Every now and then, one of my friends will point out a Kickstarter for something in the “Isn’t this silly?” vein, I’ll look at it, and then go “I am totally backing this!” This is one of those times.
Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
Library Addition: The Children’s Illustrated Clausewitz
Wednesday, November 10th, 2021Library Addition: Charnel House Limited of Tim Powers Last Call
Monday, November 8th, 2021Here’s a limited edition I’ve long wanted to pick up. Indeed, the lettered edition of this is considered one of the most extravagant and desirable modern limited editions, but that was sold out before I even heard about it, and the last time I saw one for sale it went for something like $6,500.
Powers, Tim. Last Call. Charnel House, 1992. First edition hardback (“by a whisker” says Chalker/Owings), #141 of 350 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine- decorated slipcase with some rubbing to bottom and at points. His celebrated “playing poker with Tarot cards” book, and the first (and best) in a loose trilogy. Berlyne, A8b.1. Chalker/Owings (2002), page 211. Bought from a noted SF book dealer for $325. I think I now have all the Charnel House Powers limiteds (at least in numbered state).
Library Additions: Two Dark Regions Press Firsts
Friday, November 5th, 2021Dark Regions Press had a 50% off sale so I picked up a few things:
Library Additions: Swanwick and Howard Chapbooks
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021Two chapbooks:
Library Addition: First Edition of J. G. Ballard’s Crash
Thursday, October 21st, 2021Unless you count the withdrawn American edition of The Atrocity Exhibition (which is not the true first, as the Cape (which I have) precedes), the true first of J. G. Ballard’s Crash is (along with The Drowned World) among Ballard’s most expensive and difficult first editions. I’d been looking for an affordable copy of Crash for a while, and I finally found one:
Ballard, J. G. Crash. Jonathan Cape, 1973. First edition hardback, an Ex-Library copy with all the usual flaws, including stamps to pages and page block edges, in a dust jacket that, while intact, has been glued to the book, with a long, thin library sticker across the front, spine, back and rear flap, and a large square library affixed to rear, plus some glue wrinkling; call it a Good/Good Ex-Lib copy. Goodard and Pringle, J. G. Ballard: The First Twenty Years 101. Currey, page 23. Bought off an Australian bookseller for $68 plus shipping.
Library Addition: Signed, Limited Edition of Joe R. Lansdale’s The Sky Done Ripped
Thursday, October 14th, 2021I think this ends this current run of Lansdale library additions. This one came from another publisher having a 50% off sale rather than a private collector.
Lansdale, Joe R. The Sky Done Ripped. Subterranean Press, 2019. First edition hardback, #324 of 350 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine slipcase. Third book in the Ned the Seal trilogy. This edition features a collection of sketches at the back not in the trade edition. Supplements a signed copy of the trade edition. Bought for $47.50.
Library Addition: The Gonzo Tapes (Lansdale, Waldrop, Barrett)
Monday, October 11th, 2021Another private collector Lansdale purchase:
Lansdale, Joe R., Howard Waldrop and Neal Barrett, Jr. The Gonzo Tapes. Scorpio Inc., no date (Howard says he recorded his October 7, 1992; since they were first sold at Armadillocon, and that year’s Armadillocon started just two days later, I’m guessing it was released at the 1993 Armadillocon). First edition cassette tape package, containing three cassettes with two stories each being read by authors Joe R. Lansdale (“Steppin’ Out, Summer 1968” and “By Bizarre Hands”), Howard Waldrop (“French Scenes” and “The Passing of the Western”) and Neal Barrett, Jr. (“Winter on the Belle Forche” and “Class of ’61”), along with a single trifold sheet attached to the inside of the front case lid with adhesive to the back, a Fine copy. Bought from that same private collector for $10.
Neal Barrett’s wife Ruth was the driving force behind this project. According to Howard, these all sold out at the Armadillocon they were released at, but I know copies were easy to find for many years after. Now, however, you don’t see them much anymore, and there’s precious little information about this on the Internet…
Library Additions: Three Lansdale Chapbooks
Friday, October 8th, 2021Three Joe R. Lansdale chapbooks purchased from that same private collector:
Library Addition: Lettered Edition of Joe R. Lansdale’s The Bottoms
Thursday, September 30th, 2021Still another Lansdale lettered edition bought from that same private collector:
Lansdale, Joe R. The Bottoms. Subterranean Press, 2000. First edition hardback, letter R of 26 signed, lettered copies, a Fine leatherbound copy in a Fine dust jacket and Fine traycase with full color illustration mounted inside front lid. The Subterranean edition was the true first edition, preceding the Mysterious Press edition by several months. Edgar Award winner for Best Novel. Bought for $300 from a private collector, which is just twice list price for the regular numbered edition.
The plastic illustration protector shows both glare and the shadow of my hands holding the iPhone to get the photo. (Also some glare off the dust jacket protector on the book itself.)
Library Addition: Lettered Edition of Joe R. Lansdale’s The Long Ones
Wednesday, September 29th, 2021Another lettered copy purchased from that private collector:
Lansdale, Joe R. The Long Ones. Necro Publications, 1999. First edition hardback, letter R of 26 signed, leatherbound lettered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine traycase, sans dust jacket, as issued. In addition to the leather binding and traycase, this edition features an inserted (not attached) printed ribbon with title and author, a color frontispiece illustration, and several inserted black and white illustrations not in the ordinary numbered edition. Bought from a private collector for $300.
