E-list # 165

Philadelphia, Lippincott, (1963). The advance reading copy of his first book, winner of the Faulkner Foundation Award for best first novel of the year. With elaborate inventiveness, labyrinthine plots and a sometimes paranoid comic sense, Pynchon became the postmodern standard against whom all writers since have been measured. Each of his first three novels won one or more of the major literary awards given out in this country. Some cover creasing; spine creased from binder's glue and somewhat sunned; a very good copy in wrappers. [#024611] SOLD

A Tiffany & Co. silver pen with Raphaelson's engraved initials. With the original Tiffany pouch and box, on which is written "Samson Raphaelson's pen" in the hand of Raphaelson's widow, Dorshka. Provenance: the estate of Pauline Kael. Together with a letter from Dorshka Raphaelson to Kael, in 1984, transmitting to her an afghan (not now present) in which "Rafe often dozed, pen in hand, sitting up on his bed, wrapped in his afghan, writing." Bit of tarnish to the pen and foxing to the box; near fine. Raphaelson wrote the 1925 play The Jazz Singer, based on his 1920 story, "The Day of Atonement." Although he did not write the screenplay for The Jazz Singer, he did have a long and successful film career, most notably writing the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's 1941 film Suspicion. [#031747] SOLD

1988. Rice's own "bible-script" for a film "based on material in the novels Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned." Apparently named for the protagonist of all three novels rather than the title of the series' second book. Precedes the release of the film Interview with the Vampire (for which Rice wrote the screenplay) by six years. Development of a new version of The Vampire Lestat followed the success of that first film, but went nowhere and the film rights reverted to the author. A film of The Queen of the Damned followed in 2002, for which Rice did not write the screenplay and which contained many elements of The Vampire Lestat: neither Rice nor the critics approved of the sequel. This "bible-script" of Rice's seems destined to remain the series' missing link. Included here, in addition to Rice's 185 page script, are her list of "main characters, with notes on appearance" (2 pages); her 12-page treatment of a Queen of the Damned film; and one page on the "virtually endless" possibilities for more films (probably correct, as the 13th book in the series was published in 2018). Three hole-punched; mechanically reproduced sheets bound with two brads; title and date written on spine. Printed on rectos only with the header changing from "Rice/Vampires" to "Vampire/Rice" to "Vampire Chronicles." Small tears to the last page at the upper brad; near fine. A rare original work by Rice related to her most famous series of books, which rekindled the use of vampires in literature and the arts as stand-ins for human desire -- a trend that has persisted to the point that it is now a pervasive part of contemporary popular culture. We have been unable to find any record of another copy of this work appearing in the market, nor any evidence of it in institutional collections. [#032671] SOLD

NY/London, Farrar Straus Giroux/Virago, (2015). Two advance copies of this collection of essays: the American advance reading copy, signed by Robinson, and a hybrid advance copy that uses American sheets bound into Virago wrappers as a British proof copy. This was Robinson's ninth book after four books of fiction and four books of nonfiction, which together brought her a Pulitzer Prize, two National Book Critic Circle Awards, and an Orange Prize. Robinson, who was interviewed by President Obama in 2015, also received a 2012 National Humanities Medal from the President. The U.S. arc is fine in wrappers; the U.K. hybrid is fine, but fragile: the perfect binding is not of the highest caliber. A Virago press release is laid in. [#033487] SOLD

NY, Simon & Schuster, (1993). Harold Bloom's copy of the uncorrected proof copy of Roth's novel, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and Time magazine's Book of the Year; also voted one of the best works of American fiction in a quarter century in a New York Times Book Review survey. Bloom is perhaps most famous for his controversial book The Western Canon, which argued against "the Balkanization of literary studies" and presented an exhaustive list of what he considered to comprise the canon. Six Philip Roth books made it onto Bloom's list, including this title. With a typed note signed by Roth, from two years prior, laid in, in which Roth raves to Bloom about Douglas Hobbie's first novel, Boomfell. The note is folded, else fine. The proof has Bloom's notations on the front cover and summary page; handling apparent to covers; very good in wrappers. A good association copy between one of the leading novelists of his time and one of the leading critics of the day. [#032317] SOLD

NY, Scholastic, (2000). An advance publicity item for the transformative fourth book in the Harry Potter series, featuring the short-lived name Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was nearly twice as long as the preceding book; it was the first to be released on the same date in the U.K. and the U.S.; the first to have a Saturday release date so as not to conflict with the school day; the first to have a multi-million copy U.S. print run; and it was the first book in the series to not have an uncorrected proof or advance reading copy issued. Its title was intended to be kept a secret until publication day (July 8, 2000); a feat that was made somewhat easier as Rowling herself wavered on the title until at least March or April. The working title was simply "HP IV." However, Rowling's first intended title for the book leaked out, and offered here is a printed easel display card encouraging readers to pre-order their copies of Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament. Reportedly there followed a period during which the title was to be Harry Potter and the Triwizard Tournament. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won the 2001 Hugo Award, the only Harry Potter novel to do so. The Doomspell Tournament easel card is 9" x 12", apparently unused; it has one small nick in a lower corner near a small portrait of Buckbeak the Hippogriff, else fine. [#033233] SOLD

