Stevens, Wallace
First Printing, one of 3,000 copies. Octavo (22cm); green cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine, and decorative elements embossed onto front cover; green topstain; dustjacket; xii,176,[2]pp. Some sunnng and mottling to spine, endpapers lightly foxed, with rough erasure to an old owner's name on front endpaper; contents clean; Very Good. Dustjacket is unclipped (priced $3.00), sunned at spine and rear panel, lightly edgeworn, showing mild dust-soil, a few tiny tears and creases, and a handful of soiled spots to rear panel; Very Good+. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author's first collection of prose. Edelstein A17.a.1.
Stevens, Wallace
First Printing, one of 1,000 copies. Octavo (21.5cm); blue cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine, and decorative elements embossed onto front cover; brown topstain; dustjacket; [4],x,182,[4]pp. Light wear to spine ends, sunning to spine and upper board edges, with some oxidation to gilt, and subtle tanning to endpapers; contents clean; Very Good+. Dustjacket is price-clipped, with pronounced sunning to spine, and some gentler sunning to extremities; modest wear, a few tiny nicks and tears, with a tiny stain to upper spine panel; Very Good. An early collection by the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. Edelstein A5.a.1.
Hageman, William (editor); Bukowski, Charles, d.a. levy, and Steve Richmond, et al. (contributors)
Two quarto issues (28cm); variously-colored mimeographed sheets, side-stapled into pictorial card covers; [62]; [74]pp. Light wear and subtle toning to extremities, with a few faint foxed spots, and a few tiny stains to right edges of a few terminal leaves in No.1; Near Fine. Complete run of this short-lived Bay Area mimeo magazine. Contents include the first appearance of three poems by Charles Bukowski ("The Kiss-Off," "One Hundred and Ninetyseven Degrees," and "Bogart in the World of the Dead"), with contributions by Kent Taylor, d.a. levy, Marcus Grapes, Douglas Blazek, T.L. Kryss, Steve Richmond, William Wantling, Harold Norse, Brown Miller, D.R. Wagner, and others. Dorbin C380-381, 402; Clay & Phillips, p.303.
Bukowski, Charles (poems); Price, Ken (illustrations)
One of 20 Review Copies, this one unnumbered on the colophon. Folio (37.75cm); original cream cloth, with titling and pictorial elements silkscreened in colors on front cover; brown endpapers; [ii],[6],7-71,[3]pp, with black & white illustrations by Ken Price throughout the text. Some light, scattered dust-soil to cloth (particularly along the right edge of the front cover), else clean internally; Near Fine. Advance issue of this collaborative work between Bukowski (1920-1994) and Kenneth Price (1935-2012), a poetic and artistic ode to the City of Los Angeles. Among the towering achievements of John Martin's Black Sparrow Press the regular and deluxe issues were produced in a special binding with a traycase holding serigraph prints by Price, housed in a thick Plexiglass slipcase. The Review Copies were produced in an entirely different binding, some numbered, some signed, some including the one-hour CD of Bukowski reading his poetry. Considering the high cost at publication ($1250 for the regular issue, $3500 for the deluxe), there is every possibility that only a few of the 20 Review Copies were sent out. Additionally, according to the binder, the books, prints, slipcases, CD's, and even the foam-lined cardboard boxes were produced in different locations. This copy (unnumbered, unsigned, and without the CD) comes from the holdings of Earle and Larry Gray (of the Earle Gray Bookbinding Company), who bound most of the Black Sparrow Press titles produced between 1967-2001. Uncommon in this state, not mentioned in Aaron Krumhansl's descriptive bibliography.
