Uncorrected Proofs/Advance Copies, N-O
458. NAIPAUL, V. S. The Overcrowded Barracoon. (London): Deutsch (1972). Uncorrected proof copy of this collection of short nonfiction pieces published the year after Naipaul won the Booker Prize for In a Free State. One of his scarcer titles even in the trade edition, this proof is quite uncommon; we've never seen another copy offered. Near fine in wrappers.
459. NAIPAUL, V.S. Guerrillas. NY: Knopf, 1975. Uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of this novel that the reviewer for The New York Times Book Review called the best novel of the year. Spine label detaching; near fine in tall wrappers.
460. NAIPAUL, V.S. The Enigma of Arrival. NY: Knopf, 1987. Uncorrected proof copy of this autobiographical novel, a genre Naipaul has re-invented and made his own. Fine in wrappers.
461. NAIPAUL, V.S. A Way in the World. NY: Knopf, 1994. Advance reading copy of his latest book, a collection of linked fictional narratives. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers, in publisher's embossed cardstock slipcase.
462. NAYLOR, Gloria. The Women of Brewster Place. NY: Viking, 1982. Uncorrected proof copy of the author's well- received and influential first novel. Light damp marks on front cover and first three leaves. Spine slightly faded. Very good in wrappers and signed by the author.
463. NICHOLS, John. The Magic Journey. NY: HRW (1978). The uncorrected proof copy of the second, and scarcest, book in Nichols' acclaimed New Mexico trilogy, which began with The Milagro Beanfield War and concluded with The Nirvana Blues. Modest diagonal creasing to front wrapper; Curtis Brown literary agency stamp front and rear wrappers; near fine. A very scarce proof: we have only seen one other copy over the years.
464. NICHOLS, John. The Nirvana Blues. NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston (1981). Third book in the New Mexico Trilogy. Uncorrected proof copy. Near fine in wrappers with small publication date in pencil upper corner of front cover.
465. NIN, Ana‹s. A Woman Speaks. Chicago: Swallow Press (1975). Uncorrected proof copy. Fine in wrappers with promotional sheet laid in, in very near fine dust jacket.
466. NIN, Ana‹s. Delta of Venus: Erotica. NY: HBJ (1977). The uncorrected proof copy of the first publication of Nin's erotica, written for pay in the Thirties. Fine in tall wrappers.
467. NIN, Ana‹s. Little Birds. (NY): (HBJ) (1977). Uncorrected proof copy of the second volume of her erotica to be published. Fine in wrappers.
468. NIN, Anais. Fire. NY: Harcourt Brace (1995). Uncorrected proof copy of this "previously unpublished unexpurgated diary" from the years 1934-1937. Fine in wrappers.
469. NORDAN, Lewis. Music of the Swamp. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 1991. Uncorrected proof of this highly praised novel. Mild staining to cover and first few pages; very good. Inscribed by the author in 1992.
470. NOVA, Craig. The Book of Dreams. NY: Ticknor & Fields, 1994. Uncorrected proof copy of this Hollywood novel by the author of The Good Son, The Congressman's Daughter, and others. With praise for Nova from John Irving, Howard Frank Mosher, and others. Fine in wrappers.
471. OATES, Joyce Carol. The Edge of Impossibility. (NY): Vanguard (1972). A collection of critical essays, her first book of nonfiction. Uncorrected proof copy. Near fine in wrappers and signed by the author.
472. OATES, Joyce Carol. Marriages and Infidelities. NY: Vanguard (1972). Uncorrected proof copy. Another collection of stories by the prolific author. Fine in wrappers and signed by the author. Scarce, especially signed.
Proof Copy with Two Variant Endings
473. OATES, Joyce Carol. Do With Me What You Will. NY: Vanguard (1973). Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. This proof has a sheet taped over the last few paragraphs of text, and a new, revised ending taped in on the following page. This ending approximates the one that appears in the published book, but there were minor editorial changes in between. Thus, this proof together with a copy of the trade edition would reveal three different versions of the ending: the original, the first version of the revised ending and the final version of the revision. A textually interesting proof copy. This is a fine copy in wrappers and is signed by the author.
474. OATES, Joyce Carol. Childwold. NY: Vanguard (1976). Uncorrected proof copy. Fine in tall wrappers and inscribed by the author in the year after publication, and signed "Joyce." A scarce and fragile issue.
475. OATES, Joyce Carol. Crossing the Border. NY: Vanguard (1976). Uncorrected proof copy. As Oates's proofs often seem to, this copy has several pieces of revised text tipped in throughout the book. Fine in tall wrappers and inscribed by the author in the year after publication.
