Author's First Books, S-V
381. -. Another copy, also the first issue (1942) but with a blue head and toe band. Again with the front hinge cracked and with the boards moderately rubbed; very good without the mailing box.
382. SALTER, James. The Hunters. NY: Harper (1956). A very bright copy of his extremely scarce first book. Minor creasing to spine, and a jacket with a couple of tiny edge tears and light rubbing at the spine extremities and front flap fold. Overall very near fine, and virtually unheard of thus.
383. SANTIAGO, Danny. Famous All Over Town. NY: Simon & Schuster (1983). The author's controversial novel, which won high critical praise when it was believed that its author was a young, previously unpublished Chicano writer, but which was denounced as a fraud when it was discovered that the author was, in fact, an aging white writer--Daniel James--who had been blacklisted in the 1950s. An interesting footnote to recent publishing history, which bears directly on the issue of "authenticity"--which has become a central concern of writers and scholars of several categories of ethnic literature in this country, most especially African-American and Native American. This copy has a Compliments of the Author card laid in on which is typed "To supplement your Chicano studies." The card is signed "Danny Santiago." Because the author was pseudonymous and even his publisher and editor only dealt with him indirectly during the writing of the book, copies of this book that are signed are truly rare. This copy has some spotting to the page edges; otherwise very near fine in like jacket.
384. SHARPE, Tom. Riotous Assembly. NY: Viking Press (1971). First American edition of the first novel by this South African author. Fine in a near fine, slightly spine-faded dust jacket.
385. SHIELDS, Carol. Others. Ottawa: Borealis, 1972. The first book, a collection of poetry, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Stone Diaries. Faint sticker removal shadows front cover, and sunned on the spine; still near fine in wrappers, and inscribed by the author. Uncommon.
386. SILKO, Leslie Marmon. Laguna Woman. Greenfield Center: Greenfield Review (1974). Her elusive first book, a collection of poems published by Native American author and publisher Joseph Bruchac's press. By the time Silko's first novel, Ceremony, was published in 1977--which brought her substantial critical recognition--this book was already quite scarce. Silko's literary output has been relatively small over the course of more than 25 years but quite influential. One of her stories was selected for Martha Foley's Bicentennial anthology, 200 Years of American Short Stories, before she had even had a book of fiction published. Her early work merges traditional Native American storytelling with the Western literary forms of the novel, poem or short story. An individual of mixed descent--part Laguna Pueblo, part Mexican, part white--Silko wrote from a perspective that acknowledged and used elements of each culture, while she herself was apart from all of them--an outsider, and as such, her perception was remarkably individuated, free from the clichÉs of standard Indian stories. It was in this way--in her ability to create characters who were alienated from both mainstream society and their own cultures--that she not only created compelling tales but came to be regarded as a voice for the disenfranchised. Her writings now appear widely in anthologies and as introductions, and have had enormous influence on publishing, on college campuses in Native American literature and multiculturalism courses, and in helping to define the parameters of contemporary Native American literature. This copy has an ink note on the rear cover--the name of the anthology The Man to Send Rain Clouds, with Silko's name underneath it. One corner crimp otherwise fine in wrappers. Signed by the author.
387. -. Same title, new edition (Tucson: Flood Plain Press, 1994). With added illustrations by the author, a few textual corrections, and an afterword for this edition which did not appear earlier. Published by the author's own press, with a color painting of hers adorning the front cover. Fine in wrappers and signed by the author.
388. SILKO, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. NY: Viking (1977). Her first novel, which combines traditional native storytelling with the Western form of the novel to create a book that embodies what it describes--the book itself is structured as a healing ceremony. The success of this book, both critically and commercially, helped pave the way for the publishing of later Native American writers, such as Louise Erdrich, Linda Hogan and others. It has become a standard on college campuses. This is a fine copy in a fine first issue dust jacket with none of the usual spine-fading. A highly praised and important first novel and exceedingly scarce in this condition.
389. -. Another copy. This is an advance review copy, with the author photo laid in. Inscribed by Silko in the year of publication to writer and publisher Gus Blaisdell. In the 1970s, Silko was attending law school and Blaisdell was in charge of grants to ethnic writers at the National Endowment for the Arts. Blaisdell awarded a grant to Silko that allowed her to quit law school and write this book. The inscription reads: "For Gus,/ The one who kept me/ going at at time when/ I almost became a/ lawyer instead./ I won't forget,/ Love,/ Leslie/ 12 April 1977/ Albuquerque." Fine in a near fine, spine-faded dust jacket with a paper clip imprint at the upper edge of the front panel and a tiny gutter nick on the rear panel. An excellent association copy of this important novel.
