Catalog 95, T-Z
296. THEROUX, Paul. Kowloon Tong. The Last Days of Hong Kong. NY: The Wylie Agency, Inc. (n.d.). The earliest printed state of his most recent, and controversial, novel: 8 1/2" x 11" sheets, ringbound in green cardstock covers, with his agent's name and address on the front cover, rather than the publisher's name. Fine, and scarce: we've only seen one other copy of this.
297. (THEROUX, Paul). FORSTER, E.M. Albergo Empedocle and Other Writings. NY: Liveright, 1971. The uncorrected proof copy of Forster's posthumously published book, with four pages of manuscript notes by Theroux laid in. Most of the notes pertain to Forster's book, Maurice, which was also published that year, but some to this volume as well, presumably for a review. The two Forster books published in 1971 contained the first writings of his that explicitly dealt with the theme of homosexuality, and a substantial portion of the Theroux notes refer to the various expressions of sexuality and sensuality in the two books. An interesting view of an important writer's take on the work of a major writer of an earlier generation. Very good.
298. THOMAS, D.M. Logan Stone. (London/NY): Cape Goliard/Grossman (1971). Poetry, the authors second book. Some green spray on the top page edges extending over onto the covers (remainder spray?), otherwise a near fine copy of the issue in wrappers.
299. THOMAS, D.M. The White Hotel. NY: Viking (1981). First American edition of this highly praised, and later controversial, novel. Near fine in a fine dust jacket.
300. THOMAS, Ross. Spies, Thumbsuckers, Etc. Northridge: Lord John [1989]. A collection of short stories, reviews, and essays from the Washington Post and the L.A. Times, by the noted spy novelist. One of 50 deluxe copies quarterbound in leather and with marbled boards. Signed by the author. Fine without dust jacket, as issued.
301. THOMPSON, Hunter S. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. NY: Random House (1971). Thompson's second book, epitomizing the "Gonzo journalism" that the author invented and which, by a surprisingly universal consensus, he has elevated to the status of art. A classic of the freewheeling, drug-ingesting Sixties era, illustrated with hilarious and scary pen-and-ink drawings by Ralph Steadman. Boards lightly edge-sunned, as usual; else fine in a fine dust jacket. Inscribed by the author in 1976: "____/ - fuck careful;/ kick out the/ jams!/ HS Thompson." Thompson's signature is quite scarce and inscriptions even more so: normally, he signs with his initials only, without any further inscription. This copy of what is generally considered his best book--with a vehement inscription, characteristic of his writings and the book's attitude--is especially unusual, and rare thus.
302. THOMPSON, Hunter S. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. (San Francisco): Straight Arrow (1973). Thompson's third book and the second of his "Fear & Loathing" accounts. In this, Thompson covers the Nixon/McGovern race for the Presidency, bringing to the campaign a sense of humor and horror that is simultaneously both off-the-wall and entirely appropriate to its subject. Illustrated throughout with photographs and with pen-and-ink drawings by Ralph Steadman, who also illustrated Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Lower corners lightly bumped; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket with light wear at the spine extremities. Inscribed by the author in 1976: "____/ be careful/ HST."
303. THOMPSON, Hunter S. The Proud Highway. NY: Villard (1997). The advance reading copy of Volume One of "The Fear and Loathing Letters," printing Thompson letters from 1955-1967. Fine in wrappers.
304. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy, which is much scarcer than the advance reading copy. Light corner crease to front cover, otherwise fine in wrappers.
305. THON, Melanie Rae. First, Body. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. The advance reading copy of the latest story collection by this Granta 20 author. Fine in wrappers.
306. THORNTON, Lawrence. Ghost Woman. NY: Ticknor & Fields, 1992. The advance reading copy of this novel by the author of Imagining Argentina, which was a PEN/Hemingway Award winner. A historical novel based on an Indian legend, set in Santa Barbara, California, in the 1800's. Fine in wrappers.
307. TILGHMAN, Christopher. Mason's Retreat. NY: Random House (1996). Bound typescript of his well-received second book. 8 1/2" x 11" double-spaced, double-sided typescript; 323 pages; tapebound in yellow cardstock covers printed with promotional information and guidelines for the sales force. Random House issued a promotional advance copy in hardcover of this title, so even the bound typeset proof seems to be scarcer than one would have expected; this is the first that we've seen of this earlier state. Fine, and signed by Tilghman.
308. TOMKINS, Calvin. Intermission. NY: Viking, 1951. First book, a novel, by this writer who became a longtime New Yorker editor and contributor. Signed by the author. Near fine in a very good dust jacket.
