Search Results, p. 24

NY, D. Appleton, 1925. The Cherokee author's first book and, with D'Arcy McNickle's The Surrounded, one of the two most important debuts of modern Native American writers. This one, however, preceding McNickle's book by over a decade, may rightfully be called the first Native American novel of the modern era. The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture says: "...critic Gretchen Ronnow states that [Oskison] 'was one of the first major American Indian writers to grapple with the issues of being a highly educated mixed-blood trying to defend a tribal heritage.'" Owner name front flyleaf; rubbing to the joints and board edges and a vertical crease to the spine. A very good copy, lacking the scarce dust jacket. [#036232] $325

(Stevenson), (Country Squire), (1968). A single poem, and his first book to be issued as a limited edition. Copy number 54 of 125 numbered copies signed by the author. The slightest hint of edge sunning; else fine in saddle-stitched cardstock covers. [#030162] $325

NY, Knopf, 1968. The first of his novels to be both a critical and a substantial commercial success. Inscribed by the author: "For ___ ___/ with every good wish in her new environs/ John Updike." Foxing to cloth and edges of text block; mild splaying to boards; very good in a near fine dust jacket that is also foxed, mostly on verso. [#030163] $325
On Sale: $211

Salt Lake City/Santa Barbara, Dream Garden/Santa Teresa, 1993. A presentation copy of the reissue of Abbey's second book, one of the great novels of the contemporary West, and long out of print in hardcover. This edition has an introduction by Kirk Douglas, who starred in the film version, Lonely Are the Brave. Illustrated with stills from the movie and with a frontispiece illustration of Douglas. Of a total edition of 526 copies, this is a presentation copy, as noted on the colophon, and is signed by Kirk Douglas and with a lengthy and humorous inscription by the publisher. In the course of making a film from the novel, Abbey and Douglas corresponded, and they later met as friends: Douglas said the book "latched onto my soul" when he first read it; and Abbey, in a preface to the 1971 edition, thanked "the little band of loyal fans, including the actor Kirk Douglas, who have somehow kept [the book] alive through all these years..." Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#028377] $300

NY, Knopf, 1983. The first American edition. Warmly inscribed by Richard Adams, author of Watership Down, "To Marilyn with gratitude and all good wishes," and dated December, 1982. Note that the title page of this US edition gives the publication date of 1983, but the copyright page and the dust jacket both bear a 1982 date. Adams and Lockley, in alternating voices throughout the text, tell the story of their 6500 mile journey from Tierra del Fuego, along the coasts and seas of Antarctica, to the southern tip of New Zealand. Heavily illustrated with photographs by Peter Hirst-Smith. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with shallow edge wear. Scarce signed. [#036189] $300

Boston, Christopher Publishing House, (1949). An early warning from 75 years ago on the "mental bondage" and physical toll (including cancer) of tobacco addiction. One page corner turned (at the start of the chapter "How Can I Stop Smoking?"). Evidence, if such were needed, that information about the harmful effects of smoking was available long before the tobacco companies acknowledged it. Fine in a near fine, edge-sunned dust jacket with a closed tear mid spine. 7 copies in OCLC. [#036210] $300

NY, Dial, (1957). Brodkey's first book, a collection of stories that had the literary world virtually on tenterhooks for the next three decades, eagerly awaiting his first novel, which wasn't published until 1991. Inscribed by the author "with great affection" in 1991. Faint offsetting to front flyleaf; else fine in a near fine dust jacket with light edge wear and a bit of rubbing to the folds but none of the spine-fading common to this title. An uncommon book signed, and a very nice copy. [#023165] $300

ca. 1986. The 7-page typescript of an essay by Buckley about the maritime paintings in the collection of the Insurance Company of North America, intended for Art and Antiques Magazine, although we are uncertain as to whether if it ever saw publication. Together with an autograph note signed conveying the typescript, and a signed contract (with a second signed by Guy Davenport, apparently included in the file in error). Four additional pieces of signed correspondence (1986-1992) are included in the file, one of them alluding to Buckley's forthcoming novel, Wet Work. Buckley once held a position as deckhand on a Norwegian freighter, as well as writing Steaming to Bamboola: The World of a Tramp Freighter, while serving as Vice President George H.W. Bush's speechwriter. This essay opens with a scene from Moby Dick, in which Ishmael ponders a painting of a ship, and a whale, at the Spouter Inn. Fine, with unstamped mailing envelope. [#035838] $300

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1912. Burroughs provides an 8-page introduction to this collection of "Outdoor Scenes and Thoughts From the Writings of Walt Whitman," as compiled by Waldo R. Browne. Says Burroughs, in part, "As a poet he did not specialize upon flowers or birds or scenery, or any of the mere prettiness of nature, but he thought of wholes, he tried himself by wholes, he emulated the insouciance, the impartiality, the mass movements of the earth." Trace shelf wear; a very near fine copy in a good dust jacket: chipped at both spine ends and rear corners, and fragile at the folds. Uncommon in the original edition; scarce in any jacket. [#035119] $300

