Catalog 94, B
17. BARRETT, Andrea. Ship Fever and Other Stories. NY: Norton (1996). Her latest book, a collection of stories that was a surprise winner of the National Book Award. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
18. BARTHELME, Frederick. Painted Desert. (n.p.): Viking (1995). The advance reading copy of this "road novel set partly in cyberspace." Fine in wrappers.
19. BEATTIE, Ann. Secrets and Surprises. NY: Random House (1978). Her third book, a collection of stories, inscribed by the author: "For ____ ____ --/ this book, written long ago, about things I vaguely/ remember. As I recall,/ it does have some good/ dog stories./ Best wishes,/ Ann Beattie." Below, she has added doggie stickers, one of which is saying, "What? Am I in an Ann Beattie story?" Cute, in a very near fine dust jacket. A remarkably personal inscription for Beattie, who has in general treated her literary celebrity more or less perfunctorily.
20. BECKETT, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. NY: Grove Press (1954). The first English-language edition of Beckett's masterpiece, which defined the Theater of the Absurd and created for its author an immediate spot in the literary pantheon, culminating in his being awarded the Nobel Prize. An early Grove Press title which has become, like several other titles from the early years of the press, exceedingly scarce--many times scarcer than the Faber edition later published in Great Britain. Considered by many the single most important play of the twentieth century. This is a fine copy in a largely black, unlaminated dust jacket which wears easily and shows wear readily. The dust jacket has one closed edge tear at the upper front spine fold, and the slightest chipping to the corners and crown. Our experience with this title in recent years suggests that it is of a degree of scarcity comparable to Harper Lee's classic To Kill a Mockingbird and that, like that title, even very good copies are exceedingly scarce--and fine, or even near fine, copies are very few and far between. This is a very nice copy of one of the scarcest high spots of modern literature.
21. BELL, Madison Smartt. All Souls' Rising. NY: Pantheon (1995). A highly praised novel, set in Haiti in the eighteenth century. Nominated for the National Book Award. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author. Less common than one would expect.
22. BERENDT, John. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. NY: Random House (1994). Highly praised literary nonfiction portrait of Savannah, Georgia, a surprise bestseller for over two years, going through dozens of printings, and later the basis for a movie. The first is somewhat uncommon and certainly represents a minuscule percentage of the total number of copies printed to date. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a corner crease on the front flap.
23. BERGER, John. Permanent Red. London: Methuen (1960). The first book of nonfiction, a collection subtitled "Essays on Seeing," by the author of the classic Ways of Seeing and the novels G. (which won the Booker Prize) and To the Wedding, among many others. Foxing to foredge; else fine in a very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
24. BERRY, Wendell. November Twenty-Six Nineteen Hundred Sixty Three. NY: Braziller (1964). An early book by Berry, who is now well-known as a poet and naturalist and the leading contemporary exponent of agrarian values. This volume comprises a poem and eulogy in honor of President John F. Kennedy and the country's loss at his assassination, written by Berry and with illustrations by Ben Shahn. This is the limited edition (limitation not stated), with a tipped in plate by Shahn and signed by the author and artist. Fine in a fine slipcase, in original shrinkwrap. A book that has become much scarcer in recent years than it was for a long time, particularly in fine condition.
25. (Book Collecting). AHEARN, Allen and Patricia. Book Collecting. NY: Putnam's (1995). Second printing. By the authors of Collected Books: The Guide to Values. This volume updates their earlier Book Collecting; the bulk of the volume is an extensive price guide to authors' first books----which expands and updates the list from their previous editions, and tracks the price history of those titles that were included earlier. The first 120+ pages contain, in our opinion, the most extensive and thoughtful commentary on modern book collecting that can be found in any single volume. For this edition, the Ahearns have also added a section listing the winners of the major literary awards that are most avidly pursued by collecters--the Pulitzers, National Book Awards, Edgars, Caldecotts, etc. There are sections on knowledgeable buying, pricing questions, auctions, catalogues, appraisals, collecting for investment, proofs and advance copies, caring for your books, and much more. An invaluable resource. Every collector should have one (virtually every dealer already does). At the list price.
26. BOSWELL, Robert. American Owned Love. NY: Knopf, 1997. Uncorrected proof copy of the new novel by the author of Mystery Ride, Crooked Hearts and the story collection Living to Be A Hundred. Considerably scarcer than the advance reading copy of this title. Fine in wrappers.