309. TOMKINS, Calvin. The Bride and the Bachelors. NY: Viking (1965). His second book, four profiles of modern artists--Duchamp, Cage, Tinguely and Rauschenberg--that originally appeared in The New Yorker. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
310. -. Same title, the first British edition (London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1965). Copyright information blacked out, as is often the case in British books that have migrated to this country, otherwise fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket, and signed by the author.
311. TOMKINS, Calvin. The Lewis and Clark Trail. NY: Harper & Row (1965). A review copy of this book of nonfiction--a narrative of the Lewis and Clark expedition combined with a contemporary illustrated field guide to the trail and points of interest along it. Near fine in a very near fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
312. TOMKINS, Calvin. Eric Hoffer. NY: Dutton, 1968. A biography of the noted "working-class philosopher," author of The True Believer, and a celebrity of considerable note in the 1960s. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
313. TOMKINS, Calvin. Merchants and Masterpieces. The Story of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. NY: Dutton (1970). A major history of the Metropolitan, by a New Yorker writer who is thoroughly acquainted with the art world, and capable of writing about it in a manner that is accessible to all, not just to insiders. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
314. TOMKINS, Calvin. Living Well is the Best Revenge. NY: Viking (1971). Probably his most famous book, a biography of Gerald and Sara Murphy and their circle of friends in Paris in the 1920s, which included Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Picasso, and others. Fitzgerald dedicated Tender is the Night to the Murphys, and based the characters of Dick and Nicole Diver on them, at least in part. Heavily illustrated with photographs. This is a review copy, with review slip laid in. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
315. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Signed by the author. Evenly dust-soiled white wrappers; else fine.
316. TOMKINS, Calvin. The Scene. NY: Viking (1976). Inscribed by the author. A collection of essays on modern art in the late 1960s and early 1970s, most of which originally appeared in The New Yorker. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
317. TRILLIN, Calvin. U.S. Journal. NY: Dutton, 1971. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of the author's "U.S. Journal" columns from The New Yorker. His third book. Inscribed by the author. Printed on rectos only; near fine in tall, ringbound wrappers.
318. TYLER, Anne. Tumble Tower. NY: Orchard (1993). A children's book with text by Tyler and illustrations by Mitra Modarressi, her daughter. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author and illustrator. Tyler's first children's book, a nice story with attractive illustrations.
319. UNSWORTH, Barry. Stone Virgin. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. The first American edition. Unsworth, author of Pascali's Island, among others, was co-winner of the Booker Prize with Michael Ondaatje a couple of years back. Very slight splaying to boards; else fine in a near fine dust jacket, with a thin horizontal scratch at the middle of the front flap fold, extending onto the front panel.
320. UPDIKE, John. Too Far to Go. NY: Fawcett (1974). Paperback original, a collection of related stories which was turned into a made-for-television movie. With a foreword by the author. Fine in wrappers. Surprisingly uncommon, now, in the first printing.
321. UPDIKE, John. The Coup. NY: Knopf, 1978. The uncorrected proof copy of this ambitious and well-received novel, something of a departure for him with regard to subject matter--the plot concerns a coup in an imaginary African nation, a far cry from the usual suburban U.S. milieu of Updike's novels and stories. Tall green wrappers; a fine copy. Uncommon.
322. UPDIKE, John. Iowa. Portland: Press-22, 1980. An attractively printed and illustrated broadside poem. One of 200 numbered copies signed by the author. 22 1/2" x 15". Matted and framed to 29" x 21 1/2". Fine.
323. UPDIKE, John. In Memoriam Felis Felis. (Warwickshire): (Sixth Chamber Press) (1989). A poem by Updike, with illustrations by R. B. Kitaj. Issued in a total edition of 250 copies: 200 unnumbered unsigned copies; 26 lettered copies (plus 6 reserved for the publisher) and 12 Roman-numeraled copies (plus 6 of these reserved for the publisher). This is copy IV of the 12 Roman-numeraled copies bound in quarter morocco--the rest were quarterbound in cloth--and signed by the author and illustrator. Fine in slightly rubbed publisher's pictorial slipcase. One of the scarcest issues of any Updike title.
324. UPDIKE, John. Memories of the Ford Administration. (Newport Beach): Books on Tape (1993). The unabridged audio version, read by Michael Prichard. Ten 90-minute cassettes in plastic case. Fine.
325. UPDIKE, John. Toward the End of Time. NY: Knopf, 1997. The uncorrected proof copy of his most recent novel, published to quite mixed reviews: Margaret Atwood, in The New York Times Book Review, loved it; David Foster Wallace, a self-proclaimed Updike fan, wrote a scathing review of it in The New York Observer. Fine in wrappers.
