E-list # 193

Boston, Little, Brown, (1967). An anthology covering 1899 to "the present" (1967), edited and with a 5-page introduction by Langston Hughes. More than 500 pages, with stories by and biographical notes on writers such as James Baldwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Ralph Ellison, Ernest J. Gaines, Chester B. Himes, Kristin Hunter, Zora Neale Hurston, John Oliver Killens, Paule Marshall, Jean Toomer, Alice Walker, Richard Wright, and many others, including Hughes himself. Contemporary gift inscription front flyleaf; light foxing to top edge. A near fine copy in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with minor edge wear and fading to the spine title. Seldom found in this condition. [#035563] SOLD

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, (1991/1992). An advance reading copy of the reissue of her first novel, which won the Houghton Mifflin Literary Award when it was first published in 1946. Copyright date on this edition states 1991, but a publisher's sticker on the front cover states a publication date of "Feb. 12, 1992 (Black History Month)." Fine in wrappers, with a publicity photo of Petry laid in. [#035564] $35

(San Cristobal), (Lama Foundation), (1975). A later printing of Alpert's enormously popular autobiography and guidebook to enlightenment, first published in 1970 in a different form in an edition of 300 copies under the title From Bindu to Ojas. While others before Alpert -- notably Aldous Huxley and Alan Watts -- had laid the groundwork for understanding principles of Eastern religions in terms familiar to Westerners and also describing the psychedelic drug experience in the terms of mystical religious experience, Alpert's book was a bestseller, being reprinted numerous times, selling hundreds of thousands of copies, and fostering what has come to be known as the "New Age" movement. This copy is inscribed "in love" by the author. Laid in is a ticket and program for Ram Dass's "Cultivating the Heart of Compassion" tour, during which this copy was presumably signed, on November 9, 1986. Rubbing and creasing to the covers; dampstaining to the page edges; a good copy in wrappers. [#035565] $750

[Westport], [Greenwood/Praeger], [1979]. A two-volume annotated copy of the typescript of this collection of letters to and from Austin, with context and commentary provided by Pearce. This was Pearce's third book on Austin, after The Beloved House (1940), an accounting of her life and writings as well as a personal memoir, and Mary Hunter Austin (1965), a volume in the Twayne United States Authors Series. Sporadic corrections to text (apparently in Pearce's hand); laid in is a 1981 autograph letter signed from Pearce to Southwest publisher Clark Kimball, with brief references to Austin. Authors represented in the text include Mabel Luhan, Sinclair Lewis, Fannie Hurst, Willa Cather, Sherwood Anderson, Marianne Moore, Ansel Adams, Diego Rivera, and many others. The typescript is 341 pages total, between the two volumes, and including the six page index that is laid in at the back. Photographs are not reproduced: instead there are written descriptions of the coming illustrations. Claspbound cardstock covers, with typed labels; the title page is detached. A very good copy. Unique. [#035566] SOLD

(n.p.), (n.p.), ca. early 1900s. A research archive created by amateur scholar Horace Middleton, on the then-popular theory that Francis Bacon was the true author of the works of Shakespeare and that the works are replete with clues as to their true authorship. Highlights of the archive include a 23 page typescript of a speech Middleton gave on the subject of Bacon-as-Shakespeare in 1918 (locale not stipulated, but he was invited by a "Dr. Luce"); 48+ pages of the handwritten original draft of the presentation; more than 100 pages of handwritten notes on the subject; perhaps 200+ pages of notes attempting to decipher cryptographic clues in Shakespeare's texts, and a 12" x 14" key of some sort transcribed across the Ben Johnson poem "On the Portrait of Shakespeare"; a file of what appears to be brief notes on a couple of dozen other possible authorial candidates, perhaps so as to rule them out; a small file of incoming correspondence and newspaper clippings related to the subject; and a 1903 copy of The Bookman (without front cover) that includes the Johnson poem and the Shakespeare portrait. Included with the manuscript archive is a collection of about a dozen of Middleton's reference works, such as: Rawley's 1661 (2nd edition, cover detached) of Resuscitatio, or Bringing into Publick Light Several Pieces of the Works, Hitherto Sleeping; of the Right Honourable Francis Bacon; 11 issues of Baconiana (1910-1916), plus a bound copy of III Series, Vol. XI; Begley's Bacon's Nova Resuscitatio in three volumes; William Stone Booth's The Droeshout Portrait of William Shakespeare and The Hidden Signatures of Francesco Colonna and Francis Bacon; Elizabeth Wells Gallup's Bi-literal Cypher of Francis Bacon and Concerning the Bi-Literal Cypher...; along with several other works. The books are well-used, often later editions, and frequently heavily annotated by Middleton. Much of the paper used in the manuscript archive is thin and toned from age, but on the whole that portion of the archive is near fine, stored by Middleton in a handful of very good envelopes. Will ship at cost. [#035567] SOLD