390. (SILKO, Leslie Marmon). The Man To Send Rain Clouds. NY: Viking (1974). Edited by Kenneth Rosen. The first anthology of fiction by contemporary Native American writers to be published by a mainstream New York publisher, and to bring the work of a number of young Indian writers to a wide general readership. Includes seven stories by Leslie Silko, including the title story; five by Simon Ortiz; and contributions by Anna Lee Walters, the painter R.C. Gorman, and others. This book went out of print shortly after publication and remained that way until some years later when it was reissued in paperback; now it is considered one of the standard introductory books to the field of Native American literature or multicultural studies. Very near fine in like jacket with price inked out on front flap.
391. SIMPSON, Mona. Anywhere But Here. NY: Knopf, 1987. Uncorrected proof copy of the first novel by this Granta 20 author. Shallow corner crease to rear panel; else fine in wrappers.
392. SMILEY, Jane. Barn Blind. NY: Harper & Row (1980). Uncorrected proof copy of the first book by the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Thousand Acres. Fine in wrappers. An unusual, square format proof, which suggests that even fewer copies than usual were done of this title. A scarce state of an important first book. Signed by the author.
393. SOMMER, Scott. Nearing's Grace. NY: Taplinger (1979). The author's uncommon first book. Fine in a dust jacket with one closed edge tear; else fine. Signed by the author.
394. SOUTHERN, Terry. Flash and Filigree. NY: Coward-McCann (1958). First edition of the author's first book, this being the correct first issue in grey cloth (later, after the success of Candy and Dr. Strangelove, the sheets of this novel were bound up in cloth and boards and reissued). Offsetting to front endpapers; very good in very good, dust soiled jacket with light edgewear. Inscribed by the author to Edward Gorey: "To St. George with all/ best wishes,/ Terry S." An excellent association.
395. STAFFORD, Jean. Boston Adventure. NY: Harcourt Brace (1944). Her first book, a novel. This is a wartime book, printed on cheap paper, with a thin paper dust jacket. Most copies that show up on the market are quite worn and this one is no exception: very good in a good, price-clipped dust jacket with several chips and tears. This copy, however, is inscribed by the author: "This old chestnut is for ____ _______." Signed copies of Stafford's books are quite uncommon.
396. STEINBECK, John. Cup of Gold. NY: McBride, 1929. First edition, first issue of Steinbeck's first novel, an historical romance of the life of the pirate Henry Morgan. Cup of Gold was published with a small first printing of 2746 copies, of which only 1533 sold, the rest being reissued seven years later by a different publisher, after Steinbeck had written a string of critically acclaimed books----The Pastures of Heaven, To a God Unknown, Tortilla Flat and In Dubious Battle. This copy, of the first issue, is inscribed by the author on the title page to bookseller and book collector Paul H. North, Jr., whose small bookplate is mounted on the front pastedown. Yellow cloth evenly soiled and somewhat faded on spine, mild fraying to extremities. Very good lacking the rare dust jacket. An extremely uncommon book, rare signed.
397. STERN, Richard G. Golk. NY: Criterion Books (1960). Near fine in a very good dust jacket, evenly sunned on the spine. Inscribed by the author, upside-down on the rear free endpaper. Saul Bellow blurb.
398. STONE, Robert. A Hall of Mirrors. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1967. His first book, a novel of drifters in New Orleans in the early Sixties caught up in the web of a quasi-religious political machine. Winner of the William Faulkner Award for best first novel of the year as well as a Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing to the spine lettering but no fading. Signed by the author.
399. -. Another copy. Owner name and date on front endpaper. Very good in very good jacket and signed by the author.
400. -. Another copy. Fine in fine dust jacket. Rare thus.
401. (STONE, Robert). "Walk, Don't Run" and "Geraldine" in Stanford Short Stories 1964. Stanford: Stanford U. Press, 1964. Stone's first book appearance, two excerpts from his first novel, written while he was participating in Wallace Stegner's Stanford writing program. These pieces were further revised by the time A Hall of Mirrors was published three years later. One lower corner bumped; else fine in a similar price-clipped dust jacket; a very nice copy of a book that is usually found quite rubbed. Other contributors to this volume include Ed McClanahan, Hugh Nissenson and Merrill Joan Gerber, among others.
402. TALLENT, Elizabeth. Married Men and Magic Tricks: John Updike's Erotic Heroes. (Berkeley): Creative Arts Book Co. (1982). Nonfiction; a study of sexuality in the novels and stories of John Updike. Published the year before In Constant Flight, her first collection of stories. There was a hardcover and a simultaneous softcover issue of this book; this is the hardcover. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with light wear at the spine crown. Scarce.
403. TAN, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. NY: Putnam (1989). The author's landmark first novel, which was a surprise bestseller and went into over 30 printings in its first year. Made into a well-received film. Fine in fine dust jacket. A publishing phenomenon.
404. -. Same title, the advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers.