London, Bloomsbury, 1999-2007. The first printings of the deluxe editions of the (at the time) full Harry Potter series. Clothbound with pictorial onlays, all edges gilt; fine without dust jackets, as issued. The Azkaban, which was the first volume published in a British deluxe edition (Philosopher's Stone and Chamber being issued in a deluxe edition retroactively) had the smallest printing, (reportedly 7000 copies) and names "Joanne Rowling" rather than "J.K. Rowling" on the copyright page. Here together with the collector's edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard [London: Children's High Level Group, 2008]. The leatherbound Beedle is in a drawstring bag, which, with ten illustrations by Rowling, are housed together in a large box made to look like a textbook, which is contained in the publisher's sleeve. Also included is the Sotheby's catalog for the auction of one of seven copies of the manuscript of Beedle the Bard, with an introduction by Rowling. Since the time of the last deluxe edition's release, the Harry Potter franchise has expanded with the completion of the 8-film series (with an additional three-movie prequel having debuted in 2016); original Rowling content on the Pottermore website; two Wizarding World theme parks; and a two-part stage play sequel (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), which premiered in London, the script of which was released as the eighth book in the series. [#027817] SOLD

(n.p.), (n.p.), 2000. Promotional baseball cap for the transformative fourth book in the Harry Potter series: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was nearly twice as long as the preceding book; it was the first to be released on the same date in the U.K. and the U.S.; the first to have a Saturday release date so as not to conflict with the school day; the first to have a multi-million copy U.S. print run; and it was the first book in the series to not have an uncorrected proof or advance reading copy issued. Its title was intended to be kept a secret until publication day (July 8, 2000); a feat that was made somewhat easier as Rowling herself wavered on the title until at least March or April. The working title was simply "HP IV," and offered here is a promotional green baseball cap with HP IV embroidered in gold on the front and the publication date (07-08-00) on the back: note the use of one Gryffindor color (gold) and one Slytherin color (green). Reportedly, the book was then titled Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament, then Harry Potter and the Triwizard Tournament, before emerging as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The hat is adjustable. Fine. [#033232] SOLD

(n.p.), (n.p.), [ca. 1997]. Tapebound typescript of this Booker Prize-winning first novel. 248 pages, 8-1/2" x 11", bound in printed light green cardstock covers, and shot from word-processed sheets rather than typeset ones. No indication of publisher (which, in the U.S., was Random House). After the considerable success of this book in England, where it was reprinted numerous times, Random House decided to do a glossy advance reading copy in pictorial wrappers. Consequently, few copies of the standard proof were done. We are aware of another, "in-house" state of the advance copy, which, if we remember correctly, was also 8-1/2" x 11" tapebound sheets, but typeset and in blue covers and listing the publisher on the inner pages. Uncommon; we've never seen this issue of the book before. Unmarked, but from the library of Peter Matthiessen. Near fine. [#032318] SOLD

Boston, Little, Brown, 1951. Salinger's classic first book, a coming-of-age novel that has influenced successive generations of young people with its adolescent hero's rejection of the "phoniness" of the adult world around him combined with the authenticity of his voice. Salinger's book retains the freshness it had when first published, and it stands as one of the great fictional accomplishments of 20th century American literature, included on every list of the 100 best novels of the century, and listed as number 2 on the Radcliffe list and number 6 on the Waterstone's list. Minor foxing to top and bottom edges of text block; offsetting to hinges from binder's glue; a very near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with offsetting to the front flap, tanning to the spine, slight rubbing to the spine folds and light wear to the crown. A very nice copy with distinguished provenance: it was a gift from publisher Alfred A. Knopf to a young writer who was interviewing him for a biography, and who later went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction in the 1980s. Letter of provenance available. [#028107] SOLD

NY/(Chicago), Feature/ICI, (1988). An early issue of this small periodical of gay fiction, printing Sedaris' story "My Manuscript," which was collected in his first book, Barrel Fever in 1994. There are enough textual differences between this version and the collected version to consider this text an earlier draft. An uncommon early appearance by Sedaris. [#030137] $750

Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill, (1968). The galley sheets of this early play by Shepard, his first two-act play. Laid in are the galleys of Elizabeth Hardwick's introduction, dated 1967; Hardwick had reviewed the play for the New York Review of Books. At the time Shepard wrote La Turista, he was a member of the counterculture rock band The Holy Modal Rounders, which had a cameo appearance in the film Easy Rider. Shepard was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as test pilot Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff; he won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for Buried Child, and he won eleven Obie awards and was nominated for two Tonys, for Buried Child and True West. He received the Gold Medal for Drama from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1992. Claspbound, printed on rectos only, front cover tanned and separating; rear cover has date and price and "DUPL NYPL." Front cover has the name of Paul Myers, curator of the Theatre Collection at the New York Public Library. Very good. A fragile and rare early state of this play by one of the most important playwrights of the latter half of the 20th century. The only copy of the proof we have seen. [#027093] $2,500
On Sale: $1,875

London, Linnean Society, 1940. An offprint from the April, 1940 Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. A 30-page article in which Simpson, who was President of the Royal Meteorological Society, first acknowledges that climate change is the purview of geology rather than meteorology, and then examines three theories for climate change: the redistribution of land and water; changes in the Earth's orbit; and changes in solar radiation. Written right at the cusp of change in the mechanism for global warming, when the build up of greenhouse gases from the Industrial Revolution was just reaching the tipping point where they would become a driving force in climate change, overtaking the previous, seemingly random, fluctuations in global temperatures. Bound in wrappers; small tear at upper spine; edge-sunned; very good. One listing found in OCLC. [#033605] SOLD

Undated. A one-page prose poem, typed, and signed "Clark Ashton Smith/Auburn, California." This version of the prose poem differs in a number of particulars from the published version, which was included in The Abominations of Yondo (Arkham House, 1960) and Poems in Prose (Arkham House, 1965). Previously folded in thirds but now in a custom binder, bearing the bookplate of horror writer Stanley Wiater, from whose library this came. Fine, with a letter laid in to Wiater from Roy Squires, the noted science fiction collector and dealer, from whom Wiater purchased it. Squires' lengthy letter comments extensively on the appallingly high prices "being asked -- and paid -- for the more desirable Arkham House books," in 1972, and then goes on to justify the high price Wiater had just paid for the Clark Ashton Smith manuscript, and says that he knows of only four prose poem manuscripts by Clark Ashton Smith in existence -- this one; one that he himself still had; and two that Smith's widow had at that time. A rare typescript by one of the most important American horror writers of the 20th century, with a long, illuminating letter from one of the great collectors and dealers in the field, and from the library of a horror writer who has been a three-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, given by the Horror Writers of America. [#029000] $5,500

(NY), Ecco/HarperCollins, (2010). The uncorrected proof copy of Smith's National Book Award-winning memoir of her pre-fame life with Robert Mapplethorpe, with textual differences from the published version. One of the most highly regarded memoirs to come out of the counterculture of the 1960s and 70s. This copy is signed by the author. Trace rubbing to the spine lettering; still fine in wrappers. An uncommon proof, especially signed. [#030138] SOLD

San Francisco, City Lights Books, (1990). Solnit explores the cultural contributions of six California artists from the Beat era: Wallace Berman, Jess, Bruce Conner, Jay DeFeo, Wally Hedrick, and George Herms. Inscribed by Solnit. An early book by Solnit, who writes as a historian, cultural critic, wide-ranging intellectual, and political activist, and has as a result become one of the most highly respected voices of the current era, continually bringing fresh and surprising perspectives to difficult, longstanding questions and issues. Foreword by Bill Berkson. Strip of sunning on the rear cover near the spine, else fine in wrappers. [#033046] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1999). A professional collaboration between the longtime companions, with photographs by Leibovitz and text by Sontag. Inscribed separately by both Sontag and Leibovitz, "to Joyce." Sontag, a winner of the National Book Award for fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction; a MacArthur Fellow; and a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Artes y des Lettres, among other honors, died in 2004. This joint project by two of the most respected figures in their respective fields is scarce signed by both. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a hint of edge wear and very mild damp rippling near the crown that is visible mostly on the verso. [#030042] SOLD

NY, Various, (1958-1967). The first four books by Southern -- creator of Dr. Strangelove and screenwriter of Easy Rider -- each inscribed by him to his friend, the bandleader, composer, and musician Artie Shaw. Flash and Filigree (NY: Coward McCann, 1958; the scarce first issue) is inscribed "To Artie and Casey with love and all best wishes/ Terry S." Laid in is an autograph note signed to Artie from Terry. The Magic Christian (NY: Random House, 1960) is inscribed "To Artie and Casey with love and best wishes for much happiness. Terry." Candy (NY: Putnam, 1964 -- first thus, and first hardcover edition) is inscribed "To Artie and Case, with love and kisses (your so-called 'soul' or 'french' kiss, natch!) / Terry." Red Dirt Marijuana (NY: New American Library, 1967) is inscribed: "To Art/ with all best, Terry." The books are near fine or better in near fine or better dust jackets; each with its own, matching, custom clamshell case. [#033653] $12,500