Westport/Boston, Greenwood/Twayne, (1981)/(1986). Two titles by Holtsmark, each inscribed by the author, to the same recipient. Tarzan and Tradition is subtitled "Classical Myth in Popular Literature" and examines the first six Tarzan books and their parallels to Greek and Roman heroic sagas; Edgar Rice Burroughs is a volume in the Twayne Unites States Authors Series -- short single volume biographies of major American authors. Each is fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#035568] SOLD

Lanham, University Press of America, (1987). A compendium of the characters, concepts, and literary allusions contained in Burroughs' 77 published stories, compiled and inscribed by McWhorter, longtime curator of the Burroughs collection at the University of Louisville Library. Small, faint red spot near spine, else a fine copy, without dust jacket, as issued. Review copy, with publisher's prospectus and errata slip laid in. [#035569] $150

NY, Knopf, (1961). Later, but early, printing of one of Dahl's classics. Bound by Book Press, with a 4-line colophon, this is the issue in light blue boards with a darker quarter spine and an SBN on the rear jacket panel. Distinguished by its condition: light foxing to the top edge; slight mustiness; but a near fine copy in a fine dust jacket. [#035570] $350

NY, Macmillan, 1929. The Newbery Award winning story of the first hundred years in the life of a wooden doll. Signed by the author. From the library of Doris Dana, with her ownership signature on the front pastedown. Dana was the translator, and partner, of Chilean Nobel Prize winner Gabriela Mistral, as well as being friends with such figures as Thomas Merton, dramatist Cheryl Crawford, Thomas Mann, and others. Uneven sunning to covers; author's name circled in pencil there; bit of dampstaining to lower edges; a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket. Illustrations by Dorothy P. Lathrop. [#035571] $1,000

Boston, Circlet Press, 1992. Two volumes: both an uncorrected proof copy (i.e., "Press Copy") and an inscribed copy of Tan's first book, an early volume from her own Circlet Press, an independent press devoted to erotic science fiction and fantasy that has continued to publish over the past three decades. (They were acquired by Riverdale Avenue Books in 2020.) Both the press copy and the signed copy state "second printing": the original release, in 1991, was in electronic form. Publishing notes and page numbers written on the press copy (despite the published version being unnumbered). The inscription reads: "To Bob - May you treasure this little volume as much as I do! Thanks & enjoy." Each is fine in wrappers. [#035572] $100

(Santa Cruz), CES/CNS, 1992. An early critical analysis of climate change. Issued as CES/CNS (Center for Ecological Socialism/Capitalism, Nature Socialism) Pamphlet 3. Cameron takes aim at not only the social and economic effects of climate change, but also the social and economic causes. Fine in stapled wrappers. [#035573] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1972). Douglas, a Supreme Court Justice, has written "a chronicle of ecological disaster," enumerating (almost) all the ways humans have desecrated or decimated the natural world, including the need for "an ecological standard" to protect the atmosphere. Remainder mark at the lower edge of the text block; else fine in a fine dust jacket. [#035574] SOLD

Boston, Little Brown, (1948). A prescient book (1948) by the President of the New York Zoological Society, warning of the effects of the increasing global depletion of natural resources: water, soil, forests, and biodiversity. Blurbs by Aldous and Julian Huxley, Eleanor Roosevelt, and others. Less common than it seems, as many copies listed as "firsts" fail to state "first edition" on the copyright page. Penciled owner name on front flyleaf. A fine copy in a bright, very good dust jacket with light wear to the spine ends and folds and a line of minor spots on the rear panel. [#035575] SOLD

Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, 1935. Written after the initial waves of the storms of the Dust Bowl, but with both an international and historical sweep, Sears delineates the misguided stewardship of natural resources and the expected detrimental after-effects, not only environmentally but politically, as land mismanagement and personal hardships created opportunistic threats to democracy. Issued in several editions over the following half-century: the 1935 first edition is scarce. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with only shallow edge wear. [#035576] SOLD

Hollywood, Privately Printed/Oxford Press, (1947). His first book, a self-published book of humor by the Emmy Award winning comedy writer, who wrote for Bob Hope, Woody Allen, Red Skelton, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, Bing Crosby, and the hosts of "Laugh-In" over his long career. Musty, several page signatures darkened; still a very good copy in a fair, edge-chipped dust jacket. The book features what appears to be a pencil holder (now empty) bound in under the upper rear pastedown. Two copies in OCLC. [#035577] SOLD

NY, Thomas Y. Crowell, [1910]. Issued as #9 in Crowell's series of miniature anthologies edited by Albert Broadbent. Pencil underlining in the first few pages; one owner inscription; two owner names; and dated twice by owners (1913, 1967). Tipped-in color frontispiece. 3-1/4" x 6". Very good, without dust jacket, as issued. [#035578] $75

