E-list # 122

Philadelphia, Lippincott, (1975). His most famous novel, inspired by, and in turn helping to inspire, environmental direct action. A comic novel with a serious core, it both described and exalted such environmental groups as Earth First! and others that followed in their wake. Abbey was perhaps the single most famous, and one of the most outspoken, advocates for waging war against those who would despoil the environment for profit by both physically sabotaging their efforts and also engaging them in a media battle by means of theatrical, attention-getting public relations actions. This copy is inscribed by the author to noted Tucson book collector and bookseller, Ben Sackheim: "To Ben Sackheim from his friend Ed Abbey." Ben Sackheim was a successful New York advertising executive who had a second career as a bookseller in Tucson, Arizona. Among his many projects over the years, he was an early and important supporter of the Loujon Press, which published Henry Miller, Charles Bukowski and others in the mid-1960s. A nice association copy, and one seldom sees good association copies of Abbey books, let alone of his most important novel. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#914604] SOLD

London, Heinemann, (1966). The uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition of his fourth book, a satirical novel about political corruption in Nigeria, by one of the foremost African men of letters of the 20th century, author of Things Fall Apart -- reportedly the most widely-read African novel of all time, and certainly one of the most highly regarded. Achebe was the winner of the 2007 Man Booker International Prize, among many other honors and awards over a 50+-year writing career. Signed by Achebe. Faint spine-tanning, a few spots to lower edge of text block, and tiny corner creases; very good in wrappers. A Burgess 99 title, and an uncommon proof, especially signed. [#029622] SOLD

In 1981, Albee, the three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Charleston in West Virginia. His speech, on his own education, or lack thereof, and on how one is forever "wounded" by the responsibilities of an education, was published in a signed wrappered limited edition of 200 copies by Mountain State Press, with an additional 50 signed hardcover copies distributed by university professor William Plumley's own Parchment Press. This archive includes:- Albee's hand-corrected typescript of his speech, 9 pages, with "The Wounding: an Essay on Education" listed as a "possible title." Approximately a dozen small corrections in Albee's hand.- an autograph note signed by Albee to Bill Plumley, dated July, 1981, transmitting the above, and asking Plumley to send Lolita back. - an uncorrected photocopy of Albee's typescript, with a copy of the colophon as it is printed in the book.- Copy No. 1 of the 50 hardcover copies of The Wounding, signed by Albee. Fine in a fine dust jacket (and with three extra copies of the jacket, folded).- a copy of the typescript of the (unattributed) remarks used to introduce Albee at the commencement ceremony, with an envelope addressed to Dr. Plumley from "J.P." In the preceding months, Albee's Broadway play adaptation of Nabokov's Lolita had opened and closed after 12 performances (and 31 previews), and the introductory remarks attempt to diplomatically manage Albee's fall from theatrical grace. - four periodicals from the time, each inscribed by Albee to Plumley on their covers: The New Republic (April 11, 1981); Newsweek and Time (March 30, 1981); The New Yorker (March 23, 1981). The latter announces the opening of Lolita; the first three contain reviews of the play, one of which (The New Republic) is briefly quoted in the introductory remarks to Albee's speech. An interesting archive, which documents a noteworthy commencement speech by one of the preeminent American playwrights of the 20th century, at the time that he has just experienced perhaps the most extreme critical savaging of his career. It is perhaps not surprising that the title of the talk, and the book, is "The Wounding" and that Albee takes great pains to express the wounding -- by civilization, by education, and by our own natures -- as something to be grateful for, that distinguishes us as humans, and makes us members of the same "club." The hardcover edition is rare; the archival material is unique. [#029905] SOLD

(Tucson), Dennis McMillan, 1996. The trade edition, in a trial dust jacket. Signed by the author. This particular copy of the long-awaited second novel by the author of Sympathy for the Devil has a different photograph on the rear panel of the jacket than the published edition, one showing a night-time storefront with a sign advertising "Liquor, Guns & Ammo," which later became the title of another of Anderson's books. The jacket flaps lack copy. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with creasing to the top edge. Rare, possibly unique. [#030672] SOLD

1993. Anderson's dot-matrix printout of a draft of what became the prologue and first chapter of his second novel. 24 pages, with extensive differences between this version and the published version. With a handwritten signed note by Anderson across the top of the first page, saying, in part, that he thinks the novel will be finished in another six weeks. Night Dogs was one of the most eagerly awaited novels of its time, but its publication was delayed as different publishers vied for it but no deal was reached for the publication rights. It was finally published in 1996 by Dennis McMillan, a small press/fine press publisher, primarily of limited editions. Later, in 1998, there was a publication by a major trade publishing house, Bantam, which had merged with Doubleday, the publisher of Anderson's first novel. This is a very early segment of the work-in-progress. Marked by a rusty paper clip, else fine. [#031325] SOLD

NY, Farrar Straus Giroux, (1972). Inscribed by Barthelme to John Barth and his wife: "For Jack and Shelly with all best/ Don." With Barth's ownership signature ("Barth") written in the upper corner. In 1972, Barthelme won the National Book Award for his children's book The Slightly Irregular Fire Engine; Barth won the National Book Award the next year for his 1972 novel Chimera; both authors taught at Boston University for a time, and the two were linked for years in the 1960s and 70s as two of the foremost exponents of a new American fiction -- post-modern and playful, taking cues from Borges and other experimental writers from around the world, in opposition to the sturdy realism of most of the acclaimed American literature of the 20th century up to that point. Small penciled checks to contents page (although "The Sandman" gets an "x"). Minor fading to top stain and crown, else fine in a very near fine dust jacket with slight creasing to the top edge and the front flap. From the library of John Barth. An exceptional association copy. [#029571] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1964). An advance copy, in the form of comb-bound galleys, of the Nobel Prize winner's second National Book Award winner (of three). Signed by Bellow in 1968, with the comment "long time, no see" -- presumably an indication that, even at that early date, the proof was already extremely scarce. The text of this book was changed while the book was still in galleys, and approximately two dozen pages have new text pasted over the originals. There are also several hand corrections to both new and old pages, and a couple of marginal comments (e.g. "Moses Herzog as demented artist"). Even with the added pages of text and the corrections, variations still exist between this version and the final published text. 10" x 5-1/4" galleys, comb-bound in printed yellow cardstock covers; a bit handled and creased; very good. Scarce: we know of only two other copies of this proof surfacing over the years. A bibliographically significant copy of a key work by an American Nobel Prize winner. [#027540] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1975). His eighth novel, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the title published just before he received the Nobel Prize. Also nominated for the National Book Award. One of an unspecified number of copies signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf, done for Kroch's and Brentano's First Edition Circle. Fine in a fine dust jacket -- bright, unworn and unfaded. A poorly manufactured volume, which is perfectbound and uses cheap paper, making attractive copies of this title much scarcer than one would expect. [#911160] SOLD

(London), Weidenfeld & Nicolson, (1964). John Fowles's copy of the first British edition of Bellow's Herzog, the Nobel Prize winner's second book (of three) to win the National Book Award. Fowles' bookplate front flyleaf. Foxing to page edges; a very good copy in a very good dust jacket. [#031334] SOLD

NY, Simon & Schuster, 1959. His most famous book, basis for the classic Hitchcock film, deemed the most thrilling film of all time by the American Film Institute ("100 Years, 100 Thrills," #1), and one of the top 100 horror novels according to Jones and Newman (Horror: 100 Best Books, #57). Pages browning as is usual with this title; else fine in a lightly rubbed, very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket. An attractive copy of this classic horror novel. [#027857] SOLD

NY, Dutton, 1976. The first American edition of this collection of fictional "essays" by the persona created by Borges and his longtime friend Adolfo Bioy-Casares, "Honorio Bustos Domecq." Borges and Bioy-Casares collaborated on a number of works, two of which were published under the Bustos Domecq pseudonym in the 1940s. Signed by Borges. Shallow edge sunning to boards; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a couple of nicks to the crown. [#029970] SOLD

NY, Grove Press, (1964). His first novel, after several small press poetry collections. Signed by Brautigan, with a drawing of a trout, and dated September 11, 1966. Brautigan's writings influenced an entire generation and, although he fell out of literary favor for a time -- culminating in his suicide in 1984 -- there was a resurgence of interest in his writings as he came to be seen as an American original whose whimsy, sensitivity and humor uniquely epitomized his time. Confederate General was issued by maverick publisher Barney Rosset, whose Grove Press had recently released long-banned works by such writers as Henry Miller, D.H. Lawrence, and William Burroughs, and who had published the Beat writers successfully, most especially Jack Kerouac. Brautigan's book did not find its target audience readily, and Grove, which had planned to publish his next novel, Trout Fishing in America, canceled the publication. Slight offsetting to the endpages and a little bit of foxing to the top edge; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with some top edge creasing to the rear panel. [#031340] SOLD

(San Francisco), City Lights, (1972). Apparently the dedication copy of this collection of Bukowski's stories published mainly in underground papers such as Open City and Nola Express. Inscribed by Bukowski: "Dedicated to Dix/ C.B.," but Bukowski has crossed out "Dix" and on the dedication page he's placed an asterisk after the printed dedication, "To Linda King," and added the footnote "*Dix's guardian angel." King and Bukowski had a turbulent five-year relationship in the early 1970s. The full, printed dedication here reads: "To Linda King/ who brought it to me and who will take it away." Given that Bukowski has first dedicated this copy to "Dix," and then crossed that out to asterisk King, "Dix's guardian angel," instead, this could easily be construed to be the dedication copy. Pursuing this line of thought, "Dix" (Dixon Steele) was the name of the lead character in the Humphrey Bogart film In a Lonely Place, in which an alcoholic screenwriter suspected of murder falls in love with a woman who saves him from the law and who has the potential to save him from his inner demons, if only he could stop feeding into her doubts about him. "Dix," as played by Bogart, would thus be an alter ego of Bukowski, and King the alter ego of "Laurel Gray," the character who gives Bogart the alibi that protects him. Mild sunning and a few small creases; near fine in wrappers. One of the more unusual and allusive Bukowski inscriptions we have seen. [#032744] SOLD

