E-list # 155

[Chicago], (n.p.), (1960s-1980s). An archive of correspondence, photographs, books, and articles documenting the collaboration and decades-long friendship between Algren and photographer Stephen Deutch, who provided the photographs for the 1961 edition of Algren's now-classic Chicago: City on the Make. Approximately 60 pieces of correspondence from Algren to Deutch, in addition to inscribed books and photographs; drawings by Algren; manuscripts by Joe Pintauro about Algren; correspondence to Deutch about Algren after Algren's death; items related to the establishment of the Nelson Algren Fiction Award, etc. Deutch was both a commercial photographer and also a fine art photographer. He had a thriving photography business in Chicago, and also liked to get out into the city and photograph the daily lives of Chicagoans. His sensibility appealed to Algren, who also had an affinity for the unsung, and the two became fast friends and, later, collaborators. Their correspondence dwells on their shared interests, including but not limited to horse racing, writing and literature, and politics -- the politics with a decidedly left-wing bent. There are a number of portraits of Algren by Deutch, as well as a number of candids, and one photo by Algren of a street scene in Vietnam, which he inscribed to Deutch. Approximately four boxes of material: a detailed inventory is available. [#033370] $12,000

Chicago, MoMing, [1975]. $3 at the door to see John Ashbery and Richard Grossinger at MoMing. 8-1/2" x 14", black on gold. Unevenly folded in fifths, thus very good. Uncommon ephemera from this poetry festival. [#033371] SOLD

Santa Rosa, Black Sparrow, 2001. Two comb-bound advance copies: one shot from typescript and printed on rectos only, 298 pp.; the second copy is typeset and printed on both sides of the page, 355 pp. Laid into the first copy is an earlier version of one included poem: "oh to be young in 1942!," here titled just "oh, to be young!" The poem is two pages, the first being ribbon copy. Photocopied emendations to the table of contents in the first copy, removing the titles of poems not included; penciled notes to the table of contents in the second copy. The first one has the date "2/3" and the publisher's initials, "JM," on the cover; the second one is also initialed and is dated "4/11." Each is fine with an acetate cover. From the collection of John Martin, publisher of Black Sparrow Press, which printed most of Bukowski's work for the last nearly 30 years of his life, and which was in turn supported by the success Bukowski had with his poetry and his fiction, which rewrote the boundaries of what was acceptable as art. [#033372] $1,250

NY, American News Company, 1867. Burroughs' first book, a biography and critical work on his friend, the poet Walt Whitman, with unacknowledged revisions by Whitman himself. This is the first issue (pages trimmed to 6 9/16"), and is inscribed by Burroughs to his friend Myron Benton in what we believe to be the month of publication: "To Myron Benton with regards of John Burroughs, June 7, 1867." Burroughs and Benton were close friends for four decades: it was on a "nutting excursion" with Benton in 1861 where Burroughs first encountered Leaves of Grass, which Benton had brought on the trip with him, and read to Burroughs when they stopped for a rest. In this copy, the initials "MBB" have been penciled in at the relevant passage describing the day. According to Clara Barrus' book Whitman and Burroughs: Comrades, Burroughs sent Benton early proofs of a part of this book for his approval in February, 1867, when he was still looking for a publisher. By July, reviews of the published book were appearing in the press. Bookplate of Benton's brother, Charles, on the front pastedown. Bit of a spine slant, partial cup ring rear cover, foxing to endpages; still easily a very good copy. Included here is a copy of the first edition of the Barrus biography [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], which is foxed in the prelims but otherwise near fine, in a much-chipped (but scarce) dust jacket. Notes on Walt Whitman is a very scarce book in this first issue, which Burroughs was reported as saying comprised only a few copies. In addition, this is perhaps the best association copy that has come on the market: inscribed by Burroughs to a lifelong friend, one who excited his interest in Whitman's writing, after which the two of them -- Burroughs and Whitman -- also became lifelong friends. Auction records show only two other inscribed copies in over 50 years: one inscribed in 1903 and one with a worn binding and the front endpaper removed. The records do not specify whether these were of the first issue. A landmark first book by the writer whose name adorns the John Burroughs Medal, given out annually since 1926 for an exceptional work of natural history, who began his own writing career with a book about, and apparently co-authored by, the most highly regarded American poet of all time. [#033369] SOLD