NY, World Publishing, (1970). "The Natural History of Animals in Danger of Extinction." Fine in a near fine dust jacket and original cardboard slipcase, which is inscribed by Terry Southern to Peter Matthiessen: "Dear Pete - Spotted this tome en passant so to speak, and thought 'what the heck, that looks very much like the great Math's bag!', so I snapped one up (that's the kind of guy I am, Pete, just snapped it right up) and am sending it along in hopes you may groove on it. Some boss-pix. Best, yr. T." A fine Terry Southern letter on a cardboard slipcase of a gift, and an indication of the friendship between the two, which is not as widely known as some of Matthiessen's other literary friendships. [#032531] SOLD

Springfield, Stevenson Campaign Headquarters, 1952. The transcriptions of 56 speeches given by Stevenson during the Presidential election season of 1952, beginning with his welcoming address to the Democratic National Convention on July 21, when he was speaking as Governor of the host state of Illinois and before he was drafted as the Democratic Party's Presidential candidate. The second speech here begins: "I accept your nomination and your program. I should have preferred to hear those words uttered by a stronger, wiser, better man than myself." 54 more speeches follow, all issued as news releases and most on Stevenson Campaign Headquarters letterhead. The final speech was given on November 1 (Election Day was November 4). Stevenson lost to Eisenhower, winning 44% of the popular vote but carrying only 9 states. A chronological record of Stevenson's entire first run for President: each release runs 3-10 pages, so hundreds of pages of Presidential politics from a half century ago, with equal opportunity to note how much things have changed and how much they have not. Photo-reproduced legal-sized sheets; minor edge wear; a few pages detached from corner staples; large coffee ring on the first page of the second news release. In all, a near fine lot, representing these speeches' first appearance in printed form. A number of them were published in book form by Random House prior to the 1952 election, with a Foreword by John Steinbeck. [#032678] SOLD

[Boston], [Houghton Mifflin], [1974]. The photocopied typescript of Stone's second novel, winner of the National Book Award and one of the best novels to link the impact of the Vietnam war on American society in the Sixties to the dark side of that era -- the official corruption and the underside of the drug experiences of a generation. Bearing the [now crossed out] working title: Skydiver Devoured By Starving Birds. The title appears in a scene in the novel; it also appears in Stone's memoir, in an account of his time working for a tabloid newspaper where the writers were given headlines made up by other writers and had to create stories around them. The one time it appeared in print was in the excerpt from Dog Soldiers that appeared in the newsprint literary magazine, Fiction, in 1973. Stone's piece was called "Starving Birds" and at the end was identified as being from "Skydiver Devoured by Starving Birds." According to a 1987 letter of provenance, this copy of the typescript was generated by the publisher and sent to the Book of the Month Club for early consideration for possible book club adoption. The pages bear, at the bottom, a torn Book of the Month Club filing sticker. 318 pages, plus cover sheet. The cover sheet and the letter of provenance are each signed by Robert Stone. The quality of the paper varies: several sheets have the blue tone of a mimeo. Near fine or better, in the bottom half of a manuscript box and the folding cardstock case of the Book of the Month Club, at this point more artifactual than protective. As far as we can tell, a unique copy of this award-winning novel, the basis for the highly regarded film Who'll Stop the Rain? [#033357] $1,500

(n.p), (n.p.), [ca. 1983]. In 1983, Robert Stone, National Book Award-winning novelist, was commissioned to write a piece on George Orwell and his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, as that calendar year approached. In the piece, Stone made an effort to reclaim Orwell from the conservative right wing, which had taken his most famous, anti-totalitarian novels -- Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm -- to be explicit condemnations of the Soviet Union and Communism, and by implication all leftist thought itself. Instead, Stone argues that Orwell's writing in Homage to Catalonia -- not to mention his fighting on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War -- identifies Orwell as someone with both a socialist sympathy and "a certain affinity with what I believe is best about the United States," a kind of Puritanism that is characterized by "rectitude...conscience and common sense." He goes on to point out that Orwell "was the sort of radical who makes enemies on both sides of epic struggles," owing to his "originality and intelligence, [and] above all his thoroughgoing honesty, [which] always got him in trouble. A writer and man more predictable and dull, less infernally scrupulous would have had a better time of it." Stone adds that Orwell was idealistic but non-ideological -- as Stone was himself -- and deeply committed to the kind of "pragmatism that has characterized American moral thinkers from Jefferson to James to Neibuhr." He concludes that "We may never produce a greater political novel than Nineteen Eighty-Four" and that "it has done its work for us" in shaping our fears and cautions sufficiently for us to have avoided the totalitarian dystopia that was latent in the post-War years of the Cold War. The confluence of writer and subject here was, in many ways, a near-perfect one but the piece seems never to have been published; we can find no record of it; a cover letter from Stone's wife, Janice, indicates this was done for Thames Television, but whether it was produced or used remains unknown to us. One of Stone's novels includes an allusion to a critical moment in Nineteen Eighty-Four: Stone's character explains that one has "to look the gray rat in the eye" -- an allusion to the torture by rats that Winston Smith, in Nineteen Eighty-Four, is faced with, which causes him to "break" and betray himself and his loved ones. 18 pages, ribbon copy typescript, with Janice Stone's cover letter, laid into an agent's folder. Fine. An unknown Robert Stone piece, on a subject that touches close to many of the central and pervasive themes of his own writings. Unique. [#032829] $8,500

Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill, (1951). Styron's first book, inscribed to the writer Jonathan Carroll: "with best wishes/ William Styron/ 27 September 1971/ (Twenty years, to the month, after publication)." The date is also nine years before Carroll's first published book, The Land of Laughs. Laid in is a typed note signed by Styron in which he agrees to the signing; based on the address, Carroll would have been an English teacher at the time, in North Carolina. The book is unevenly sunned on the cloth and bears a few small stains; very good in a jacket with modest edge wear including one edge tear, and a vertical crease to the spine; still very good. The note is folded, else fine, with a chipped mailing envelope included. A nice association copy of an important first novel. Forty years after this inscription, on the occasion of Styron's death in 2011, Carroll wrote a blog post on his website, referring to Styron as a "great American novelist." [#026147] SOLD

Amherst, Shanachie Press, 1980. A limited edition of a poem by Tate which first appeared in The New American Poetry Review. Of a total intended edition of 135 copies, this is Copy "F" of ten lettered copies reserved for the author and the artist, Stephen Riley, and signed by both of them. With etchings and engravings by Riley, each of these lettered and signed by the artist. Riley was a promising artist in the 1970s known for his fantasy illustrations, here accompanying Tate's surrealist poetry. Reportedly, most of the intended edition was never printed, and it's possible that only the 10 author's and artist's copies and 25 Roman-numeraled copies were actually produced. Loose sheets, 11-1/4" x 15", fine, laid into a near fine slipcase. An attractive fine press production, and one of the rarest pieces by the Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning poet. [#033654] $2,500

NY, Simon & Schuster, (2004). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of Thompson's ESPN website columns, including some previously unpublished ones, making this proof their first appearance in print. Dating from a point in time when publishers were migrating their advance and promotional materials into digital formats, this proof appears scarcer than the proofs of Thompson's earlier books over the last couple of decades. A couple of faint, stray marks to the upper front cover; very near fine in wrappers. [#033358] SOLD

(n.p.), The People Who Bring You Rolling Stone, ca. 1972. A publication by the staff of Rolling Stone, possibly the only issue. Twelve pages total, with one page, "The Sports Desk," by Hunter Thompson, under various monikers, in which he writes and responds to himself acerbically. Inscription across the front cover, to Rusty Rhodes, from Lila: Rusty seems to have won the Giggle Award for the month; Lila is presumably Lila Hughes, who appears to have been the receptionist at Rolling Stone; at least her desk is positioned by the entry, as shown on a floor plan of the office. An irreverent publication -- partly a spoof and partly defining the corporate culture, from the days when the magazine and its book publishing arm, Straight Arrow Books, were small startups in a nondescript San Francisco office. OCLC shows no sign of any institutions holding copies. Near fine in stapled wrappers. [#033655] SOLD

(n.p.), (n.p.), 2006. An "artist's proof" for a limited edition print of the iconic artwork used on the dust jacket of Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Inscribed by Steadman in 2006. Note that Steadman drew this scene with the driver on the British side: Random House had to reverse the art for publication. Approximately 28" x 20". A handful of Steadman-esque stains, thus near fine; attractively matted and framed. We believe the edition was intended to be 100, although it appears to be more scarce than that figure would suggest. [#033230] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1970). A review copy of Toffler's massively successful book naming the disorientation caused by the accelerated pace of cultural and technological change. Laid in are three different 2-legal-page press releases: "Future Shock May Be Key Disease of Tomorrow," "Movement for 'Responsible Technology' Needed to Combat Future Shock," and "To Prevent Future Shock, Schools Must Teach About Tomorrow." From the first: "When people complain they can't cope, what is it they can't cope with?" From the second: "... technological questions can no longer be answered in technological terms alone. 'They are political questions...we need a machinery for screening machines.'" From the third: "Today events are moving so swiftly that only another [post-John Dewey] radical shift in our 'time-bias' can save our children. The schools must develop future-consciousness." The press releases are folded in fourths; the book has mild edge-foxing and is near fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a shallow crease to the rear panel. Uncommon in the first edition, with jacket, and with promotional material. A book so correct in its premises that it now seems almost quaintly outdated. [#032329] SOLD