476. OATES, Joyce Carol. You Must Remember This. NY: Dutton (1987). Advance reading copy of this novel of America in the 1950s. A very good copy in wrappers.
477. OATES, Joyce Carol. Will You Always Love Me? Huntington Beach : Cahill, 1994. The total edition was 101 copies; this is one of an unspecified number of "proof" copies, in the binding of the numbered issue and marked "PC" on the colophon.
478. OATES, Joyce Carol. Haunted. (NY): Dutton (1994). Uncorrected proof copy of this recent collection of stories. Fine in wrappers.
479. OATES, Joyce Carol. What I Lived For. (NY): Dutton (1994). Advance reading copy of this massive (600+ pages) novel in glossy pictorial wrappers. A fine copy, signed by the author on a publisher's label mounted to the dedication page.
480. O'BRIAN, Patrick. "The Rendezvous" and Other Stories. NY: Norton (1994). Uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of this volume, which was published in the U.K. as Collected Short Stories. Prints "all the stories that O'Brian wishes to preserve." Fine in wrappers.
481. O'BRIAN, Patrick. The Commodore. NY: Norton (1995). Uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of the seventeenth book in the Aubrey/Maturin series. Fine in wrappers.
482. O'BRIEN, John. Leaving Las Vegas. Wichita: Watermark (1990). Uncorrected proof copy of this (autobiographical?) novel, which was made into an Academy Award-winning movie. Scarce proof.
483. O'BRIEN, Tim. The Nuclear Age. Portland: Press-22 (1981). Proof copy of this limited edition comprising an excerpt from O'Brien's work-in-progress at the time, later published with the same title. Issued in an edition of 151 copies: 26 lettered, hardbound copies and 125 numbered copies in wrappers. This proof resembles the wrappered issue, but is unnumbered and stamped "Proof Set/ May 5 1981" on the front flyleaf and the colophon. Signed by the author. Fine.
484. O'BRIEN, Tim. The Nuclear Age. NY: Knopf, 1985. Uncorrected proof copy of his fourth book, his first after winning the National Book Award for Going After Cacciato. Fine in wrappers.
485. O'BRIEN, Tim. In the Lake of the Woods. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. The author's most recent novel, involving a Vietnam vet who rises to a position of public prominence but carries a secret that threatens to undo his accomplishment. This is the advance reading copy. The text of this book was revised between the issuance of this advance copy and the published book, and then again after the book was published but before the paperback came out. Fine in wrappers and signed by the author.
486. O'CONNOR, Robert. Buffalo Soldiers. NY: Knopf, 1993. Highly praised first novel that was compared to Catch-22. The uncorrected proof copy. Fine in wrappers.
487. OKRI, Ben. The Famished Road. London: Vintage (1991). The first British paperback edition, sent out by Doubleday as an advance reading copy of the first American edition. Winner of the Booker Prize. Upper corner of front cover cut; near fine in wrappers.
488. LAFSSON, lafur J¢hann. Absolution. NY: Pantheon (1994). Uncorrected proof copy. The first novel in English by this Icelandic writer. Fine in wrappers.
489. ONDAATJE, Michael. In the Skin of a Lion. London: Secker & Warbur (n.d.). Uncorrected proof copy of the first English edition of this novel. Just about fine in wrappers.
Two states of a Booker Prize Winner
490. ONDAATJE, Michael. The English Patient. NY: Knopf, 1992. Co-winner of the Booker Prize. Uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition. Fine in wrappers.
491. -. Same title, bound 8 1/2" x 11" galleys of the American edition. Surface soiling; near fine. With publisher's rep's notes on front cover urging the recipient to read it and reporting that it is "the book this fall that Sonny [Mehta, editor-in-chief of Knopf] is most passionate about." An early and uncommon format, issued prior to the bound proofs and probably in smaller numbers as well.
492. OPPENHEIMER, Joel. The Woman Poems. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill (1975). Uncorrected proof copy. Inscribed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
493. ORWELL, George. Animal Farm. NY: Harcourt Brace (1946). Advance reading copy of the first American edition of Orwell's classic political satire. Spine very slightly tanned but still a fine copy of this small, fragile volume; very scarce thus.
494. ORWELL, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. NY: Harcourt Brace (1949). Advance reading copy of the first American edition of this landmark anti-utopia, whose title not only became a byword for totalitarianism but which introduced such phrases as "thought police," "newspeak" and "Big Brother is watching you" into the language of political discourse. The English edition precedes the U.S., as might be expected, but Orwell's American publisher attempted to promote the book with these advance copies. Very slight wear at the foredge of the rear cover, otherwise fine in wrappers. A very nice copy of this fragile volume.