Uncorrected Proofs/Advance Copies, B
32. BAKER, Nicholson. VOX. NY: Random House (1992). His fourth
book, an unlikely bestseller about phone sex. This is the advance reading
copy. Fine in wrappers.
33. -. Another copy, this enclosed in publisher's
plain brown paper wrapper, the marketing parodying the book's subject matter.
Fine.
Pristine Advance Reading Copy of a Modern Black Classic
34. BALDWIN, James. Go Tell It on the Mountain. NY: Knopf, 1953. The advance reading copy of his classic first novel, a story of life in the ghetto which helped instigate a renaissance in black literature in the Fifties and Sixties. An interesting and significant advance copy in that the dust jacket art was changed radically between the issuance of this edition and the publication of the regular edition. This is a spectacularly bright and vivid copy, with a light crease at the rear spine fold but otherwise virtually pristine, and exceedingly scarce thus. In addition, it is signed by the author on the dedication page. An extraordinary copy of an influential book.
35. BALDWIN, James. No Name in the Street. NY: Dial, 1972. Uncorrected proof copy of this book of nonfiction by one of the pre-eminent African-American writers of the postwar era--a writer who chose to live the last couple of decades of his life as an expatriate in France. Minor surface soiling; near fine in padbound wrappers. A very fragile state, and a scarce proof.
First Issue Proof of Booker Prize-Winning Novel
36. BALLARD, J. G. Empire of the Sun. London: Gollancz, 1984. The first issue proof of this Booker Prize-winning autobiographical novel by a contemporary master of postmodern fantasy and science fiction. Basis for the award-winning movei. This proof is shot from word-processed typescript, rather than being typeset. Reportedly, only about 30 copies were prepared thus. Near fine in wrappers.
37. BANKS, Russell. Rule of the Bone. (n.p.): HarperCollins (1994). Advance reading copy of his latest novel. Front cover very slightly splayed; else fine in wrappers.
38. BANVILLE, John. Athena. NY: Knopf, 1995. Uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of his most recent novel. Fine in wrappers.
39. BARAKA, Amiri. Transbluesency. NY: Marsilio (1995). Uncorrected proof copy of this selection of poems spanning the years 1961-1995. Fine.
40. BARKER, Clive. The Thief of Always. (NY): HarperCollins (1992). Advance reading copy of this novel by the author of the highly successful horror sequence, The Books of Blood. Fine in wrappers, and inscribed by the author on the title page.
41. BARNES, Julian. Letters from London. NY: Vintage (1995). Uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of this collection of his columns from The New Yorker. Issued in this country as a paperback original. Fine in wrappers.
42. BARTH, John. Letters. NY: Putnam (1979). Uncorrected proof copy of this elaborately constructed epistolary novel, by the author of The Sot-Weed Factor. This is a fine copy in an oversize proof dust jacket (rumpled where the jacket overhangs the book), inscribed by the author. A scarce proof at this point, and uncommon signed.
43. BARTH, John. The Friday Book. NY: Putnam (1984). Uncorrected proof copy. Inscribed by the author. Very good in wrappers.
44. BARTHELME, Frederick. Tracer. NY: Simon & Schuster (1985). Uncorrected proof copy of this slender minimalist novel. Inscribed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
45. BARTHELME, Frederick. Chroma. NY: Simon & Schuster (1987). Uncorrected proof copy, a collection of stories. Inscribed by the author. Very near fine in wrappers.
46. BASS, Rick. The Watch. NY: Norton (1989). Advance reading copy of the first book of fiction, a highly praised collection of short stories, by a Montana writer who has become well known for his writings in the field of natural history. Fine in wrappers.
47. BASS, Rick. Platte River. Bos/NY: Houghton Mifflin/Seymour Lawrence, 1994. Advance reading copy of this collection of three novellas. Fine in wrappers with publisher's promotional material laid in.