[Wolverhampton], [Fullwood and Hellier], ca. 1880. An unbound set of 47 etching prints by John Fullwood, British landscape painter and etcher. In 1880, Fullwood published a set of etchings bound as a volume entitled "Remnants of Old Wolverhampton and Its Environs," and we believe these prints correspond to that volume, minus one (there being 48 in the bound volume). The prints are 11" x 14-3/4". Most retain their glassine interleaves, but both these and the margins of the prints are heavily foxed throughout. At best, a very good set. [#035579] SOLD

NY, Alliance Book Corporation, (1941). Presumed first edition. Inscribed by Gessner to Elmer Rice, "with best wishes." In the year of publication, Gessner founded the Motion Picture Department at NYU; Rice (who had won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1929 for Street Scene), was then part of the Playwrights Company, which he had founded with Maxwell Anderson and Robert E. Sherwood, among others. Spine and edge-faded; a very good copy, lacking the dust jacket. A nice association copy. [#035580] $200

London, Deutsch, 1968. An advance copy of the British edition of his fourth book, a reflection on the forces that shaped the writers of the Beat Generation. This advance format seems to have been created from a disbound American first edition [NY: Dutton, 1967]; it is stamped "Advance American Copy/ Probable Publication Date June 1968 (entered by hand)/ Approx. Price (not filled in)/ Andre Deutsch/ 105 Great Russell St/ London W.C. I." Beneath the stamp, there are what appear to be initials, and we'd like to say they are those of renowned editor Diana Athill (based on her "D" often being made like a vertical ichthys), but we're uncertain. Holmes's first novel, Go, has been called the seminal novel of the Beat Generation, predating Kerouac's On the Road by five years. Holmes is also credited with inventing the phrase "beat generation." Modest foxing to edges and covers; very good in wrappers. [#035581] $200

(Hailey), Limberlost Press, (1985). The author of the first Beat novel (Go, 1952) reflects on his two decades of friendship with Kerouac. This copy is inscribed by Holmes. Modest foxing and handling to covers, but wormholes and creasing have made the front joint tenuous at best, thus only a good copy in wrappers. [#035582] SOLD

London, Faber and Faber, (1985). Three novellas. Inscribed by the author to Alison Lurie: "For Alison/ From Rachel/ with memories of good company in Manchester & a clear view to London." Assuming the year of publication to be the year of inscription, Lurie would have won the Pulitzer the preceding year for Foreign Affairs; the year following, 1986, the British Book Marketing Council named Ingalls' Mrs. Caliban as one of the 20 best novels by living American writers after World War II. Fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket. Provenance: the Lurie estate. A nice association. [#035583] SOLD

NY, McCall, (1970). The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition (published simultaneously with the Canadian edition) of her second book, a lesbian novel set in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Born in the U.S., Rule emigrated to Canada in her 20s. Her first novel, Desert of the Heart, was made into the 1985 film Desert Hearts. Long bound galleys, 6-1/2" x 11", printed on rectos only. Very good in sunned wrappers, with a small edge tear near the crown. An uncommon proof, and a landmark of lesbian literature. [#035584] $200

NY, Greenwood Press, (1991). An 850+ page biographical dictionary of exiled writers, including a section discussing groups as a whole, such as "Gay and Lesbian Writers in Exile," "Iranian Writers in Exile," "Francophone African...," "Romanian..." etc. Trace foxing to top edge, else fine, without dust jacket, as issued. A massive, invaluable reference work on the forced movement of writers in the 20th century. [#035585] SOLD

NY, Viking, 1961. Second printing of this chronicle of a trip through the Amazon wilderness; Matthiessen's second book of nonfiction. Signed by the author in full on the title page and on the verso of the front flyleaf, and inscribed by him on the half-title: "For Rahda & Jimmy/ with many thanks/ Affectionately/ Peter." Near fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with rubbing to the folds. [#035586] $150

NY, Random House, (1975). Fourth printing of this unusual novel, almost an extended prose poem, that is, in part, an elegy to the turtle fishermen of the Grand Cayman islands, written in their dialect. Signed by the author in full on the verso of the front flyleaf, and inscribed by Matthiessen on the half-title: "For Rahda & Jimmy/ What wonderful hosts you are! Thanks ever so much --/ Love, Peter/ Santa Barbara/ February 1994." Laid in is a telling autograph note signed: "If you read the first 30pp or so more or less attentively, the rest is easy -- my best book, I think -- Love, P." Modest sunning to edges and spine, with a small dent to the rear board edge; still near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket. [#035587] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1978). Matthiessen's National Book Award-winning volume, recounting a trip to the Himalayas with naturalist George Schaller in the hopes both of encountering a snow leopard in the wild and of coming to terms with his wife's recent death from cancer. Inscribed by the author in Santa Barbara in 1994: "For Rahda and Jimmy -- what fun it would be to go to India together! Namaste/ with love/ Peter." Also signed in full above the inscription. Los Angeles Times review of the book by Ralph Sipper laid in. Edge-sunned; near fine in a very good, spine-sunned dust jacket with wear at the crown. [#035588] SOLD

