Catalog 95, M-N
195. MACDONALD, Ross. The Instant Enemy. NY: Knopf, 1968. The sixteenth Lew Archer novel. Macdonald's Lew Archer novels frequently turned on a plot twist involving the distant past of one of more of the characters, and in doing so he brought questions of character and character development to the forefront of his mysteries in a way that was uncommon at the time but has since become standard in the genre. Macdonald's novels updated Chandler's by presenting as context and background the Los Angeles of the 1950s and 1960s, where Chandler's had painted a rich verbal portrait of the L.A. of the Thirties and Forties. This copy is inscribed by the author to his sister-in-law in the year of publication: "To Dorothy/ on her birthday/ all our love/ Ken." Near fine in a fine dust jacket.
196. MACDONALD, Ross. Lew Archer, Private Investigator. NY: Mysterious Press, 1977. The publisher's prospectus, printing for the first time the text of Macdonald's introduction to the volume, thus constituting a separate and legitimate "A" item in his bibliography. No copies were offered for sale. Fine in saddle-stitched wrappers.
197. MAILER, Norman. Cannibals and Christians. NY: Dial Press, 1966. A collection of essays and articles by Mailer, mostly from the 1960s and touching on political, literary and other matters. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a little rubbing on the spine and a couple of tiny edge nicks. With a tipped-in frontispiece illustration.
198. MAMET, David. Lakeboat. NY: Grove Press (1981). The hardcover issue of this play, which was also simultaneously issued in softcover. Mamet won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award in 1977 for American Buffalo, and the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for Glengarry Glen Ross. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author, and with his rubber stamp on the front endpaper as well.
199. MASON, Bobbie Ann and STILES, Martha Bennett. Landscapes. (Frankfort): Frankfort Arts Foundation (1984). A chapbook containing a story by each author. Mason's "Hunktown" first appeared in Atlantic Monthly. One of 450 numbered copies signed by both authors. Fine in self-wrappers.
200. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Raditzer. NY: Viking Press, 1961. Third novel by the author of At Play in the Fields of the Lord, The Snow Leopard, and others. The Snow Leopard won the National Book Award and two of Matthiessen's other books have been National Book Award finalists. He is one of the very few authors who has been nominated for the award for both fiction and nonfiction. Of his early novels, Matthiessen has said that is not happy with them, and would just as soon they not be reprinted or read, although he hasn't gone so far as to prevent his publisher from bringing them back into print. His next novel after this one, At Play in the Fields of the Lord, was one of his National Book Award nominees, and it represents a significant jump from this book in terms of literary accomplishment. The book prior to this was Wildlife in America, his first nonfiction book, which started him on the path toward becoming one of most highly regarded writers of natural history. This short novel, a tale of the sea that is reminiscent of Conrad, would be a significant accomplishment for most novelists; in Matthiessen's career, however, it stands as one of his lesser novels, and dates from a period before he was well-known and viewed as being in the front rank of American writers; thus, it is quite scarce. This copy is inscribed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket, with a couple closed edge tears and wear at the crown. An attractive copy of this book.
201. -. Another copy, unsigned. Fine in a modestly spine-tanned dust jacket with light edgewear; about near fine. Again, quite an attractive copy of a book that seldom shows up in nice shape.
202. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Under the Mountain Wall. NY: Viking (1962). His third book of nonfiction, recounting the Harvard-Peabody Expedition to New Guinea. This is the rare first issue, with the photos in the wrong place and the Table of Contents not corrected to account for it. Virtually all copies of this edition were withdrawn by the publisher prior to publication and sold to a book club, which tipped in a replacement contents page. This copy is near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a small gutter nick at the front spine fold. While this is not an uncommon title, we have only ever seen three copies of the first issue, and it is one of the true rarities in the Matthiessen ouevre.
203. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. The Wind Birds. NY: Viking (1973). Small quarto, reprinting the text of Matthiessen's classic, Shorebirds of North America, with a new set of illustrations and a smaller format than that book. Signed by the author. Fine in a very good dust jacket with a few small, internally mended edge tears.
204. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. The Snow Leopard. NY: Viking (1978). His National Book Award-winning volume, recounting 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. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and very scarce thus: most copies of this title that turn up are well-worn, which is something of a mystery, as it is a well-made book in a dust jacket that is laminated paper--the kind that are usually not especially susceptible to wear. In the case of this title, however, it may simply be that most people who bought first editions actually read them, and the books almost always show it. In any case, an extremely nice copy of this award-winning book.
205. (MATTHIESSEN, Peter). "Great River" in Heart of the Land. NY: Pantheon (1995). An anthology of essays about some of the world's "last great places." With a foreword by Barry Lopez, and contributions by Peter Matthiessen, Carl Hiaasen, Terry Tempest Williams, Rick Bass, Paul Theroux, David James Duncan, Thomas McGuane, Linda Hogan, Louise Erdrich, Jim Harrison, William Kittredge, James Welch, Pam Houston, Philip Caputo, Barbara Kingsolver, William Least Heat-Moon, and many others. Light corner bumping; very near fine in like dust jacket. Signed by Peter Matthiessen.
206. McCARTHY, Mary. Typed Letters Signed. c. 1943. Two typed letters signed, totaling three pages, with one hand-addressed mailing envelope, written to Helen Gould. The first letter runs two pages and has rather good domestic detail ("Reuel is well and has learned to cook a scrambled egg for himself, an accomplishment that puts him way out of his father's [Edmund Wilson's] class...") and glorious gossip ("...she used to live with him and he taught her to steal chickens on a large scale..."; "I saw Frances in the home for fallen women where she is now resting up..."). The pages are stapled in the corner, folded in sixths, and edge-stained; very good. The second letter is one full page, mostly an extravagant thank-you, with domestic detail. Folded in sixths; near fine. With a 3-line holograph note across the top transmitting a thank you letter from Reuel, as well, which is also included here (with fingerpainting). Both are signed, "Mary." McCarthy was, for a generation, one of the leading American women of letters--an author of novels and nonfiction, a theater column, and a regularly published essayist. Her memoir, Memories of a Catholic Girlhood, was a National Book Award nominee in 1958; her novel, The Group, was also nominated for the fiction award, in 1964. Autograph material by McCarthy is uncommon. For the group:
207. McCARTHY, Mary. Typed Letters Signed. 1983-1986. Four letters, also to Helen Gould Tierney, each in part requesting, relaying or responding to information about Lilian Hellman and the lawsuit Hellman had filed against McCarthy. In the first letter (dated 7/6/83), McCarthy states: "It fascinates me to hear that you went to high school with Hellman. That period in her life is kept very shadowy in her supposedly autobiographical writings." In the second letter, later the same month, McCarthy thanks Gould for additional information, adding: "None of this is of any importance unless and until the case comes to trial, when I suppose I would have to show many instances, both large and small, of her lying and general misrepresentation." The third letter (April 1984), mentions Hellman almost in passing; the fourth (January 1986) mentions that conditions for Hellman dropping the lawsuit would have included a televised apology and full retraction. All four letters are folded for mailing; three bear holograph corrections by McCarthy; one has marginal notes penciled by Gould; the third letter has a small corner chip. The McCarthy-Hellman spat was one of the most interesting, and bitter, literary disputes of the 1980s. McCarthy was quoted as saying words to the effect that "every word that Hellman wrote was a lie, including ‘and' and ‘the'." Hellman was riding a crest of publicity, popularity and critical acclaim, in response to the publication of three volumes of memoirs, enjoying a level of recognition that she had not experienced since the 1930s, when she was one of the most acclaimed playwrights in America (The Little Foxes, The Children's Hour). Hellman's memoirs had received excellent reviews, and a well-received movie (Julia) had been based on a portion of one of them. McCarthy, furious at what she considered the self-serving distortions of the truth in Hellman's memoirs--and with lingering bad feelings over their respective positions during the inquisitory McCarthy hearings in the 1950s--made her famous comment, and Hellman immediately sued. While nobody ever proved that every word Hellman wrote was a lie, and McCarthy died before the suit reached a final, legal resolution, the publicity surrounding the brouhaha uncovered the fact that various portions of Hellman's memoirs had been changed or exaggerated--in one case, she had adopted the actions of another and ascribed them to herself, etc. An interesting footnote to 20th century American literary history.