Rome, (Nuova Stampa), [1981]. The screenplay by Amidei, Ferreri and Foutz (in English) for the 1981 film based on Bukowski's stories. Bukowski's collection Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions and General Tales of Ordinary Madness was published in 1972; there wasn't a collection entitled Tales of Ordinary Madness until 1983. Ben Gazzara starred in the well-received film, which won a number of awards in Italy where it was made: the screenplay won a David di Donatello award, roughly the equivalent of the Oscar, and Marco Ferreri also won a Best Director David, as well as a Golden Goblet and Silver Ribbon for Best Director, Italy's other major cinema awards. This copy is signed by Bukowski on the front cover. Velobound, with gray cardstock covers and a typed label on the front cover. Near fine. Scarce: we have never encountered another copy of it, let alone a copy signed by Bukowski. [#031344] SOLD

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1965. The first book by the author of the highly popular, Edgar Award-winning Dave Robicheaux mystery series, among other books. His early books were well-received critically but were seen as "regional" fiction and never enjoyed significant commercial success. His foray into genre fiction earned him high praise as one of the most "literary" of the mystery novelists, and his books soon became instant bestsellers upon publication. Like the Robicheaux books, this is set in the author's home state of Louisiana and is a tale of violence and the quest for redemption, revealing the underpinnings of Burke's later series and his attempt to develop the strands that would define a heroic character in contemporary terms. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with mild fading and rubbing to the spine. A nice copy of an important first book. [#914619] SOLD

NY, Crowell, (1971). The third of Burke's early novels, published by Crowell, who was not well-established as a publisher of fiction. Signed by the author. Small spot to lower rear board, a bit of offsetting to endpages; very near fine in a very near fine dust jacket with just a bit of loss of crispness to the edges. [#914621] SOLD

1921. Tall, stringbound chapbook printing the readings and remembrances from Burroughs' funeral services held at Riverby and at the graveside. 24 pages, printing Biblical passages; poetry by Emerson, Wordsworth, and others; a selection by Earl W. Williams that, according to the chapbook, was, several years earlier, deemed appropriate for the occasion by Burroughs himself; "Selections from the Earliest and Latest Writings of John Burroughs," including the poem "Waiting" and excerpts from "Accepting the Universe"; poems for Burroughs by Charles Buxton Going, Edwin Markham, May Morgan, and Jean Dwight Franklin; and two tipped-in images: one of Burroughs in "The Nest" at Riverby, and one of C.S. Pietro's sculpture of Burroughs, entitled "The Seer." Ownership signature, in pencil, of Elspeth A. Edington. Minor wear and creasing to yapped edges; covers splitting at lower spine; very good in wrappers. Uncommon. [#032694] SOLD

(n.p.), (n.p.), [c. 1910-1921]. A printed manuscript poem by Burroughs, his most famous, first published in Knickerbocker magazine in 1863, when Burroughs was 25; anthologized in Whittier's Songs of Three Centuries in 1875. At that time the poem had seven stanzas; over the years the weakest stanza (the sixth of seven) was dropped (by an unknown editor). "Waiting" appeared as the preface to Burroughs' Light of Day in 1900 with six stanzas, but even so the fifth stanza continued to trouble him. According to the Clara Barrus biography Our Friend John Burroughs, published in 1914, "a few years ago" Burroughs occasionally substituted a new fifth stanza, beginning, "The law of love binds every heart..." (Later renditions have this line reading "The law of love threads every heart.) But that too failed to satisfy him, and future renditions would have the original six (of seven) stanzas. This broadside has the six stanzas, with the short-lived "binds every heart" fifth stanza; it is printed in Burroughs' holograph, with an original water color of tree branches, and it is inscribed by Burroughs, for Barnard C. Connelly, and dated Feb. 9, 1921, the month before Burroughs' death. 7" x 9-3/4", bevel-edged on three sides; previously framed and sunned over most of the page; staining to two margins, touching only the date. A very good copy. Although Burroughs wrote "considerable poetry as a young man" (his words, from John Burroughs Talks), "a time came when I wrote no more poetry and destroyed most of what I had done previously...I am practically a man of a single poem." We have found reference to a smaller (4-1/2" x 6") leaflet of this poem being done earlier, by Alfred Bartlett, but have found no record of the printing history of this variation. [#031668] SOLD

(NY), Grove Press, (1959)[c. 1962]. The first American edition of this classic novel of the Beat generation, which was not published in the U.S. until three years after its Paris publication, and until a legal challenge to its banning was successful. Such authors as Norman Mailer testified as to the literary value and accomplishment of Burroughs' work. Basis for the 1991 David Cronenberg film featuring Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, Julian Sands, and Roy Scheider. Slightly bowed, lower rear corner bumped, near fine with the topstain bright, in a fine dust jacket with a couple of tiny nicks at heel and a tiny bit of rubbing at the rear spine fold. [#911012] SOLD

1988. An original Burroughs painting, which became part of the Seven Deadly Sins exhibition at The Writer's Place, Kansas City, Missouri, in 1993. Acrylic and spray paint on poster board: a gold triangle and heart spray-painted against a background acrylic image of black, blue and gray. Signed by Burroughs. 20" x 32". Mounted and framed to 24" x 36". Fine. Burroughs, whose Naked Lunch, Soft Machine, and numerous other works helped define the Beat generation and redefine the psychedelic novel, also worked in the visual media from the early 1950s on, experimenting first with collages and later with what he called "nagual art" -- art infected by chance, which had the possibility of giving the viewer access to what Burroughs called a "port of entry," an access to a different universe or a different way of seeing our own. In writing, Burroughs adopted the "cut-up" technique, with Brion Gysin, to achieve similar ends: a final product that was, in part, a product of chance or, at the very least, forces beyond the artist's direct control and manipulation. [#024825] $7,500

Paris, Olympia, (1959). The first issue of the first edition of his second book, a high spot of Beat and postwar American literature -- one of the three key volumes of the Beat movement, along with Jack Kerouac's On the Road and Allen Ginsberg's Howl. Published only in paperback in Paris by Maurice Girodias' important and risk-taking small press, in an edition of 5000 copies, three years before it could be published in the U.S. Signed by Burroughs in 1996. Uneven sunning and a bit of creasing to the covers; rubbing to the folds. A very good copy in a supplied, near fine dust jacket with a small chip at the crown. Burroughs signed this for a bookseller in Lawrence, Kansas, where he lived during the last years of his life. [#024504] SOLD

NY, Ace, (1953). Burroughs' pseudonymous first book, a paperback original bound back-to-back with Maurice Helbrant's Narcotic Agent. Junkie was a straightforward narrative of Burroughs' experiences with drugs; the publisher chose to release it couched in an anti-drug context, as a first person example of the horrors of drug use, and bound with a narcotic agent's memoir. A couple small spots of rubbing; darkening to page edges, else near fine, with the spine square and no creasing to it. Very uncommon thus. [#914626] SOLD

1933. An autobiographical piece about Cain's family following his father's 1903 job change from St. John's College at Annapolis to Washington College at Chestertown, MD, and the culture shock that ensued from this move to a "hick place" from one of "smartness, competence, and class," a state of affairs that was partially redeemed by the actions of "a great man" on the occasion of a Washington College-Maryland Agricultural College football game. 23 pages, carbon typescript, with approximately three dozen changes made in Cain's hand, and more than a dozen additional small variations between this text and the published version. Published in American Mercury in November 1933, the year before his first novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice (and following Our Government in 1930, nonfiction based on Cain's column for New York World). Called "one of Cain's finest essays" by David Madden in James M. Cain: Hard-Boiled Mythmaker. Carbon paper a bit yellowed, some pencil rubbing, not affecting text; near fine. An early manuscript of a boyhood epiphany by a writer who gained a place in the literary pantheon for his famous first novel, which is still considered one of the high spots of American hard-boiled fiction. [#029577] $2,500

NY, Viking, 1933. His second full-length novel, with themes of union-busting, gold, murder, and sex, which was censored in New York and led to the author's arrest and prosecution on obscenity charges. Tiny bookstore label rear pastedown from the Gotham Book Mart and small rectangle of offsetting to front flyleaf; still a fine copy in a fine dust jacket, with just minuscule corner nicks. A beautiful copy, doubtless one of the finest, if not the finest copy extant. [#911018] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1959). An early American publication of one of the most inventive Italian writers of the postwar period. This copy is inscribed by Calvino to Susan Cheever: "For Susan and for the trees of her country/ Italo Calvino/ 27 March 1960." Calvino spent six months in the U.S. from 1959-1960, most of it in New York. Susan Cheever would have been 16 at the time of this inscription, presumably living with her family in Westchester, where her father, John Cheever, was writing stories about Italy for The New Yorker. The Cheevers had spent 1957 in Italy. Foxing to endpages; very good in a very good, spine-tanned dust jacket with tiny corner chips. Calvino inscriptions are uncommon, and good literary association copies like this one are extremely scarce. [#031670] SOLD

London, Collins, 1956. The first English-language edition of Calvino's first book, translated from the Italian by Archibald Colquhoun and inscribed by Colquhoun in the year of publication. Colquhoun also translated or co-translated several of Calvino's later books, such as The Cloven Viscount, The Baron in the Trees, The Nonexistent Knight, The Watcher, Difficult Loves, Our Ancestors, and Adam, One Afternoon. Tiny corner bumps; a near fine copy in a very good dust jacket with slight spine fading, light chipping to corners and crown, and a small creased edge tear. [#023168] $650