48. BATCHELOR, John Calvin. The Further Adventures of Halley's Comet. (n.p.): Congdon and Lattes (1980). Uncorrected proof copy of the author's first book, this being the first state, in blue wrappers and with pages reproduced from typescript, rather than typeset. Spine-darkened and mildly creased; else very good in wrappers. An uncommon proof and an important debut.
49. BATCHELOR, John Calvin. The Birth of the People's Republic of Antartica. NY: Dial (1983). Uncorrected proof copy of the author's highly acclaimed second book, an ambitious and fantastic novel that, among other things, imagined a war over the then-unknown Falklands Islands. This proof copy is much scarcer than the advance reading copy in illustrated wrappers. Batchelor received high praise for his extravagant, inventive style as well as the scope of his erudition. Near fine in wrappers.
50. -. Same title, the advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers.
51. BATCHELOR, John Calvin. Father's Day. NY: Henry Holt (1994). Advance reading copy. A political thriller set in the near future, involving a constitutional crisis. Fine in wrappers.
52. BAUSCH, Richard. Rebel Powers. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin/Seymour Lawrence, 1993. Advance reading copy of this well-received novel involving a family that comes apart in the aftermath of the Vietnam war. Very near fine in wrappers.
53. BAUSCH, Richard. Rare & Endangered Species. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin/Seymour Lawrence, 1994. Advance reading copy of his third collection of short fiction--a novella and short stories. Fine in wrappers.
54. BAXTER, Charles. Through the Safety Net. (n.p.): Viking (1985). Uncorrected proof copy. A well-received collection of stories, which was the author's first book from a major trade publisher. Fine in wrappers. In our experience, an uncommon proof.
55. BEATTIE, Ann. Chilly Scenes of Winter. Garden City: Doubleday, 1976. Uncorrected proof copy of her acclaimed first novel, which gave voice to a generation and was made into a movie. Publisher's info sheet has detached from front cover and laid into the book; near fine in tall wrappers. There is a marked difference in scarcity between pre- and post-1978 proof copies.
56. BEATTIE, Ann. Another You. NY: Knopf, 1995. Advance reading copy of her well-received recent novel. Fine in wrappers.
57. BELLOW, Saul. The Bellarosa Connection. (NY): Penguin (1989). Uncorrected proof copy of this novel by the Nobel Prize winner, which was issued as a paperback original, reportedly at the author's request, in order to get wider distribution and reach more readers than he would have in hardcover. As such, the relative degree of scarcity between the proof and the trade edition is even more dramatic in this case than it would be for a hardcover edition. A fine copy in wrappers.
58. BENCHLEY, Peter. White Shark. NY: RH (1994). Uncorrected proof copy. By the author of Jaws. Apparently the new beast terrorizing the Connecticut seacoast is not a white shark. Fine in wrappers.
59. BENEDICT, Elizabeth. Slow Dancing. NY: Knopf, 1985. Uncorrected proof copy of her first novel, a finalist for the American Book Award. Near fine in wrappers.
60. BERENDT, John. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. NY: Random House (1994). Advance reading copy of this highly praised book of literary nonfiction, a portrait of Savannah, Georgia, which became a surprise bestseller and has gone through more than 60 printings. Fine in wrappers.
61. BERGER, John. To the Wedding. NY: Pantheon (1995). Advance reading copy of his most recent novel; fine in wrappers, encased in publisher's pictorial cardstock slipcase, and signed by the author. Published to excellent reviews; a moving testament and luminous addition to the growing body of AIDS literature.
Galley Proofs of an Award-Winning Modern Classic
62. BERGER, Thomas. Little Big Man. NY: Dial, 1964. Uncorrected proof copy, in the form of stringbound galleys, of the author's third and most famous novel, a tragicomic history of the American West, which was immortalized on film. Glue residue on front cover from label removal but still very good. Little Big Man won the Richard and Hilda Rosenthal Foundation Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, an award that is given for a work that, while not being a commercial success, is nonetheless a substantial literary achievement. Other winners have included such classics of contemporary literature as Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49, John Updike's The Poorhouse Fair and Thomas McGuane's The Bushwhacked Piano. An exceedingly scarce state of this important novel, the first such copy we have ever seen.