326. VARGAS LLOSA, Mario. The Green House. NY: Harper & Row (1968). The second book published here by the Peruvian novelist-statesman. Fine in a very good, spine-tanned dust jacket worn at the spine extremities.
327. VONNEGUT, Kurt, Jr. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. NY: HRW (1965). Vonnegut's sixth book, one of the novels that began earning him a small but passionate following in the mid-1960s, before his breakthrough to the status of "major author," which came when Slaughterhouse-Five was published. A fine copy in a near fine, spine-rubbed dust jacket.
328. VONNEGUT, Kurt, Jr. Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade. (n.p.): Seymour Lawrence/Delacorte (1969). Vonnegut's masterwork, a powerful fictional memoir of his experiences during the Allied fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany. Vonnegut's philosophical reflections on the tragic absurdity of humankind are embedded in an impressionistic, pessimistic, comic science fiction tale that is a high spot of the literature of the 1960s and since. Bookplate front pastedown; else a fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with a tiny spot on the slightly tanned spine. Signed by the author.
329. -. Another copy, unsigned. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
330. VONNEGUT, Kurt, Jr. Happy Birthday, Wanda June. London: Hampstead Theatre Club, 1970. The mimeographed script for Vonnegut's play, which was not published in book form until 1971. This, the "Revised Final Script" is dated November 20, 1970. In New York, the play ran from October 7, 1970 to March 14, 1971. 8 1/2" x 11" sheets, printed on rectos only. Claspbound in cardstock covers; near fine. Happy Birthday, Wanda June is one of Vonnegut's scarcest titles in book form; the mimeographed scripts--which, by virtue of their method of creation, are limited to a couple of hundred copies at most--are considerably scarcer, and in this case earlier, than the book.
331. VONNEGUT, Kurt, Jr. Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons. (n.p.): Delacorte/Lawrence (1974). Essays, speeches and opinions. Mild fading to top stain and lower cloth edges; near fine in a very good dust jacket with dampstaining visible on verso only. Signed by the author.
332. VONNEGUT, Kurt and CHERMAYEFF, Ivan. Sun Moon Star. (NY): Harper & Row (1980). Quarto, illustrated. A children's story about the birth of Christ, written by Vonnegut to accompany Chermayeff's simple sun moon star graphics. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a small chip at the upper edge of the rear panel and one at the bottom of it.
333. VONNEGUT, Kurt. Palm Sunday. NY: Delacorte (1981). Autobiographical writings, speeches, articles, essays and fiction. The text includes Vonnegut's own report card on his published work to this book: Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle get the only A-pluses, and Jailbird the best grade since. Palm Sunday gets a C. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
334. VONNEGUT, Kurt. Deadeye Dick. (NY): Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence (1982). A novel, about which the author once wrote, "It, too, fails to explain anything." Trace fading to cloth edges; else fine in a fine dust jacket. Signed by the author.
335. WALKER, Alice. You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down. NY: HBJ (1981). Her second collection of stories, published just before The Color Purple made Walker a bestselling author and a household name. Fine in a fine dust jacket with one tiny tear at the crown. Signed by the author. A very nice copy of an uncommon book.
336. WALLACE, David Rains. The Quetzal and the Macaw. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books (1992). Nonfiction, the story of Costa Rica's National Parks, by the award-winning author of The Klamath Knot, The Turquoise Dragon, and others. Wallace has won the John Burroughs Medal for natural history writing, the highest honor given in the field. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
337. WALSH, Jill Paton. Knowledge of Angels. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. First American edition of this novel that was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
338. -. Another copy. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
339. -. Same title, the advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers.
340. -. Another copy. Near fine in wrappers.
341. -. Same title. The uncorrected proof copy, shot from page proofs. Tapebound; printed on rectos only. Fine in wrappers.
342. WATERS, Frank. Fever Pitch. New York: Horace Liveright (1930). His first book. Inscribed by the author: "With best wishes to/ Miss __ ___ as a/ reminder of her/ friend of her San Diego days/ Frank Waters." Offsetting to endpapers; bookplate front pastedown; a little flaking to the spine gilt; still, a crisp, attractive, near fine copy, lacking the rare dust jacket.
343. WATKINS, Paul. Calm at Sunset, Calm at Dawn. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989. The author's second book; his first, Night Over Day Over Night, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
344. WHITE, E.B. Poems & Sketches of E.B. White. NY: Harper & Row (1981). A collection that spans his career, and includes several pieces that were previously uncollected. Inscribed by the author on the front flyleaf in 1982, here using his familiar name "Andy," and signing his initials as well, below the inscription. The recipient's ownership signature, address, and date appear on the next leaf. Splaying to boards; near fine in a near fine, spine-tanned dust jacket with one edge tear. White wrote for The New Yorker for decades, both attributed and unattributed pieces. His "witty, wise and pensive" pieces helped give that magazine its distinctive voice, and establish it as the unique literary barometer of its time, combining big-city sophistication with a respect for literary accomplishment so much that it became the standard against which other magazines and journals were measured. Books signed or inscribed by White are quite uncommon.