(Paris), Charlot, 1950. The limited edition of an essay on finding solitude in order to replenish the soul. "There are no more deserts. There are no more islands. Yet there is a need for them." Camus argues that one can find solitude in the city but not in the cities of Europe, which have too much history present at all times; he finds Oran, in his native Algeria, to be a city where one can find the needed solitude. The edition was 1343 copies in a number of issues: this is one of 120 copies reserved for the use of the author. Although issued as an unsigned edition, this copy is inscribed by the author: "a Nicole, et Jean Marie/ avec la fidele affection/ de leur vieux camarade/ Albert Camus." ["To Nicole, and Jean Marie/ with the faithful affection/of their old comrade/ Albert Camus."] The recipients were almost certainly Nicole and Jean-Marie Domenach, French intellectuals and friends of Camus, albeit with some philosophical differences. Jean-Marie was a noted left wing Catholic thinker, and while he and Camus were both vocal in protesting such activities as the French use of torture during the Algerian civil war, Domenach had considerably more sympathy for the socialist and communist governments of the time, which Camus found repugnant. It is interesting to note the comma in the inscription, as though the inclusion of Jean-Marie in the presentation was an after thought, or perhaps a necessity of politesse. Long after Camus had died, Jean-Marie Domenach provided a preface to a book of his thinking, Albert Camus and Christianity. Hope on Trial. This is copy number 848 of 120 copies in vellum, on Rives paper. The deluxe editions of this title turn up at auction with some regularity, but we were unable to find any instance of one of the author's copies in the market, and very few copies of this limited edition have ever turned up signed. Small chip to spine crown; very good in wrappers. A remarkable rarity, and a notable association copy. [#031349] SOLD

(Paris), Falaize, (1952). An out-of-series copy of this bilingual edition of 3000 numbered copies of Wilde's poem, printed here with Camus' "L'Artiste en Prison," which delineates Wilde's journey from themes of ideal beauty to existential suffering. Inscribed by Camus (in French): "to Sylvestre,/ a remembrance of Iguape/ and with the friendly thoughts/ of Albert Camus." While context does not give explanation to the reference to Iguape, one of Camus' last stories, "The Growing Stone" -- the final story in Camus' last collection, Exile and the Kingdom -- is set in Iguape, Brazil. It has been said that this story is the clearest manifestation of Camus' ideals: in it, the protagonist sacrifices himself to help a friend, and behaves morally despite his own understanding of the absurdity of the world. Camus won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957, the year Exile and the Kingdom was published, and the Prize committee cited his "clear-sighted earnestness [which] illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times." As best we can tell, this is the first appearance in print of "L'Artiste en Prison," which was translated into English and published in Encounter magazine two years later. A very near fine copy in French wraps. Books inscribed by Camus are uncommon; the author died in 1960 in a car accident, at the age of 46. [#030104] SOLD

(Queensland), University of Queensland Press, (1988). The uncorrected proof copy of the true first edition (Australian) of Carey's first Booker Prize-winning novel. Signed by the author. Based on the size of the Australian publishing industry, as compared to that of the UK and the US, the original Australian first editions of Carey's books, especially those published by University of Queensland, a relatively small Australian publisher, are relatively uncommon. Proofs, because of their much more limited quantities to begin with, are even more scarce. Despite our focusing on proofs as a specialty, we've only handled the proof of this edition once previously, and have never handled a signed copy before. Vertical spine creasing; age-toning to pages; very good in wrappers. [#032747] SOLD

(Queensland), University of Queensland Press, (2000). The advance reading copy of the true first edition of Carey's second Booker Prize winner, a fictional re-imagining of the life of Australia's most famous outlaw. Inscribed by the author. Light bumps to the front corners and mild rubbing; near fine in wrappers. An extremely uncommon advance issue: we have never seen another copy, nor have we found any auction listings for it. In addition to winning the Booker, it also won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for best overall book of the year, the Colin Roderick Award for best Australian book of the year, the Age Book of the Year Award, the Courier Mail Book of the Year, the Queensland Premier's Literary Award, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award, and numerous others. A modern classic, and an exceptionally scarce state of it, especially so signed. [#030105] SOLD

Northampton, Basement Press, 1985. Of a total edition of 15 numbered copies, this is Copy No. 10, and is signed by Catheryn Yum, the book's designer and printer. Laid into this copy is a photocopy of the original autograph letter from Yum to Carver's publisher, requesting permission to reprint two stories for a project for her typography class. Interestingly, she wrote to McGraw-Hill, publisher of Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?, for permission to use two stories that she did not end up using. At the bottom of the sheet, Carver has written his personal reply to her, which reads, in part: "You have my permission, and gladly, for you to use the above mentioned stories in the manner in which you describe." Yum has appended a note on the same sheet indicating that this was the only response that Carver wrote himself; the permission to use the stories she actually ended up using, which came from a book published by Knopf, came in the form of "your basic form letter from a secretary." Also laid in is a photocopy of a two-page letter she wrote to Carver after the book was finished (apparently enclosing a copy for him), thanking him for his stories and his permission, telling him a bit about herself, and identifying the tipped-in illustration as "a hand drawn lithograph printed on a hand press." Clothbound. A fine copy of one of the scarcest Carver items, with some background information about it. No copy has appeared at auction; OCLC locates only 4 copies in institutional collections. [#032755] SOLD

(Santa Cruz), (Kayak Books), (1970). The rare white issue of Carver's first regularly published book (after Near Klamath, published by the English Club of Sacramento State College). Kayak Books was a small but established publisher, which produced a literary magazine as well as issuing books of poetry. Winter Insomnia is a collection of poems, designed and printed by George Hitchcock and illustrated with prints by Robert McChesney. Issued in an attractive edition of 1000 copies, the overwhelming majority (perhaps more than 99%) were issued in yellow wrappers. William Stull's Carver checklist said that three copies were known in the white wrappers. Since that checklist was published, we have seen three more copies in white wrappers, including this one, bringing the total number of known copies to six. Without knowing exactly how many white copies there were, we can say with assurance that this issue is exceedingly scarce; we've seen dozens, if not hundreds, of the issue in yellow wrappers. This copy is inscribed by Carver: "For Rush - with good wishes. Ray Carver. 3-3-83." Spine and edge sunning to covers; near fine. [#914629] SOLD

(Chico), (Chico State University), 1960. The first issue of the Chico State literary magazine, of which Carver was a founding editor. The biographical introduction to the included William Carlos Williams poem, "The Gossips," is, as far as we can tell, the first piece of writing Carver published other than a 1958 letter to the editor of the Chico State student newspaper. The introduction gives a brief summary of Williams' life, a capsule summary and analysis of his poetry, and a brief, partial listing of the honors and awards he had won. Carver's first work of fiction, "Furious Seasons," was published in a later issue of Selection that same year. A very uncommon, early appearance in print by Carver. This copy bears the ownership name and address of Raymond Carver's brother, James. This is the only copy we have ever seen. Near fine in stapled wrappers. [#032756] SOLD

(various), (various), (1956, 1968). In 1897, eight year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Sun, asking, in part, "Papa says, 'If you see it in The Sun it's so.' Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?" The reply of Editor Francis P. Church read, in small part, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias...." Church's response became the most reprinted English language newspaper editorial in history. When Virginia O'Hanlon died, in 1971, friends formed a press to publish the editorial and its back story as a children's book; in 1974, the book became an Emmy Award-winning animated television special; and, in 2009, it became a CGI animated television special entitled simply, "Yes Virginia." The items offered here all predate the story's book and animation fame, and include the typescript of a 1956 television appearance by O'Hanlon, a Sun broadside of the editorial, and Two Christmas Classics, which is likely the editorial's first appearance in book form, in 1968. The lot is as follows: 1. The 3-page typescript of a 1956 segment of the television show The Children's Hour, hosted by Ed Herlihy, with guest appearances in this episode by Santa Claus and by Virginia O'Hanlon, who would have been in her late 60s. In it, Santa asks Herlihy if there really is a Virginia, and Herlihy introduces "Dr. Laura Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas," using her married name (kept after her divorce), acknowledging her doctorate (from her career as an educator), and revealing that "Virginia" was actually her middle name. Herlihy then recounts the story of the editorial, and O'Hanlon is given unscripted time to talk about events since, followed by her own reading of Francis P. Church's famous response to her younger self. These pages are stapled to: 2. An undated New York World Telegram/The Sun broadside of the full editorial, entitled "Is There a Santa Claus?," and adding a paragraph at the bottom on "How Editorial Happened to Be Written." 3. A cover letter is included, written on New York World Telegram letterhead and dated October 21, 1956, from a former employee of the paper to "Miss Clements" (Alice Clements, producer of The Children's Hour), saying that he is acquainted with O'Hanlon and feels he can convince her to appear on the show, adding, "Each and every year during the month of December I was shocked by the nation-wide demand for reprints of the Virginia O'Hanlon story." These three items are folded in half, and the corner staple is rusted; they are otherwise near fine. 4. Together with the chapbook Two Christmas Classics, issued by Columbia University Press, ca. 1968, and printing both Church's editorial and Clement Clarke Moore's A Visit from Saint Nicholas ("Twas the night before Christmas") as a holiday keepsake, as both Church and Moore were graduates of Columbia College. (Coincidentally, O'Hanlon received her Masters Degree from Columbia.) The chapbook also prints brief, anonymous, introductions to each. Approximately 4-3/4" x 6-1/2", edge-sunning to the front cover; near fine in stapled wrappers, with a holiday greeting laid in that is signed by Carl B. Hansen, of Columbia University Press. A relatively early grouping of items in the enduring legacy of one child's curiosity and Church's timeless response embodying the meaning of Christmas. [#032276] $2,000

Cape Town, University of Cape Town, 1958. Early publications by Coetzee, dating from two years before he received his undergraduate degree. Coetzee contributes three pieces to this assemblage: "The Love Song...," "Procula to Pilate," and "Attic." A 67-page stapled mimeograph production, collected by R.G. [Robert Gay] Howarth, whom Coetzee mentions in his fictionalized autobiography, Youth. Signed by Coetzee on the front cover. Light foxing, small foredge tear to front cover; near fine, and housed in a custom clamshell case, with the spine label titled "Attic/A Literary Miscellany." We have never seen nor heard of another copy of this; the format alone suggests that a very small number would have been done, and doubtless few have survived. Exceedingly scarce early writing by a Nobel Prize-winning author. [#031360] SOLD