405. TAYLOR, Peter. A Long Fourth and Other Stories. NY: Harcourt Brace (1948). A review copy of the author's uncommon first book, with an introduction by Robert Penn Warren. Taylor's stories were a relatively well-kept secret to the general reading public outside of the South until he won the PEN Faulkner Award for The Old Forest and Other Stories and followed that immediately with his second novel, A Summons to Memphis, which won the Pulitzer Prize. Fine in a very good, spine-faded dust jacket with a few closed edge tears.
406. -. Another copy. This copy is inscribed by the author in 1976. Penciled review notes on rear free endpaper. Bump and wear to spine crown; a very good copy in a fair dust jacket chipped at corners and extremities and with the title partially abraded from being used as a coaster. Not a beautiful copy, but a scarce first book and one which is particularly uncommon signed.
407. THEROUX, Paul. Waldo. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1967. Advance review copy of his first book, a novel. Cloth shows a bit of shelfwear; near fine in a very good, edgeworn dust jacket with several edge tears. The review slip has a closed tear.
408. TILGHMAN, Christopher. In a Father's Place. NY: FSG (1990). Well received first book, a collection of stories. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
409. ("TRAVEN, B."). MARUT, Ret. Der Blaugetupfte. Munich: Ziegelbrenner, 1919. The first book by the author who later became "B. Traven" and wrote such novels as The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Death Ship. Contemporary owner signature in pencil on the half-title; covers chipped; a very good copy of a rare and fragile book.
410. TREVOR, William. The Old Boys. NY: Viking (1964). Fine in a near fine dust jacket with one small faint spot on the front panel and an even smaller chip to the crown.
411. TRUMBO, Dalton. Eclipse. London: Lovat Dickson & Thompson (1935). Scarce first book by the author of Johnny Got His Gun; one of the important political writers of the 1930s who was later blacklisted. Owner name front pastedown, grease pencil number front flyleaf; near fine in a very good, internally tape-repaired dust jacket. Extremely scarce.
412. TUROW, Scott. One L: An Inside Account of Life in the First Year at Harvard Law School. NY: Putnam (1977). First book, a memoir, by the author of such bestselling thrillers as Presumed Innocent. Corners bumped, general light wear; near fine in a very good dust jacket with mild rubbing and spine tanning and one edge tear.
413. TYLER, Anne. If Morning Ever Comes. NY: Knopf, 1964. Her first novel, published in an edition of 4000 copies. Tyler's recent books, after her Pulitzer Prize-winning Breathing Lessons and the success of the movie based on her novel The Accidental Tourist, have had first printings in excess of 100,000 copies. This copy is fine in a fine dust jacket with four vertical smudges on the rear panel, apparently a production flaw.
414. UPDIKE, John. The Carpentered Hen. NY: Harper & Brothers (1958). His first book, a collection of poems, published in an edition of 2000 copies. Fine in fine, first issue dust jacket, with slight, uniform soiling on rear panel. A much nicer copy than usual of this fragile first book.
415. URIS, Leon. Battle Cry. NY: Putnam (1953). The author's first book, one of the important novels of World War II. This is a very near fine copy in a bright, near fine dust jacket with minor edgewear, particularly at the spine crown. A nice copy of a not especially well made book. Signed by the author.
416. VLIET, R.G. Events & Celebrations. NY: Viking, 1966. His first book, a collection of poems. Inscribed by the author in 1976. Fine in dust jacket.
417. -. Same title, the first British edition (London: Bodley Head, 1967). Fine in fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
418. VLIET, R.G. Rockspring. NY: Viking (1974). Uncorrected proof copy of his first novel. Fine in wrappers, and signed by the author.
419. -. Same title, an advance review copy of the trade edition. Fine in fine dust jacket, and inscribed by the author.
420. VOLLMANN, William T. You Bright and Risen Angels. NY: Atheneum, 1987. An advance review copy of the first American edition of the author's extravagant first novel, compared by some to the writings of Thomas Pynchon. Fine in fine dust jacket with review slip, photo, and promotional material laid in.
421. VONNEGUT, Kurt, Jr. Player Piano. NY: Scribner, 1952. His first book, a satire on automation and the Electronics Age, on the order of Orwell's 1984. This is a fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with a small sticker removal shadow on the rear panel. An exceptionally nice copy of a book that because of its soft paper dust jacket is seldom found in fine condition.
422. -. Same title, the hardcover reissue (NY: Holt Rinehart Winston, 1966). The title was first reissued as a Bantam paperback in 1954 under the title Utopia 14. This reissue was done in the Sixties as Vonnegut's popularity was soaring after the publication of a string of books that became contemporary classics--The Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle, and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket that differs in design from the original. A very nice copy of an uncommon edition of this important first book. Signed by the author.