NY, Macmillan, 1948. Winner of the 1949 John Burroughs Medal. "Bird Experiences in Florida," with text by Helen G. Cruickshank and photographs by the author's husband, Allan D. Cruickshank, who was the official photographer of the National Audubon Society. This copy is signed by both Cruickshanks. Allan has added "Dum Vivimus Vivamus" ("While we live, let us live") below his signature. A fine copy in a very good, unevenly faded, price-clipped dust jacket with moderate edge wear. [#034647] $300

Pencil on paper. 9" x 6". No date. [#033951] $300

NY, Harper & Row, (1977). Holy the Firm was Dillard's third book, following a book of poetry and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. It is a short book of poetic meditations that took her 14 months to write, while she was living on Lummi Island, off of Bellingham, Washington. At one point, Dillard decided to write about whatever happened during a three-day period, and on the second day, an airplane crashed on the island, causing her to meditate on the problem of pain, and how a just and merciful God would allow natural evil to occur in the world. These meditations on pain, God, and evil continued to resonate throughout her work, particularly in her award-winning volume For the Time Being, published in 1999, more than 20 years after this book. This copy is signed by Dillard. Not an uncommon book, but signed copies appear infrequently, and those typically because she has signed them for someone known to her. Near fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with a couple small stains and small, open edge tears. [#036413] $300

Washington, DC, Island Press, (2008). The effects of humans' land use and energy use on natural resources, the atmosphere, the climate, biodiversity, etc. Inscribed by both authors: "For Tom (and Ed)/ with many thanks, great admiration, and fond memories/ Paul and Anne." An owner signature on the front flyleaf appears to be that of conservationist Thomas Lovejoy. The Ehrlichs had been at the forefront of the intersection of science and philosophy for nearly 50 years when this book was published. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with just a hint of spine fading. [#036552] $300

London, Rainbow Press, 1971. One of 300 numbered copies, signed by the three authors. Additionally, inscribed by both Fainlight and Sillitoe as a birthday gift to a friend in 2000. Leatherbound; fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#028421] $300

(Paris), Les Editions des Minuit, 1948. The first French edition of his second novel, first published in 1927. Of a total edition of 200 copies, this is Copy No. 58 of 150 copies printed "sur alfa-mousse des paperteries." Pages uncut; dampstaining to the upper outer corner of rear pages. Near fine in a very good, French-folded glassine dustwrapper. [#034931] $300

Oxford, Dolphin Book Co., 1975. Copy No. 440 of 1000 copies. 87 poems and three prose works reproduced in facsimile, with transcriptions and notes by Rafael Martinez Nadal. Fine in wrappers, in a fine dust jacket and a lightly rubbed, near fine slipcase. [#035644] $300

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

Stewartstown, NH, 1862. August 3, 1862. Edith Harriman writes to a friend, "Isabel," about the Civil War, the ensuant draft, and the draft dodgers heading to Canada. Harriman first apologizes to her friend, saying she's written no letters for two years, and that this season especially comes with much work. And then: "Things up here move very similar, as usual except our friends are not at ease about this bloody war. Probably draufing [sic] will have to be resorted to, or at least at first, and then what will be the result we know not, but we must submit to save the country from ruin, and we be reconciled." She then names some of the men not enrolled and some who have gone to Canada. The remainder of the letter speaks of weather and work and health, and she tells Isabel to come home "if it should be sickly in the city." Three pages, written on two sides of one sheet of paper; folded in sixths. Well-preserved; near fine. [#034914] $300

NY, Dial Pres, (1969). Poetry by the musical artist, her first book, published when she was only 18 years old but already a major star as a result of her controversial hit single, "Society's Child," about an interracial love affair, written and first recorded when she was 14 years old. Near fine in a very good, mildly rubbed dust jacket with one closed edge tear and a shallow water stain at the lower edge of the rear panel. [#036488] $300

Yellow Springs, Antioch College Union, 1961. The first (only?) issue of this magazine of literature and the arts. This copy is inscribed to Pauline Kael by Herbert Feinstein at his contribution, about Satyaji Ray's film The World of Apu. Kael has written "Feinstein on Apu" on the rear cover. Lower front cover corner crease; some rubbing and handling; very good in stapled wrappers. [#036223] $300

Highlands, Jonathan Williams, 1958. The "Author's Edition" of this early collection of poetry, her fourth book, printed as Jargon 19. One of 50 copies, of a total edition of 500. While the remains of this edition were later, in 1964, signed by Levertov on the front flap of the dust jacket and sold as a signed limited edition, this copy is without jacket, probably as issued in 1958, and is instead inscribed by Levertov: "Love to Don from Denise" on the first blank -- an actual "author's copy," as the colophon states. Fine in plain white wrappers. A Levertov, and Jargon, rarity. [#023539] $300