Kittery Point, William Dean Howells Memorial Committee, 1987. One of 150 copies printed of a lecture Updike gave at Harvard as part of the 150th anniversary of Howells' birth. Published in a slightly altered form in The New Yorker, this is the first separate appearance, with an Author's Note by Updike. Approximately 40 pages of text; fine in self-wrappers with complimentary slip from the publisher laid in. Updike won the Howells Medal years later, in 1995, for Rabbit at Rest; the medal is given out for the best work of fiction in America during a five-year period. One of Updike's scarcest "A" items. [#028555] $1,000

[NY], (Scientific American), (1969). The first separate edition of this physics-themed poem. One of 6200 copies printed as Christmas cards to be issued with W.H. Auden's A New Year Greeting (not present). 24 pages, illustrated. Fine in stapled wrappers. Lacking the cardboard sleeve that combined the two booklets, but in a custom three quarter leather clamshell case from the Praxis Bindery. This copy is inscribed by the author: "For ___/ Merry Christmas 1995/ John Updike [with a drawing of holly leaves and berries]." While the print run of this item was not particularly small, especially when compared with the many limited editions Updike has done, the nature of its distribution -- as a freebie to Scientific American subscribers -- suggests that most copies would have been lost or discarded. [#030850] $1,500

[Boston], Little Brown, [1996]. A two-sided broadside issued by Little Brown as an "Author Showcase," apparently to coincide with the publication of Infinite Jest. One side is an excerpt from Infinite Jest, with two small grammatical changes from the published version. The second side has reviews of the book (by Jeffrey Eugenides, Rick Moody, Mark Childress, and others), a brief author bio, and the first printed appearance of an essay that appeared on the publisher's website, was later published in Fiction Writer in 1998, and collected in book form as part of the essay "The Nature of the Fun," in Both Flesh and Not in 2012. Eight words from this broadside were dropped in the published version. 8 1/2' x 14". Folded in fourths, by design, such that only the side with the Jest excerpt flows from top to bottom when opened. Uncommon ephemeral promotional item, and bibliographically significant in a way that most such items usually are not. Fine. [#033497] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1966). An extra-annotated copy: inscribed by Wasserman, "To --- ---, a fellow quixotick -- with appreciation, Dale Wasserman, in 1968. Wasserman, who had had success on Broadway with an adaptation of Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1963, wrote the book for Man of La Mancha which opened off Broadway in 1965 and moved to Broadway in 1966, where it won the Tony Award for best musical. Tipped into this copy is a plethora of Quixotic ephemera, as well as four typed letters signed from Wasserman. There is also a photo of a Cervantes-themed bracelet, which the recipient had sent to Wasserman, and which Wasserman mounted and photographed. The four letters span 1968-1969. In one, Wasserman notes: "It amuses me, the way The Impossible Dream has swept the world, gone into so many languages and been put to so many uses. For most often it's used wrongly, in a perversion of its meaning..." The owner has rather compulsively annotated not only the text of the book, and the added articles, reviews, and illustrations; he has also annotated Wasserman's letters. Binding broken from all the ephemera laid in. Thus a good copy, with the dust jacket absent but the jacket flaps preserved and pasted to the endpages. A unique copy. [#033200] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1963). The uncorrected proof copy in comb-bound printed cardstock covers of this landmark volume relating the worldview of the Hopis, as compiled by Waters from the tales of thirty Hopi elders. A matter of some controversy in later years -- some people questioned the authenticity of the material or the qualifications of those who provided it -- this book nonetheless was profoundly influential in the Sixties, as another of the seminal volumes bringing some version of a Native American perspective and ethos to the mainstream society: this was a counterculture classic and a staple on college campuses in the late Sixties and early Seventies, thus contributing to the general push toward a more multicultural society. Waters' father was reportedly part Cheyenne, and Waters was an ardent admirer of, and advocate for, the values of Native American culture. A bit of corner creasing and dust soiling to covers; near fine. [#002732] SOLD