208. McCARTHY, Mary. Typed Notes Signed. July 1, 1983 and October 3, 1988. Two brief letters, again to Helen Gould Tierney, each with a Joyce Carol Oates connection. The first: "I have the feeling that Joyce Carol Oates is a bit ambiguous about me, and this certainly doesn't betray her." (The "certainly" is added afterwards, in holograph.) The second letter has an "Oates" postcript, in part: "I like Joyce Carol Oates as a person but can't seem to read her books." Each is folded for mailing and each bears a holograph correction. The second letter again has a few penciled marginal notes added by Gould; very near fine:
209. McCARTHY, Mary. Typed Notes Signed. December 9, 1983 and January 29, 1988. Two notes of one paragraph each, each to Helen Gould Tierney and each concerning Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. The first declines to review the book, but does offer a couple of insights into the text: "I think the title is an ironic reference to the frailty of the enterprise of making order out of chaos undertaken in different ways by the three characters, who are at sea in the world." The second reacts to news of the filming of the novel. This latter note has two large corner chips, affecting the date, and is folded for mailing, as is the first note, which is otherwise fine.
210. McCARTHY, Mary. Typed Notes Signed. 1983-1988. Four notes to Helen Tierney, reporting itineraries and attempting to sketch out opportunities for visits. All are folded for mailing; a few penciled annotations by Tierney; near fine or better.
211. McGUANE, Thomas. The Sporting Club. NY: Simon & Schuster (1969). Uncorrected proof copy of the author's first book. Tall, padbound wrappers, with glue strip spine. A very fragile format and the earliest state of his first book to have surfaced. Signed by the author. Rear cover unglued, detached; the only flaw.
212. McMURTRY, Larry. The Last Picture Show. NY: Dial, 1966. His third novel, basis for the Academy Award-winning movie, which launched the Hollywood careers of Peter Bogdanovich and Cybil Shepherd, among others. Inscribed by the author. Foxing to top edge; else fine in a near fine, internally tape-strengthened dust jacket with a small stamp over the price on the front flap. Overall, a quite attractive copy.
213. McMURTRY, Larry. Somebody's Darling. NY: Simon & Schuster (1978). A Hollywood novel by an author who knows whereof he writes: numerous McMurtry books have been filmed, and he has written many screenplays, both produced and unproduced. This is a review copy, with an author photo laid in. Additionally, it is signed by McMurtry. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
214. McMURTRY, Larry and OSSANA, Diana. Zeke and Ned. (NY): Simon & Schuster (1997). Uncorrected proof copy of this novel, their second collaboration. Slight crease to rear cover and back pages; else fine in wrappers.
215. McPHEE, John. Annals of the Former World. NY: FSG (1983). Two-volume limited edition, reprinting McPhee's two books on geology in a uniform binding and pictorial slipcase, each volume being numbered and signed by the author. 450 copies of this limited edition were done, but it appears scarcer than that, and copies turn up less frequently than the limitation alone would seem to warrant. Fine in the publisher's slipcase, which is scratched on the top panel.
216. McPHEE, John. Outcroppings. Salt Lake: Peregrine/Gibbs Smith (1988). Photographs of the West and Southwest by Tom Till, one of the premier nature photographers working in the U.S. today, accompanied by selections of McPhee's writings. With a five page introduction by McPhee for this volume, explaining why he writes about the West. Quarto; fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by McPhee. An attractive book, and one of the less well known items in McPhee's ouevre.
217. MICHAELS, Leonard. Going Places. NY: FSG (1969). His first book, a collection of stories, which was nominated for the National Book Award. Boards edge-sunned; near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket. Signed by the author.
