E-list # 180

NY, Columbia University Press, 1979. An advance copy, in the form of bound galley sheets, of the first full-length critical study of Ashbery's poetry, written by an author who is himself a poet, art critic and historian. Shapiro had previously edited an anthology of the poets of the New York School , and he has written books on such painters as Jasper Johns and Jim Dine, as well as collaborating with Laurie Anderson on a play performed at The Kitchen, the year after this book was published. Inscribed by Shapiro to collector Burt Britton, longtime head of the Rare Book Room at the Strand Bookstore and the co-founder of Books & Company. Long sheets, 8-1/2" x 14", printed on rectos only and bound with two metal rings. An unusual format; it's likely only a handful of these were produced. Sunning to cardstock covers; else fine. [#019410] $250

(n.p.), (Main Sequence), (1990). In 1972, George Carlin introduced the classic comedy routine "The Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" on his album Class Clown. The next year, his expanded "Filthy Words" drew an FCC complaint when broadcast on a Pacifica radio station. After appeals, the case reached the Supreme Court in 1978: Carlin (Pacifica) lost 5-4, and the FCC's regulation of unwanted speech was upheld. Meanwhile (according to Carlin's preface to this item), helpful citizens were sending Carlin words to add to his list: 2,443 words arrived over two decades, which Carlin saved, organized by category, added a preface to, and published. 10 pages of small type. Covers dust-soiled; near fine in stapled wrappers. A little known, community effort to update a cultural touchstone: no copies in OCLC. [#034627] SOLD

NY, Riverhead Books, 2018. Innocuously billed as a "Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler" (in the past), but also, perhaps more usefully, "all the information you need to rebuild civilization" (in the future). Topics include food, water, fire, navigation, language, numbers, medicine, power, bikes, boats, beer, birth control, art, music, flight, philosophy, chemistry, and computers, to name a few. Part tongue in cheek, but also tongue and groove: a useful compendium of some of the things we'll lose if we lose everything. Signed by the author, with an added heart. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#034620] $150

NY, Dial Press, 1925. 41 poems by Cummings, his fourth book overall. Modest age-toning to pages and light corner rubs; a near fine copy, without dust jacket, apparently as issued. Scarce: only one copy has appeared at auction since 1986; one auction record indicates a plain gold dust jacket, but there is no mention of it in the bibliography and no other copy has been recorded in jacket. A very nice copy. [#034628] $250

NY, Simon and Schuster, (1953). The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of her second book to be published outside of South Africa, and first novel. Published with the title The Lying Days, but here bearing the title Believe the Heart, which is crossed out on the cover, and replaced with only "A Novel." The cover also has "Gardimer" hand-corrected to "Gordimer." Gordimer had a short story with this title published in Mademoiselle magazine in October, 1953, two months after this novel was published, but we can find no other record of this book having this title: the Gordimer papers at the Lilly Library do not list it and there are no listings we could find in OCLC. Tall (7" x 12"), stringbound galleys, printed on rectos only, with a back cover of cardboard. Foxing to page edges; otherwise near fine. Gordimer received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991. A rare issue of a first novel by a Nobel Prize winner. [#034618] $1,750

NY, Random House, (1969). The uncorrected proof copy of this unusual volume of nonfiction -- an extended essay on "An Approach to the Engineering of Man's Divinity," written by a novelist (The Revelations of Doctor Modesto, among others) who was a friend of Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady, as well as of Edward Abbey and William Eastlake. He was the model for Hal Hingham, who was visited by Kerouac's and Cassady's alter-egos in On the Road. As both a writer and a firm believer in the power of mind over body (he was also a friend of Timothy Leary), Harrington provides an unusual link between the writers of the Beat Generation, with their explorations of alternate states of consciousness, and the nature writers of the American Southwest that emerged in the 1960s. Inscribed by the author: "____, I think this is my/ best,/ Alan Harrington/ Tucson, February '76." Harrington has also re-written the second sentence of the book by hand. Bound galleys printed on rectos only. 7 1/2" x 11 3/4". Comb-bound. Front cover separating at lower rings; near fine. [#017827] $500

Baltimore, Cemetery Dance Publications, 2001. The lettered limited edition of this "guide to the worlds of Stephen King," written by Stanley Wiater, Christopher Golden, and Hank Wagner. Of 52 copies, this is designated "PC" and as an "Author's Copy," and is from Wiater's library. Signed by Wiater, Golden and Wagner. White leather stamped in black, with silk ribbon marker; fine in a fine dust jacket and fine dark blue leather tray case. [#034608] $650