(NY), Ecco, (2016). The advance reading copy of this collection of "narrative essays old and new." Stray pencil mark to cover, else fine in wrappers. Uncommon: advance copies -- so-called "galleys," in the contemporary vernacular -- have always been scarcer than the corresponding trade editions, usually issued in hundreds of copies versus thousands for the published editions. But in the past couple of decades, since the start of the digital age, they have gotten even scarcer, as many of the marketing purposes they were used for are now accomplished using digital media and online resources. [#033373] $100

(NY), Delacorte, (2009). Both the advance reading copy and the first edition, each signed by the author, one of the most highly regarded of the current crop of hardboiled and neo-noir writers, along with such writers as Megan Abbott and Duane Swierczynski and some others, who have been breathing new life into the genre in recent years. The book is fine in a fine dust jacket; the advance copy is near fine in wrappers. [#033374] $125

NY, Dunne/St. Martin's, (2016). The advance reading copy of Doyle's last book, a coming-of-age story that departs from his usual Oregonian environment. Signed by the author. This book followed his 2015 novel Martin Marten, which won the John Burroughs Medal in 2017, only the second novel to win that award in its 90-plus year history. Laid in is a full-page promotional letter from the author addressed, "Dear Reader," in which Doyle talks about Chicago (both the city and the book) and his life in Portland and his thrill in writing a novel in the first person, with hopes to do it again. Sadly, later in 2016, Doyle was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and he died in 2017 at the age of 60. The letter, which was only issued with this advance copy and was not published elsewhere, is edge-creased from overhanging the advance reading copy, which is fine in wrappers. Few copies of this title were signed, especially the advance issue, which is quite scarce even unsigned. [#033375] SOLD

NY, Knopf, 1996. The advance reading copy of this collection of stories, which was his first book published by Alfred A. Knopf, the leading literary publisher in the U.S., after years of his being published by David R. Godine, a small Massachusetts publisher. This book, for the first time, brought the author widespread public recognition and commercial success commensurate with the level of critical acclaim his earlier books had achieved. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers and near fine publisher's cardstock slipcase. This elaborate advance reading copy was one of the marketing efforts Knopf made to get Dubus' work more widely noted. [#033376] $25

Redding, Addison-Wesley, (1997). A biography of Earhart, inscribed by the author to Bradford Washburn, and with Washburn's ownership signature. Bradford Washburn, explorer, mountaineer, photographer, cartographer, and longtime Director of the Boston Museum of Science, was also a pilot (of a Lockheed Electra, as was Earhart) and an author, whose first two books (Among the Alps with Bradford and Bradford on Mount Washington) were published when he was a teenager by George Putnam, who later married....Amelia Earhart. When Earhart was looking for a navigator for her 1937 flight around the world, Putnam suggested they talk to Washburn. The meeting took place (and is mentioned in this biography, with further details available from Washburn's autobiography): there Washburn reviewed Earhart's flight plans and suggested that she first have a radio placed on Howland Island, her intended speck of a refueling spot for the penultimate leg of her journey. Earhart thought it unnecessary; Putnam said the extra cautionary step would mean that the planned book about the flight "will not be out for Christmas sales." Earhart's plane was lost on July 2, 1937 after she, and navigator Fred Noonan, took off from New Guinea, attempting to find Howland Island. Spine push, with concomitant drop to text block; near fine in a fine dust jacket. A notable association copy. [#033377] $450

San Francisco, Chronicle Books, 2018. The advance reading copy of Eggers' inclusive and motivational book for children, with art by Shawn Harris. Signed by Eggers. Fine in stapled wrappers, with a "Citizen's To-Do List" folded and laid in. An uncommon advance copy by the McSweeney's founder and author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius among many others, and especially scarce signed. [#033378] $175