Smith, Patti (poems); Mapplethorpe, Robert (cover)
One of 100 numbered copies signed by the author, this being copy no. 48. Slim octavo (21.5cm); offset printed sheets, hand-sewn into pictorial card wrappers; [20]pp. Light wear to wrapper extremities, mild touch of separation between rear pastedown and inner rear wrapper; contents fresh; Near Fine. A well-preserved copy of one of Smith's earliest works one of three chapbooks published the same year that Seventh Heaven, her first full-length book, was published by Telegraph Books. This collection of poems was published by the Philadelphia-based bookshop Middle Earth Books, founded in 1969 and owned by Samuel and Sims Amico. Their shop, located at 1134 Pine Street, was a hub for the underground literary and arts scene, hosting readings as well as embarking on a publishing venture. In a 1995 interview, when A.D. Amorosi asked Smith about the significance of Middle Earth Books, she replied: "If it wasn't my first reading, it was the first out-of-town thing because I was living in New York at the time, which made it very exciting. Like a first job.I was 22 and Robert Mapplethorpe and I were living together.in the Chelsea Hotel and he took the Polaroid for the cover. Didn't make any money (laughs) but just the thrill of seeing one's work, that someone thought it worthy of printing." (Sly, Margery. Blog post: "Patti Smith at Middle Earth Books." March 31, 2022). The most elusive and desirable of Smith's early books, uncommon in commerce. OCLC notes 10 holdings.
Coetzee, J.M.
Slim quarto (25.5cm); offset printed sheets, side-stapled into pale blue printed card covers; pp.471-480. A few tiny editorial marks and one holograph notation in pencil, with a block of text pertaining to an article on Eliot's Waste Land X'd out neatly in ink. Beginning oxidation to staples, faint vertical crease to left edge of front cover, with a hint of foxing to wrappers; Very Good+. An offprint of Coetzee's essay, reprinted from the November, 1972 issue of Journal of Modern Literature. Beckett has been a key influence on Coetzee's writing throughout his career; his Ph.D. thesis was a stylistic analysis of the author's early novels, and he has written numerous critical essays on Beckett. Several of them, including this one, were finally gathered in book format in 1992 (Doubling the Point: Essays and Interviews). This offprint is apparently rare, with none in commerce and none separately listed in OCLC, though we note a copy held with Coetzee's papers at the Ransom Center.
Walton, Izaak and Charles Cotton
Two 16mo. volumes (14.5cm); original tan printed paper-covered boards; viii,267,[1]; [iv],284+[4]pp ads. With engraved frontispiece portraits of Walton and Cotton (both unsigned), and vignette title pages. Gentle sunning to spines, light wear to edges and corner tips (resulting in minute board exposure), some rubbing and a few spots of soil to covers, with foxing to a few preliminary and terminal leaves, and some thin splits to the paper along the front joints, not affecting binding integrity; hinges sound, with exterior lettering sharp and legible; text is untrimmed and partially unopened; a Very Good, unrestored set, housed in a custom clamshell case. First two-volume edition of Walton's celebration of the art and spirit of fishing. Here, Tegg reprints the text of the 1797 edition, edited by Sir John Hawkins, and issued as volumes 49 and 50 of Whittingham's Cabinet Library (priced 8 shillings). A handsome set, uncommon in the original binding. Coigney 27.
Bukowski, Charles
Original draft typescript on nine leaves of white bond, measuring 8.5" x 11", numbered at upper right corners, with Bukowski's Carlton Way address appearing at upper left corner of preliminary leaf. Numerous holograph corrections and elisions appear throughout the text, on eight of the nine leaves, with the most significant omissions and re-writes appearing beginning on p.5. Signed by Bukowski on the terminal leaf, dated 9-25-77. Mild handling, occasional subtle toning, horizontal fold smoothed-out at center, with some scattered soil to lower half of p.1; a well-preserved draft, accompanied by an original unused sample cover design for the Black Sparrow Press edition, signed by Bukowski, with additional decorations by him in red and green marker.Together with a copy of the Deluxe Issue, one of 75 numbered copies specially bound and signed by the author, who has additionally hand-colored the front cover (this is copy no.11). Small octavo (20.5cm); pictorial paper-covered boards and purple leaf-patterned cloth backstrip, with title label mounted to spine; original printed paper dustjacket; [28]pp; illus. Fine in a Fine dustjacket. Complete typescript for this humorous, violent short story of middle-aged marital discord, set in a small town in Illinois. The preliminary leaf and running head notably print Bukowski's original title for this story The Split which he has crossed out on p.1 and re-titled You Kissed Lilly. This draft, written five months before the book by Black Sparrow Press was published, shows significant interaction with the text. Large portions were omitted, significant sections re-written, and there are portions of dialogue Bukowski made no changes to that were ultimately (and noticeably) changed in the published version. In addition to the 1978 publication, it appears as the fifth story in his 1983 collection Hot Water Music, and was published again in the September, 1984 issue of High Times. Complete typescripts for any of Bukowski's books rarely appear in the marketplace. Most are held in institutions, and while we know the whereabouts of a few in private hands, in 20 years of chasing down Bukowski material, we've had a single opportunity to handle one. Krumhansl 61b.