1986-1987. A collection of letters from Waters, mostly to his literary agent, Joan Daves, as well as related ancillary materials showing Waters at work in the after-market for his writing, with opportunities for later editions and film versions. Waters wrote primarily about the American Southwest, in particular the Native American experience. His father was part Cheyenne. The first typed letter signed is from Waters to his agent, Joan Daves, dated August 24, 1986 and concerns Lesley Ann Warren's interest in optioning the film rights to The Woman at Otowi Crossing and the contract for publication of a hardcover, illustrated edition of The Man Who Killed the Deer. It is stapled to a copy of the contract, with numerous marginal corrections and a retained copy of Daves' reply, agreeing with Waters that the intended publisher (Gibbs Smith) had overreached in the contract. An included exchange between Daves and Gibbs Smith posits a simpler agreement, while a retained carbon shows Daves reaching out to Ohio University Press to confirm they had no claim to hardcover rights. The second typed letter signed is from Waters to Keith Sabin, in Daves' absence, and is dated September 29, 1986 and describes the purchasing history of Flight from Fiesta and the current unwelcome "blitz" he, Waters, is undergoing from Ritz Productions regarding theatrical rights. Waters encloses an initialed copy of the letter he wrote to Ritz Productions redirecting their overtures to Daves upon her return from Europe. Both of these letters are stapled together with retained copies of both Sabin's and Daves' replies, as well as a retained copy of an earlier letter from Sabin to Waters saying they had been approached by Ritz and the initial contact letter from Ritz with an unsigned agreement for Right of First Refusal. Also included is a letter from Fiesta publisher Clark Kimball to Daves recommending the production company. The fourth typed letter signed, from Waters to Daves, dated April 29, 1987, again describes the publishing history of Flight from Fiesta and informs Daves that the publisher, Clark Kimball, has been approached by CBS-Columbia regarding film rights, and he includes Kimball's letter. Attached are the retained copies of letters from Daves to both Waters and Kimball, admonishing all that Kimball has no role in film rights for the title, and a later letter from Kimball acquiesces. The fifth typed letter signed, from Waters to Daves (August 3, 1987), delineates an additional inquiry regarding a film option for Flight from Fiesta and several leads on optioning The Woman at Otowi Crossing should Lesley Ann Warren's option expire. Waters takes Daves to task for not responding to offers already presented, for not keeping him informed, and for being about to depart for Europe leaving him without representation: "I don't like to end our agent-client relationship after so many years, but if the overload of work at this crucial time is too much for you, I don't see any alternative." A copy of a letter to Waters at about this point from Alton Walpole shows one of the interested parties facing obstacles bringing Otowi Crossing to the screen. Also, a letter to Daves from The University of Nevada thanks Daves for sending financials on Ohio University Press's Frank Waters: A Retrospective Anthology (included), but bemoans how infrequent the agent's communiques have become. However, the Daves-Waters agent-client relationship was ongoing in October: in the sixth typed letter signed in this archive, Waters informs Daves of yet another inquiry for Flight from Fiesta and asks her advice about payment on an opportunity he has to write the text for a book of photographs to be published by Arizona Highways (likely Eternal Desert, published in 1990). As mentioned, many of the letters are stapled; most are folded for mailing; in some instances they bear the agency's routing marks or highlighting. The lot as a whole is near fine. [#031770] $1,250

NY, Atheneum, 1968. An advance copy, in the form of bound signatures, of Watson's somewhat controversial account of his discovering the double helix structure of DNA in 1953, with Francis Crick. Both lauded and criticized for its personal, and thus subjective, viewpoint, The Double Helix was slated to be published by Harvard until some of the principals objected; it was then brought out by Atheneum. It contains both a prologue and an epilogue in which the author attempts to distance himself from some of the immediate impressions conveyed in the narrative. The book was a bestseller and in 1998, it was listed at number 7 of the Modern Library's nonfiction books of the century. Signed by Watson. Sewn signatures, bound into the red endpapers; modest creasing to the covers; near fine. Cameo appearance by John Steinbeck in the photograph of Nobel Prize winners in Stockholm in 1962: Watson and Crick for Physiology/Medicine; Steinbeck for Literature. Extremely uncommon in any sort of advance issue, probably because of the publication history cited above. [#033498] SOLD

London, Secker & Warburg, (1993). The uncorrected proof copy of his first novel, acclaimed upon publication and later the basis for the phenomenally successful movie that became a cultural milestone of the 1990s. The first edition of this book is scarce -- preceding the movie and its associated cultural uproar by a couple of years, it was issued in a hardcover edition reported at only 600 copies; the proof is many times scarcer; we have seen it only a handful of times. This copy is signed by Welsh. Shallow corner creases; very near fine in wrappers. [#911191] SOLD

London, Chatto & Windus, 1931. Nathanael West's copy of Huxley's collection of poetry, with West's holograph notes on five of the front and rear endpages. Approximately 250 words, mostly quotes of other writers -- Huxley, Gray, Shakespeare; some light, but most quite serious: "In matters of love it is absurd to stand on your dignity and claim your rights. Such experiences cannot be judged and calculated like a matter of business. One gives as much and as long as one can & one does not bargain. Take what is given to you." West concludes with: "The paths of glory lead but to the grave." The year this book was published, West published his first novel. Later in the 1930s, both West and Huxley were employed as Hollywood screenwriters. West died in 1940 at the age of 37. The provenance of this book leads from West to his brother-in-law, S.J. Perelman, to the writer and bookseller, George Sims, who recounts the circumstances of his purchasing books from Perelman in the early 1970s, presumably including this one. A photocopy of a note from Sims is laid in. Fading to spine, spotting to cloth, short tear to lower front joint; still very good, without dust jacket. Publisher's extra spine label tipped to rear free endpaper. A wonderful glimpse of West's musings and inner life. [#017974] SOLD