NY, Viking, (1983). Matthiessen's controversial and suppressed book about the confrontation between American Indian activists and the FBI in the early 1970s at Pine Ridge Reservation near Wounded Knee that left two federal agents and one Indian dead, and resulted in AIM activist Leonard Peltier imprisoned for life, convicted of the agents' murder in a case that, as Matthiessen describes it, was rife with government malfeasance. This copy is inscribed by Matthiessen in the year of publication: "For Rahda & Jimmy/ with many thanks and love. Peter. In your beautiful house/ Santa Barbara/ March - 1983." Also signed in full on the front pastedown. Trace edge sunning, still a fine copy in a very good, very spine-faded dust jacket with modest edge wear. [#035589] $250

NY, Viking, (1984). A collection of essays on various issues related to American Indians, especially those issues having to do with the culture clash between corporations looking to exploit natural resources and tribes asserting their rights to control their land and its uses, while retaining a connection to the traditions by which they lived in harmony with their environment and held the land sacred. Signed by the author. Mild sunning to the boards; near fine in a very good, spine- and edge-sunned dust jacket. [#035590] $75

NY, Random House, (1990). 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. Inscribed by the author in Santa Barbara in 1994: "For Rahda and Jimmy/ Perhaps by the time we meet again, I can bring you Watson II & III/ Many thanks/ and love/ Peter." Also signed in full on the facing page. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket. [#035591] $125

San Francisco, Sierra Club, (1992). Text by Matthiessen, who, at the invitation of musician Paul Winter, visited Lake Baikal in hopes of stirring a response that would help save the lake, which contains one-fifth of all the fresh water on earth and which has been threatened in recent years by acid rain and industrial pollution. Stunning photographs by Boyd Norton; introduction by the poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Inscribed by the author in 2003, "for Rahda and Jimmy, with much love." Fine in a very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket. [#035592] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1997). The second novel in the trilogy that began with Killing Mr. Watson, based on a series of events in Florida at the turn of the last century and using the novel form to explore the settling and development of that frontier, with an awareness of the ecological implications of that development. Inscribed by the author: "For Rahda & Jimmy/ Here's #II/ With love/ Peter/ Sta. Barbara/ April 2003/ (Matthiessen)." Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#035593] $75

NY, Random House, (1999). The concluding volume in the Watson trilogy -- which comprises one of the great achievements of ecological fiction in American literature. Inscribed by the author: "For Jimmy - Rahda/ Here's #3/ with much love (and many thanks for so much kind hospitality at Via Huerto)/ Peter/ Santa Barbara/ April 2003." Also signed in full on the facing page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#035594] SOLD

NY, North Point, (2002). Second printing of Matthiessen's account of his journeys in search of the fifteen species of cranes. Inscribed by the author in 2003: "For Rahda & Jimmy/ Much love! Cheers/ Thank you!/ Peter." Also signed in full on the facing page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#035595] SOLD

NY, Simon & Schuster, (1998). The author of The End of Nature and co-founder of the climate organization 350.org here makes an environmental argument for having only one child. Since this book was published, in 1998, the world population has increased 33%, from 6 billion to 8 billion. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#035596] $125

Paris, (Durand), (1953). Six illustrations by American surrealist artist Leon Kelly. This is Copy No. 47 of an unspecified limitation by this prolific French writer and translator. A near fine copy in self-wrappers, with a very good glassine dustwrapper. [#035597] $100

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1885. A longtime friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson and later Walt Whitman, Burroughs was more of a "nature writer" than philosopher or poet, like his friends. In this volume he covers England, with chapters on Nature in England, English Woods: A Contrast, A Hunt for the Nightingale, English and American Song-Birds, and In Wordsworth's Country, among others. This copy has an owner name in pencil on the front flyleaf; the hinges are cracked but holding; and there is a 3" x 1" chip at the gutter of the front pastedown. Basically a good copy, lacking any dust jacket, if there was one. [#035598] SOLD

Boston, Houghton Mifflin/Environmental Defense Fund, (1987). A limited edition: the Environmental Defense Fund's Commemorative (25th) Anniversary edition of Carson's classic 1962 work, which single-handedly brought about the banning of the pesticide DDT, saving songbirds and giving wing to the environmental movement. With a new foreword by Paul Brooks, who was editor-in-chief at Houghton Mifflin during the publication of both The Edge of the Sea and Silent Spring, and who became the guardian of Carson's adopted son after her death; he also wrote the Carson biography, The House of Life, in 1972. This is Copy No. 347 of 1000 copies. Light corner bump, else fine in a near fine dust jacket. A little-known, uncommon limited edition of this classic work (note: printed from sheets of a 16th printing). Laid in is an Environmental Defense Fund pamphlet entitled Reflections on Silent Spring, written by Michael J. Bean and Dr. Ellen K. Silbergeld, discussing the legacy of Carson's book, 25 years on. The pamphlet is fine in stapled wrappers. [#035599] SOLD

