postcard is of Bath, and is a small travel log, complete with mention of two plays seen enroute, as well as a visit to an agent. The letter, written from back in Massachusetts, thanks her friend for hospitality while in New Haven (where she apparently saw an O'Neill play) and talks of the possibility of a play of hers being done at Yale. The card and letter have been stapled together in one corner and are near fine. The book is near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
81. HELLER, Joseph. Catch-22. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1961. The advance reading copy of Heller's first book, a black comedy of World War II and military life whose title has become a part of the language, signifying a contradictory set of instructions or constraints. This book was both the basis for a well-received movie and also one of the novels that helped define the ethos of the 1960s -- funny, irreverent, and critical of established authority and bureaucracy. A bit of handling apparent to wrappers and light creasing to the spine. Overall, a crisp, clean, near fine copy of one of the high spots of 20th century literature. The advance issue is fragile and seldom found in this condition.
82. HEMINGWAY, Ernest. To Have and Have Not. NY: Scribner, 1937. A novel about a reluctant Caribbean gun runner, which brought the author criticism for its heavy-handed attempt to infuse the story with the fashionable left wing politics of the time. As his first novel since A Farewell to Arms, any book would have been found wanting; and even though we do not look to Hemingway's novels for piercing political analysis, the sympathies expressed in this book are exactly those that drove him to Spain during the Spanish Civil War in futile support of the Spanish Republic -- one of the defining events of Hemingway's life. Basis for the 1944 movie with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall and a screenplay by William Faulkner. Mild darkening to the hinges, still a fine copy in a very good dust jacket with minor edge chipping.
83. HEMINGWAY, Ernest. The Spanish Earth. Cleveland: Savage, 1938. Copy number 21 of 1000 numbered copies of the first edition. Despite the low number, this is the second issue, with plain endpapers and the Hemingway disclaimer on the rear pastedown. The first issue is exceptionally scarce, having been estimated at between 50 and 100 copies. Small stamp ("H.B.") on the front pastedown. A fine copy, without dust jacket, as issued.
84. HEMINGWAY, Ernest. Fact 16: The Spanish War. London: Fact, 1938. Hemingway's piece runs 62 pages of this 98 page monthly monograph. A bright, near fine copy but for the front cover starting to separate at the lower edge.
85. (HEMINGWAY, Ernest). DAVIDSON, Jo. Spanish Portraits. (NY): (Georgian Press)[1939]. Reissue of the 1938 New York exhibition catalog, likely done for the Washington DC exhibition that followed. Hemingway and ten others contribute essays about individual busts by Davidson; Hemingway's is about Milton Wolff, the ninth commander of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. Off white covers now a bit smudged; near fine in stapled wrappers.
86. -. Another copy. Covers toned; small lower corner chip; very good in stapled wrappers.
87. HILLENBRAND, Laura. Seabiscuit. NY: Random House (2001). The author's award-winning first book, a bestseller and the basis for the Academy Award nominated 2003 movie. Seabiscuit made nearly every "Best Books" list for 2001 was the number one bestseller on the New York Times list for six weeks. Hillenbrand's second book, Unbroken, was also a bestseller and made into a well-received movie. The two books have sold some 10 million copies, and with the movie versions reaching some multiple of that number, Hillenbrand has had a dramatic impact on contemporary culture by writing two stories of nearly forgotten heroics from the middle part of the 20th century. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with the orange of the spine lettering faded to yellow.
88. HOLLINGHURST, Alan. The Stranger's Child. Dublin: Tuskar Rock Press (2011). A novel by the author of the 2004 Man Booker Prize-winning The Line of Beauty. This title was on the longlist for the 2011 Man Booker Prize. A limited edition, this is copy 14 of an edition of just 40 numbered copies, bound in full leather and signed and dated by the author, published by the "micro-imprint" set up by author Colm Toibin and literary agent Peter Straus to publish beautiful collectors' editions of fine contemporary literature. Not to be confused with the 500-copy limited edition produced by Picador, the trade publisher. Fine in a fine slipcase.
89. (Horror). Necrofile. The Review of Horror Fiction, Issues #1-32. West Warwick: Necronomicon Press, 1991-1999. A complete run of this award-winning quarterly review of horror fiction published by a small press that takes its name from H.P. Lovecraft's fictional textbook of black magic. The press won Special World Fantasy Awards twice, in 1994 and 1996, and Necrofile won the equally prestigious British Fantasy Award in 1995 in the Small Press category. Horror novelist Ramsey Campbell had a regular column in Necrofile, and novelists Brian Stableford and Fred Chappell were among the regular reviewer/contributors. Three issues with a little marginal staining to the covers, some rusting to the staples common, but overall a fine run.
90. IRVING, John. The Hotel New Hampshire. NY: Dutton (1981). The first issue proof of Irving's fifth book, with pages shot from typescript and Irving's holograph corrections evident (in photocopy). A publisher's note says that "This advance proof has been made from the uncopyedited, uncorrected manuscript" and that bound galleys -- i.e., a corrected and typeset proof -- will follow in a month. Another note warns the reader that "Any extraneous marks of any sort in the margin should be ignored." Foxing to top edge, slight creasing to rear panel; near fine in wrappers with promotional sheet and a signed letter from the publisher laid in. Very uncommon; we've only had this state of the book once before, more than 15 years ago.
91. IRVING, John. The Cider House Rules. NY: Morrow (1985). The uncorrected proof copy. From the library of Irving's friend, and fellow National Book Award winner, Peter Matthiessen. A well-read copy, with inadvertent page turns and abrasions and wear to the covers and spine. A good copy only, but a significant copy: Irving has said on multiple occasions that it was Matthiessen's reading of the book in manuscript form that caused him to rewrite the book, shifting some of the emphasis he had placed on the character of Homer back onto the character Dr. Larch (an emphasis that migrated back to Homer in the film). Letter of provenance available.