Catalog 93, E-G
117. (ELIOT, T.S.). Harvard College Class of 1910. Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report. Cambridge: Cosmos Press, 1935. Eliot contributes a three-page autobiographical summary of his 25 years since graduation. A blunt report, filled with odd details ("I am afraid of high places and cows"); writing is mentioned in understated afterthought ("My hobbies are theology, Social Credit, and occasionally, when I can find time, writing a little poetry... I forgot to say that I am obliged to spend a great deal of time answering letters from Ezra Pound, but my firm pays for the stamps"). The book also contains an autobiographical sketch of Walter Lippmann, and a posthumous report on John Reed. Bookplate front pastedown, light foxing to top edge; a near fine copy of a bulky book. Not listed in Gallup.
118. (ELIOT, T.S.) KIPLING, Rudyard. A Choice of Kipling's Verse. NY: Scribners, 1943. Poetry by Kipling, selected and with a 30-page introduction by Eliot. Owner name in pencil front pastedown; small gift inscription to half title; light offsetting to endpapers; otherwise an exceptionally fine copy in a fine dust jacket, with original mailing box.
119. ELLISON, Harlan. Slippage. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. The advance reading copy of this new collection of previously uncollected pieces, including an award-winning novella. Fine in wrappers.
120. ELLISON, Ralph. Invisible Man. London: Gollancz, 1953. The first British edition of his classic first novel. Stain to cloth at crown, spine slant, modest foxing; good in an internally repaired and strengthened dust jacket. An uncommon edition of one of the most highly praised American novels of the century.
121. ELLISON, Ralph. Shadow & Act. NY: Random House (1964). Uncorrected proof copy of the second book by the author of the classic Invisible Man, which won the National Book Award. A collection of essays and the only other book published during Ellison's lifetime. Tall, ringbound proofs shot from galley sheets. A very scarce state of an important book.
122. ELLISON, Ralph. From "Stephen Crane and American Fiction." (n.p.: n.p., c. 1960). Fair copy of a portion of Ellison's introduction to The Red Badge of Courage. One paragraph, typed on 7 1/4" x 10 1/2" paper, folded in thirds; else fine. Signed by Ellison.
123. ELLROY, James. L.A. Confidential. NY: Mysterious Press (1990). A crime novel-noir fiction-set in 1950s Los Angeles, recently made into a highly praised film that won honors at various festivals and has had huge success in commercial release. This is the limited edition; one of only 100 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in slipcase.
124. EVERSON, William. "Brother Antonius." The Rose of Solitude. Garden City: Doubleday, 1967. A sequence of love poems, and a spiritual autobiography. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
125. EVERSON, William. Man-Fate. (NY): New Directions (1974). The hardcover edition of Everson's first collection after leaving the Dominican order and the name Brother Antonius. The book is subtitled "The Swan Song of Brother Antoninus." Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
126. (EXLEY, Frederick). YARDLEY, Jonathan. Misfit. NY: Random House (1997). The uncorrected proof copy of this biography of the author of A Fan's Notes, among others. Fine in wrappers.
127. FAULKNER, William. Requiem for a Nun. NY: Random House (1951). A novel written largely in the form of a play, which was later adapted for the theater. Laid into this copy is the Playbill from the Boston performance, starring Ruth Ford and Zachary Scott, and the advertisement and review from The New York Times. The book has offsetting to the rear endpages from the newspaper excerpts, and is very good in a very good dust jacket with small chips at the crown.
128. FITZGERALD, Penelope. The Blue Flower. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of the most recent novel by this Booker Prize-winning author. Published here as a trade paperback, to extraordinary reviews. Fine in wrappers.
129. FITZGERALD, Penelope. The Bookshop. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin/Mariner Books (1997). The advance reading copy of the first American edition of Fitzgerald's novel, short-listed for the Booker Prize in England in 1978. Published here as a trade paperback. Fine in wrappers.
130. FORD, Richard. A Piece of My Heart. New York: Harper & Row (1976). The first book by the author of the recent Pulitzer Prize winner Independence Day. Near fine in a dust jacket with modest edgewear, about near fine.
131. FORD, Richard. The Sportswriter. NY: Vintage (1986). The first edition of his third novel, a paperback original, and his "breakthrough" book. Publication as a paperback original in the Vintage Contemporaries series brought Ford a readership ten times as large as the book would have had in hardcover; and his obvious talent lent credibility to what was at that time a fledgling paperback series and, in reality, a publishing experiment. Fine in wrappers. A nice copy of a book that has become somewhat scarce in recent years, especially in good shape.