(NY), Viking, (1985). Annie Dillard's copy of Ehrlich's first book of prose, a collection of related essays on the contemporary West and the natural world, in particular the author's adopted home state of Wyoming. Signed by Ehrlich and with Annie Dillard's ownership signature, as well as her bookplate, her spine label and a label with her name on the front cover. Also, blurbed by Dillard on the rear panel: "Gretel Ehrlich's world is vivid, tough, and funny. Sheep and cattle ranching, Old West style, is alive in detail in this brilliant and fascinating account. Wyoming has found its Whitman. This is an exuberant and powerful book." As best as we can tell, the friendship between these two luminaries of nature writing began the previous year, and continues. Foxing to the top edge, photo of a boat at sea laid in; near fine in a very good, edgeworn dust jacket. A stellar association copy of a contemporary classic. [#033379] SOLD

NY, Pantheon, (2004). Subtitled "A Journey into Cold," this book collects Ehrlich's thoughts as she travels from Tierra del Fuego, to her cabin in Wyoming, to the Spitsbergen archipelago, all in search of winter and in search of answers to what will happen to us if we are "deseasoned" by climate change and winter ends. A powerful and poetic take on global warming, grounded in science but with an eye to the human, cultural and other costs that are easily overlooked in the scientific debate. Unmarked, but from the author's own library. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033380] $75

NY, David McKay, (1963). The author took a job as a cook in an Oregon logging camp and produced this "tantalizing true tale from the tall timber with one heroine vs. sixty heroes." Inscribed by Emmerson: "For Susan -- to me she will always be a glamorous redhead in a white satin blouse and a slim white skirt, with a laugh like the music of the river we both loved as girls together. Love, Irma Lee Emmerson." Recipient's penciled initials ("S.E.H.") on front pastedown. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with several small edge tears. A pre-Women's Movement tale of a woman in a man's world, both challenging and confirming traditional gender boundaries (spoiler alert: she gets a husband). [#033381] SOLD

NY, Henry Holt, (1949). Later printing. Inscribed by Frost to Margaret Anderson, daughter of George and Ethel Anderson, and dated at Bread Loaf, 1952. A bit of play in the binding and rubbing to the board edges; a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket. [#033384] $450

NY, Rinehart, (1958). Inscribed by Cook: "For Ethel and George Anderson/ Bread Loafers from away back/ and George the master Chaucerian/ scholar-teacher of our days. With appreciation -- Reginald L. Cook/ Bread Loaf 1958." Cook was an English professor at Middlebury College for many years, and involved with Bread Loaf almost from its inception, as Robert Frost was. Cook Commons, on the Middlebury campus, is named for him. A good three-way association, relating Cook, the Andersons and Frost, via the subject of the book and their longtime connections to Bread Loaf. Near fine in a good, foxed and spine-faded dust jacket that is fragile at the folds. [#033382] $100

Amherst, University of Massachusetts, 1974. Inscribed by Cook: "For George and Ethel Anderson/ with the affection of their Bread Loaf friend/ Doc Cook/ 25 July 1975/ Middlebury VT." Cook has also transcribed four lines of Frost's poem "Two Tramps in Mud Time." By 1975, Cook's association with Bread Loaf went back over 50 years, and the Andersons' nearly as much; a nice association copy. Boards splayed, foxing to top edge; a very good copy in a very good, foxed and rubbed dust jacket. [#033383] $100

various, various, 1954-1964. Six pamphlets honoring Frost: five at his death or the following year; the first in Frost's 80th year.

• Robert Frost. Middlebury College, 1954. A booklet of a dozen photos issued in honor of Frost's 80th birthday. This is copy No. 289. Foxed; near fine in stapled wrappers. Laid in are three clippings about Frost.
• Robert Frost. A Tribute from Middlebury College. Middlebury College, 1963. A small collection of memorial tributes. Fine in stapled wrappers.
• In Memory of Robert Frost. Amherst College, 1963. The program of Frost's memorial service, with eleven of Frost's poems that were read by Mark Van Doren. Edge-sunned; near fine in stapled wrappers. Laid in is the printed text of the Invocation and the Meditation, as well as two clippings about Frost and The Amherst Student for February 18, 1963.
• Robert Frost. NY: Spiral Press, 1963. One of 500 copies printed for those attending Frost's memorial service: the text of a public radio broadcast by Louis M. Lyons on the evening of Frost's death. Light crayon marks to cover; near fine in stapled wrappers.
• Robert Frost and Bread Loaf. Middlebury College, 1964. Collects a handful of recollections about Frost. Fine in stapled wrappers.
• Robert Frost. A Backward Look. Library of Congress, 1964. Prints a lecture given by Louis Untermeyer, the year after Frost's death. Fine in stapled wrappers.