(NY), Viking, (1994). The first American edition. Signed by Coetzee for the poet Alfred Corn and dated October 26, 1994 in St. Louis. Beneath Coetzee's dated and located signature, Corn has written: "John Coetzee kindly inscribed this book to me during an international writer's conference at Washington University, devoted to the topic 'The Writer and Religion' in October 1994. Of course I value Coetzee as one of the greatest fiction writers of our time. Alfred Corn." Corn was a visiting professor at Washington University at the time of the conference. A bit of spotting to the spine cloth, else fine in a fine dust jacket. Coetzee's signature is uncommon; the association is unique. [#031677] SOLD

[Toronto], [Rampike], 2012. A collection of six limited edition broadsides, plus a biographical page, from seven Canadian poets: Leonard Cohen, George Bowering, Daphne Marlatt, Marty Gervais, Karl Jirgens, Maxine Gadd, and Judith Fitzgerald, with artwork by Cohen and by Alison Dilworth. This is copy No. 6 of 52 numbered sets, which were issued as a fundraiser for BookFest Windsor, a literary festival in Ontario, Canada. Signed by Cohen and Fitzgerald on the broadside of their joint contribution, entitled "Blood Culture," and also stamped with Cohen's personal chop, and embossed with his "Order of the Unified Heart" logo. Additionally inscribed by Fitzgerald on the biographical page. Cohen's biographical statement reads, "Leonard Cohen is." Judith Fitzgerald was a highly respected Canadian poet, and one of the organizers of BookFest Windsor. She and Cohen were longtime friends, and Cohen's allowing her to use his artwork and print a poem as a fundraiser was a way for him to contribute to the festival. The sets were issued unsigned; this is one of four that were signed by Cohen, according to a Fitzgerald email. She called it "the second rarest set," because of the additional stamps, not to mention her own inscription. A unique item as such, and a rare signed Leonard Cohen piece. Together with a review copy of Fitzgerald's last book, Impeccable Regret, which includes a poem she co-wrote with Leonard Cohen. All broadsides fine, 11" x 8-1/2", in a hand-crafted Dilworth envelope; the book is fine in wrappers. [#032759] SOLD

NY, Morrow, 1968. His first novel, which had a first printing of only 4000 copies. Crews resuscitated the Southern gothic tradition in the late 1960s and 1970s, picking up the mantle from such writers as Flannery O'Connor and, earlier, William Faulkner. His string of novels that includes Karate is a Thing of the Spirit, Car, Naked in Garden Hills, This Thing Don't Lead to Heaven, The Gypsy's Curse, and others defined a sensibility at once rough-edged, sad, and hilarious -- steeped in the comic and grotesque tradition that had permeated southern fiction and had given it its distinctive flavor. Signed by the author in 1969 at Bread Loaf Writer's Conference. Fading to pastedowns, as is typical for this title; small label partially removed from front flyleaf; near fine in a fine dust jacket. A nice copy of the first book by one of the unique voices in American fiction. [#019439] SOLD

NY, Harper & Row, (1977). Annie Dillard's own copy of this small book of poetic meditations, marked by her on nearly two dozen pages (roughly a third of the book). The great majority of the markings serve as a map, as though for a reading, including the instruction "pause." Perhaps two or three instances of editing. Holy the Firm was Dillard's third book, and her intention was to write about whatever happened on Lummi Island, where she was living, during a three-day period. When an airplane crashed on the island on the second day, it caused her to meditate on the problem of pain, and how a just and merciful God would allow natural evil to occur in the world. These meditations on pain, God, and evil continued to resonate throughout her work, particularly in her award-winning volume For the Time Being, published in 1999, more than 20 years after this book. Near fine in a very near fine dust jacket. "Ex Libris Annie Dillard" bookplate on the verso of the half title. A unique copy of one of the volumes that characterizes Dillard's unique place in our literature: Holy the Firm is only 66 pages long but took her 14 months of writing full-time to complete, and it embodies her concerns with philosophy -- in Greek, literally, "the love of wisdom" -- as well as religion, metaphysics, the natural world, and the place of human life and consciousness within and among all of these. [#032716] SOLD

Dillard, author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Holy the Firm, and For the Time Being, among many others, has painted a portrait of Primo Levi, author of Survival in Auschwitz and The Periodic Table. Dillard has reportedly stopped writing, dedicated her time to painting instead. Signed "Annie Dillard" in the lower left corner. No date, 6" x 8-1/2". Fine. [#032762] SOLD

NY, Harper & Row, (1982). The author's own copy of this collection of essays, her fifth book. Signed by the author, with her corrections to at least five pages of text, and with her markings and self-instructions for what appears to be a reading from the text. Dillard has taped a square of paper to the front board listing the pages with "Corrections," under her heading "be wise - write it down." Small sticker taped to the spine, with the fading word, "MINE." "Ex Libris Annie Dillard" bookplate on the front pastedown. One essay in this collection was chosen for the Best Essays of the Twentieth Century volume and another won New York Women's Press Club award for its year. Several page corners turned. Outer corner of text block stained. A very good copy, lacking the dust jacket and, with the author's own markings and changes. Unique. [#032717] SOLD

(Columbia), University of Missouri Press, (1974). Her first book, a collection of poetry, which begins: "Today I saw a wood duck/ in Tinker Creek." Inscribed by the author to her second husband, prior to their marriage: "For Gary/ from Annie/ February 13, 1976/ Lummi Island." Dillard and Gary Clevidence were married from 1980-1988. "Ex Libris Annie Dillard" bookplate on the half title, which we are told was applied by the author prior to a selection of her books going to auction. Mild foxing to the page edges and thin, flexible cloth boards; near fine in a near fine, spine- and edge-sunned dust jacket. A notable association copy: the book is dedicated to her first husband, Richard, and this copy is inscribed to her second husband, after her divorce but before her second marriage. [#032714] SOLD

Kansas City, Andrews and McMeel, (1995). Inscribed by Trudeau to Annie Dillard: "For Annie -- Get ready to feel old...Cheers, Garry/ Feb 1 '96/ NY." With Dillard's bookplate on the front flyleaf. Dillard and Trudeau each won a Pulitzer Prize in 1975 (for Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and Doonesbury, respectively). Spine- and edge-sunned; near fine, lacking the dust jacket. There was a signed limited edition put out by the Easton Press; signed copies of the trade edition are uncommon, and association copies particularly so. Trudeau provided dust jacket praise for Dillard's 2016 book, The Abundance, a "best of" selection from her works, and one gets the sense that the respect and mutual admiration of each for the other goes back to nearly the beginnings of their writing careers, over 40 years ago now. [#032727] SOLD

Undated. An 8" x 10" black-and-white glossy photo of the Nobel Laureate, taken during the Rolling Thunder Revue tour in late 1975 or early 1976, with Allen Ginsberg in the foreground. Ginsberg was on the tour for most of the 1975 dates but seldom performed his readings or recitations; he did typically join Dylan and others for the finale of Dylan's set, a performance of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land." Signed by Dylan. Signature in blue ink across the dark shadows on his face, not readily apparent. Fine. A nice memento of a legendary musical odyssey and, with Dylan's barely visible signature, perhaps another indication of the performer's famous ambivalence toward fame as well as toward his audiences, including the person for whom he autographed this photo. [#029870] SOLD

1935. Two pages from Eliot to literary critic F.O. Matthiessen ("Matty"), written "to put in a good word for the boy," Alfred Satterthwaite, at the behest of Satterthwaite's step-father, John Cournos. Satterthwaite was applying "for a scholarship on some foundation in which you [Matthiessen] are in a position of authority." Eliot puts in what good words he can ("although my knowledge of him is very meagre") and then switches subjects to Matthiessen's book, which, although unnamed, would have been The Achievement of T.S. Eliot: "Your book seems to have been earning commendations here, except from the critics in whose eyes the subject matter is enough to damn it. It is impossible for me to regard such a book objectively. All I can say is that I hope that much of what you say is true. By the way, that is a good point about Rose La Touche. Was that pure inspiration, or did we ever mention the subject in conversation?" He closes with a brief note about Ted Spencer and Bonamy Dobree. The letter is signed, "T.S. Eliot." Nice literary and biographical content. On Criterion stationery, with staple holes to the upper left corners, and folded in fourths for mailing; near fine. Mailing envelope included. [#028911] SOLD

Elmwood, Raven Editions, 1988. One of only 14 presentation copies of this roughly 10,000 word essay on the arc of Ford's mother's life and their relationship, a shorter version of which had appeared in Harper's. Issued in a total edition of 140 copies, only 40 of which were hardbound: 26 lettered copies and 14 presentation copies. This, Copy No. 3 of the 14 presentation copies, is signed by Ford, and with a frontispiece by noted artist Russell Chatham, hand-shaded and signed by Chatham as well. Although not called for, this copy is signed twice by Ford, once on the colophon and once on the half-title. Designed and printed letterpress by Carol Blinn at Warwick Press. Hand-bound in quarter leather and decorated paste paper over boards. Nearly imperceptible bowing to boards; very near fine. [#028916] $2,000

London, Blazer Films, 1967. Fowles' screenplay for the 1968 film of his second novel, set on a Greek island and involving a young expatriate Englishman who is drawn into the fantastic designs of a self-styled psychic. The film, with Anthony Quinn, Michael Caine, Candice Bergen and Anna Karina, gained a cult following in the Sixties. The cast included two of the best-known male leads of their time (Quinn & Caine), an up-and-coming young actress who had been nominated for a "Most Promising Newcomer" Golden Globe two years earlier (Bergen), and Anna Karina, a staple in the films of French avant garde director Jean-Luc Godard. The director was Guy Green, a former cinematographer, and while the material may have been a bit much for Green, whose previous movies had been more straightforward than the partly fantastic plot that Fowles' novel presented him with, the film was nominated for a British Academy award for cinematography. This script bears the name of David Harcourt and has revision sheets dated September 4, 7 and 12, and November 25, 1967. Harcourt is listed as a camera operator on a production schedule (laid in) dated August 15, 1967. Also laid in is the shooting schedule for November 11. These sheets are torn and sunned, but the script itself is near fine and claspbound in very good red covers. An early piece of writing by Fowles and likely the scarcest item in his bibliography. It is Fowles' only screenplay to have been produced, and we have never heard of another copy turning up. [#021498] SOLD