Berlin, Lucia
First Printing, wrappered issue. Octavo (22.75cm); pictorial card wrappers; [12],13-280,[4]pp. Inscribed by the author on the front endpaper, the month following publication, to poet and playwright Sidney Goldfarb: "December, 1994 / Happy New Year, Sidney. I hope to see you often / Love / Lucia." Light wear to extremities, sunning to spine, with a one inch band of sunning along the upper edge of the front wrapper; Very Good+. Berlin's first book published by the Black Sparrow Press, collecting short stories written between 1977-1990, including "Angel's Laundromat," and the highly-regarded "Manual for Cleaning Women." Inscribed to Berlin's close friend Sidney Goldfarb, who together with Marilyn Krysl, Peter Michelson, and Reg Saner established the renowned Creative Writing Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1975. In the summer of 1981, Goldfarb and Ed Dorn produced the literary newspaper Rolling Stock, where Berlin was a frequent contributor until the paper folded in 1991. Thanks to both Dorn and Goldfarb's influence, she began a two-year teaching position as Visiting Writer at UC Boulder, where she wrote much of the best of her later short fiction, and where she was awarded a prize for teaching excellence, resulting in her promotion to associate professor. Meaningful literary inscriptions in Berlin's books are uncommon in commerce.
Homes, Geoffrey (novel); Tourneur, Jacques (director)
Bifolium (12" x 9"); single sheet of powder grey stock, with text and still photographs offset printed in dark brown and red; [4]pp. Vertical fold is just slightly off-center, else a Fine example. A striking piece of ephemera from this cornerstone film noir, based on Geoffrey Homes's 1946 novel Build My Gallows High. The story is centered around an ex-private eye-turned-gas station owner, trying to live out his life quietly in Bridgeport, California, when a figure from his old life shows up to pull him back in. Directed by Jacques Tourneur, the film starred Robert Mitchum as the private eye, Virginia Huston as his trusting girlfriend, alongside Kirk Douglas and Jane Greer (double trouble). While we've seen a variety of posters, lobby cards, and stills for this film, the herald appears with much less frequency. Selby (Dark City: The Film Noir), pp.65-70.
Bachman, Richard (pseud. of Stephen King)
First Impressions. Four octavo volumes (18cm); original pictorial card wrappers; [x],211,[3]; [8],9-253,[3]; [viii],273,[7]; [iv],219,[1]pp. Rage and Roadwork are Fine, sharp-cornered, and with creamy, supple pages; The Long Walk shows light wear to extremities, with a hint of tanning to text edges, else Near Fine; The Running Man shows some mild surface wear, rubbing to joints and extremities, a few vertical stress creases to spine, with the verso of the front wrapper showing a slightly abraded rubber-stamp and ink price of a Birmingham book shop; Very Good. An attractive set of the first four books written under King's Richard Bachman pseudonym, originally issued as paperback originals by Signet between 1977-1982. With exception to Rage, nice copies of the UK editions appear with less frequency than their American counterparts. Brooks A5.2, A9.2, A11.2, A15.2.