345. WHITE, Edmund. The Farewell Symphony. NY: Knopf, 1997. The advance reading copy of the first American edition of the third volume in White's autobiographical trilogy. One light corner bump; else fine in wrappers.
346. WILLIAMS, Miller. Halfway from Hoxie. NY: Dutton, 1973. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of new and selected poems, by a writer who was recently named Poet Laureate. Signed by the author. Fine in tall, ringbound wrappers.
347. WILSON, Edmund. Correspondence Archive. 1943. Seven autograph letters signed (totaling 9 pages, on 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" stationery) and two autograph postcards signed, spanning the dates May 13 to November 19. The correspondence concerns the arrangement for the recipient to come to Wellfleet, Massachusetts--where Wilson was living at the time with his then-wife, Mary McCarthy--and to work, at least part of the time, typing the manuscript of Wilson's latest book. Apparently, the recipient had worked in a similar capacity for Wilson, and for Max Eastman, the previous summer. The correspondence both predates her coming and postdates her leaving. Among the topics mentioned is the arrival of the galleys of "the F. Scott Fitzgerald" book--Wilson edited The Crack-Up, by Fitzgerald, a posthumously published collection of fiction, uncollected pieces, notebooks and letters. The book of his own that he was working on at that time would have been Memoirs of Hecate County, the only book of fiction for which he received substantial critical acclaim; mostly, Wilson's reputation rested on his nonfiction--his great erudition, perceptive analysis, and articulate expression led him to be considered the dean of American letters at the time. A nice archive of slight but interesting correspondence by one of the leading American literary figures of the twentieth century. The letters are, in general, creased from folding, but still near fine.
348. WILSON, Edmund. Correspondence. 1948-49. One autograph letter signed, one autograph postcard signed and one typed letter signed, dated from March 20, 1948 to October 17, 1949. Three missives--the two letters being on New Yorker stationery--dealing with family news (a new baby) and the recipient's looking for work. All are near fine.
349. WILSON, Edmund. Typed Letter Signed. March 26, 1963. One page; three paragraphs typed on New Yorker stationery, reminiscing and conveying chatty, family information. One holograph change to the typed text. Fine.
350. WILSON, Edmund. Typed Letter Signed. April 4, 1972. One page. A short note on 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" Wellfleet stationery. Wilson mentions his health: "I have not been too well lately. I fractured one of my vertebrae and am now somewhat crippled." A note from Wilson's wife, Elena, dated just over two months later, indicates that Wilson had died in the interim. Creased from folding, otherwise fine.
351. WOOLF, Virginia. To the Lighthouse. NY: Harcourt Brace (1927). The first American edition of one of her great novels. A previous owner inscription has been erased from the front flyleaf; there is very slight foxing to the foredge; otherwise this is a fine copy in a very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with minimal spine-tanning and a few very tiny edge tears. The blue text on the spine is still clear and easily readable, which is unusual for this title. All of Woolf's books prior to 1930 are scarce in dust jacket; this is a very nice copy of this high spot by one of the most important writers of the first half of the century, whose writing broke new ground and explored themes and styles that have had a dramatic impact on literature, and on women's writing in particular, ever since.
352. WRIGHT, Richard and GREEN, Paul. Native Son. A Play. NY: Harper & Brothers (1941). A dramatic adaptation of Wright's novel, done by the novelist and the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. Front flyleaf corner clipped; otherwise fine in a fine dust jacket. A beautiful copy of a scarce title.
353. YATES, Richard. Revolutionary Road. Boston: Little Brown (1961). The author's highly praised first book, which was nominated for the National Book Award. Inscribed by the author in 1964. Recipient's penciled signature on flyleaf; a near fine copy in a price-clipped dust jacket with one small corner chip and two small and unnecessary pieces of tape externally applied: one strengthening the spine base, one the upper outer corner. Except for the tape, near fine. Books inscribed by Yates are quite uncommon, especially those with contemporary, or early, inscriptions.
354. YOUNG, Al. Who is Angelina? NY: HRW (1974). The uncorrected proof copy of the second novel by this important African-American author. Inscribed by the author in 1976, asking "How'd you ever get ahold of this ancient crane?" "Crane" was an early word for proof copies, named after the company--Crane Duplicating Service--that produced them and promoted their use in the 1950s and 1960s. Creasing to first page; light dust-soiling; near fine in tall wrappers.