NY, Harper & Row, 1970. The first American edition of his masterwork, one of the most important novels of the century, which introduced magical realism to a wide audience and helped bring the boom in Latin American literature to this country. At the end of the 1970s this book was voted by the editors of The New York Times Book Review to be not only the best book published in the last ten years but the one most likely to still be read and still be important one hundred years hence. Garcia Marquez was awarded the Nobel Prize, among countless other literary awards. A fine copy in a second issue dust jacket that is very near fine, with just light shelf wear at the heel. [#914661] SOLD

London, Cape, (1977). The uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition of Garcia Marquez's first novel after the worldwide success of One Hundred Years of Solitude. An ambitious, experimental novel: 269 pages in six chapters, each of which is a single paragraph of extended sentences, with each of the chapters a retelling of the story of the power held by his fictional dictator. This copy is inscribed by the author on the half-title: "Para ____ Con todo mi afecto, Gabriel, 2001." Very modest dust soiling to covers; near fine in wrappers. An uncommon proof and especially so signed. [#027204] SOLD

San Francisco, Sound City Productions, [1966]. The first recording by the Grateful Dead, who, up until a month earlier, had been known as The Warlocks. A 7" 33 RPM promotional record, labeled "For Radio Play Only, Not for Sale," with excerpts from the Acid Test album that Sound City was producing. The recording was made at the Sound City studio which was the site of the seventh Acid Test: the Acid Tests were communal events/happenings that Kesey and others had developed that were open to the public and at which LSD -- aka "acid," which was still legal in California at the time -- was distributed to the attendees. The Sound City Acid Test, because it took place in a recording studio, was more of a private event than earlier, or later, Acid Tests. It was also the last one Kesey himself participated in. He had been arrested for marijuana possession for the second time two weeks earlier, and had had to show up in disguise at the sixth Acid Test a week earlier at Longshoremen's Hall in San Francisco, in order to avoid reporters and the police. Within a week of the Sound City Acid Test, with his court case pending, Kesey left the country and went into hiding in Mexico. The Grateful Dead had been the house band for the Acid Tests since they began in 1965, but under their earlier name of The Warlocks. By December 1965 they were starting to use their new name, and at the Acid Tests in January they were being billed as The Grateful Dead. This is the first time they were recorded as the Dead in a recording made for general release. The promo record was issued in March, 1966, and preceded the full length album released later that month. The only earlier recordings of the Grateful Dead are private ones that have made it into circulation as bootlegs or survive in their archives; this, and the Acid Test album from which it was excerpted, were not only intended for public release but were also covered by "a couple of radio stations and a photographer for Look magazine" according to the Sound City press release, although the Look article apparently never appeared. "The purpose of the recording was to produce an album of unusual sounds, mental manipulations of the sometimes considered genius of Mr. Kesey and his cohorts during the actual happenings of a 'sugar' [i.e., LSD] party. The results are different to say the least..." The Acid Test album itself is quite scarce; it was re-released in the 1980s in a limited edition. This promotional giveaway record is exceedingly uncommon, and a landmark for one of the most influential and long-lasting rock and roll bands to come out of the San Francisco Bay Area of the 1960s. The Grateful Dead went on to a 30-year career and became the most popular improvisational "jam band" of its time, triggering any number of similar jamming, touring bands in its wake, and capturing an essence of the hippie counterculture that has lived on long after its historical moment passed. Fine, in a plain white sleeve. A scarce recording from the San Francisco counter-culture, and a seminal recording of one of the great rock bands of all time. [#032693] SOLD

(n.p.), Sumac Press, [ca. 1971]. Broadside poem, 6" x 9", memorializing Yesenin, and dedicated "to D.G.," Harrison's co-founder of Sumac, Dan Gerber. This is the first poem in Harrison's collection Letters to Yesenin. One of 33 copies only according to Harrison, although Gerber has put the number between 80 and 100 copies; still, one of the rarest Harrison "A" items. Unmarked, but from the library of Peter Matthiessen, a longtime friend of Harrison. And together with Dan Gerber's own Sumac Press broadside, Sources. The Gerber broadside, also 6" x 9", has a little edge-foxing, otherwise both items are fine. [#032283] SOLD

NY, St. Martin's, (1988). The uncorrected proof copy of his highly acclaimed third novel, the first to have Hannibal Lecter as the central character, a figure that has become a cultural touchstone. Basis for the Jonathan Demme film with Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster, winner of five Academy Awards and one of the American Film Institute's top 100 Films of the Century. Upper outer corner crease to front cover; thus near fine in wrappers. The advance reading copy is fairly common; the proof is scarce. [#026554] SOLD

NY, Simon & Schuster, 1961. The advance reading copy of Heller's first book, a black comedy of World War II and military life whose title has become a part of the language, signifying a contradictory set of instructions or constraints. This book was both the basis for a well-received movie and also one of the novels that helped define the ethos of the 1960s -- funny, irreverent, and critical of established authority and bureaucracy. A bit of handling apparent to wrappers and light creasing to the spine. Overall, a crisp, clean, near fine copy of one of the high spots of 20th century literature. The advance issue is fragile and seldom found in this condition. [#031398] SOLD

NY, Scribner, 1952. The last of Hemingway's books published in his lifetime, a novella that won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and earned him, two years later, the Nobel Prize for literature: while no single work earns a Nobel Prize, OMATS "redeemed" Hemingway sufficiently after the disastrous critical response to his previous novel, Across the River and Into the Trees, that he was able to again be considered for his overall body of work, which included his earlier classics like The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms. A short novel that has been characterized as a fable, it deals with a Cuban fisherman's struggles to land a giant marlin that he has hooked, and reflects Hemingway's concern for life as a struggle of man against nature, including his own nature. Pictorial bookplate front flyleaf; near fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with light edge wear and rubbing to the spine folds. [#030735] SOLD

NY, Harper & Row, (1971). Hillerman's second book, a mystery set among political reporters in a fictional state capitol; Hillerman himself had been, according to the publisher, "a longtime political reporter." This is one of his only mysteries that is not a Navajo tale. Inscribed by the author to a Harper & Row sales rep: "To ___ _______ again - In hopes he can have similar success unloading this one, Regards, Tony Hillerman." Hillerman's first book, The Blessing Way, was published in 1970 and although he was a completely unknown author and the book had an unusual subject matter for the time -- a murder mystery set on an Indian reservation, and involving an Indian policeman as its protagonist -- it had sold well enough to go into at least five printings in the first year and be resold for a paperback edition. Clearly Hillerman was hoping for similar success here, although it would be more than a decade before he experienced much in the way of additional commercial success for his novels. Slight spine lean; very near fine in a near fine, mildly spine and edge-sunned dust jacket with slight wear to the spine extremities. [#028924] SOLD

[1976]. A 6-page ribbon-copy typescript (here untitled) of a story about his 22-year friendship with "Lucky Nellie," a mythical sea creature with parallels to the Loch Ness Monster, and their shared tales of lives as fugitives. With the name and address of the recipient typed as a header. Written by Hoffman, one of the leading activists of the 1960s counterculture, while he was living underground, having jumped bail after his conviction on drug charges. Unsigned, but beginning, "Hi, this is Abbie...." Published in Oui magazine in December 1976 as "Loch Ness Nellie Calls on Me: Two Fugitives Issue a Communique, a fable by Abbie Hoffman," and later, with textual variations, in Square Dancing in the Ice Age, a collection of his underground writings, as "In Search of Loch Ness Nellie." Stapled in the upper left hand corner, final page detached. "File: Abbie Hoffman" written in pencil in the upper margin. Near fine. Manuscript material by Hoffman is uncommon. [#032289] SOLD

[ca. 1978-1982]. Undated, ca. 1978-1982. 21-page typescript of a section of Hoffman's 1982 book, Square Dancing in the Ice Age, representing about 14 pages of the published book. Seven pages here are photocopied or at least on heavier paper than the onionskin typescript, but most of those, as well as most of the original onionskin pages, have numerous corrections in Hoffman's hand and in another, unknown, hand. Most of these changes were made prior to publication, and still this version has textual differences from the published version. Large paperclip marks on the first page, otherwise very near fine. A substantial manuscript from one of the key counterculture figures of the 1960s. [#032295] SOLD

NY, Morrow, (1989). The trade publisher's limited edition of what may be Irving's best-loved book (a substantial claim for a book by the author of The World According to Garp), a part of which was the basis for the movie Simon Birch. Copy No. 127 of 250 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in an acetate dustwrapper and slipcase, and still in the publisher's original shrinkwrap. There was also a Franklin Library edition, which preceded the publisher's editions -- and was, in effect, a subscription book club edition -- and a signed limited edition of 795 copies produced by the Book of the Month Club, but this edition is the scarcest of them and, by virtue of being the publisher's limited edition, the most desirable. [#032784] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1968). The first book by the author of such bestsellers as The World According to Garp and A Prayer for Owen Meany, among others. Unlike his later books which, after Garp, sold literally hundreds of thousand of copies -- millions, if one includes the paperback sales -- this book sold slightly over 6000 copies in two printings. Slight play in the binding; very near fine in a fine dust jacket but for a corner crease to the front flap. [#914668] SOLD

(London), Bloomsbury, (1996). The uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition of this title, which was incorporated into the U.S. edition of Trying to Save Piggy Sneed and had no separate U.S. printing. Inscribed by Irving. An uncommon proof (the British trade edition would have had a proportionally smaller printing than a U.S. one would have had, and the proof equally so), especially with the proof jacket, and even more so signed by Irving. Fine in a near fine, proof dust jacket, worn where it overlays the proof, with the price of £13.99 (later lowered to £9.99). [#029482] $1,000