132. -. Same title, the first British edition and the first hardcover edition (London: Collins Harvill, 1986). Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author. Probably Ford's scarcest trade publication.
133. FORD, Richard. Independence Day. Toronto: Little Brown (1995). The first Canadian edition of his most recent novel, a sequel to The Sportswriter, and winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award, a rare literary "double." This novel follows the main character of The Sportswriter, Frank Bascombe, after he has divorced and become a real estate agent. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
134. FORD, Richard. Women with Men. NY: Knopf, 1997. The uncorrected proof copy of his latest book and first collection of stories. A surprisingly small number of proofs seem to have been done, at least for a writer of Ford's stature, and few have shown up on the market. Fine in wrappers.
135. FRANCK, Dan. My Russian Love. NY: Doubleday (1997). Uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of this novel first published in France in 1994. Fine in wrappers.
136. FROST, Mark. The List of 7. NY: Morrow (1993). Advance reading copy of the first novel by the creator and co-writer of Twin Peaks. Inscribed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
137. FRUCHT, Abby. Life Before Death. (NY): Scribner (1997). The advance reading copy of her latest novel, which was highly praised upon publication. Fine in wrappers.
138. GAINES, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. NY: Knopf, 1993. Advance reading copy of this novel by the author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, A Gathering of Old Men and others. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Small crimp to mid-spine; else fine in wrappers, in near fine publisher's slipcase. Signed by the author.
139. GALLAGHER, Tess. At the Owl Woman Saloon. (NY): Scribner (1997). The advance reading copy of this collection of stories. Corner crease rear cover; near fine in wrappers.
140. GARDNER, John. The Resurrection. NY: New American Library (1966). Gardner's first work of fiction, one of the handful of significant literary first novels that were published by NAL under the editorship of David Segal. NAL was primarily a paperback publisher, with an emphasis on mass market paperbacks and a strong commercial focus. Publishing such writers as Gardner, William Gass, Cynthia Ozick and Michael Shaara was a fairly daring step; given the scarcity of all of those first novels, it would seem that such publishing daring was at least in part counterbalanced with caution in the form of short print runs: this novel, for example, had a 2500 copy first printing. This copy is inscribed by Gardner in 1975. Slight wear to the cloth at the spine extremities; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket. A very scarce novel, especially so signed.
141. GARDNER, John. The Wreckage of Agathon. NY: Harper & Row (1970). Gardner's second novel, after The Resurrection and preceding his more well-known Grendel. Dust jacket blurbs by Stanley Elkin and, notably, William Gass, with whom Gardner had a prominent and public dispute in later years over Gardner's concept of "moral fiction" and the responsibilities that entailed for contemporary authors. Gass became the spokesman for the other side of the issue-arguing that constraining fiction to the requirements of a particular morality was a counterproductive throwback to earlier days when Art was supposed to serve a recognized higher authority and became thereby little more than official propaganda. However, Gass and Gardner had a long-standing relationship and were quite good friends, notwithstanding the public split over this issue. Gass's presence giving a support notice on this book provides a footnote to the more public quarrel the men had later over a not insignificant question, which still incites controversy. A fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket.
142. GARDNER, John. Grendel. NY: Knopf, 1971. Probably Gardner's best-known novel, a retelling of the Beowulf saga from the point of view of the monster, Grendel. Chosen by Pringle as one of the hundred best fantasy novels of the postwar era. This is a fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with just a hint of spine-fading, much less than usual. An attractive copy of a scarce and important book.
143. GARDNER, Isabella. Birthdays from the Ocean. Boston/Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin/Riverside Press, 1955. A review copy of her first book. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Very good in a very good, internally tape-repaired dust jacket.
144. GASS, William. In the Heart of the Heart of the Country. NY: Harper & Row (1968). Gass's second book, a collection of stories. Bump to crown; else near fine in a similar dust jacket.
145. GASS, William H. Willie Masters' Lonesome Wife. (n.p.): Northwestern U. Press, 1968. His third book, a novella. This is the correct first edition of this title, preceding its Knopf publication by two years. Near fine without dust jacket, as issued. Award-winning book design by Lawrence Levy.
146. GHOSH, Amitav. The Calcutta Chromosome. NY: Avon Books (1997). A science fiction thriller by this young Indian writer. This is the advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers.
147. GILB, Dagoberto. The Magic of Blood. Albuquerque: U. of New Mexico Press (1993). A collection of stories by this southwestern writer of Chicano heritage. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author. Blurbs by Jim Harrison, James Crumley, Rick DeMarinis and others.
148. GILCHRIST, Ellen. Sarah Conley. Boston: Little Brown (1997). The advance reading copy of her latest book, a novel. Fine in wrappers.
149. GINSBERG, Allen. Howl. (n.p., n.p., 1964). A fifteen page typed fair copy of the poem that comprised Ginsberg's first published book and defined the new poetic aesthetic that came to be associated with the Beat movement. "Howl" is widely considered the most important American poem of the last half-century and has come to be an American icon. Signed by Ginsberg, with his trademark drawing of three intersecting fishes, and dated at Christmas, 1964. Fine.
150. GINSBERG, Allen. The Gates of Wrath. Bolinas: Grey Fox, 1972. The scarce hardcover edition of this collection of rhymed poems from the period 1948-1952. One of 100 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine, without dust jacket, as issued.
151. (GINSBERG, Allen.) BUTSCHER, Edward. "Ginsberg at the Poles." (n.p.: n.p., 1974). A nine page photocopy of Butscher's review of Ginsberg's The Gates of Wrath and The Fall of America, heavily annotated in holograph by Ginsberg. In nine pages, Ginsberg makes nearly one hundred corrections, each with an accompanying explanatory comment of a word or a sentence or, in one case, the back of a page. He ends with a summary paragraph (which he initials). On the verso of the final page, he adds a brief note signed in full: "OK - I made notes for you all over this - hope it's useful." Stapled pages; browned at edges from the early photocopy processes, else fine; folded in thirds for mailing, with hand-addressed envelope. A remarkable example of the poet as critic of the critic, as well as self-critic.
152. GIOVANNI, Nikki. Love Poems. NY: Morrow (1997). Advance reading copy of this collection of poems by the African American poet and activist. Fine in wrappers.
153. GODDEN, Rumer. Cromartie v. the God Shiva. NY: Morrow (1997). The advance reading copy of the first American edition of this novel of India based on a true incident, in which the Government of India filed suit on behalf of the God Shiva over the ownership of a statue. Fine in wrappers.
154. GODWIN, Gail. Glass People. NY: Knopf, 1972. A review copy of her uncommon second book, a novel. Lower board edges crunched; a good copy in a very good dust jacket with a minor corner stain and a couple very short edge tears.
155. GOLDING, William. Lord of the Flies. NY: Coward-McCann, 1955. The first American edition of the Nobel Prize-winning author's landmark first book, which has been made into two different movies and which exerted a powerful influence on a generation. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. A very attractive copy of a contemporary classic.
156. GRAFTON, Sue. "E" is for Evidence. NY: Henry Holt (1988). The fifth in her hugely successful Kinsey Millhone detective series. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
157. GRAVER, Elizabeth. Unravelling. NY: Hyperion (1997). Her well-received second book, first novel. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author. Dust jacket blurbs by Richard Ford, Howard Norman, Stewart O'Nan, and others.
158. GRAVES, Robert. Autograph Letter Signed. [c. 1971]. One page, in which he runs out of vertical space and writes on the horizontal. Mentions coming to the U.S. to "see my chums mostly in the Village" and later comments, apparently in response to his correspondent's question: "I knew and loved Cummings." Folded in eighths, trace wear to top edge; else fine.
159. GRAY, Spalding. It's a Slippery Slope. NY: Noonday Press (1997). The uncorrected proof copy of his latest monologue in print, in which Gray faces, with equally crushing moral weight, decisions about where to ski and whether to become a father to a son borne of an affair. Fine in wrappers.
160. GRUMBACH, Doris. The Spoil of the Flowers. Garden City: Doubleday, 1962. Her first book, a very scarce title by a writer who has gone on to become one of the most respected authors of her generation. Grumbach has said that her first two books only sold a few hundred copies each, with the remainder of the editions having been destroyed. This copy is from the publisher's library and is very conspicuously stamped as such on the top page edges and on the front flyleaf, where it is also signed by the author. Near fine in a bright, very near fine dust jacket. An uncommon and important first book.