Author's First Books, W-Z
424. WALKER, Alice. The Third Life of Grange Copeland. NY: HBJ (1970). Her second book, first novel. Walker later won the Pulitzer Prize for The Color Purple. This is a fine copy in a mildly spine-sunned, else fine dust jacket.
425. WALKER, Margaret. For My People. New Haven: Yale U. Press, 1942. The African-American author's first book, a collection of poems in the prestigious Yale Younger Poets Series. This is a fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with tiny chips at the spine extremities. Inscribed by the author. A very nice copy. The author later won a Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award for her novel, Jubilee.
426. WARD, Robert. Shedding Skin. NY: Harper & Row (1972). The first book by the author of Cattle Annie and Little Britches and Red Baker, among others. Light spotting to top edge; near fine in near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
427. WATSON, Larry. Montana 1948. (Minneapolis): Milkweed Editions (1993). Review copy of the author's highly praised first book, a novel. Inscribed by the author. The front flyleaf bears the imprint of a long vertical line; otherwise this is a fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
428. WELCH, James. Riding the Earthboy 40. NY: World (1971). First book by this author of Blackfoot-Gros Ventre heritage, and one of the most important and accomplished Native American writers of the post-1968 generation. Welch is a respected poet and an award-winning novelist. Riding the Earthboy 40, a collection of poems, was never properly distributed as the publisher folded at the time of publication. It was re-published five years later in a revised and expanded form by Harper & Row. This is the first edition. Fine in fine dust jacket and inscribed by the author, with an ALS laid in, dated July 7, 1971. Welch thanks the recipient for inviting him to a writer's conference and apologizes in his letter if he seemed "hateful, it is because groups oppress and depress me." A nicely personal inscription in an important first book.
429. -. Another copy, unsigned. Fine in fine dust jacket.
430. WELCH, James. Winter in the Blood. NY: Harper & Row (1974). His landmark first novel, which Reynolds Price called "a nearly flawless novel about human life;" one of the important Native American novels of the postwar period. The third book in the Harper & Row Native American Publishing Program. Fine in fine dust jacket.
431. WELSH, Irvine. Trainspotting. London: Secker & Warburg (1993). Uncorrected proof copy of the author's first novel, highly acclaimed upon publication and later the basis for the phenomenally successful movie that has become a cultural milestone of the 1990s. This is a fine copy in self-wrappers. The first edition of this book is very scarce--preceding the movie and its associated cultural uproar by a couple of years; the proof, needless to say is many times scarcer.
432. -. Same title, the first edition, this being the issue in wrappers. There was a small hardcover edition bound up, which has been estimated at around 100 copies. This, however, is the only edition that received formal distribution to the book trade. Fine in wrappers and signed by the author.
433. -. Same title, the first American edition (NY: Norton, 1996). Fine in wrappers; this is the first issue, with a photograph on the front cover that duplicates that of the British edition. A later issue of the first printing (and later printings) had a photograph of the stars of the movie on the front cover.
434. WHARTON, William. Birdy. NY: Knopf, 1979. The author's first book, which won the American Book Award for best first novel and was made into a well-received movie. Fine in a near fine jacket and signed by the author.
435. WHEELER, Kate. Not Where I Started From. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Advance reading copy of the author's first book, a collection of stories that had a first printing of 4000 copies. There were probably about a hundred or so of this advance issue. Fine in wrappers. A Granta 20 author.
436. WHITE, Randy Wayne. Sanibel Flats. NY: St. Martin's Press (1990). Uncorrected proof copy of the first in the author's Doc Ford mystery series, and his first book to be published in hardcover and under his own name. A very scarce title even in the first edition, with copies having sold for $1000 and more, the proof is considerably scarcer still. Light cup ring on front cover over title; otherwise a tight, near fine copy in beige wrappers.
437. WHITEHEAD, James. Joiner. NY: Knopf, 1971. Review copy of this Southern writer's first book. Inscribed by the author in 1976. Blurbs by Richard Yates, Brian Moore and George Garrett. Fine in a fine dust jacket with review slip and photo laid in.