NY, Dutton, (1978). His fourth novel, and his breakthrough book, which went into numerous printings and became a multi-million copy bestseller and a National Book Award winner in its paperback release. Basis for the well-received movie. The first printing of Garp was 35,000 copies -- far larger than any of Irving's previous novels but far short of any of the books that came later: his next novel, The Hotel New Hampshire, had a 100,000 copy first printing and since then all his books have had first printings well into six figures. Inscribed by the author to a former student of Irving's at Windham College, and although the inscription is not dated it was reportedly signed on the night before publication at a reading in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is hard to remember, but before Garp John Irving was a little-known literary writer, not a major, bestselling author. That he was giving a reading on the night before publication in a town like Northampton, MA, rather than New York City or San Francisco is in keeping with that fact. Foxing to top edge; narrow edge sunning at spine; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a bit of foxing to verso and modest wear to the crown. [#028928] SOLD

NY, Dutton, (1978). The second issue of the uncorrected proof copy, in tall green wrappers. Erasures and label removal shadow on the front cover; small label affixed to spine; near fine. Not as scarce as the mustard-colored proof, but many times scarcer than the white advance reading copy. [#032782] $1,000

NY, Farrar, Straus & Young, (1953). The first of the two well-received collections of family stories and reminiscences written by the author of such dark tales as The Lottery and The Haunting of Hill House. Inscribed by Jackson to her [husband's] aunt and uncle: "For Aunt Anna and Uncle Henry. With love - Shirley/ May 1953." Aunt Anna and Uncle Henry appear (or, rather, are announced as to be coming on Sunday) on page 222. Two reviews of the book, dated in June, have been laid in, causing offsetting to the front endpapers. Bump to upper outer front corner and some fading to the spine cloth; a very good copy in a very good dust jacket with rubbing to the joints and light edge wear. A good family association copy of a family memoir, by an acclaimed writer who was known to steer clear of the public eye and who therefore signed a relatively small number of books in her lifetime. She died in 1965, at the age of 48. [#030119] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1962). A novel of the macabre. This book was one of Time magazine's 10 best books of the year for 1962. Inscribed by Jackson to her [husband's] aunt and uncle: "For Aunt Anna and Uncle Henry. With love. Shirley." Some tanning to the spine cloth; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. An interesting association copy of the last of her books published in her lifetime, and in which, among other events, an aunt and an uncle are poisoned. Along with The Lottery and The Haunting of Hill House, this book is in part responsible for there being a set of annual literary awards named after Shirley Jackson, "for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic." [#030121] SOLD

Zurich, Rascher & Cie., 1919. The first German edition of Joyce's play Exiles and the first of his works to be published in translation in any language. One of 600 copies printed: Joyce was living in Zurich at the time and he paid for the publication of this book out of his own pocket. This copy is inscribed by the author: "To J.R. [sic] Watson, Jun / with grateful regards / James Joyce / 8. ix. 1919." J.S. Watson, Jr. was at the time the co-owner of the modernist literary journal The Dial, which he bought from Martyn Johnson with his friend and fellow Harvard graduate, Scofield Thayer. Watson became president of the magazine and Thayer became its editor. The "grateful regards" refers to a gift of $300 that Watson had sent Joyce earlier in the year at the urging of Thayer, who had himself sent Joyce $700. These sums bailed Joyce out of dire financial straits, allowed him to settle a court case against him, and helped him support the theater group that he had associated with in Zurich, the English Players. In 1920 The Dial published a piece by Joyce, and in 1921 Thayer was one of his most ardent and influential supporters in the censorship case in New York against Ulysses and its publication in the Little Review. A notable association copy of Joyce's first translation. Slocum & Cahoon D44. Pages browned and acidified, and covers strengthened at all the edges and spine with tape, with a hole cut in the spine for the title to show through. The first blank, on which the inscription appears, is also strengthened at the edges with tape. Fragile, and a candidate for de-acidification, but a significant association copy from a critical point in Joyce's life and career. [#029930] $10,000

1902. Written to Mr. [William V.] Alexander, editor of Ladies Home Journal, who had requested a series of articles from Keller that were later published as The Story of My Life. Keller humbly thanks Alexander for payment for the last article; in part: "I only wish I could have made the story of my life more worthy of the generous praise it has received...It has meant a great deal in my life, and in Miss Sullivan's too -- the thought of the happiness that she says my compliance with your request has brought her is sweeter even than the thought of the kindness shown me in the letters that come constantly from old friends long silent and new friends whose words go to the heart..." Two 5" x 8" pages, typed with blue ribbon and signed "Helen Keller." A very early letter by Keller, preceding her first book, with exceptionally good content. Fine. [#021174] $3,500

NY, Everest House, (1981). A review copy of his first book of nonfiction, a survey of the horror field in movies, television and books. Inscribed by King to Stanley Wiater, himself one of the leading chroniclers of the field, in books, radio and television: "Hope you had a bloody good time with this." Wiater's bookplate on front flyleaf; fine in a very near fine dust jacket with slight edge wear. Review slip and promotional sheet laid in, with Wiater's notes on one sheet indicating where he had found errors in the book. [#028937] SOLD

Garden City, Doubleday, 1975. A later printing of his second novel, with the Q41 code on page 439. Inscribed by King in 1980 to the horror writer Stanley Wiater: "For Stanley - With good wishes and much respect. Keep writing; you're good, and will crack through. Best, Stephen King 11/1/80." Earlier in the year King had picked a story by Wiater as the winner of a Boston Phoenix short story contest (see below). As a writer, editor, interviewer and anthologist, Wiater has won the Horror Writers of America's Bram Stoker Award three times. Wiater's Gahan Wilson-designed bookplate on the front pastedown, the only bookplate Wilson ever designed; foxing to edges of text block; near fine in a very good, third issue ($7.95, "Father Callahan") dust jacket with shallow wear to the spine extremities. A nice association copy of an early edition of an early King novel. [#028936] SOLD

(NY), Scribner, (1999). A novel in which a lost girl channels the strengths (at the time) of Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Tom Gordon for comfort. Signed by King. With the bookplate of horror writer Stanley Wiater on the front pastedown; fine in a fine dust jacket. One of King's scarcest trade editions to find signed, presumably because of the difficult logistics of handling a Stephen King book signing in recent years, due to his extreme popularity. This copy was a gift to attendees at a dinner celebrating King's 25th anniversary as a published writer, which Wiater attended with his wife. A limited edition of this title was published several years later, and a pop-up edition of it was done as well. But signed copies of the trade first edition are exceedingly scarce. [#026773] SOLD

NY, Viking, 1980. A collection of previously unpublished stories of suspense and horror, edited by Kirby McCauley. A landmark volume in the history of the Modern Horror genre, assembled as Stephen King was just becoming a bestselling author after five novels that would eventually be seen as classics but at the time had sold little and garnered limited serious critical attention. This anthology attempted to put the new horror writers, including King, into a context and tradition that was much broader than the genre, and more readily considered to be "literary." Thus, in addition to King and such upcoming young writers as T.E.D. Klein, Gene Wolfe and Ramsey Campbell, the collection includes such mainstream writers as Joyce Carol Oates, Davis Grubb and Isaac Bashevis Singer, and such well-established genre writers as Ray Bradbury, Theodore Sturgeon and Robert Bloch. This copy is signed or inscribed by fifteen writers, including King, Bloch, Richard Matheson, Joe Haldeman, Gahan Wilson, Campbell, Wolfe, Richard Christian Matheson, Dennis Etchison, Karl Edward Wagner, Manly Wade Wellman, Edward Bryant, Charles L. Grant, and the editor, Kirby McCauley. With the ownership signature of fellow horror writer Stanley Wiater, and with Wiater's Gahan Wilson-designed bookplate on the verso of the front flyleaf. Stephen King's contribution is "The Mist," a 130+ page novella that was nominated for a World Fantasy Award and a Locus Award. It was collected five years later in Skeleton Crew. Light ink stains throughout the first several pages of the introduction, not obscuring any text; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light wear to the corners. A unique copy of a seminal collection that helped define the genre. [#032269] SOLD

NY, Amulet Books, (2007). Both the first edition and the advance reading copy (marked "uncorrected proof") of the first book in the Wimpy Kid series, now at nine books (and counting) and three films (and counting), with 150 million books in print. The ninth book in the series was the second bestselling book of 2014, despite only being published in November; it sold more than 1.5 million copies in less than two months. Overall, the series has sales figures that outshine those of any other in recent years outside of the Harry Potter series. Kinney, a self-described failed cartoonist, spent eight years writing his novel in cartoons as a satiric nostalgic piece for adults; he was discovered at a comic book convention by an editor from Abrams books (of which Amulet is an imprint) who told Kinney his book was about to become a kids' book. The book is fine in pictorial boards, but for a thumb-sized corner chip on page 125, now laid in. The advance reading copy is fine in wrappers, and lays out the marketing plan for "Ages 8 and up." The first printing of the first book in this popular series is very uncommon now; the advance prepublication issue is even more so. No copies of either issue are currently listed online, and we have not seen any listed since we have been checking, more or less for the past year. Very scarce early issues of a first book, when the publisher had no inkling that the book would succeed, let alone provide an ongoing series of bestsellers. [#031706] SOLD

Garden City, Doubleday, 1980. One of the dedication copies of this pseudonymous work by the horror/thriller master. Inscribed by Koontz to Mary Ann Prencevic, one of the dedicatees: To Mary Ann, if you'll look ahead to the dedication page, you'll see that my pleasure in having you for a friend is set in cold type for everyone to see. Love, Brian Coffey alias Dean R. Koontz." Koontz is now one of the best-known and best-selling horror and thriller writers after Stephen King, but in 1980 he was much less well-known and had published most of his previous works only in paperback, many of them pseudonymously. This is a relatively early hardcover from Koontz, dating from before the days of his fame and celebrity. Small repaired scuff on the rear pastedown, lower corner bump; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light wear to the spine extremities. Scarce: dedication copies seldom turn up on the market, especially by so popular an author as Koontz. [#032795] SOLD

