I don’t usually go out of my way to pick up older bibliographies if I have a better, more recent one, but both of these were part of that Forum auction lot, and one of them is signed by Jack Vance. Both have been superseded by Hewett.
Archive for the ‘Science Fiction’ Category
Library Additions: Two Jack Vance Bibliographies
Thursday, August 10th, 2023Library Additions: Two Signed, Limited Jack Vance Reference Works
Wednesday, August 9th, 2023Two more items from that Forum Jack Vance lot.
These two books alone are probably worth more than I paid for the entire lot.
Library Addition: Demon Prince: The Dissonant Worlds of Jack Vance
Thursday, August 3rd, 2023There was a Forum (UK) auction that had a fair amount of science fiction in it, so I bit the bullet and bid even though it was one of those dread “no in-house shipping” deals. And I’m glad I did! Even though I did get rooked for £100+ for shipping, I managed to pick up a number non-fiction works about Jack Vance for only £163.80 (including buyer’s premium), so £263.80 total. Here’s the first item from that lot.
(Vance, Jack). Rawlins, Jack. Demon Prince: The Dissonant Worlds of Jack Vance. Borgo Press, 1986. First edition hardback (plasticized boards), a Fine copy with “KATER-BOUND” sticker to rear cover (presumably as issued). Critical companion to the works of Jack Vance. Depending on the title, Borgo either did plasticized boards with the trade paperback encased, or cloth with the cover of the trade paperback pasted to the front; this is one of the former. I can’t recall ever seeing any copy of this title before, much less the hardback variant. Hewett, M.126. Cunningham, F.2.
Library Additions: Two Hollow Earth Books
Thursday, July 13th, 2023Both these books were in the same Heritage lot as the Locke book. I have a small but growing collection of books on Hollow Earth theory and the Shaver Mystery, and these two fit right in.
Library Addition: Signed, Limited Hardback of George Locke’s Voyages in Space
Wednesday, July 12th, 2023As part of (I assume) it’s ongoing sale of the Gary Monson collection, Heritage Auctions offered up a lot of oversized and non-fiction works. Of those, this title was one I was most interested in, and is the reason I bid. I won the lot for $240 plus shipping.
Locke, George. Voyages in Space: A Bibliography of Interplanetary Fiction 1801-1914. Ferret Fantasy, 1975. First edition hardback, #17 of 18 signed, numbered hardback copies (plus an additional 10 copies not for sale), a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. The definitive bibliography on early space travel fiction. Chalker/Owings, page 527. Tymn/Schlobin/Currey A Research Guide to Science Fiction Studies 47. Barron mentions this in Anatomy of Wonder 4 7-7 (on Currey’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors), but does not have a separate listing for it. Not in Justice. Supplements an inscribed copy of the trade paperback.
Library Addition: Signed, Limited Edition of John Crowley’s Great Work of Time
Tuesday, July 11th, 2023Crowley, John. Great Work of Time. Subterranean, 2023. First edition hardback, #219 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. “Great Work of Time first appeared in John Crowley’s 1989 collection, Novelty. It was immediately recognized as a major addition to the literature of time travel, and went on to win the World Fantasy Award for Best Novella. More than thirty years after its initial publication, it remains as dazzling, dizzying and totally enthralling as ever.” I have a small number of these available through Lame Excuse Books.
Library Addition: Michael Swanwick’s Brief Essays on Genre
Monday, July 3rd, 2023Another Swanwick chapbook from Dragonstairs:
Swanwick, Michael. Brief Essays on Genre. Dragonstairs Press, 2023. First edition chapbook original, #10 of 75 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. 25 brief essays on genre fiction. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount. I will have copies of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog (probably Novemberish).
Library Addition: HB First of H. Beam Piper’s Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen
Monday, June 26th, 2023I read this a few years ago, and liked it so much I decided to pick up the hardback first.
Piper, H. Beam. Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen. Garland Publishing, 1975. First hardback edition, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Novel of a modern day state trooper accidentally sucked into an alternate timeline where he uses his knowledge of military tactics and technology (such as the composition of gunpowder) to topple a corrupt theocracy. Part of the Garland Library of Science Fiction, reprinted from slightly blown-up pages from the Ace paperback original. Supplements a PBO first. Bought for £68 plus shipping from a UK seller.
Library Additions: Avram Davidson’s AD 100 1 and 2
Thursday, June 22nd, 2023I don’t generally pick up POD books, but here are two essential books only available as POD books.
Davidson, Avram. AD 100: Volume I and AD 100: Volume II. Or All the
Sea With Oysters Publishing, 2023. First edition trade paperback
originals (print on demand), as new. The Avram Davidson Society has set these up as Amazon print on demand originals. Together they include 100
unpublished or uncollected Avram Davidson stories. If you’re interested in picking them up, click the links above.
Library Addition: 1/100 Signed, Numbered Copies of Lucius Shepard’s The Ends of the Earth
Wednesday, June 21st, 2023Saw this and won it at a bargain price.
Shepard, Lucius. The Ends of the Earth. Arkham House, 1991. First edition hardback, #5 of 100 copies signed and numbered by Shepard, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket (with SIGNED sticker on spine). This is a post-first limited that Lucius did himself, much like Greg Bear did his 250 copy limited edition of The Wind From A Burning Woman. Chalker/Owings (2002), page 73 (where he says this edition was sold at $100 a pop). Joshi, Sixty Years of Arkham House 178 (where he doesn’t mention this limited edition). Nielsen, Arkham House Books: A Collector’s Guide 184 (he doesn’t mention this edition either). Supplements an unsigned copy (which I must not have had the last time Lucius came through Austin). Bought for $17.50 plus shipping (which is less than even the original Arkham House cover price).