[#033385] SOLD

Babcock, Flambeau Publishing, (1953). "Not until one has finished reading does he realize there has been no single reference nor any trace or sign of man." Winner of the John Burroughs Medal, and the first work of fiction to win that award. Grange was Wisconsin's first Superintendent of Game. This book, a tour of four seasons in a forest from the perspective of the forest animals, is blurbed by conservationist and naturalist Herbert L. Stoddard, Sr., and this copy is inscribed by Stoddard to his friend, ornithologist Alex Sprunt, Jr., in the year of publication. Sprunt cut much of the text of the jacket and pasted it to the endpapers: an intact jacket has been supplied. Top edge stains and wear to cloth; a very good copy in a good, sunned dust jacket with small chips to the corners and spine ends. Uncommon in jacket, and an exceptional association copy. [#033386] SOLD

Garden City, Doubleday, 1968. A collection of pieces by the comedian and activist, edited by James R. McGraw. This copy is inscribed by Gregory to the singer Carmen McRae. Gregory and McRae shared a billing at the Village Gate in Greenwich Village with John Coltrane in 1964, and in 1965 the three shared a monthlong bill there. Rare signed, and an excellent association. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with several edge chips and one edge tear. [#033387] $750

NY, Simon & Schuster, (2000). The uncorrected proof copy of her account of four trips to the Amazon in search of pink dolphins. Laid in is a 1999 typed letter signed by Montgomery to Peter Matthiessen, transmitting the book, requesting a blurb, and hoping that they can meet for Thai food again ("May our credit cards work next time!"). She also says in the letter that "...like all my work, and much of yours, this book is one long plea for protecting the lifeblood of this place, disguised as a narrative." Montgomery won the Henry David Thoreau Prize in 2017 for excellence in nature writing; Matthiessen won the award in 2013. Montgomery's 2015 book, The Soul of an Octopus, was a finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction. The letter to Matthiessen is folded in half; the proof is fine in wrappers. [#033388] SOLD

NY, Knopf, 2014. The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition. A couple tiny corner bends; very near fine in wrappers. The first printing of the U.S. hardcover edition was announced as 250,000 copies; there is no doubt this proof is at least 1000 times scarcer. [#033389] $75

NY, Harcourt, Brace, (1938). "A Navaho Autobiography," which is identified as having been "recorded by" Dyk. Son of Old Man Hat is a Navajo, and the book is written in the first-person. With an introduction by noted linguist Edward Sapir. Written at a time when few reliable memoirs of Native Americans had been published, this was a landmark book that had scholarly credibility as well as Native authenticity. This copy is inscribed by the author: "Margaret Bageley/ with compliments of/ Walter Dyk." Near fine in a very good, spine-faded dust jacket with spine and edge wear and a small orange dot on the spine. Uncommon in dust jacket, and especially so signed. [#033390] $350

(NY), HarperCollins, (2001). The advance reading copy of this novel that was nominated for the National Book Award; Erdrich later won the 2012 NBA for her novel The Round House. Inscribed by the author. Fine in wrappers. Laid in is a printed letter from Erdrich to fellow booksellers (as she had opened a bookstore in Minneapolis) explaining the genesis of the novel. [#033391] SOLD

Des Moines, Amerindic Lore Press, 1959. The true first edition of this novel by Pierre, a chief of the Colville Confederated Tribes of Washington state, dealing with the controversial question of "termination" -- the ending of federal control over Indian reservations and the resultant freedoms, and losses, the policy would entail. Later published in a trade edition by Naylor in 1972, this is an apparently self-published hardbound edition, reproduced from typescript, printed on rectos only, stamped "first edition" on the title page. Comparison with the later edition shows this version to represent an early draft. Chief George Pierre died in 2011 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. This is only the third copy of this early version of his book we have seen, predating the Naylor edition by 13 years. Tapebound, gilt stamped velour boards. The gilt and velour are both rubbed; the front board is separating at the lower joint; still a very good copy. [#033392] $400