NY, Scientia-Factum, 1968. Kosinski's resume from 1970, the facts of which roughly correspond to to the biographical sketch at the rear of The Art of the Self, with the omission of his 1965 work Notes of the Author. Together with a copy of The Art of Self [NY, Scientia-Factum, 1968], a pamphlet containing short pieces relating to his National Book Award-winning novel Steps. Inscribed by the author. The pamphlet is edge-sunned; near fine in stapled wrappers. The resume is folded in thirds; edge-sunned with a small edge chip; near fine. A unique combination of items pertaining to Kosinski's writing career after the success of The Painted Bird and before the scandals that later plagued him after his celebrity, culminating in his suicide. [#022972] $650

San Francisco, Level Press, (c. 1973). A "transmission" by Leary from Folsom Prison, timed with the arrival of the comet Kohoutek. This is a photocopy of nine pages of typewritten text on five stapled pages. The last page reproduces a hand-drawn yin-yang symbol with eight trigrams around it and references one of the hexagrams of the I Ching -- none of which appeared in the published version of this book, which was done by the Level Press and issued as a booklet; this version presumably preceded. According to Leary's bibliographer and the woman who typed Leary's manuscripts for him, including Starseed, this could have been made from Leary's own typescripts (she would have corrected the typos, she said) and issued in small numbers prior to the formal publication. A similar process took place for Neurologic, which was published in late 1973 but had a stapled, prepublication issue done in May of that year that the bibliographer called a "trial issue." Starseed was formally published in September of 1973, and this version -- if what the principals say is correct -- would likely have been done sometime around the time that the Neurologic "trial copy" was done (Neurologic was formally published slightly later in the year than the Level Press Starseed). In any case, an extremely scarce variant of one of Leary's scarcer books, unseen by the bibliographer or by Leary's typist. Near fine. [#030748] $1,500

London, Michael Joseph, (1950). The first edition of the first book by the 2007 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Signed by the author. Spine slightly cocked; with mild sunning to spine and board edges. Bookplate of Robert Lusty, the Deputy Chairman of Michael Joseph publishers, on the front free endpaper, just beneath Lessing's signature. A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket, complete with the "Daily Graphic/ Book of the Month/ Book Society Recommend" wraparound band. Laid in is a publisher's response card. A nice copy of an uncommon first book, complete with ephemeral material and of distinguished provenance, coming from one of the heads of the publishing company. [#031433] SOLD

NY, Harper & Brothers, (1917). The first issue of his third book under his own name and his first attempt, he later said, to write a serious novel. The Job was controversial for its realistic depiction of a woman in the workplace and laid the groundwork for Lewis' great novels of social realism in the 1920s. Offsetting to endpages from jacket flaps and slight wear to board edges; near fine in a price-clipped dust jacket professionally restored to near fine. An extremely scarce book in jacket. [#019198] SOLD

NY, Harcourt Brace, (1928). Lewis' novel of Lowell Schmaltz, "friend of Babbitt and constructive citizen." One-third of the story was first published in "that volcanic magazine, The American Mercury." The Man Who Knew Coolidge is one of Lewis' lesser known titles but followed on the heels of some of his greatest successes. In the 1920s, he published Main Street, which his biographer called "the most sensational event in twentieth-century American publishing history" to that point, followed by Babbitt in 1922, Arrowsmith in 1925, and Elmer Gantry in 1927. Babbitt was awarded the Pulitzer Prize but Lewis declined the honor. In 1929, Lewis published Dodsworth, and in 1930 he became the first American writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Fine in a fine dust jacket; a beautiful copy of one of the books that laid the foundation for his Nobel award. [#030751] SOLD

(Boston), (Self-Published), [1978]. A dedication copy of this self-published collection of poems and stories. Dedicated "to my parents, to my brothers, to my friends, and to Jean," this copy is inscribed by Lightman to his parents: "Dear Mother and Dad, Turning thirty has been agony, but expressing myself has made it a little easier. There's a lot of me in this book, and it's a joy to share it with you. Love, Alan/ 10/20/78." Apparently a computer printout, rectos only, on various paper stocks, and at least one holograph correction. 56 pages; hardbound by A.M. Sulkin Company a custom and short-run bookbinder in Boston, MA. Author and title gilt-stamped on the front cover, along with his parents' names: "Dick and Jeanne." A fine copy. The original ribbon copy typescript of one additional poem, "Sonnet 4," folded and laid in. No copies listed in OCLC. [#031714] SOLD

(Princeton), (Self-Published), (1970). The author's first book, poems written over the preceding five years and collected by him during his senior year at Princeton. Arranged in three sections: "Time-like," "Space-like," and "In-between," and as such evidence of his early interest in combining his studies of literature and of physics -- preceding his acclaimed book Einstein's Dreams by nearly a quarter century. 83 pages, including a two-page Foreward [sic] by the author. Photocopied typescript, printed on rectos only; hardbound with author and title gilt-stamped on the cover. Covers mildly splayed; near fine. No copies listed in OCLC WorldCat. [#031713] SOLD

Chicago, University of Chicago, 1976. One of the most sought-after titles in recent American fiction, two long interrelated stories of a family for whom "there was no clear line between religion and fly-fishing." Published by the university press as a favor to a retiring professor, the book became a surprise success, first gaining readership through word of mouth recommendations and eventually necessitating many later printings, illustrated and gift editions. Basis for the Robert Redford film featuring Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt and Emily Lloyd. First issue points: typo page 27 and mismatched ISBN numbers. Slight foxing on top edge, else fine in a price-clipped, else fine dust jacket with very subtle spine fade. [#911063] SOLD

NY, Rosentone Wender Agency, 1998. The bound typescript of Mamet's 1999 play, uncharacteristically focused on female leads, and set at the turn of the 20th century. 137 pages, printed on rectos only, bound in printed yellow cardstock with the Wender Agency address. Inscribed by Mamet in 1999: "To ___. For a loyal friend of the A.R.T. [American Repertory Theater] -- some merchandise for your loyalty. May it amuse you, provoke your ire, shim up a chair, or start a fire. Love - David." With an additional doodle (of the author wearing an A.R.T. ball cap) and his Mamet stamp, which also appears on the front cover. The script has a printed dated of December 1998, more than six months before the play premiered. The inscription has a date of June 3, 1999, about two weeks before the June 16 premiere at A.R.T. The recipient was on the Advisory Board of the theater and also a major donor to it. A few stains to the front cover, else fine in folding chemise and custom clamshell case. Very uncommon, and a nice association with someone closely involved with the theater where the play debuted. [#030754] SOLD

(n.p.), (n.p.), (1983). Matthiessen's own working copy of the samizdat edition of his controversial and suppressed book about the confrontation between American Indian activists and the FBI in the early Seventies at Pine Ridge Reservation near Wounded Knee that left two federal agents and one Indian dead, and resulted in AIM activist Leonard Peltier being imprisoned for life, convicted of the agents' murder in a case that Matthiessen describes as rife with government malfeasance. Matthiessen, his publisher, and even some bookstores who had stocked the book were the targets of lawsuits brought by two government officials who claimed they were slandered by the hard-hitting book, which made no bones about its advocacy of the Indians' case. Until a landmark Supreme Court decision upholding Matthiessen's (and Viking's) First Amendment rights nine years after the lawsuits were filed, the book was shelved with remaining copies of it being pulped; paperback publication, as well as foreign publication, were blocked for nearly a decade. This edition was pirated during the years that the book was unavailable through normal channels. This copy has dozens of Matthiessen's corrections throughout. Plain white printed wrappers, with just the title and author indicated; comb-bound in an acetate cover. The acetate has yellowed; the binding is broken; the title page and prelims have suffered insect damage in the lower outer corners. Mediocre condition, but probably, in every other respect, the best copy of this book extant. [#032348] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1990). Matthiessen's own copy of the first book in his highly acclaimed trilogy, later published in 2008 as the edited single-volume Shadow Country, which won the National Book Award and the William Dean Howells Medal. With a handful of passages marked by Matthiessen, most of which mention the character Henry Short. In a New York Times interview, after the publication of Shadow Country, Matthiessen said, "I brought some characters forward, and gave them a voice. Like Henry Short, a black man who probably fired the first shot." Indentation to spine; near fine in a good dust jacket, with some lamination separation on the rear panel and dampstaining, mostly visible on the verso. [#032350] SOLD

NY, Modern Library, (2008). Matthiessen's own copy of the uncorrected proof copy of the single volume "rendering" of the "Watson Trilogy." The trilogy (Killing Mr. Watson, Lost Man's River, and Bone by Bone) had been a publishing idea that Matthiessen never quite made his peace with, causing him to rework the book back into the single volume Shadow Country, a "director's cut" of sorts, which won the National Book Award and later the William Dean Howells Medal, an award that is given by the American Academy of Arts and Letters only once every five years "in recognition of the most distinguished American novel published during that period." It also led to Matthiessen's becoming the first writer to have won the National Book Award for both fiction and nonfiction. This edition includes an Author's Note about the process of rewriting the trilogy, with a half dozen of Matthiessen's corrections to the text. Matthiessen has also corrected the spacing of the fragmented prose on the final page and noted several other pages where he has corrected typos. A bulky proof, more than 900 pages, and with some spine creasing and a bit of sag to the text block. A very good copy in wrappers and, in our experience, a very uncommon proof. [#032369] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1978). Matthiessen's own copy of the limited edition issued by the trade publisher. One of 199 copies, bound in coarse blue cloth stamped in silver, different from the trade binding, in publisher's printed acetate jacket. This title's scarcest issue, which was never released commercially but distributed only to friends of the author and publisher, or in this case, to the author himself. Foredge foxed, lightly bowed, near fine in a near fine acetate dust jacket. Salon Magazine's top travel book of the century. [#032372] SOLD

NY, Viking, 1959. The dedication copy of his first book of nonfiction, which raises many of the issues that became the author's lifelong concerns and the subjects of many of his writings -- the impact of humans on the animals and plants of the ecosystems that we invade and then inhabit. The book was dedicated to his parents (by their initials), and is inscribed there by Matthiessen: "Sept. 18/ The very first copy of this book, taken, with its glue still wet, from the binder's warehouse on W. 20th [?] St. some five days before its publishers received their copies: [For E.C.M. and E.A.M. with love and many thanks] from Pete." That binding, which apparently hadn't dried when Matthiessen first picked up the book, is now cracked at the hinges; modest staining to boards; a good copy, lacking the dust jacket. [#032381] SOLD