218. -. Another copy, unsigned. Boards edge-sunned; near fine in a very good dust jacket.
219. MICHAELS, Leonard. I Would Have Saved Them If I Could. NY: FSG (1975). Advance review copy of his second book, also a collection of stories, which was selected by The New York Times Book Review as one of the six best works of fiction published that year. Boards edge-sunned; near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
220. MICHAELS, Leonard. The Men's Club. NY: FSG (1981). His third book, first novel, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. Fine in a near fine dust jacket bumped at the spine base.
221. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Fine in wrappers.
222. MICHAELS, Leonard. Shuffle. NY: FSG (1990). His fourth book, an autobiographical novel. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
223. (MILLER, Henry). THOREAU, Henry David. Life Without Principle. (Stanford): Stanford University, 1946. Three essays by Thoreau, with an eight-page introduction by Miller. Edited by James Ladd Delkin. One of 500 copies. This copy is inscribed by Miller in the year of publication. Fine in a near fine, internally tape-strengthened dust jacket. An attractive copy of an uncommon, and fragile, edition.
224. MILLER, Henry. Signed Photograph. 1969. An 8" x 10" black and white photo taken by Bill Webb. Titled "H.M. at Pacific Palisades," this is one of five numbered prints, initialed and dated by Webb and signed by Miller. Miller, in profile, is smiling and smoking. A very attractive image of Miller in his later years. Matted and framed to 14 3/4" x 18". Fine.
225. (MILLER, Henry). WEBB, William. Henry and Friends. Santa Barbara: Capra Press, 1991. The stated edition was 100 numbered copies in cloth; this is one of an additional 10 copies, indicated on the colophon as being for presentation. Fine, without dust jacket, as issued, and with an original photograph of Miller signed by Webb laid in. Foreword by Gretel Ehrlich. The trade edition was done in wrappers; the signed limited edition was the only hardcover issue.
226. MILLHAUSER, Steven. Portrait of a Romantic. NY: Knopf, 1977. The uncorrected proof copy of the second novel by the author of Edwin Mullhouse and the recent Pulitzer Prize winner, Martin Dressler. Small crack in wrapper at the lower spine; light overall dust soiling; near fine in tall wrappers.
227. MITCHELL, Margaret. Typed Letter Signed. December 17, 1946. Four cordial paragraphs addressed to an acquaintance in Texas. On weather: "It's so hot here I haven't yet put on a fall coat, and the roses have bloomed till their tongues are hanging out from exhaustion." On lines at the Post Office: "...so many people outside that it looked like a nylon sale was going on. Everyone in the Post Office was white with fatigue." On career choices: "I hope Son finds not only a good job but one that is satisfying and has a future in it." Folded in thirds for mailing, with typed mailing envelope included. Trace darkening at the folds; else fine. Signed, Margaret Mitchell Marsh. Mitchell, the author of the bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gone With the Wind, died after being struck by an automobile in 1949. Autograph material by her is quite scarce.
228. MOJTABAI, A.G. Mundome. NY: Simon & Schuster (1974). The uncorrected proof copy of the author's first book. Warmly inscribed by the author on the front cover: "_____'s -/ Wise little book to fall/ into such good hands/ From/ Grace." Near fine in tall, padbound wrappers.
229. MOONEY, Ted. Easy Travel to Other Planets. NY: FSG (1981). The author's first book, dealing with talking dolphins, an international war over Antarctica, a society suffused with Information Sickness, and other fantastic elements. Fine in a fine dust jacket and inscribed by the author in 1983.
230. MORRIS, Wright. The Inhabitants. NY: Scribner, 1946. The author's first book of photographs, for which he also wrote the text. Quarto; fine in a very good, internally tape-repaired dust jacket. Difficult to find in collectible condition as a result of its being printed on paper left from cheap wartime stocks.