(n.p.), (n.p.), ca. 1969. Vintage Peter Max poster, 30" x 21", with the heavens and earth, angels, a rainbow, and an enlightenment vibe. Undated but includes a photo of Earth that was taken by the Apollo 8 crew in December 1968. Previously folded in 8ths, with extremely fragile folds and small tears at several junctions. A very good copy. Will ship flat: domestic shipping only. [#036242] $300

[Alaska], [Self-Published], [ca. 1967-1970s]. Apparently a homemade production of these three essays by Meader: "The Wilderness and Post-Civilized Man" (first published in Snowy Egret, 1966); "A Return to Wilderness" (first published in Alaska Review, 1965); and "The Coming Obsolescence of Man" (previously unpublished?). Only one copy listed in OCLC. From a 1974 article about Meader in Newsweek: “After five years of odd jobs, European travel and an abortive try at homesteading in Canada, a vague sense of dissatisfaction with civilized life drove them [Meader and his wife, Elaine] to Alaska...For most of the past 15 years they have lived in the remote Brooks Range of the Arctic interior, 50 miles from their nearest neighbor and 250 miles from the nearest road...Their home was a three-room log cabin; their diet was meat, fish and berries. They fashioned bowls from spruce roots and made clothing from caribou hides..." Their lives were documented in the film "Year of the Caribou" (also released as "The Alaska Wilderness Adventure"). 19 pages, 8-1/2" x 11" sheets, side-stapled with blue front cover and no rear cover, possibly as issued. Several small penciled notes to text; inked price to front cover. A very good copy. Scarce: OCLC lists only one copy in institutional holdings (UC-Davis). [#035129] $300

Paris, Olympia Press, 1958. Second printing of this novel first published in 1956. This book was a reworking of two stories Miller originally wrote on commission in 1940 for a collector of pornography (who reportedly found them "too poetic"). Illustrated with numerous photographs by Brassai. Softcover: fine in a very good dust jacket with moderate rubbing to the spine. [#034845] $300

Amenia, NY, 1975. Mumford declines to be a "nominator," on the grounds that he resists doing favors for anyone who might review his work, and suggests in his place Loren Eiseley or Harrison Salisbury. The letter reads as though the recipient was looking for a nomination, not for himself, but for some unnamed third party. The fascinating part is that Mumford begins the letter "I had a smothered fear, dear Van Veen," and closes it by saying "With all good wishes to you -- and Ada!" It is signed "Cordially, Lewis" (and headed with an Amenia NY address, where Mumford lived). "Van Veen" is the name of Vladimir Nabokov's protagonist in his novel Ada. Although we could find no direct connection between Mumford and Nabokov, both won the National Medal for Literature, in 1972 and 1973, respectively, and could have met at the April, 1974 ceremony where Nabokov received his. As for the nomination in question, Mumford, Eiseley, and Harrison all belonged to both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Association. Folded in sixths; light corner creasing; near fine. [#035856] $300

NY, Atlantic Monthly, (2000). An epistolary mystery about a missing pet problem advice columnist. Illustrated by Edward Koren. Inscribed by the author to Peter [Matthiessen] and his wife; signed, "love, George, with an added "Happy New Year!!" Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#032515] $300

San Francisco, Sierra Club Books, (2007). A retrospective collection of pieces from Schaller's life in the field, with a new introduction by the author for each chapter. Warmly inscribed by Schaller in 2009: "To Catherine and Bill/ with deep gratitude for many years of friendship." Fine in a fine dust jacket, with blurbs by a virtual Who's Who of environmental writing: Peter Matthiessen; Jane Goodall; Bill McKibben; and Edward O. Wilson. Schaller, among many other accomplishments and activities, accompanied Matthiessen on the trip documented in the National Book Award-winning, The Snow Leopard. [#036480] $300

1988. Ink and watercolor by a Russian, Soviet-era artist. 5-1/2" x 5". Signed by the artist, in Cyrillic, on the verso. Fine. [#035890] $300

1979, 1980. Four letters from Thomson, widely considered one of the most important and influential American composers and music critics of the 20th century. Written to John Crelan, founder and director of the cultural organization Arts and Society. The first informs Crelan that he has set to music for solo voice work by the poets Gertrude Stein, Marianne Moore, Max Jacob, and Georges Hugnet, and that he also has three full length operas (two featuring work by Stein and one featuring work by Jack Larson), and further that he finds Crelan's suggestion of a concert in Boston involving his work "most agreeable." The second letter confirms the date and venue and inquires about payment if there is to be a radio or television broadcast. The third and fourth continue to speak of the types of travel arrangements that were necessary in the era when one might need to send a postcard to a hotel should the timing of an appointment change. All letters fine, with mailing envelopes included. [#032679] $300

NY, Knopf, 1963. His second collection of poems. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a near fine, spine-sunned dust jacket with creasing to the base of the spine. [#912067] $300