NY, Harper, (1961). McMurtry's first book, a breakthrough in Texas literature and in regional literature in general. One of A.C. Greene's "50 best books on Texas," and made into the movie Hud. Inscribed by the author. Very small glue bump under the rear spine cloth; else a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing to the folds, a tiny tear to the lower front flap fold, and the price lightly changed in pencil. [#023679] SOLD

Worcester, Metacom, 1983. The first book publication of this piece by a writer whose early work in The New Yorker was largely responsible for creating the field of literary journalism and creative nonfiction. This piece first appeared in The New Yorker and was eventually reprinted in the 1985 collection, Table of Contents. Of a total edition of 176 copies, this is copy number 77 of 150 numbered copies, signed by the author. Fine in saddle-stitched marbled paper self-wrappers. Quite scarce these days. [#031725] SOLD

Portland, Press-22, (1981). McPhee's first signed limited edition and his only "book" of fiction, a story that was originally published in magazine form in 1961, four years before his first book. Published here with a new "Author's Note" by McPhee about his youthful writings. Of a total edition of 250 copies, this is Copy No. 26 of 200 numbered copies in cloth and marbled paper boards, issued without a slipcase. Signed by the author. Fine. Scarce. [#032661] SOLD

[c. 1960]. In 1960, photographer Shirley Burden, who had shot the cover photo for Merton's Selected Poems in 1959, published God is My Life, a photographic study of the Abbey of Gethsemani, where Merton lived. Merton provided this preface, which is far more an extrapolation of the lessons he derived from the book than a mere introduction: "Places, like persons, lose the sense of their own identity. They tend to fabricate for themselves a character, and it is with this unconscious substitute for reality that they go out to meet other men...What a lesson is in this simple fact: Our partial, fabricated self: the self that wants to be at the same time angelic and up to date, is pitifully imaginary...." Four pages, with Merton's holograph corrections, beginning with changing the title to "Preface" from his initial, descriptive title, "A Question of Identity." Four other instances of word changes and a few corrections of spacing, punctuation, or typos. The Christogram "jhs" appears on the first page. Three-holed paper; folded in thirds; near fine. By the following year (if not sooner), Merton had himself taken to photographing the Abbey. Manuscript material by Merton is extremely uncommon in the market, and this is an especially rich example as he reflects on the meaning and beauty of the monastery where he had been living for nearly two decades at that point, so long that until he saw Burden's photographs he no longer even saw the Abbey or recognized its beauty. [#030128] SOLD

Alhambra, Museum Reproductions, (n.d.). Eight unused postcards, each reproducing a Miller watercolor from the 40s or 50s, and each signed by Miller on the verso. The paintings included are: "Val's Birthday Gift," "Deux Jeunes Filles," "Marine Fantasy," "Banjo Self-Portrait," "A Bridge Somewhere," "Girl with Bird," "The Ancestor," and "The Hat and the Man." Previously framed, the frames darkened the back of the cards, but the signatures were protected. The lot is near fine. [#027431] SOLD

(Paris), (Lecram Servant), [1935]. A small, early volume by Miller, self-published with money he earned from Tropic of Cancer, according to the bibliography. Shifreen & Jackson A10a. "By Henry Miller" penned on the first blank by the author, also according to the bibliographers. Shifreen & Jackson's comment on the first and second editions: "Miller's name is signed in The First Edition but printed in [the] Second." There is no printed author name in this volume. Roughly 15 pages of text by Miller, intent on soliciting 25 francs a week to send Alfred Perles to Ibiza to finish a novel. Slight surface soiling; very near fine in stapled wrappers. Approximately 3-3/4" x 5". Because of its size and fragility, one of Miller's scarcest "A" items. [#017150] SOLD

(NY), (Viking), (2006). Two volumes: signed copies of both the advance reading copy and the first printing of the first edition. The first edition is signed by Mortenson; the advance reading copy is signed by both Mortenson and David Relin. Textual differences exist between the advance copy and the first edition. An inspirational, then infamous, account of Mortenson's quest to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan in response to kindnesses bestowed on him by locals while he was lost in Pakistan after an unsuccessful ascent of K2, a quest that led to his founding the Central Asia Institute and to an ongoing effort that has resulted in the building of hundreds of schools. The hardcover edition sold only 20,000 copies; the paperback sold over four million copies in more than 40 countries and stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for more than four years, until, in 2011, author Jon Krakauer revealed on 60 Minutes that Mortenson and Relin had taken liberties with the narrative and, in Mortenson's case, liberties with his financial relationship to the Central Asia Institute. The first edition is signed by Mortenson, who has added the word "Peace!" The advance reading copy is signed by Mortenson and by Relin, who at one point claimed sole authorship of the book, saying it was published with Mortenson as co-author over his objections. Relin committed suicide the year after the controversy broke. The advance reading copy has a mild corner tap and slight cover splaying and is very near fine. The first edition is fine in a fine dust jacket, with a ticket and a program for a Mortenson reading (of the sequel, Stones Into Schools) laid in. Each book has a custom clamshell case. A bestselling story of a Nobel Peace Prize-nominated attempt to achieve peace through education, flawed only by its being more inspirational than true. Note: proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to Room To Read, an unassociated organization of similar vision. [#032663] SOLD

(Tokyo), Kodansha, (1985). The first English language edition of his second book and the second book in the "Trilogy of the Rat," following Hear the Wind Sing and preceding The Wild Sheep Chase. A small, pocket-sized paperback, in the Kodansha English Library series, a series intended to allow Japanese readers to read Japanese books in English; the notes in the back -- themselves an unusual feature in a book of fiction -- translate English colloquialisms into Japanese characters. Owner name and date inside the rear cover under flap; otherwise a near fine copy in wrappers in a near fine dust jacket nicked at the crown and with a corner crease to the front flap. [#024948] SOLD

NY, Phaedra Press, (1967). The hardcover issue of the first Russian-language edition of Nabokov's masterwork, which was first published in Paris in English in 1955. This translation was done by Nabokov himself and includes a postscript by him that appears only in this edition. This is Juliar's "issue b" in pink cloth, with three cancels; "issue a" was in wrappers. Fine in a very good, mildly rubbed dust jacket with one edge tear at the upper rear spine fold. [#030764] SOLD

[Santa Barbara], Neville, [1980]. The galley sheets of O'Brien's first limited edition, which contains an introduction and a chapter that was excised from Going After Cacciato and later appeared, in a much reworked version, in The Things They Carried. O'Brien won the National Book Award for Going After Cacciato, a magical-realist novel of the Vietnam war, while The Things They Carried is widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best, of the literary works to have come out of that war and has become part of the canon, by virtue of its inclusion in both high school and college literary reading lists. Eight long galley sheets, plus one duplicate. 7-1/2" x 19". Signed by O'Brien. Fine. Bibliographically interesting in that the galleys contain the typesetting for all the versions of the colophon, thus indicating all those for whom special copies of the publication were created. [#030132] SOLD

Portland, Press-22, (1981). The only separate publication of O'Brien's poetry. One of 26 lettered copies, the entire hardcover edition, signed by the author. Prints O'Brien's four stanza (five page) poem, "The Balance of Power," ["...The balance of power,/ our own,/ the world's/ Grows ever fragile."], an excerpt from O'Brien's work-in-progress at the time, which appears, much changed, in Chapter 4 of the finished novel, The Nuclear Age. This is Copy "G" and is fine in a fine dust jacket. [#004792] SOLD

NY, Duell, Sloan and Pearce, (1945). An uncommon book by the author of Butterfield 8 and Appointment in Samarra, among others. Inscribed by the author to WEAF radio personality Mary Margaret McBride in the year of publication: "To Mary Margaret/ and how are your/ taste-buds?/ Sincerely/ John O'Hara/ WEAF/ 20 March 1945." Books inscribed by O'Hara are uncommon, although later in his career he did a number of signed limited editions. A fragile book, cheaply produced under wartime conditions, this is a very attractive copy. Some spotting to rear board and fading to spine cloth; near fine in a very good dust jacket with a couple of small, internally tape-mended edge tears. [#016359] $1,000

Prairie City, Decker Press, (1948). An unrecorded variant of this uncommon title. Gray cloth with the same design as that of the apparently first issue yellow cloth, in a blue dust jacket with gold and black lettering, a price of $1 and the words "THE ARCHIVE of Duke University" in place of "Louis Untermeyer" on the dust jacket copy. According to Morgan, Decker printed about 200 copies of this title, about 20 of which were the first issue, although Morgan doesn't account for all known variants. Fine in a mildly sunned, else fine dust jacket. [#001805] $1,250

(n.p.), (n.p.), 1961/1962. Mimeographed typescripts of two one-act plays, which were collected in his 1962 volume entitled Children is All. Inscribed by Purdy on the title page of Cracks to the poet Quentin Stevenson "with the sincere admiration of James" and additionally signed, James Purdy. Purdy was a controversial author whose works explored gay themes at a time when this was taboo; his popularity and critical reception suffered as a result, but many of his more celebrated contemporaries considered him a genius and a great writer, among them being Tennessee Williams (who wrote a blurb for the book publication of Children is All); Edward Albee (who produced Purdy's play Malcolm); and Gore Vidal, who called him "an authentic American genius" and wrote in the New York Times article entitled "James Purdy: The Novelist as Outlaw" that "Some writers do not gain wide acceptance because their work is genuinely disturbing. Purdy is one of them." As best we can determine, OCLC lists only two copies of the former typescript and one of the latter in institutional collections. Another collection lists "photocopies" of these two plays, but these productions predate plain paper photocopying. Children is All (1961) runs 41 pages; Cracks (1962) runs 16 pages. Each is near fine; stapled in the upper left corner. Scarce works by a writer Jonathan Franzen called "one of the most undervalued and underread writers in America." [#031486] $1,500