63. BERGER, Thomas. The Feud. (n.p.): Delacorte/Lawrence (1983). Uncorrected proof copy of this novel by the author of Little Big Man, among many others. Signed by the author. Mild spine-darkening; else fine in wrappers. Berger's signature is relatively uncommon.
64. BERGER, Thomas. Robert Crews. NY: Morrow (1994). Uncorrected proof copy of this recent novel by the author of Little Big Man, Neighbors, and many others. A wilderness survival story, in which a middle-aged alcoholic must confront not only an alien environment but also the question of his own will to live. Fine in wrappers.
65. BERRY, Wendell. The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture. San Francisco: Sierra Club, 1977. Uncorrected proof copy of Berry's landmark critique of contemporary agriculture. A highly influential book, this proof by the Sierra Club--which is not known for producing large numbers of proofs or distributing them widely--features page numbers reproduced from holograph, which is generally considered an identifying mark of an early proof, prior to setting type for the page proofs. Fine in wrappers, with publisher's letter laid in.
66. BERRY, Wendell. Clearing. NY: HBJ (1977). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of poems that revolve around Berry's experience reclaiming and refurbishing an old farmstead. One of the key books of poetry in the author's canon. Fine in tall wrappers.
67. BERRY, Wendell. The Gift of Good Land. Berkeley: North Point, 1981. Uncorrected proof copy of this collection of essays on agricultural and social themes, a follow-up to his landmark book, The Unsettling of America. Mild surface soiling; else fine in wrappers.
68. BERRY, Wendell. Home Economics. Berkeley: North Point, 1987. Proof copy. Another collection of essays. Fine in wrappers.
69. BERRY, Wendell. Fidelity. NY: Pantheon, 1992. Proof copy of this collection of five related stories, set in Berry's fictional town of Port William, Kentucky. Fine in wrappers.
70. BETTS, Doris. Souls Raised from the Dead. NY: Knopf, 1994. Uncorrected proof copy. The first novel in over 10 years by this important southern writer. Fine in wrappers.
71. BLOCK, Lawrence. When the Sacred Ginmill Closes. NY: Morrow (1986). Advance reading copy. A Matthew Scudder mystery. Fine in wrappers.
72. BOSWELL, Robert. Living to Be A Hundred. NY: Knopf, 1994. Uncorrected proof copy of his second collection of stories, published to extraordinary critical acclaim. Fine in wrappers.
73. BOWLES, Paul. Without Stopping: An Autobiography. NY: Putnam (1972). Uncorrected proof copy of the first book of the author's memoirs. Bowles became an influential figure during the years of the Beat movement. Publisher's information label on front cover torn away at the edges, but overall this is at least a very good copy in tall wrappers.
74. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. The Hawkline Monster. NY: Simon & Schuster (1974). Uncorrected proof copy of the first of Brautigan's several "genre" novels--inventive takes on established conventions in fiction, this one being, as he called it, "A Gothic Western." Uncommon in proof format. Minor surface soiling; near fine in wrappers with publisher's photocopy promotional sheet laid in.
75. BRODKEY, Harold. Stories in an Almost Classical Mode. NY: Knopf, 1988. Uncorrected proof copy of his second story collection. A bulky book; near fine in wrappers.
76. BROOKNER, Anita. Fraud. NY: Random House (1993). Uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of this novel. Fine in wrappers.
77. BROWN, Larry. On Fire. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 1994. Uncorrected proof copy of his fifth book, his first book of nonfiction--an extended personal essay on his life as a firefighter. Fine in printed wrappers and signed by the author.
78. BURGESS, Anthony. A Dead Man in Deptford. NY: Carroll & Graf (1993). Advance reading copy of the first American edition of Burgess's last novel, published posthumously. A historical novel of Elizabethan England focusing on the death of Christopher Marlowe 400 years ago; some British reviewers called this the best novel ever by the author of A Clockwork Orange. Fine in wrappers.
