Catalog 169

(n.p.), Lynx House Press, 1979. The second book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. Inscribed by the author in 1999 to fellow poets C.D. Wright and her husband, Forrest Gander, "with great admiration." Wright and Gander both taught in Providence (she at Brown; he at Providence College and later Brown), and on the date of the inscription (April 22), Komunyakaa was giving a reading at Brown of Vietnam-themed writings, along with Tim O'Brien and Philip Caputo. Modest rubbing; near fine in wrappers. [#033178] SOLD

June 25, 1980. A response by Le Carre to an apparent letter of support from a reader, in which he shares news of the upcoming BBC series "we are making" of "Smiley's People," and expresses his pleasure that Sir Alec Guinness will once again play Smiley. He also expresses hope that at least one of his sons chooses a writing career, "but it's a hard life, believe it or not, and letters like yours make it a lot easier!" Signed in full, as John Le Carre. Offered here with a photo of Alec Guinness as Smiley, inscribed by Guinness, albeit to another recipient, in 1982. The letter is folded in eighths; near fine. [#033024] SOLD

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 pages. The last page reproduces a hand-drawn yin-yang symbol with eight trigrams around it and references 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. [#030748] $1,500

NY/Engelwood Cliffs, Grand Central/Prentice-Hall, (2017/1977). Jenner's first book as Bruce and first book as Caitlyn, each signed by the author. A forty year span separates the publication dates: Decathlon Challenge was published the year after Jenner won the Olympic Gold Medal for the decathlon at the Montreal Summer Games. It is inscribed by the author: "To Ken/ Dream Big/ Work Hard/ Bruce Jenner." In the text, Jenner writes, "You've got to be ready to be great. I know that may sound silly, but it's true. Being on the threshold of doing something that you've always dreamed of doing is a very scary experience." This sentiment played out on an even greater scale decades later when Jenner became one of the most famous openly transgender women in the world. The Secrets of My Life is signed by the author on a publisher's tipped-in leaf and includes a photo of Jenner with a copy of the book and a listing for the event where the book was first purchased. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Decathlon Challenge is fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket. [#033027] SOLD

Eugene, Lone Goose Press, (1992). A limited edition of a single piece by Lopez, from Crossing Open Ground, about igniting and retaining wonder in the natural world. Copy 58 of 75 numbered copies signed by the author and the artist, Margaret Prentice, who provides several relief print illustrations to the text. An elegant production: handset and printed on handmade papers made by Prentice, using dyes made from colored plant pulp to evoke the woods to which the essay refers. Handbound into attractive wrappers, also made by Prentice, with a fern image on the cover, the whole laid into a folding clamshell box. Printed and bound by Sandy Tilcock, who also made the box. Fine. [#033028] $2,000

NY, Knopf, 1994, 1998, 2000. The uncorrected proof copies of these three books by Lopez, from the author's own library. Lopez does not, as a matter of principle, sign advance copies, but each of these proofs comes with a typed note signed attesting to the fact that it is from his personal library. About This Life has some light corner creasing, otherwise each is fine in wrappers. [#033179] $450

NY, Knopf, (1994). The author's copy of the uncorrected proof of this collection of stories, with his corrections in ink throughout, changes that were made prior to the published version of the text. Together with a clean copy of the proof for comparison. Each has a typed note signed by Lopez attesting to the fact that these came from his personal library. Approximately 75 changes total, the majority very small corrections; the handful of larger changes are at most several words. The marked copy is near fine in wrappers; the unmarked copy is fine in wrappers. [#033180] $750

Eugene, Lone Goose Press, 1997. A limited edition of an essay from Crossing Open Ground, which was, after this edition, issued in a trade edition by the University of Georgia Press. Here issued with twenty-three 11-3/4" x 11" woodblock images by Robin Eschner, hinged in a continuous presentation almost 22 feet long, encompassing the text. An elaborate production, involving a number of individuals prominent in the book arts, in addition to Lopez and Eschner: Charles Hobson, the designer, whose work is included in the collections of the Whitney Museum and the National Gallery of Art, among others; Sandy Tilcock, the publisher and boxmaker; Susan Acker, the letterpress printer; Nora Pauwells, the relief edition printer; and John DeMerritt, the binder, who is President of the Hand Bookbinders of California. Of a total edition of 66 copies, this is Copy No. 20, one of 50 numbered copies signed by Lopez and including a unique tire-tread print from Lopez's Toyota 4-Runner, the vehicle used in the journey from Oregon to Indiana that is described in the story. Fine, in a clamshell box. [#033029] $2,500