NY, Rinehart, (1947). A later printing of her first book, a volume in the Rivers of America series that came to be seen as a classic of environmental literature. Stoneman had been asked to write about the Miami River; unimpressed, she turned her attention to the Everglades and remained a lifelong advocate for their protection. This copy is inscribed by Douglas: "To Clara Mulloy, in recognition of all our pleasant years as neighbors and friends, with affectionate good wishes, Marjory./ Spring Garden, February, 1947." A newspaper photo of Douglas has been tipped in below. In addition, an autograph note signed in full by Douglas is tipped to the dedication page: dated in 1956, it offers her sympathies to Clara on reading of the death of her husband. The book is lacking its jacket and the boards are mottled and the spine a bit abraded; the text is fine; a good copy overall. [#035600] SOLD

Martha's Vineyard, Privately Printed, 1959. A complete reference, including a history of birding on the island; an annotated systematic list of all recorded birds; a list of summer, winter and permanent residents as well as migrants and accidentals; where to look for birds and who has seen them; and a large fold-out birdwatcher's map of the island. Inscribed in 1961 by both the co-author Guy Emerson and by Henry Beetle Hough, who contributes the first essay in the book -- "A Ticket to Martha's Vineyard" -- to Eleanor Herrick Stickney, a lifelong, avid bird-watcher who was an ornithologist for the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History for 30 years, in charge of the collection of specimens there and director of the library. Henry Beetle Hough was the longtime owner, editor and publisher of the Vineyard Gazette and a Pulitzer Prize winner. A fine copy in a very good, spine-sunned, lightly rubbed dust jacket with a few short tears near the spine crown. An excellent association copy. [#035601] $300

London, Faber and Faber, (1941). Second printing. First published in 1939, this is a comprehensive global study of the causes and consequences of soil erosion, with attention paid to the acceleration of harm due to human mismanagement -- a theme that continues to play out on land, air, and sea. Light foxing to edge and endpages; near fine in a near fine, spine-tanned dust jacket. The book was reprinted after the end of the Second World War; it's a safe bet that copies from before or during the war did not survive in any great numbers; no copies are listed online at the time of this writing. [#035602] SOLD

(Toronto), McClelland & Stewart, (1990). The Canadian author of Never Cry Wolf, among many others, here interviews environmental activists including Ron Burchell (The Sierra Club); Monte Hummel (World Wildlife Fund); Stephen Best (International Wildlife Coalition); and others, including David Suzuki, Peter Singer, and Elizabeth May. Inscribed by Mowat in the year of publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#035603] $125

NY, Random House, (2001). In his third book, the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and How To Change Your Mind, among others, examines the relationship between humans and four domesticated plants: apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes. This copy is inscribed by Pollan in the year of publication: "6-21-01/ For Suzanne, fellow bumblebee, with gratitude, Michael." The thesis of the book is that these domesticated plants may be viewed as using us -- humans -- as an evolutionary strategy in the same way that flowers use bumblebees to spread their DNA, helping to ensure the species' survival; Pollan's recognition of the recipient's and his own identities as "bumblebees" likely refers to this idea. Fine in a fine dust jacket, which features blurbs by Richard Ford, Bill McKibben, Edward Hoagland, and Alice Waters, among others. Uncommon in the first printing, especially signed. [#035604] SOLD

NY, Scribner, (1996). Winner of the John Burroughs Medal. Signed by the author. Quammen applies the insights gained by the study of isolated island biogeographies to the question of the survivability of species in the face of environmental encroachment by humans on mainland populations -- making the leap, obvious in retrospect but original here, that the continued development of human societies is, in effect, turning wilderness habitats into "islands," with the attendant limitations and problems that island species have traditionally faced. Quammen has been called, by one publication, "America's finest nature writer," and the glowing blurbs on this volume -- from such writers as Barry Lopez, Annie Proulx, Edward O. Wilson, Jim Harrison, Terry Tempest Williams, and others -- include the comment that this is "natural science at its most seductive" and "a monumental work of monumental importance." Slight sagging to the 700+ page text block; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#035605] SOLD

[NY], Dodd, Mead, 1953. "The Journal of a Naturalist's Year." Inscribed by the author: "Presented to The Woodland School Library [Joliet, IL] in memory of Anne L. Smith by her pupil -- Edwin Way Teale/ May 4, 1955." Illustrated with 24 photographs by Teale. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with trace shelf wear. Teale wrote nearly three dozen books in his lifetime, including Near Horizons, which won the John Burroughs Medal, and Wandering Through Winter, which won the Pulitzer Prize, but books signed by him are uncommon. A very nice copy. [#035606] SOLD