(Colorado Springs), Gauntlet, 2008. Edited by Stanley Wiater, Matthew Bradley, and Paul Stuve. This is a "Publisher's Copy" ("PC" on the colophon) in the binding of the 52-copy lettered edition. Signed by Richard Matheson, as well as by Wiater and Bradley, and contributors Harlan Ellison, Brian Lumley, Ed Gorman, George Clayton Johnson, Dean Koontz, Gahan Wilson, F. Paul Wilson, Dennis Etchison, Jack Ketchum, Joe Lansdale, William Nolan, David Morrell, and Richard Christian Matheson. Full leather with silk ribbon marker, fine in a fine dust jacket. Very uncommon, with an extraordinary group of signatures -- a tribute to the outsize influence Richard Matheson had on the science fiction, fantasy, and horror fields. From Wiater's library. [#034604] SOLD

NY, Norton, (1997). Essays, memoirs, fiction and poetry by Native American women, the most extensive such anthology ever compiled at the time. Signed by Joy Harjo: "For Bryce/for justice, for love." In 2019, Harjo was named the first Native American United States Poet Laureate. Edited by Harjo and Gloria Bird, and with work by Harjo, Janet Campbell Hale, Paula Gunn Allen, Leslie Marmon Silko, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Wendy Rose, Linda Hogan, Susan Power, Louise Erdrich, and many others. Spine sunned, corner crease to rear cover; near fine in wrappers. [#034617] SOLD

(Minneapolis), Four Winds, 1968. A celebration of 100 years of the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota. Compiled, edited and introduced by Vizenor. Shot from typescript; only issued in wrappers. Creasing to spine, tiny tear to crown; a very good copy. An early, uncommon work by Vizenor, and one of his first books to deal with Native subject matter, after publishing several collections of haiku. [#034623] $375

Chapel Hill, Algonquin Books, 2010. A surprisingly fascinating memoir of a woman's debilitating illness being eased by the companionship of a snail. Winner of the 2011 John Burroughs Medal and basis for the award-winning 2019 short film, narrated by Daryl Hannah and starring Ariela Kuh and Neohelix Albolaris (the snail). This copy is inscribed by the author to her aunt, prior to publication: "Dear Aunt Betty: Many thanks for reading the manuscript! Here it is -- bound & real. Love, Beth. 8/4/10 ETB [drawing of a snail]." With the aunt's ownership signature, "B. Miles." Bailey's aunt (by marriage) was Betty Miles, the author of more than two dozen books for young people, tackling such themes as sexism and censorship. Very near fine in a near fine dust jacket with very faint dampstaining to the upper front corner. Reprinted many times; signed first printings are scarce, and this one with a meaningful association. [#034626] SOLD

NY, Basic, (2011). Winner of the 2013 John Burroughs Medal, this is a history of an evolutionary marvel: light, strong, flexible, water-repellent, insulating, and also decorative. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Fine in a fine, slightly dusty jacket. Uncommon signed. [#034631] SOLD

(NY), HarperCollins/Cliff Street Books, (1999). Winner of the 2000 John Burroughs Medal. An exploration of the intelligence of ravens, by the author of Ravens in Winter and Bumblebee Economics, among others. Illustrated with numerous photographs by the author. Signed by Heinrich and dated in Burlington, VT on May 30, 2000. This copy was sent to the author by a collector, with specific instructions, but Heinrich could not make out the spelling of the collector's name. Therefore there is also included a brief note of apology by Heinrich as well as several attempts on the note to try out possibilities before he gave up and sent the book back to the collector. Remainder stripe on the bottom edge; else fine in a fine dust jacket. [#034625] SOLD

(NY), Matte, (2016). Photographs by Godlis of the punk rock scene at CBGB in the late 1970s. Inscribed by Godlis: "For ___, Keep making history right now!" Photographs of Patti Smith, the Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie, Richard Hell, Nico, Lydia Lunch, Johnny Rotten, and many others. Afterword by Godlis and an introduction by Jim Jarmusch, who is also pictured in the book. Fine without dust jacket, as issued. A clipped review from the New York Times is laid in. [#034629] $175

[NY], [Knopf], [1981]. The author's copy, leatherbound and presented to Stone by the Book of the Month Club. Printed from second printing (before publication) Knopf sheets. Bound in full red leather (stamped with the BOMC logo in gold on the front cover), with marbled endpapers, gilt top edge, and silk ribbon marker. A Flag for Sunrise was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN Faulkner Award, and a main selection of the Book of the Month Club. From the author's library. Fine, in a leather-tipped cloth slipcase. This is the only such author's copy issued by BOMC that we have seen or heard of. A handsome production. [#034630] $750