(Minnesota), Red Dragonfly Press, 2003. A fine press edition printing one story from Iron Horse Magazine, about the intrinsic rewards of a good day's work. Letterpress printed on handmade Japanese paper, with a title page woodcut by Gary Young. This is the deluxe issue, printed on Barcham Green handmade paper and bound in cloth and boards. Copy No. 18 of 36 numbered copies signed by the author. An additional 240 copies were issued unsigned, in wrappers. A couple small spots to rear cloth, else fine, without dust jacket, as issued. [#033030] $400

(San Francisco), (Browntrout), (1995-1997). Five wall calendars for three years, each featuring words by Barry Lopez. Three have words by Lopez and images by Frans Lanting; two have words by Lopez, Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and Frank Waters, with the work of assorted photographers. 14" x 12". Each is fine. Unmarked, but from the library of Barry Lopez. [#033181] $150

(San Francisco), (Browntrout), (1995-1996). Three wall calendars for two years, each featuring words by Barry Lopez. Two have words by Lopez and images by Frans Lanting; one has the words by Lopez, Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and Frank Waters, with the work of assorted photographers. 14" x 12". Each is fine. Unmarked, but from the library of Barry Lopez. [#033182] $100

1987. A sterling silver medallion, dated Fall 1987, a year before the release of the film Things Change, and with the title and the two principal cities of the film, Chicago and Tahoe, printed on the perimeter. Presented by Mamet, with an autograph note signed to a collector: "To ___ - Here is an item I do not think you have - with all best wishes/ David/ 6F95." The medallion is 1-5/8" in diameter, and has two ribbon attachment points on the back (no ribbon present). The note is on the back of Mamet's business card (which states only "David Mamet"), and it has been curled around the medallion, with retained creases. Things Change was written by Mamet with Shel Silverstein, and directed by Mamet. Scarce memorabilia of a Mamet film, with a note from the author himself to attest to its provenance. [#030753] $750

NY, Viking, 1955. A novel of partisan politics in Paris in the early 1950s and loosely based on Matthiessen's own brief experience with the CIA, in which he was asked to keep tabs on a young French communist leader during the period when Matthiessen was living in Paris and co-founded the Paris Review. Inscribed by the author to his parents: "For Mom & Dad. With much love. Pete." Two passages marked in the text, with page numbers written on the front pastedown: one of the passages begins, "Nevertheless, he respected his father -- " Heavy foxing to endpages; staining to boards; insect damage to cloth, which is splitting at the rear joint. A fair copy only, lacking the dust jacket, but an excellent family association copy. [#032362] $750

NY, Viking, 1961. A chronicle of a trip through the Amazon wilderness, Matthiessen's second book of nonfiction and the first of his numerous personal accounts of travel and exploration, with which he carved out a unique position in American literature. Inscribed by the author to his parents: "For Mom & Dad/ with much love & many thanks/ Pete." Minor handling evident to boards, faint spine-sunning; a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket. [#032344] SOLD

NY, Viking, 1961. A chronicle of a trip through the Amazon wilderness, Matthiessen's second book of nonfiction and the first of his numerous personal accounts of travel and exploration, with which he carved out a unique position in American literature. Signed by the author. Fine in a very good, tanned dust jacket, with rubbing to the joints. [#033183] $150