438. WHITMAN, Walter. Franklin Evans; or The Inebriate. NY: The New World, 1842. A short, extravagant temperance novel by Whitman, his first separate publication, which he later largely disavowed. Still, for all that its morals are quite contrary to those we have come to associate with the author of Leaves of Grass, the writing is at its most persuasive and powerful when the author is describing the indulgences and extravagances of his wayward hero. Issued as a supplement to the New World. A fragile production, 31 pages printed in double columns on newsprint. This copy has modest foxing and the spine fold of the outer leaf has been professionally strengthened. In an attractive quarter leather custom clamshell box and chemise. One of the most important literary debuts of the 19th century and an exceedingly scarce item.
439. WHITTEMORE, Edward. Quin's Shanghai Circus. NY: HRW (1974). The advance reading copy, in plain printed wrappers, of the first book by the author of the acclaimed Jerusalem Quartet. Light creasing; very near fine in wrappers. A well-received debut novel from a writer who not received widespread recognition but who is a virtually a legend among those who know his writing.
440. WIDEMAN, John Edgar. A Glance Away. NY: Harcourt Brace (1965). First book by this award-winning author. Wideman has published several novels and a story collection to extraordinary acclaim in recent years, and is probably, at the moment, the most prominent African-American writer of his generation. He is the only two-time winner of the prestigious PEN Faulkner Award. Very near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a few short edge tears, wear at the crown, and a very small hole on the rear flap fold. A nice copy of a book that has become uncommon in recent years.
441. WILCOX, James. Modern Baptists. Garden City: Dial (1983). The uncorrected proof copy of his first novel, published to substantial critical acclaim although limited commercial success. Wilcox was the subject of a profile in The New Yorker, which portrayed his life as a struggling writer in great detail. Light general wear; near fine in wrappers.
442. WILLEFORD, Charles. Proletarian Laughter. NY: Alicat Bookshop Press, 1948. Alicat Chapbooks No. XII. Willeford's first book, a collection of poems, preceded only by a group of poems in broadside format, issued as part of another Alicat Press collection. These poems contain the only descriptions Willeford ever committed to writing of his experience in World War II, which, by the evidence included here and by comments he made to others about them, were apparently horrific. Acidic paper browning with age and some wear to spine; otherwise near fine in stapled wrappers.
443. WILLIAMS, Tennessee. Battle of Angels. Murray, UT: Pharos, 1945. A play, published as Pharos Numbers 1 and 2. Half title corner clipped but otherwise an extremely bright, fine fresh copy in wrappers and very scarce thus.
444. WILLIAMS, Terry Tempest. Pieces of White Shell. NY: Scribner (1984). Her first solo book, subtitled "A Journey to Navajoland," with illustrations by Navajo artist Clifford Brycelea. Previous owner gift inscription front flyleaf; else fine in a near fine dust jacket with an edge tear at the lower front panel. Winner of the 1984 Southwestern Book Award. Scarce now.
445. WILLIAMS, Thomas. Ceremony of Love. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill (1955). The author's first book, a love story about a soldier in the Army of Occupation in postwar Japan. A number of Williams' later books, both novels and story collections, were set in the fictional town of Leah, New Hampshire, and the volume collecting those stories was recently published, posthumously, to great critical acclaim and probably more commercial success than they had received during his lifetime. Spine slant and mild dampstaining; overall very good in dust jacket and inscribed by the author in 1977, referring to the book as "this early, early, somewhat wet-behind-the-ears novel." Williams won the National Book Award in 1975 for his novel The Hair of Harold Roux.
446. -. Another copy, not inscribed. Fine in very near fine jacket. A very nice copy of an uncommon first book.
447. WILSON, A.N. The Sweets of Pimlico. London: Secker & Warburg (1977). The author's scarce first book, a novel. Foxing to page edges; otherwise near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with thin lines of rubbing at the extremities and folds. Uncommon.
448. WILSON, Edmund. Memoirs of Hecate County. Garden City: Doubleday Doran, 1945. Uncorrected proof copy of this novel, his first. A very fragile production: tall sheets from galleys, bound in plain brown wrappers. Spine cocked and wrappers edgeworn; overall, only good but an exceptionally scarce state of this book, the only copy we have ever seen or heard of.
449. WINTERSON, Jeanette. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. NY: Atlantic Monthly Press (1987). First American edition of author's highly praised first novel, winner of the Whitbread Prize. Only issued in wrappers. This is the first issue, which states "First Edition" and "First printing," does not have a number line, and has a price of $6.95. A later edition appeared to be a first, but added a number line (ending in "1") and had a $10.95 price. Near fine.