231. MORRIS, Wright. Wright Morris Introducing Some Scenes and Characters from his New Novel, Love Among the Cannibals. NY: Harcourt Brace, 1957. A 45 rpm record issued as a promotional item for his then-forthcoming novel. Morris' novel, The Huge Season, was a National Book Award nominee in 1955. He won the award in 1957 for The Field of Vision, and again in 1981 for Plains Song. This copy is signed by Morris. Fine in original plain brown sleeve. A very scarce item: we have never seen, or heard of, another copy.
232. MORTIMER, Penelope. Long Distance. Garden City: Doubleday, 1974. The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of this novel by the author of The Pumpkin Eater, a longtime writer for both The New Yorker and the London Sunday Times. Oversized; shot from galleys and printed on rectos only. Signed by the author. Near fine in tall wrappers.
233. MOWAT, Farley. Born Naked. (NY): Houghton Mifflin, 1993. A memoir of his boyhood, by the author of Never Cry Wolf, The Boat Who Wouldn't Float, And No Birds Sang, and many others. This is the advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers.
234. NAIPAUL, V.S. The Mystic Masseur. (London): Andre Deutsch (1957). First book by this Trinidadian author of Indian descent, who has since come to be regarded as one of the giants of contemporary English literature, and the most astute, if acerbic, Western commentator on Third World issues. Naipaul won the Booker Prize for his collection, In a Free State, and has won numerous other literary awards over the course of his 40-year writing career. Light crown bump and offsetting to endpapers; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a tear at the rear flap fold.
235. NELSON, Antonya. Talking in Bed. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1996. Her fourth book, first novel. Nelson's first book, The Expendables, won the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. Fine in a dust jacket with one nick at the base of the rear flap fold.
236. -. Same title, the advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers.
237. NERUDA, Pablo. Aqui Estoy. Paris, 1938. A book of poems on the Spanish Civil War clandestinely published by friends of the author during that war in an edition of approximately 300 copies (according to Becco). Uncut, unopened folio sheets in a mildly worn portfolio. A fragile format and a very scarce item by the Chilean Nobel Prize winner.
238. NIN, Anaïs. House of Incest. (n.p.): Gemor Press [1947]. The first American trade edition of the author's second book, originally published in Paris 11 years earlier. One of an undetermined number of copies with the seahorse's eye on the front cover handpainted green. Fine without dust jacket, as issued.
239. NIVEN, Larry and POURNELLE, Jerry. The Mote in God's Eye. NY: Simon & Schuster (1974). The first of their several noted collaborations, and a huge bestseller when it was first published. Niven's novel, Ringworld, published in 1970, won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, a rare science fiction "Double." Surplus duplicate of an important university library science fiction collection, with bookplate of the collection on the front pastedown; cloth edges slightly faded; very near fine in a fine dust jacket.
240. NORMAN, Howard. Born Tying Knots. Ann Arbor: Bear Claw Press (1976). Apparently Norman's first book, a collection of Swampy Cree Naming Stories, told by Samuel Makidemewa'be, and translated and introduced by Norman. Precedes his collection The Wishing Bone Cycle, also published in 1976, and which incorporated the tales in this volume. The size of the edition is unknown, but a later book by Norman published by the same press had a printing of 1000 copies, but this seems considerably scarcer. Fine in wrappers. Long Gary Snyder blurb. Norman's two novels have both been National Book Award nominees.
241. NOVA, Craig. Publisher's File for "The Prince." March-September [1983]. Nova's story "The Prince" was published by Esquire, and this file contains the 26-page typescript with some holograph corrections; five typed letters signed, most with holograph corrections and additions, and one with Nova's original copy for an "about the author" paragraph. In one of the letters, Nova goes into a lengthy discussion of "an essential piece of sophistry" in a Walker Percy novel he is currently reading. All items fine.
242. NOVA, Craig. The Universal Donor. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. The advance reading copy of his latest novel, his ninth book. Fine in wrappers.
243. -. Same title (n.p.: n.p., n.d.). Ringbound photocopied typescript. 8 1/2" x 11". An early state of the book, presumably intended for in-house use. Fine.