NY, Viking, (1978). His National Book Award-winning volume, which recounts a trip to the Himalayas with naturalist George Schaller in the hopes both of encountering a snow leopard in the wild and of coming to terms with his wife's recent death from cancer. Unmarked, but one of Matthiessen's own copies. Very good in a very good dust jacket. [#032370] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1978). A second printing of his first National Book Award winner, which recounts a trip to the Himalayas with naturalist George Schaller in the hopes both of encountering a snow leopard in the wild and of coming to terms with his wife's recent death from cancer. From Matthiessen's own library and with more than a dozen passages marked in pen by Matthiessen, all having to do with the porter and camp assistant Tuktken. There are a couple of other passages marked in pencil, with page notations in the prelims. Rear flyleaf excised, else a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket. [#032371] $750

[NY], [Viking], [(1978)]. A Taiwanese piracy of Matthiessen's National Book Award-winning volume of his journey through Tibet (Inner Dolpo) with naturalist George Schaller. "Since the usurpation of Tibet by the Chinese, the Land of Dolpo...was said to be the last enclave of pure Tibetan culture left on earth..." Photo-reduced from the original Viking edition. Unmarked, but from the author's library. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Scarce edition. [#032373] SOLD

NY, Vintage Books, (2000). Matthiessen's own copy of this trade paperback original collecting more than thirty years of his nonfiction. Nearly two dozen pages marked by Matthiessen, with brackets, arrows, or hatch lines, in six different chapters of the book, including a number of passages marked for deletion, although the context of such revision is unclear. A very good copy in wrappers. [#032385] $450

(Houston), Inprint/Fiocat, (2005). A limited edition excerpt from Matthiessen's 1972 book, issued as a gift for patrons of Inprint's Poets and Writers Ball 2005. Copy #29 of 300 numbered copies (there were an additional 60 proofs). Signed by Matthiessen. From the author's own library. Fine in intricately designed string-tied wrappers. Very uncommon: we had never seen another one prior to encountering this. Presumably, as an ephemeral gift that never entered the book trade, copies were limited to the attendees at the ball, and it's likely that many did not retain them after the event. [#032378] SOLD

Washington, D.C., National Geographic, (2003). The advance reading copy of this account of a trip through the islands surrounding Antarctica on a research vessel. An uncommon advance copy, this being from the author's own library. Light rubbing; near fine in wrappers. [#033184] SOLD

NY, Frank Hallman, 1974. Inscribed by McMurtry: "For ___ ___/ This is an unfortunate mistake of mine. I suspect the limitation is erroneous./ Larry McMurtry." McMurtry doesn't indicate in which direction he believes the limitation errs. The stated limitation is 300 copies, each signed by the author, and while it can be assumed that like most limited editions there may have been a small print overrun to protect against damaged copies, etc., we have not heard of this title having had a significantly different limitation than stated, and the fact that they were numbered seems to argue against the actual number varying by much. This is copy number 247. Fine without dust jacket, as issued. [#024134] SOLD

NY, Farrar Straus Giroux, (1981). The first of McPhee's books on geology, which eventually led to his winning the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction for Annals of the Former World, which included the text of this book plus four others. The text of Basin and Range book was initially published in The New Yorker, and this copy is inscribed by McPhee to long-time New Yorker fact checker Sara Lippincott: "For Sara Lippincott - I will forever be grateful to you for the amount of yourself you put into this piece of work, and I can think of no better way to describe what you have done than to borrow a phrase from something you said in November: '...you mean, when it moves, it doesn't rattle.' Yes, that's it - not to mention the pleasure of the daily dialogue. Thank you, Sara./ John." In 2009, McPhee wrote a piece for The New Yorker about Lippincott and the magazine's fact checkers, titled, "Checkpoints: Fact-checkers do it a tick at a time." On page 51 of this book, Lippincott is apparently still at work: a check mark appears in the margin. A near fine copy in a very good, spine-faded dust jacket with one small chip and another edge tear. In addition to the inscription, signed in full by McPhee on the title page. [#033053] SOLD

NY, Farrar Straus Giroux, (2017). The advance reading copy of this collection of essays on writing, specifically on writing long-form nonfiction. McPhee practically single-handedly invented the genre of Creative or Literary Nonfiction in the 1960s, with his profiles and other long pieces written for The New Yorker. Since then he has, in addition to writing, taught a course in writing at Princeton, and been a mentor to several generations of young writers. His own writing both illuminates the subjects he takes on, and also expands the range of journalism and reporting by virtue of his approach to his subject. Small crease to the front cover near the lower spine; else fine in wrappers. An uncommon advance copy. [#033185] $125