(Arlington), Bogg, 1989. Poetry by this poet/collagist who was associated with the San Francisco Beat poetry scene and the hippie counterculture that emerged from it in the 1960s. Plymell was the publisher of the first issue of Zap! comix, the underground comic that introduced R. Crumb and S. Clay Wilson to the counterculture, and according to Allen Ginsberg he was the inspiration for the "Wichita Vortex Sutra." This copy is inscribed by Plymell on the front cover: "Hey Jim, hand on the doorknob [a reference to the cover photo]. Can't find nowhere to go!/ Charles Plymell. Getting into the the [sic] new." Fine in stapled wrappers. [#035607] $100

Williamsburgh, Heron Press, 1971. Copy No. 168 of 200 numbered copies. Nine poems by Lavin illustrated with woodcuts by Bruce Chandler, who also designed and printed the book. Folio, 12" x 16", in light brown cloth boards with gilt-stamped red leather spine label. Small, 1" mark at upper board edge; else fine, without jacket, as issued. [#035608] $125

NY, Knopf, 1962. The first American edition of the author's first book, which has nine fewer poems than the British edition of 1960. The Colossus was the only collection of Plath's poetry published in her lifetime. The only other book of hers published before her suicide was the autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. This is a near fine copy in a good dust jacket: rubbed at the folds; chipped at the spine extremities -- 1" at the bottom and 1/2" at the top; and with faint dampstaining and a bookstore label on the rear panel. [#035609] SOLD

(Various), (Various), 1986-2003. An extensive collection of audio renditions of Rice's long-running Vampire series, with 41 recordings of 13 titles, most of which are Random House audiobooks or Books on Tape, but also including works by Recorded Books and Isis Audio Books. The majority of the recordings are on cassette tape, with a dozen in CD format. 18 of the recordings are unabridged, with at least one unabridged audio of each title present, with the exception of Memnoch the Devil (and The Vampire Chronicles, which is itself an abridgment). The titles (and the number of recordings) are as follows: Interview with the Vampire (4); The Vampire Lestat (4); The Queen of the Damned (2); The Vampire Chronicles (1); The Tale of the Body Thief (3); Memnoch the Devil (1); The Vampire Armand (4); Pandora (3); Vittorio the Vampire (4); Merrick (3); Blood and Gold (3); Blackwood Farm (5); and Blood Canticle (4). The audios are presumed to be in fine condition. Vittorio's CD case has been replaced; otherwise the cases and boxes are fine or near fine, but for an indentation to an Interview cassette box. Will ship at cost. [#035610] $350

[Wheeling], Innovation, (1991). The hardcover issue of the first collected edition of Innovation's twelve-part graphic novel based on Rice's second book in her Vampire Chronicles, adapted by Perozich and painted by Daerick Gross. Very slight bump to top edge, still fine in a fine dust jacket. [#035611] $150

(Wheeling), Innovation, (1991-1993). Six of the twelve issues (#s 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8) of Innovation's graphic serialization of the first book in the Lestat series, "not intended for children." Nos. 2 and 5 have light rubbing and are near fine; the others are fine in stapled wrappers. Uncommon now. [#035612] SOLD

(Wheeling), Innovation, (1991-1993). Ten of the twelve issues (#s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11) of Innovation's graphic serialization of the third book in the Vampire Chronicles. All are fine in stapled wrappers. [#035613] $200
On Sale: $130

(France/NY/CA), (n.p.), 1987-1992. Thirteen pieces of correspondence (five autograph letters signed, seven typed letters signed, one autograph note signed), and one 7-page typescript, all sent from Roditi to an editor at Art & Antiques magazine over the years 1987-1992. Roditi, a Jewish, American, homosexual, poet, translator, and Surrealist author born in France, was also well-known for his interviews with modernist artists. The correspondence here begins with a reference to an article he has submitted to A&A on Paris' Camondo Museum, and talks of research he's done on 19th century American artists and of having recently seen proofs of a book of his on the topic. The second letter (written from his post at Bard College) discusses the illustrations he'll need for his proposed article on the Russian Romantic painter Ivan Aivazovsky's visit to America, and suggests articles on Brussel's Horta Museum and on the Italian painter Giorgio Morandi. Roditi's 7-page untitled typescript (signed in type, with holograph corrections, and several penciled editorial comments) about his interactions with Morandi 30 years prior, is included here. Subsequent letters discuss meeting with the recipient in New York City; the need for minor surgery, which will send him to convalesce in California; Bedford Press bringing some of his writings back into print; cataracts; aging (turning 80, and then, in a later letter, 81, a period that saw four or five of his books being published); a Breton show in Paris; a Chagall show near Lausanne; his increasing disability; and lastly, less than four months before his death, final queries about his still-unpublished Aivazovsky article and a proposed article on Andre Breton. All pieces are generally in fine condition, but for mailing folds. Envelopes are included. [#035614] SOLD