NY, Simon and Schuster, 1952. The uncorrected proof copy, in the form of stringbound galleys, of this "Dastard's Handbook to Fame and Fortune," a bestselling satire based on Mead's rise from the mailroom to a vice presidency at the advertising agency Benton and Bowles. Adapted by Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows into the musical that would have three runs on Broadway, over four decades, with more than 2400 performances, earning nine Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical in its first run, 1961-1965, when it also won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Also the basis for the 1967 film. This proof has textual differences from the published book on, at least, the final page. Also, the cover has "Sheperd" hand-corrected to "Shepherd," as well as editorial notations. Tall (7" x 12"), stringbound galleys, printed on rectos only, with a back cover of cardboard. Small corner chip and a corner crease to the front cover; stray pen marks there; still near fine. Rare. [#034619] $850

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1950. From the front cover: "The 'mechanical brain' and similar machines can destroy human values or enable us to realize them as never before." One of the seminal books of the cyber age, the book serves as an early warning system, written for the layman, after Wiener's earlier book, Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in the Animal and Machine. A near fine copy in a very good, mildly rubbed dust jacket with several tiny chips and a few longer, closed edge tears. [#034621] $500

(n.p.), [Self-Published], (n.d.). Self-published recollections of a widow living in a stone house near Superior, Wisconsin. Born in 1900, married in 1924, and widowed in 1975, her stories are entirely of animals in the yard (and sometimes house): bears, squirrels, dogs, mice, groundhogs, birds, raccoons, and deer. Signed by the author at the bottom of the final page, where she signs off until "more things happen that's of interest to you." A 12-page pamphlet, in mildly wavy stapled wrappers; near fine. Two corrections to the text, likely by the author. No copies listed in OCLC. Published without a price, but with the statement that any profit is to go to Greenpeace. [#034624] SOLD

(NY), Free Press, (1999). A book on media literacy, explaining the ways women are targeted as consumers, by one of the creators of the documentary film series Killing Us Softly. Signed by the author and dated prior to publication. Later released with the title Can't Buy My Love. Kilbourne was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2015. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket, with a blurb by Maya Angelou. [#034616] $250

Washington, DC, Caring Publishing, (1995). The memoir of activist Esther Peterson, who served in the Kennedy, Johnson and Carter administrations, first as Assistant Secretary of Labor and Director of the United States Women's Bureau, and later as Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs. Signed by Peterson, who was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993. Peterson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981, and President Carter's words on that occasion serve as the book's foreword. This is the hardcover issue; there was also a simultaneous softcover. Tiny taps to the upper corners, else fine in a fine dust jacket. [#034613] SOLD

(NY), Warner Books, (1992). An examination of the corporate and cultural barriers facing women in the workplace in the early 1990s, by the founder of Catalyst, an organization launched 30 years prior (and still active) to help women enter or re-enter the work force and to help companies find and advance female employees and board members. Inscribed by Schwartz: "To Jonathan - with appreciation for the active part you are taking in Catalyst's growth -- and for your support and encouragement in this endeavor. Warmest wishes, Felice." Schwartz was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1998. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#034614] SOLD

NY, Harper & Row, (1984). A primer on the gender gap in elections: what it is, why it matters, and how to use it to political advantage, by the three-term president of the National Organization for Women. Inscribed by Smeal: "To Judy, Thanks for your work for NOW in Fairbanks. For Equality, Eleanor Smeal." Smeal was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2015. Very good in wrappers. [#034615] SOLD

(Littleton), [Self-Published], 1965. From the author of Give Me the Hills, an early advocate of "manless climbing," and a climber on the first all-female ascents of the Matterhorn and the Grepon, among many other accomplishments, this is a rare pamphlet documenting a night and day spent lost, with Louise Baldwin, while on a descent from Elephant Mountain, a trailless peak on the list of New England's Hundred Highest. Told with humor, self-awareness, and the wisdom of a then-67 year-old mountaineer. Small 20-page pamphlet, with photo, and with one illustration (by Mary Ogden Abbott). Only one copy in OCLC, at the University of Maine's Fogler Library. Mildly sunned near the stapled spine; else fine. Offered together with Underhill's strikingly illustrated article "Manless Alpine Climbing" in the August, 1934 issue of National Geographic. [#034622] $450