Roma, Stabilimento Danesi, 1896. An 1896 facsimile of a Precolumbian Mexican codex produced by the Duke of Loubat from the original housed in the Vatican library. Joseph Florimond Loubat, whose title was conferred on him by Pope Leo XIII in recognition of his large gifts to the Catholic Church, was an American philanthropist who had, among other things, an interest in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican history and archaeology. In particular, he studied and wrote commentaries on a number of the surviving pre-Columbian codices, including this one. In 1896, to correct an error in an earlier description and transliteration of this particular codex, he commissioned a facsimile edition to be done using photochromography, reproducing the entire 48 leaves of the folding codex, as well as reproducing the wooden binding of the codex. Fifty copies of the facsimile were created, each housed in a folding wood-and-leather box along with three pamphlets about the codex, one in English, one in Italian, and one in Spanish. The facsimile codex and the three pamphlets are here present and complete as issued; each bears ex-library markings from a no longer extant Catholic school. A rare edition: OCLC locates only three copies. Very good, in the (damaged) original quarter leather wooden box. [#029143] SOLD

(San Francisco), (Gigantic Publishing), (1994-1997). Eleven of the first 16 issues of Dave Eggers' first foray into periodicals, prior to launching Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern. These back issues were sold as a set, from McSweeney's first Brooklyn store, called "Store," with an included serious/humorous fact sheet entitled "Rules for Buyers of These Old Magazines." Among other things, the buyer of a set was instructed to write a check to The Fresh Air Fund, a New York charity that brings low-income urban children to outdoor experiences in the country. This seems to have been the first McSweeney's effort to have its literary publishing venture also serve an activist, socially conscious purpose; later the 826 Valencia and 826NYC literacy efforts extended and amplified this impulse. Issues of Might are uncommon now, and runs of the magazine are extremely scarce. The magazines and the rules are fine; the ziplock bag is tattered. [#032992] SOLD

San Francisco, Arion Press, 1994. A fine press limited edition of Nabokov's novel in the form of a 999 line poem, with fictional commentary. Copy 143 of 200 numbered copies, of a total edition of 226. Two volumes: the novel plus the companion volume printing the text of the poem as though on 80 index cards, as described in the novel. Both volumes housed together in the publisher's slipcase. All elements fine, in the original shipping box. [#033186] SOLD

Urbana, University of Illinois, (1982). The hardcover issue of this collection of poems by a writer of Choctaw descent. Inscribed by the author in 1986: "For ___ ___, who accepted the challenge and tried to find my first two books! In friendship, Jim Barnes." Additionally signed by Barnes on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with one tiny edge tear. [#033034] SOLD

(Buffalo), (Swift Kick), (1988). Issued as Swift Kick #7/8. An uncommon collection of poetry, with artwork by Peter Jemison, a Seneca artist. This copy is inscribed by Kenny in 1998: "Mike - Sana gifted me with a copy of your book, so I thought this might be [illegible] as a return gift. Thanks/ Maurice Kenny." Very near fine in wrappers. [#033035] SOLD

Marvin, Blue Cloud Quarterly Press, (1978). Three interviews, with Russell, Lance Henson, and Jim Weaver Barnes, compiled by Patrick Hundley. Inscribed by Russell in 1980. Laid in is a typed letter signed from Russell to poet Will Inman, dated June 25, 1980, in which Russell comments at some length on the current state of poetry and small poetry magazines ("...those that used to be LITTLE, to invite spontaneity, experimentation, and true optimism, have gotten BIG, created a new conformity, a crafty and stupefying DULLNESS..." He remarks that much of the poetry is "completely introverted and narcissistic. I could write better poems about my occasional hemorrhoids..."). Both items fine. Russell has corrected one sentence of the transcribed interview. [#003215] SOLD