London, Chapman and Hall, 1893. A novelization of a botanical expedition to Borneo, first serialized in the Boys' Own Paper. Two owner names to front flyleaf; a W.H. Smith and Sons Subscription Library label on the front pastedown; the cloth is well-rubbed, with some dampstaining visible at the joints. A good copy. [#035615] SOLD

Chicago, Consolidated Book Publishers, (1942). Salinger's first book appearance, this being the first issue (1942), the state without the head and toe bands. Rubbing to the front cover and several abrasions or scrapes to the spine; a good copy in a very good, later issue mailing box, being the red, pink, and navy issue, listing 96 cartoons. [#035616] $2,000

Boston, Little, Brown, 1951. The second printing (July, 1951; same month as the first printing) of Salinger's classic first book, which stands as one of the great fictional accomplishments of 20th century American literature. Small strips of black tape attached to black boards, possibly from a previous jacket protector; still a near fine copy in a very good, supplied, early printing dust jacket with small chips at the corners and spine ends, a small blended stain at the spine base, and a light, illegible pencil note on an upper corner of the rear panel. A very presentable early printing, with a dust jacket from a similar early printing, being the correct height and with the Lotte Jacobi photograph of Salinger on the rear panel of the jacket. [#035617] $1,250

[Boston], [Little, Brown], [1951]. The Book of the Month Club edition of Salinger's classic first book. Includes the now-uncommon Clifton Fadiman promotional pamphlet, reprinted from the Book-of-the-Month Club News, and with two line drawing illustrations of passages from the book. Salinger was notoriously touchy about images of his writings, and he forced the paperback publisher to change its original cover that showed Holden Caulfield carrying a suitcase to the now-famous plain-text-on-a-red-background, so it is unusual to see visual images of Salinger's text. A fine copy in a bright, very good dust jacket with a small, internally tape-mended chip at the crown. [#035618] $1,000

London, Cassell & Company, 1894. Reproductions of seven photographs depicting the "seven ages" of life as described in Shakespeare's As You Like It. There were earlier volumes published on this same theme, but this may be the first publication to use photographs (rather than engravings). Disbound, with contemporary gift inscription. A fair copy, with all plates and both covers present; large lower corner chip to the front cover and some marginal insect damage, not affecting the photographs. Five copies found in OCLC. [#035619] $175

NY, Dodge Publishing, 1911. A six-page photographic calendar (for 1912) depicting scenes from Maeterlinck's "The Blue Bird" (with the added attribution "As I saw it played/Louise Hurlbut Mason.") Photographs by Byron. Ribbon-tied; 14" x 11". The calendar is a 4" x 2" inset accessible from all inner pages. Gift inscription on rear cover; moderate foxing; shallow insect damage to lower edge. Very good. [#035620] $75

NY, Dodge Publishing, 1911. A six-page photographic calendar (for 1912) depicting scenes from Peabody's "The Piper," (with the added attribution "As I saw it played/Louise Hurlbut Mason.") Photographs by Byron. Ribbon-tied; 14" x 11". The calendar is a 4" x 2" inset accessible from all inner pages. Gift inscription on rear cover; modest foxing. Very good. [#035621] $125

Woodstock, Overlook Press, (1975). The first U.S. edition of this satire set within a termite colony, by a Polish writer. Originally published in English in 1953. Minor foxing to the edges of the text block; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a bit of sunning to the yellow on the spine and a tiny edge tear at the crown. [#035622] $50

NY, Summit Books, (1988). Gonzo Papers Vol. 2, subtitled "Tales of Shame and Degradation in the '80s" and comprising short essays on events from a column Thompson had in the San Francisco Examiner -- including much on the presidential campaigns -- from late 1985 to early 1988. Inscribed by Thompson: "Jay/ Here's this - Maybe you can learn something from it. Good luck. HST." Dated by Thompson at Owl Farm on June 16, 1988. A few tiny spots to the lower edge of the text block; still fine in a fine dust jacket. Uncommon signed. [#035623] $4,500

NY, Putnam's, 1972. Inscribed by Harrison to James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice Bradley Sheldon) as "Tip," as "he" preferred to be called: "A book, with all fondness, for Tip - May it cheer him up & make him forgive my acting like a horse's ass - Harry/ San Diego 72." Alice Sheldon broke gender barriers in the science fiction field (and won both Hugo and Nebula Awards) writing as James Tiptree, Jr. For the first decade (1967-1977), the author's true gender was unknown. Harrison contributed to Tiptree's early success, offering feedback on stories, buying several for the series Nova, and including some in a series of "year's best" anthologies. According to the excellent Tiptree biography by Julie Phillips, in the year of this inscription, Harrison (who did not know Tiptree's true identity) had sent a letter to Tiptree urging him to show his face: "Really, it has to be done sooner or later and you'd be a better Tip for it." Tiptree typed up a long response, saying, in part, "WILL YOU LAY OFF?...You've been a great friend...I know from experience what I need: to get in a hole away from everything and everybody...The last time pals tried to cheer me up I ended sitting around with my .38 in my mouth..." He ended his letter to Harrison, "Yours for the ultimate horselaugh." [Phillips, Julie. James Tiptree, Jr: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon] The two did continue their friendship in correspondence, but Harrison was not, as Tiptree had promised in that same letter, the first person to know when he went public as Sheldon. This novel by Harrison (who also wrote Make Room! Make Room!, which became the film Soylent Green) is near fine in a near fine, internally foxed dust jacket. It should be noted that we have no substantiating provenance tracing "Tip" to Tiptree, only very reasonable conjecture. [#035624] SOLD