79. BURKE, James Lee. Black Cherry Blues. Bos: LB (1989). Advance reading copy of the third of his Dave Robicheaux novels, this one the winner of the Edgar Award for best mystery novel of the year. Fine in wrappers, signed and additionally inscribed by the author.
Publisher's Archive for a James Lee Burke Limited Edition
80. BURKE, James Lee. Winter Light. Huntington Beach: Cahill, 1992. The publisher's archive for this edition. The first edition of this short story, which was also included in Prize Stories 1993: The O. Henry Awards. Including a copy of Epoch in which the story first appeared, signed by Burke and with one textual correction by him and several comments by the editor; five sets of galley sheets, representing three stages of publication; the proof copy, hand-corrected by Burke; one postal receipt, signed by Burke, and an 8 1/2" x 11" envelope addressed by Burke. All of the elements are fine. Archives such as this, which document a publishing project from beginning to end, seldom appear on the market. For the archive:
81. BURKE, James Lee. A Stained White Radiance. NY: Hyperion (1992). The fifth book in the Robicheaux series. This is the advance reading copy. Inscribed by the author. Fine in wrappers. The rear cover reprints a letter to the reader from Burke which does not appear elsewhere.
82. -. Another copy, unsigned. Minor scuffing but still about fine.
83. BURKE, James Lee. Two for Texas. (Huntington): (Cahill) (1992). The publisher's archive for this reissue. First hardcover edition of this historical novel, which was published as a paperback original a decade earlier. With a new introduction by Burke on the writing of historical novels such as this. Including the printer's blue proofs signed by Burke; nine original Joe Servello woodcuts plus mock-ups of both the title page and the tailpiece; two author "check copies" of the volume consisting of folded & gathered sheets laid into the boards, each signed by Burke and illustrator Joe Servello on the colophon, and one signed by Burke on the title page; and one autograph note signed by Burke, which spans three post-it notes. All elements fine. For the archive:
84. BURKE, James Lee. In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead. NY: Hyperion (1993). Advance reading copy of this novel in the popular and acclaimed Dave Robicheaux mystery series. Very near fine in wrappers and inscribed by the author. With an invitation laid in to a reading and reception in honor of the publication of this novel.
85. BURKE, James Lee. Dixie City Jam. NY: Hyperion (1994). This is the limited edition, one of 1,525 numbered copies signed by the author. These copies were given away as a promotional item at a booksellers' convention, much the way glossy softcover advance reading copies often are. Clothbound, fine in cloth (slightly dusty) slipcase. A highly unusual approach to issuing advance promotional copies.
86. BURKE, James Lee. Burning Angel. New York: Hyperion (1995). Advance reading copy of the trade edition. Fine in wrappers with publisher's promotional sheet laid in.
87. BURROUGHS, William S. Exterminator! NY: Viking/Richard Seaver (1973). Uncorrected proof copy of this novel by the author of Naked Lunch. Identified on the front cover as "Galley no. 9" of an unspecified number. This is a near fine copy in wrappers.
88. BURROUGHS, William S. My Education. A Book of Dreams. (n.p.): Viking (1995). Advance reading copy of his most recent novel. Fine in wrappers.
89. BUSCH, Frederick. The Children in the Woods. NY: Ticknor & Fields, 1994. Advance reading copy. A collection of short stories spanning 20 years, by the author of Closing Arguments, among others. Busch won the 1991 PEN/Malamud award for excellence in short fiction. Fine in wrappers.
90. BUTLER, Robert Olen. On Distant Ground. NY: Knopf, 1985. Fourth novel by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain. Like his first book and his prize-winning story collection, this is a tale of the after- effects of the Vietnam war. "Press copy" written on cover and first blank, along with other notations--the publisher's or the printer's-- on the first blank. Otherwise fine in wrappers.
91. BUTLER, Robert Olen. They Whisper. NY: Holt (1994). Advance reading copy of the author's most recent novel, his first book after winning the Pulitzer Prize. Fine in wrappers.