Holiday List, U-Z
211. UPDIKE, John. Bath After Sailing. (Stevenson): (Country Squire) (1968). The first book of Updike's to be published as a limited edition--a single poem, bound in card-stock wrappers. Updike had had one limited edition done earlier, a broadside, but this was the first to be issued as a "book." He has had dozens since. This is one of 125 numbered copies signed by the author. A fine copy in stiff wrappers.
212. (VOLLMANN, William T.). MILLER, Ken. PHOTOGRAPH. (n.p.): (n.p.) (1987). Photograph of Vollmann by Miller, who has provided photos for several of Vollmann's books. This photo resembles the author photo Miller provided for You Bright And Risen Angels--the author pointing a gun at his head--and is signed by Miller on the verso, where he has labeled this "Work Print" and dated it 1987. Additionally, the photograph is signed by Vollman. Black & white; 8" x 10". Fine.
213. WALKER, Alice. Once. NY: Harcourt Brace & World (1968). The first book, a collection of poems, by this African-American writer. Fine in a dust jacket with mild edge wear and light dust-soiling to rear white panel; still a very attractive copy, much nicer than usual.
214. 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.
215. WALKER, Alice. Revolutionary Petunias. NY: HBJ (1973). Walker's second collection of poems and one of her scarcest titles. This is the hardcover edition; there was a simultaneous issue in wrappers. Several tiny nicks to the lower edges of the boards; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
216. WALKER, Alice. Meridian. NY: HBJ (1976). Uncorrected proof copy of her second novel. A crude, very scarce format: proof sheets bound in card-stock covers with a black tape spine. It is likely that very few copies were prepared thus. Several pieces of text tipped in, including a revision to the table of contents. Fine in wrappers and signed by the author. Rare.
217. WARREN, Robert Penn. How Texas Won Her Freedom. San Jacinto Monument: San Jacinto Museum of History, 1959. A small volume issued by the museum in an edition reported to be 512 copies. Inscribed by the book's designer, Gerry Doyle. Slight wear to cloth at spine extremities; fine without dust jacket, apparently as issued.
218. WATERS, Frank. The Yogi of Cockroach Court. NY: Rinehart, 1947. One of his most important novels, focusing on a fictional border town in the southwest and the clash of cultures there between Mexican, Indian, Chinese and Anglos--all of whom are themselves marginalized, outcasts on the fringes of society. This is a near fine copy in a dust jacket that has very slight chipping at the extremities of the spine, but is still at least very good. An attractive copy of a cheaply produced book, which has the feel of the "wartime" books being published a couple of years earlier, and which probably used the same stocks of paper that were in use then. Inscribed by the author "with appreciation and admiration." A very nice copy of one of the key books by this important figure in western literature.
219. WAUGH, Evelyn. Helena. London: Chapman & Hall, 1950. First edition of this novel. Spine slightly cocked, otherwise near fine in a dust jacket that is internally strengthened but still near fine. Inscribed by the author: "For ___ ___ /with deep gratitude for/ the pleasures of `Homage/ & Cheshire'/ from/ Evelyn Waugh." A very nice inscription.
220. WAUGH, Evelyn. The Holy Places. London: Queen Anne Press, 1952. One of a total edition of 950 numbered copies. This copy has been inscribed by the author to Anne Ford, the publicity director of Little Brown who was Waugh's publisher in the U.S. Laid in is a 3" x 4" black and white photograph of Waugh taken in his private residential garden, circa 1952. Very near fine in a darkened, very good jacket with several small chips and edge tears.
221. WELTY, Eudora. A Curtain of Green. Garden City: Doubleday Doran, 1941. Her first book, a collection of stories. With an introduction by Katherine Anne Porter. Offsetting to endpapers; otherwise a fine copy in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with the usual spine-fading (title lettering still legible, though barely) and chips at the upper edge of both the front and rear panels. A better-than-usual copy of an important debut.
222. WELTY, Eudora. John Rood. Exhibition of Recent Sculpture. NY: Contemporaries, 1958. An exhibition catalogue with text by Welty. A scarce "A" item, not listed in the bibliography, and consisting of text (two pages) entirely by Welty. Small corner crease to upper front cover; a near fine copy in stapled wrappers.
223. WELTY, Eudora. The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. NY: HBJ (1980). The limited edition issued by the trade publisher (there was also a Franklin Library edition which preceded). A landmark volume, the definitive collection of her short stories, and a nominee for the National Book Award. One of 500 numbered copies signed by the author. Clothbound; fine in a near fine, bumped slipcase.
224. WHITE, Randy Wayne. Sanibel Flats. NY: St. Martin's Press (1990). The 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 of the trade edition having sold for and more; the proof is considerably scarcer still, and this is the only copy we've seen. Light cup ring on front cover over title; otherwise a tight, near fine copy in beige wrappers.
225. 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.
226. WILLIAMS, Tennessee. Baby Doll. (NY): New Directions (1956). The filmscript of Baby Doll, published together with the two plays on which the film was based: Twenty-Seven Wagons Full of Cotton and The Long Stay Cut Short/or The Unsatisfactory Supper. Signed by the author. Near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Alvin Lustig.
227. WILLIAMS, William Carlos. Paterson. (NY): New Directions (1946-1958). Williams' landmark epic poem, a Connolly 100 title, universally considered a masterpiece and one of the most important accomplishments in American poetry. Published in five volumes over 12 years. Volumes one through four were limited to 1000 copies. All copies near fine or better in similar dust jackets. A very attractive set.
228. WOLFE, Tom. Manuscript of "Good Buildings." No date, circa 1984. Two drafts, 9 pages and 25 pages. This piece first appeared in Esquire in June, 1985, as "Proper Places" and later much of the text was incorporated into Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities. The first draft is a ribbon copy typescript with extensive holograph revisions by the author in pencil and ink. Much of this material was edited out of the later draft. The second draft is also ribbon copy typescript, again with many holograph changes by the author. "Good Buildings" is a critique of New York in the mid-1980s, part of Wolfe's satirical savaging of the upper crusts of New York's elite society and its peculiar, passionate concerns. As a writer who has skewered the modern art world and the wealthy "radicals" of the late 1960's, Wolfe wields a much-feared pen, and The Bonfire of the Vanities was both eagerly and fearfully awaited as the publishing event of the year. Presumably nothing short of exhuming the actual skeletons in the closets could have lived up to the hype that it generated and so the book, and even more so the subsequent movie, was viewed as a minor disappointment, almost an anticlimax. Nonetheless, Wolfe writes with scathing insight and fearsome accuracy and this manuscript is an excellent example of the writer sharpening his pen as he works. The sheets are fine.
229. (WOOLRICH, Cornell). "IRISH, William." After-Dinner Story. NY: Lippincott (1944). A Queen's Quorum title, and a fragile wartime production, printed on thin, cheap paper. Label partially removed from front flyleaf; minor watermarks to lower rear pages; very good in very good dust jacket with tiny chips at spine crown. In custom clamshell box.
230. 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.
231. (YEATS, W.B.). "GANCONAGH." John Sherman and Dhoya. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1891. Pseudonymously published book by Yeats, no. 10 of the Pseudonym Library, and an extremely early Yeats volume--Wade 4. Of a total edition of 2000 copies, this is one of 356 copies in cloth. Owner name on title page; offsetting to endpapers; some minor spotting to cloth, which is spine-darkened. Still a very good copy of an early and scarce book.