27. BOWEN, Peter. Coyote Wind. NY: St. Martin's (1994). The first mystery featuring Gabriel Du PrÉ, a Montana cattle inspector turned detective. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
28. BOWDEN, Charles. Stone Canyons of the Colorado Plateau. (NY): Abrams (1996). Quarto, heavily illustrated with stunning color photographs of the canyonlands. Text by Bowden; photographs by Jack Dykinga. Foreword by Robert Redford. Signed by Bowden and Dykinga. Tiny smudges on the title page from the signing; otherwise fine in a fine dust jacket.
29. BOWLES, Jane. Two Serious Ladies. London: Peter Owen (1965). The first British edition of her first book, originally published in 1943. Over the years, Jane Bowles's output was remarkably small, but her influence on later generations of women writers has been out of all proportion to the quantity of her production. Owner name in pencil on flyleaf; near fine in a very good dust jacket.
30. BOWLES, Jane. Feminine Wiles. Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow, 1976. Stories, sketches, a play, photographs, and six letters. This is a review copy of the issue in wrappers, with review slip laid in. Fine.
31. BOWLES, Paul. Huapango No. 1. Providence: Axelrod Music (1939). Sheet music for a piano solo. This is the correct first edition (there was a reprint done in 1954). Bowles's career as a composer for the most part predates his writing career, and this music was published more than a decade before his first novel, The Sheltering Sky. Covers edge-darkened; near fine. Miller E9.
32. BOWLES, Paul. Huapango No. 2. Providence: Axelrod Music (1939). Sheet music for a piano solo. Bowles's Two Huapangos represent "translation into concert form of [a] Mexican folk dance. The First Huapango uses actual folk material; the Second (`El Sol') represents a greater abstraction of the form." Covers detached, one corner chipped; good. Miller E10.
33. BOWLES, Paul. Carretera de Estepona (Highway to Estopona). NY: Marks Editions (1948). Sheet music for a piano solo, written as a dance number for Anita Alvarez. Published in the Contemporary Composers Series. Fine. Miller E35.
34. BOWLES, Paul. The Sheltering Sky. London: Lehmann (1949). The first edition of Bowles's landmark first novel, an influential tale of Westerners abroad in North Africa, encountering an alien and previously unsuspected world as they discover unknown aspects of themselves. One critic summarized it thus: "The Sheltering Sky shows his remarkable feeling for the power of the African town and desert to generate existential fear and panic in characters exhausted and degenerated by Western urban excess. He is a master of cruelty and isolation, and the ironies of the search for meaning in an inadequately understood environment." Spine-cocked, upper corners bumped; otherwise a near fine copy in a lightly spine-tanned dust jacket with modest wear at the extremities; still about near fine. An important first novel, which anticipated the literature of the Beat movement and the focus on the experiential and on alternate states of mind, whether drug-induced or provoked by exposure to foreign lands and cultures. 4000 copies were printed, and the book was reprinted several times in short order. The first has become very scarce in recent years.
35. BOWLES, Paul. The Delicate Prey and Other Stories. (NY): Random House (1950). His second book published in the U.S., and first collection of stories. Near fine in an about very good dust jacket with one long but not especially obtrusive edge tear and some chipping at the spine extremities. The jacket spine is unfaded, which is unusual for this title.
36. BOWLES, Paul. Let it Come Down. NY: Random House (1952). The first American edition of his second novel, again a tale of expatriate North Americans in North Africa. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with moderate edgewear and rubbing but without the spine-fading that is usually endemic to this title.
37. BOWLES, Paul. The Spider's House. NY: Random House (1955). His third novel, about a group of Westerners adrift in the alien culture of Morocco, a subject he explored repeatedly to great effect. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with several very small edge chips. An attractive copy of this title, which shows wear easily.
38. BOWLES, Paul. A Hundred Camels in the Courtyard. San Francisco: City Lights (1962). A collection of stories of Moroccan kif-smokers, which became one of the key books of the 1960s drug culture. Photograph of Bowles taken by Allen Ginsberg on the rear cover. Light dust-soiling to rear cover; else fine in wrappers. A nice copy of this small, fragile paperback.
39. BOWLES, Paul. Their Heads are Green and Their Hands are Blue. London: Peter Owen (1963). The first British edition, and true first edition, of this book of nonfiction, the first of his numerous books of travel writings. Bowles brought an avant-garde sensibility to travel writing and in so doing turned the genre on its head, freeing it of the memory of its colonialist past, and opening the way for such later writers as Peter Matthiessen, Bruce Chatwin and Alex Shoumatoff to explore "alien" cultures without a hint of condescension--indeed, often with a respect for tribal societies that recognizes values and capacities that surpass our own culture's. Fine in a very good dust jacket worn along the edges. Precedes the U.S. edition by several months, and is considerably scarcer, having been published in an edition of only 2000 copies (vs. 5000 for the U.S. edition).
40. BOWLES, Paul. Up Above the World. NY: Simon & Schuster (1966). His first novel since The Spider's House in 1955. Bowles is increasingly recognized as one of the most important members of the Beat generation and the postwar era in general and this is the last of his four novels. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
41. BOWLES, Paul. Pages from Cold Point. London: Peter Owen (1968). A collection of North Africa stories, for which there was no comparable U.S. edition. Printed in an edition of 2000 copies. Fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
42. BOWLES, Paul. The Thicket of Spring. Los Angeles: Black Sparrow, 1972. A collection of Bowles's poetry, spanning the years 1926-1969. Bowles began writing poetry two decades before he wrote his first novel. His first book--Two Poems--was published in 1933 but his poetry received such poor reviews from Gertrude Stein--whom he admired and who had taken him under her wing in the late Twenties and early Thirties--that he published no more poetry in book form until the collection Scenes--done by Black Sparrow in 1968--and then this volume. The total edition was 1226, of which 226 were hardcovers. This is a review copy of the issue in wrappers. Slight surface soiling; else fine, with review slip and promotional announcement laid in.
43. BOWLES, Paul. Without Stopping: An Autobiography. NY: Putnam (1972). A review copy of this first book of the author's memoirs. Bowles became an influential figure during the years of the Beat movement and his popularity and relevance persisted through the counterculture period of the 1960s, as many of his tales dealt with young Americans experimenting with drugs and encountering foreign cultures for the first time. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with trace wear at the spine base.
44. BOWLES, Paul. Three Tales. (NY): Hallman, 1975. Of a total edition of 1100, this is one of 1000 copies in wrappers. Near fine.
45. BOWLES, Paul. Things Gone and Things Still Here. Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow, 1977. A collection of stories set in North Africa. This is a review copy of the issue in wrappers. Fine.
46. BOWLES, Paul. Collected Stories 1939-1976. Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow, 1979. The limited edition of this collection, with an introduction and appreciation by Gore Vidal, who writes: "His stories are among the best ever written by an American." One of 300 numbered copies signed by Bowles. Fine in an acetate dust jacket.
47. -. Same title, the trade edition. One of 750 copies. Fine in an acetate dust jacket.
48. BOWLES, Paul. Too Far From Home. (London): Peter Owen (1994). The limited edition, one of 100 numbered copies signed by the author. Crease to title page (apparently created during the printing process); else fine in a near fine tissue dust wrapper with one open edge tear.
49. (BOWLES, Paul). CHARHARDI, Driss ben Hamed. A Life Full of Holes. NY: Grove (1964). A novel recorded on tape recorder by Bowles and then translated by him--the first of his translations from the Moghrebi. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
50. (BOWLES, Paul). MRABET, Mohammed. Love with a Few Hairs. NY: Braziller (1968). A review copy of the first American edition of the first of Bowles's translations of a tale by Mrabet. They collaborated on many others over the next two decades. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with one small edge tear.
51. (BOWLES, Paul). MRABET, Mohammed. The Lemon. NY: McGraw-Hill (1969). The first American edition of the second collaboration between Bowles and Mrabet--Mrabet dictating the story and Bowles transcribing it and translating. This is an advance review copy. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
52. (BOWLES, Paul). MRABET, Mohammed. M'Hashish. (San Francisco): City Lights (1969). Stories of Moroccan hashish and kif smokers, recounted by Mrabet and translated by Bowles. Fine in wrappers.
53. (BOWLES, Paul). MRABET, Mohammed. The Boy Who Set the Fire. Los Angeles: Black Sparrow, 1974. Stories by Mrabet, taped and translated by Bowles. This is a review copy of the issue in wrappers, one of 1500 copies of a total edition of 1777. Fine.
54. (BOWLES, Paul). CHOUKRI, Mohamed. Jean Genet in Tangier. NY: Ecco (1974). A translation by Bowles, which seems to be less common than most of his other translations. With an introduction by William Burroughs. This is a review copy and is fine in a fine dust jacket.
55. (BOWLES, Paul). MRABET, Mohammed. Hadidan Aharam. (Los Angeles): Black Sparrow Press, 1975. Issued as Sparrow 37. Fine in stapled wrappers.
56. (BOWLES, Paul). MRABET, Mohammed. The Big Mirror. Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow, 1977. A novel by Mrabet, again taped and translated by Bowles. One of 2504 copies of the issue in wrappers. This is a review copy. Mild strip of sunning; else fine.
57. (BOWLES, Paul). CHOUKRI, Mohamed. Tennessee Williams in Tangier. Santa Barbara: Cadmus Editions, 1979. Uncorrected proof copy of this limited edition of Bowles's translation. Fine in wrappers. An uncommon state of this small but important volume, which links Bowles and Williams--longtime friends as well as literary collaborators in the '40s--in print.
58. -. Same title, the trade edition. One of 1300 copies in wrappers. Fine, in glassine dust jacket.
59. BROSSARD, Chandler. Who Walk in Darkness. (NY): New Directions (1952). The author's first book, a "novel about ‘hipsters' and their girls" set in Greenwich Village and, according to the publisher, the first of the novels of the postwar bohemian generation later known as the Beat generation. While it is debatable whether it is the very first Beat novel--there are several other contenders--it is certainly one of the earliest and, by critical consensus, one of the most accomplished. Very near fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with one short edge tear and a small amount of dampstaining on verso.
60. BROSSARD, Chandler. The Bold Saboteurs. NY: Farrar, Straus and Young (1953). His second novel, a tale of an alienated misfit on the fringe of society. Near fine in a very good dust jacket.
61. BROSSARD, Chandler. The Double View. NY: Dial Press, 1960. His third novel. Fine in a very good dust jacket.
62. BROSSARD, Chandler. The Spanish Scene. NY: Viking (1968). Nonfiction about Spain, from the Franco era and the Sixties. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with one edge tear. Publisher's card laid in, listing publication date.
63. BROSSARD, Chandler. Did Christ Make Love? Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill (1973). Review copy of his fifth novel, which is by all appearances scarcer than some of his earlier books. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with light wear at the crown; with review slip laid in.
64. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Fine in wrappers with publisher's card stapled to the front cover.
65. BROWN, Larry. Dirty Work. Chapel Hill: Algonquin, 1989. The author's second book and first novel, powerful fiction about two Vietnam vets in the aftermath of the war. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
66. BUKOWSKI, Charles. Screams from the Balcony. Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow, 1993. Selected letters 1960-1970. Edited by Seamus Cooney. This is one of 300 numbered copies signed by the author, with an original silkscreen print by Bukowski bound in. Fine in acetate dust jacket.
67. BUKOWSKI, Charles. Run with the Hunted. (NY): HarperCollins (1993). A signed limited edition of Bukowski's writings culled from more than 20 books, published over 25 years by Black Sparrow Press. A landmark book, representing Bukowski's first major volume by a mainstream publisher. Issued just before he died, in an edition of 226 copies, this is one of 200 numbered copies signed by the author. Clothbound. Fine in slipcase.
68. BURGESS, Anthony. Typed Postcard Signed. 1973. Addressed to Holt, Rinehart & Winston and offering comments on the book The Great American Novel by Philip Roth. Over 100 words fitted onto a 5 1/2" x 3 1/4" card, in part: "...as an Englishman I expected to be mystified by a novel in which baseball is so big a theme, but everything is crystal-clear, and the whole marvelous structure transcends the merely American scene." Fine.
69. BURROUGHS, William. The Soft Machine. Paris: Olympia (1961). The true first edition, published in Paris by Maurice Girodias' press five years before it came out in the U.S. Only issued in wrappers. This copy has a slant to the spine and a 1" tear at the upper rear spine fold; a very good or better copy in a similar dust jacket with two edge tears, one corresponding to the tear in the wrappers. The Paris first editions of Burroughs' books have become increasingly scarce in recent years, especially in dust jacket.
70. BUTLER, Robert Olen. Alleys of Eden. NY: Horizon (1981). The Pulitzer Prize-winner's first book, a highly praised novel of the ending and aftermath of the Vietnam war--themes that have continued to run through his writing since, including his award-winning story collection. Although Butler's early books were universally praised by reviewers, they enjoyed little commercial success, in part because the first three were published by a small publisher on the brink of bankruptcy. Fine in a fine dust jacket. A beautiful copy of a first book that has become quite scarce, especially in such condition--the unlaminated blue dust jacket being easily susceptible to rubbing and wear.