NY, Harper & Brothers, (1940). An early, pre-war book by Watts, who became the foremost exponent of Zen Buddhism in the West during the postwar years. Published when the author was only 25, and one of his first full-length volumes of philosophy and comparative religion, the original edition is quite uncommon today. Light foxing to top edge and endpages, and some dulling to the spine gilt. Still a near fine copy, lacking the dust jacket. [#035625] SOLD

NY, Harper & Brothers, (1942). A collection of White's short, inimitable essays -- most from his column in Harper's and a few from The New Yorker. White provides a new foreword, which puts his short and thoughtful essays into the context of the then-ongoing Second World War. This is one of an unspecified number of copies signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf. Offsetting pp. 12-13 from a prior bookmark; rubbing to edges, with the front hinge starting. An uncommon issue of a classic book of essays by White, perhaps the most highly regarded American essayist and the writer whose voice was the most critical in defining the urbane humanism that characterized The New Yorker, setting the tone for the best of American literature in the 20th century. A very good copy, lacking the dust jacket. [#035626] $1,250
On Sale: $938

NY, Harper & Brothers, (1954). The limited edition of this collection of essays, stories and poems by the quintessential New Yorker writer and also the author of such children's classics as Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little. One of 500 copies signed (initialed) by White for presentation to friends of the author and publisher. Sunning to spine ends; near fine in a very good dust jacket with light chipping at the spine extremities and rubbing to the folds. [#035627] SOLD

NY, Harper & Row, (1962). A collection of White's essays, written in the form of letters to The New Yorker. One of an unspecified number of copies with a tipped-in leaf making it a presentation copy issued as a gift from The New Yorker in October, 1962, the month of publication. Trace sunning to top board edges, still a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with a closed tear at the upper rear panel. [#035628] SOLD

NY, Harper & Row, (1976). The first publication of the letters of one of the finest American essayists of the last century. This is one of an unspecified number of copies signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf. Minor board sunning; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with slight wear to the spine extremities. A bookmark is laid in from Kroch's and Brentano's First Edition Circle, which produced this signed edition. [#035629] SOLD

NY, Putnam's, 1904. "Jenny June" Croly, was the "first American newspaper woman" (New York Times obituary, 1901). She was also the founder of Sorosis, the first professional women's club in the U.S. (1868), which was her response to female journalists being barred from a talk by Charles Dickens, and she was the founder of the Women's Press Club of New York City (1889) and its president until her death. This book is a tribute to Croly, arranged jointly by the WPC and by Sorosis, and includes memories of her, a biography by her brother, and several essays, speeches and letters by Croly herself. This copy has a presentation inscription by Baroness Katharine Evans von Klenner, Honorary President of the Women's Press Club, on the front pastedown. Stamp of the Double Spearhead Bar Ranch on the pastedown; possible name erasure front flyleaf; facsimile inscription by Croly on the frontispiece tissue guard. In publisher's gilt-decorated binding by "J.B."; light rubbing to the joints and ends; a near fine copy. [#035630] SOLD

Boston, Atlantic/Little, Brown, (1943). Hamilton's autobiography, inscribed by the author. Alice Hamilton earned the name “First Lady of Industrial Medicine” for pioneering a field dedicated to public health and safety. From the website of the American Chemical Society: "Alice Hamilton helped make the American workplace less dangerous. In her quest to uncover industrial toxins, Hamilton roamed the more dangerous parts of urban America, descended into mines, and finagled her way into factories reluctant to admit her. She is responsible for spearheading groundbreaking studies into the poisonous effects of lead, aniline dyes, carbon monoxide, mercury, tetraethyl lead, radium, benzene, chemicals in storage batteries, and carbon disulfide and hydrogen sulfide gases created in the manufacture of viscose rayon." She also worked with Jane Addams at Hull House, in Chicago, and applied her expertise to finding the causes for the high incidence of typhoid fever and tuberculosis in the surrounding community; she eventually became the first female (assistant) professor at Harvard Medical School. A near fine copy, lacking the dust jacket. Illustrations by Norah Hamilton, Alice's sister. [#035631] SOLD