Codrescu, Andrei
Deluxe Issue, one of probably a half-dozen copies specially bound and designated for the author, publisher, and a few individuals within the inner circle of the press, this one marked "Binder's Copy" and signed by the author. Octavo (23.5cm); decorative paper-covered boards and patterned cloth backstrip, with title label mounted to spine; publisher's original acetate dustjacket; [12],13-303,[5]pp. Fine in a lightly rubbed, Near Fine dustjacket. A collection of poems by the Romanian-American author, written over two and a half decades.
Lee, Harper
Original double-weight photograph, measuring 20.5cm x 25.5cm (8" x 10"). Inscribed by the subject in black ink toward the lower left corner: "To Dr. Greenway / with the best wishes of Harper Lee." Agency and copyright rubber-stamps on verso, embossed lozenge to lower left corner, with a few tiny spots to lower border edges, and a faint crease to upper left corner; Near Fine. A large, early photographic portrait of a young Harper Lee, issued the year after she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her 1960 novel To Kill A Mockingbird. The recipient was Dr. Charles Cornelius Greenway, an autograph collector and pastor at All Souls Congregational Church in Brooklyn, NY, whose collection of ca. 4,000 signed photographs was sold in two notable auctions (1970-1971) at Parke-Bernet Galleries.
Faas, Ekbert and Ted Hughes
Deluxe Issue, one of 6 copies (numbered 295-300) specially bound and designated for the author, publisher, and a few key individuals involved with production, this one marked "Binder's Copy" (no.297) and signed by Faas and Hughes. Octavo (23.75cm); printed paper-covered boards and pale yellow linen backstrip, with title label mounted to spine; publisher's original acetate dustjacket; [10],11-225,[7]pp. Scattered foxing to upper edge of textblock, else Near Fine in a lightly rubbed, Near Fine dustjacket. A selection of essays on Hughes and his work by Faas, along with a selection of critical works by Hughes and two interviews. Uncommon in its most limited state. Sagar & Tabor B101a.2.
Dunn, Katherine
First Printing. Octavo (21cm); first state in blue-gray card wrappers, with only the month and year of publication printed on front cover; [x],351,[7]pp. Inscribed on the title page to Mel Waggoner, the host of a popular book program on public radio in the Pacific Northwest: "For Mel & Emogene / with many thanks for your wit and kindness / Best, Katherine Dunn. On the preceding page, Dunn has written Waggoner a holograph note on a Post-it: "Dear Mel This has some major flubs in it I've marked some but have certainly missed others Best to you and Emmy Katherine." Dunn has added two holograph notes on pages 202 and 254, indicating missing text, and has crossed out substantial passages on pp.211-212, 216-217. Subtle forward lean, gentle sunning to spine, with some faint finger-soil to right edge of textblock, a small tear to lower front joint, and a few stray pen marks to front wrapper; Very Good, with the generic publisher's letter and promotional review sheet folded and laid in. Proof copy of Dunn's third novel, centered around a a family-owned traveling carnival freak show. Geek Love was Mehta's first acquisition for Knopf, published with a modest print run of 20,000 copies. The brilliant storytelling, coupled with Chip Kidd's innovative jacket design, was an unexpected hit, as well as a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. A warmly inscribed copy to an early reader, bearing ample evidence of the author's hand prior to publication.
Bukowski, Charles (contributor); Richmond, Steve (editor)
Bifolium (43cm); single sheet of white stock (22" x 17") offset printed in black, folded once vertically to create a [4]pp tabloid; illus. Modest handling, light wear and a few tiny tears and creases to extremities, with a horizontal fold smoothed-out at center, and some tiny, scattered stains to left margin of rear wrapper; Very Good+. Attractive copy of this tabloid-style broadside, reprinting Bukowski's poems "Freedom" and "True Story," which first appeared in the pages of Olé, together with contributions by Richmond and John Buckner. The front wrapper's message proved to be somewhat inflammatory, resulting in police raiding Richmond's Santa Monica store shortly after publication, arresting him on obscenity charges, and seizing his stock, which included a number of Bukowski's books. Dorbin E32.