NY, (n.p.), 1946. E.B. White's copy of the UN Charter, signed by White on both the front cover and the title page, and with a couple of notations in the first pages of text. White covered the creation of the UN in a number of essays for The New Yorker, from 1943 to 1946. In one history of the UN, White was characterized as "the most droll and brilliant of journalists in favor of world government." White's essays on the subject were collected in his book, The Wild Flag, the only overtly political book he wrote in his career. Wear and loss to the spine ends; very good in wrappers. From the author's own library, via his descendants. [#033511] SOLD

NY, Harper & Row, (1977). A collection of essays spanning his career, with a foreword written expressly for this volume. Inscribed by the author to a neighbor in Maine: "For ____/ with love from/ Andy." ("Andy" being White's nickname, from college.) Boards mildly splayed and light foxing to page edges; near fine in a very good dust jacket with an externally tape-repaired tear at the lower outer corner of the rear panel. [#033201] SOLD

NY, Putnam's, (2012). The first in a series introducing fishing guide and private investigator Hannah Smith. Inscribed by the author to Peter Matthiessen in the month of publication: "For Peter Matthiessen, a favorite travel partner, a treasured friend -- Hannah would adore you." With an autograph note signed to the Matthiessens laid in, with a "We miss you!" Near fine in a near fine dust jacket, with the rear flap re-folded so as to better serve as a bookmark. [#032543] SOLD

Taunton, MA, 1803. The handwritten court documents for a paternity/child support case in Massachusetts in 1803, filed on behalf of a girl who (as best as we can tell) would have been 11 years-old at the time of "begetting," against a man of (we believe) 19. Two pages: the first is the complaint made by Attorney [Nicholas] Tillinghast on behalf of Sally White, in part: "Complains Sally White of Taunton aforesaid Singlewoman that at about the last of May or the first of June in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and two, she was begotten with child by Charles Baylies of Dighton is a County Labourer and the same child has since been born alive and is a Bastard, wherefore she prays This Hon. Court to examine this complaint and to adjudge the said Charles to be the reputed father...." The Court's examination of Sarah [sic] White, taken under Oath, follows, recording White's answers to five questions: 1. Are you with Child of a Bastard? Yes. 2. Who is the Father of the Child? Charles Baylies of Dighton. 3. Where did he beget you with child? At my father's house. 4. About what time did he beget you with child? About the last of last May, or some time in the beginning of June. 5. Upon the Oath you are about to take, have you any Doubt about Charles Baylies being the Father of the Child. No. The document is then signed by Sally White. Bastardy Law in Massachusetts at the time was designed only to relieve the State of the burden of the child, rather than as an arm of punishment for acts of fornication (or of rape, although age of consent in Massachusetts at the time was 10 years old). If we are correct about the participants, both Baylies and White would marry others: she would bear seven additional children, and die at the age of 32. Two pages, approximately 6" x 8", previously folded together as a docket and labeled with White's name and complaint on the outside. The attorney's statement is edge-torn at two folds; else both papers are near fine. [#033602] $750

Salt Lake City, Highland High School, 1973. Vol. XV, No. XV, covering the 1972-1973 school year at Highland High, when Terry Tempest (later Williams) would have been 17 years old. Includes two pieces by Tempest: "Brand X," a 150-word commentary on the packaging of political candidates, and "Creative Writing," a short paragraph explaining her craft, in which she takes "craft" literally by comparing writing to sailing. Tempest is also listed in the front under "Honors" as having "Publication in National Poetry Anthology," "Publication in National Essay Anthology," and "Utah Poetry Society - second place." An early appearance in print by an influential writer-environmentalist-activist: Williams has received a Lannan Literary Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Wallace Stegner Award, the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Western Literature Association, and many other awards, including those that recognize her social and environmental activism as well as those honoring her writing. Tall stapled wrappers, with a corner crease to the rear cover; near fine. [#030151] SOLD

NY, Scribner, (1984). Subtitled "A Journey to Navajoland," with illustrations by Navajo artist Clifford Brycelea. Winner of the 1984 Southwestern Book Award. Inscribed by the author in 1989: "For ____/ We are told a story/ and then we tell our/ own./ Bless you & these/ sacred lands." Pages 131-134 bear a small puncture wound, not affecting text; thus near fine in a very near fine dust jacket with slight rubbing at the edges. [#015426] SOLD

NY, Harcourt Brace, 1921. The first American edition of this early collection of short fiction, in which Woolf explores the stream of consciousness technique that she used to great effect in later novels. One of only 1500 copies, this copy in the black cloth binding. Slight foxing to cloth; near fine in a very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket, professionally, preemptively strengthened on the verso along the folds. A beautiful copy; easily the most attractive one we've seen. [#023688] SOLD