Bigfork, Northwoods Press, (1974). The collector's edition of this early book of poetry by a writer of Cherokee heritage. As stated on the colophon (previously tipped to the front flyleaf, but here detached and laid in), "one of 100 numbered copies signed and numbered by the author." This copy, however, is unnumbered and is instead inscribed by the author in 1990. Glue residue on the flyleaf from the colophon; complete loss of gilt to the front cover author and title, although the spine gilt is still present and clear; very good, without dust jacket, apparently as issued. [#033393] $250

London, Duckworth, (1937). A captivity story, about a young boy captured and brought up by a band of Delaware Indians. Never published in the U.S.: according to Jack Woodford, in a revised version of his controversial book on the publishing industry, Trial and Error, U.S. publishers were put off by the violence of the Indians as described in the book, and by what might today be called its political incorrectness. Ryan was one of the first writers to make Hollywood the subject of his fiction and this book was a departure. Woodford, who was a pulp fiction writer under a number of names and published nonfiction about writing and publishing, called this "one of the finest novels written in our country during this decade" and claimed that the author had spent five years researching it. Sunned, wear and handling to boards; a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket. [#033394] SOLD

Boston, Lee and Shepard, (1881). The author, who taught gymnastics at Smith College, uses the work of Dr. Dio Lewis, an early advocate of physical culture, as a foundation, with the purpose of producing a small and affordable exercise book for women. 91 pages, plus advertisements, covering "free gymnastics," wand exercises, ring exercises, dumb-bells, percussion, "mutual help" exercises, bean-bags, and marching, as well as appropriate dress and music. 4-3/8" x 6". Owner name on front free endpaper; some wear to the cloth; first gathering loosened; a very good copy without dust jacket, presumably as issued. Frequently reprinted, this first edition is scarce. Smith College was founded only ten years prior to this book's publication. An early volume in the history of publications addressing women's health and fitness. [#033395] $250

NY, Norton, (2018). Signed by the author on the publisher's tipped-in leaf. His latest novel, in which a group of related human stories are cast in a context defined by trees, which have a longer timeline for their lives, and a different scale of concerns. Powers takes a number of characters, some based on recognizable individuals -- one is derived in part from Julia Butterfly Hill, the tree-sitting eco-activist, another from a quadriplegic PLATO programmer who designed that early computer network's most popular interactive multi-user game -- and records their stories in the context of the trees they encounter and are involved with. The trees, on their part, have characteristics taken from the latest scientific understanding of trees and forests, much of which can be found in Peter Wollheben's The Hidden Life of Trees. The sections of the book are named after the parts of trees -- Roots, Trunk, Crown, and Seeds -- and, taking his cue from the understory of forests, where much of what happens is at a human scale, Powers coins a word for his title to describe the place where what happens is on an entirely different scale from that of humans. Bill McKibben, the environmental activist, wrote: "Richard Powers manages to turn trees into vivid and engaging characters, something that indigenous people have done for eons but that modern literature has rarely if ever even attempted." Fine in a fine dust jacket. Prior to this novel, the National Book Award-winning author was known to refrain from signing any of his works. [#033396] SOLD

NY, Scribner, (2016). The advance reading copy of the latest novel by this writer who was just awarded the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction and last year was the recipient of a National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, a lifetime achievement award. Proulx has also won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, among many other honors. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers. A scarce advance issue: it bulks to over 700 pages, and it is likely few were produced, and especially scarce signed. [#033397] SOLD

NY, Holt Rinehart Winston, (1983). A collection of previously published articles, with two new pieces. Warmly inscribed by the author to her friend and upstairs neighbor, Mary Ann Madden, known for editing the wordplay competitions in New York Magazine from the late 1960s forward, overlapping with Steinem's start at contributing articles there, about Jackie Kennedy, women's liberation, and Nixon. The inscription reads: "For Mary Ann -- who has lived through most of this, including typewriter sounds -- and is the best kind of family./ With love & gratitude, Gloria." Laid in is an autograph note signed: "Dearest Mary Ann - Thank you for your vigilance and help. Call when you're up. (I'll be in & out - but in between 6 & 8 definitely.)/ love, love/ Gloria." A few spots to foredge and endpages, light spine crease; near fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033398] $250

(NY), Riverhead, 2017. The uncommon advance reading copy of this highly praised and controversial first novel. Fine in wrappers. [#033399] $75

Portland, Tin House, (2016). The advance reading copy of this collection of short, short fiction and reflections. Fine in wrappers. Scarce in the prepublication issue. By the writer NPR called "quite possibly America's best living writer of short stories." [#033400] SOLD

NY, Farrar Straus Giroux, (1965). The first book by the writer whose work defined the "New Journalism" in the Sixties. Inscribed by the author to Joe Petro III, the artist who made Wolfe's cartoon of President Carter sitting on Lillian's lap into a print "... with thanks for his posters." A bit of spotting to the edges, lower corners tapped; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a tear at the upper rear flap fold, small edge nicks, and a shallow crease on the front panel. In custom slipcase. [#033401] SOLD

NY, Farrar Straus Giroux, (1968). Wolfe's ground-breaking account of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters and their bus trip across the country, arguably the epitome of the "New Journalism" that Wolfe helped to bring about in the Sixties; it was called at the time "the most penetrating piece of writing yet done on the ethos and dynamics of the hippie," and it remains a classic of the time: the most definitive, sympathetic and insightful account of the seminal events of the 1960s counterculture -- the cross-country bus trip and the LSD-fueled gatherings -- "acid tests" -- that defined the Bay Area counterculture community in the mid-1960s, when LSD was still legal. This copy is inscribed by Wolfe, signed by Ken Babbs, Ed McClanahan, and Mountain Girl -- all of them among the original Pranksters -- and stamped and fingerprinted by Kesey, both on the front flyleaf and the front cover. With a photo of Kesey on the bus and a page of his handwritten notes, including Timothy Leary's phone number. Some spots and handling apparent; a near fine copy in a near fine, mildly edgeworn dust jacket, in a custom clamshell case. A unique copy of a modern classic, which mythologized the beginnings of the hippie movement and became the origin story of the 1960s counterculture (despite what many of the participants would say about Wolfe's being extremely free with the "facts" he recounted). [#033402] SOLD

NY, Farrar Straus Giroux, (1968). A collection of essays, published simultaneously with his book, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with one edge tear at the upper front flap fold and a bit of softening to the crown. [#033403] $750

NY, Farrar Straus Giroux, (1970). Wolfe's hilarious send-up of wealthy New York liberals attempting to salve their social consciences by throwing parties for radical black militants and trying ever-so-hard to be hip enough to pull it off. Inscribed by the author to Joe Petro III, his collaborator on producing an edition of prints based on Wolfe's original art. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033404] SOLD

NY, Farrar Straus Giroux, (1975). A scathing essay, which skewered the self-referential world of modern art. Inscribed by the author to, notably, an artist -- Joe Petro III, who worked with Wolfe to produce a silkscreen print based on a drawing by Wolfe. This book is illustrated with photographs of artworks and artists, as well as drawings by the author. Slight fading to the upper board edges; still fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033405] SOLD

NY, Farrar Straus Giroux, (1979). His landmark account of the early years of the American space program and the culture of the astronauts whose characters helped define it. Inscribed by Tom Wolfe and also inscribed by astronauts John Glenn and test pilot and fighter pilot Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier and later the first commandant of the US Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School, which produced astronauts for NASA and the USAF. Both Yeager and Glenn are key figures in the book, with Yeager being the pilot who coined the phrase "pushing the envelope," to refer to expanding the flight possibilities of an aircraft. With an autograph note signed by Wolfe laid in. Fine in a fine dust jacket, in a custom clamshell case, which also houses the program for a 1991 dinner at which Yeager was the featured speaker. A unique copy, inscribed by the author and two of the key figures in the story he tells, and with an ANS of the author. Winner of the National Book Award. [#033406] SOLD