450. WOIWODE, Larry. What I'm Going to Do, I Think. NY: FSG (1969). His highly praised first novel, which went into 10 printings immediately after publication on the strength of glowing reviews and strong word-of-mouth. This copy is warmly inscribed by the author: "Somewhere there's a green/ pulsing beneath the blue,/ but the green is deeper/ or so somebody said, and/ I say thank you,/ Larry." The recipient is not identified. Fine in very near fine dust jacket with slight edge creases.
451. WOLFE, Thomas. Look Homeward, Angel. NY: Scribner, 1929. A fine copy in the first issue dust jacket which has several tiny chips, very light soiling and wear, but is still bright and near fine. A very attractive copy of one of the high spots of 20th century American literature.
452. WOLFE, Tom. The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby. NY: FSG (1965). The first book by the writer whose work defined the "New Journalism" in the Sixties. Light dust to top edge, else fine in fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
453. -. Another copy. Fine in fine dust jacket with a crease to front flap.
454. WOLFF, Tobias. Ugly Rumours. London: Allen & Unwin (1975). The uncorrected proof copy of the author's first novel, set in Vietnam, about a Special Forces lieutenant and a sergeant serving as advisor to a Vietnamese Infantry Division. Not published in this country, and the author has pointedly refused to list it among his "previous publications" on his later books or allowed it to be reprinted. His recent memoir, In Pharaoh's Army, alludes somewhat disparagingly to the novel he was writing while he was serving in Vietnam, presumably Ugly Rumours. Wolff is one of the most highly regarded short story writers in America, winner of the PEN Faulkner Award, and his memoir This Boy's Life was made into a memorable movie. A novel by him on the pivotal event of his generation--the Vietnam war--is a notable contribution to contemporary literature, regardless of the author's opinion of its quality. Exceedingly scarce even in the trade edition: the first printing was reported to be only 1000 copies, most of which will have gone to libraries; the proof is presumably considerably scarcer still. Some very mild shelf wear and some light creasing; near fine in wrappers.
455. WOLFF, Tobias. In the Garden of the North American Martyrs. NY: Ecco (1981). His first collection of stories, signed by the author. Ink mark on verso of first blank (very possibly created during signing), otherwise fine in a dust jacket that has been price-clipped and has a "$10.95" price sticker. (The first issue jacket, which was never distributed, has a $14.95 price; later jackets were clipped and had a price sticker; still later, the jacket was printed with the $10.95 price. This is an intermediate, second issue jacket.) A very nice copy.
456. WOOLF, Virginia. The Voyage Out. NY: 1920. The first American edition of the first book, a novel, by the central figure of the influential Bloomsbury group. Fine in a dust jacket with a 1" tear along a fold and some minor wear at the edges. Easily Woolf's scarcest book in dust jacket. With full morocco case.
457. WOMACK, Jack. Ambient. NY: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1987). The first book by this author who writes in the noir/cyberpunk vein of contemporary science fiction. Fine in fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
458. WOODRELL, Daniel. Under the Bright Lights. NY: Henry Holt (1986). The author's acclaimed first mystery, featuring Rene Shade in the town of Saint Bruno, Louisiana. Fine in fine dust jacket.
459. WRIGHT, James. The Green Wall. New Haven: Yale (1957). Advance review copy of the author's first book, a volume in the Yale Younger Poets series. Very slight aging to top of boards, but still near fine in similar dust jacket. Reviewer's name and one pencil notation by him in the text. A very nice copy.
460. WRIGHT, Stephen. Meditations in Green. NY: Scribner (1983). The author's first book, a highly praised novel of Vietnam that won the publisher's "Maxwell Perkins Award" for an outstanding first novel. The author's later novels have received high praise, fulfilling the promise of this first novel. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
461. YATES, Richard. Revolutionary Road. Boston: Little Brown (1961). The hardcover advance reading copy of the author's highly praised first book, consisting of a fine copy of the first edition in a spine-tanned, near fine promotional dust jacket, which differs from the trade dust jacket. Uncommon.
462. -. Same title, the trade edition. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with one small chip at the lower rear panel and a few very small edge tears.
463. YOUNT, John. Wolf at the Door. NY: Random House (1967). Mild darkening to top edge of both the boards and the jacket; still near fine.
464. YURICK, Sol. The Warriors. NY: HRW (1965). The author's first novel, of youth gangs in New York City, later made into a well-received film. Top page edges a bit dust; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket.