Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
Monday, November 19th, 2018
Like the Fletcher Pratt book I bought a few months back, here’s a difficult signature I found cheap:
(Smith, Cordwainer) MacNair, Harley Farnsworth. The Real Conflict Between China and Japan. University of Chicago Press, 1938. First edition hardback, a Very Good copy with spine and page blocks slightly grubby, lacking a dust jacket (possibly as issued). Formerly Paul M. A. Linebarger’s copy, with his signature, “Duke” and “1938” written at the top of the front free endpaper. Linebarger is most famous for writing science fiction under the pen name Cordwainer Smith (as well as Carmichael Smith and Felix C. Forrest). He was also a renowned Sinologist whose father was one of the chief advisors for Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-Sen (indeed, I also own a copy of Linebarger’s non-fiction work The Political Doctrine of Sun Yat-Sen, as well as his book Psychological Warfare, which was used for many years as a text at West Point). Books signed by him are uncommon. Bought off eBay for $45.
Tags:Books, Cordwainer Smith, Science Fiction, signatures
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Thursday, November 15th, 2018
Two more signed Swanwick chapbooks:
Swanwick, Michael. The Third Frankenstein. Dragonstairs Press, 2018. First edition chapbook original, #60 of 100 signed copies, a Fine copy. Essay written to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelly’s novel.
Swanwick, Michael. small wonders. Dragonstairs Press, 2018. First edition chapbook original, #5 of 120 copies, a Fine copy. Three short-shorts. Though you can’t tell from the scans, this is a much smaller trim size than the above.
I will have copies of both of these available for sale in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, currently in preparation.
Tags:Books, chapbooks, Michael Swanwick, Science Fiction
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Tuesday, November 13th, 2018
No theme, except for the place I bought them and picking them up really cheap:
Koontz, Dean R. (as K. W. Dwyer). Dragonfly. Random House, 1975. First edition hardback (“First Edition” and numberline starting with “2”, as per Random House practice), an Ex-Library copy with most of the usual flaws, including stamps at head and page block side, tape ghosts inside covers, spine lean, ink writing and some edge-staining on FFE; call it a Very Good- Ex-Lib copy, in a Fine- dust jacket with a bit of wrinkling at head and heel. Kotker, Dean R. Koontz: A Critical Companion, page 175. Bought at Half Price Books for $2.
MacAvoy, R. A. Trio for Lute. Nelson Doubleday (SFBC), 1984. First hardback and first omnibus edition thus (with code P08 on page 631, as per ISFDB), a Very Good copy with some dampistaining transfer to blind side of dust jacket, in a Very Good- dust jacket with same, as well as multiple small tears at head, slight wear at head and heel, and abrasions along rear flap fold. Signed by MacAvoy: “For Fred/Bertie/MacAvoy.” Almost certainly another book from Fred Duarte’s library. Omnibus edition of Damiano, Damiano’s Lute and Raphael. Bought for $2.
Morrow, James. The Madonna and the Starship. Tachyon, 2014. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, signed by Morrow. Bought for $4.99.
(Pournelle, Jerry) Acres, Mark. Combat Command in the World of Jerry E. Pournelle’s Janissaries: Lord of Lances. Ace, 1988. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with some edgewear. These Combat Command novels were strategic “pick your own path” adventures. Sort of an oddball concept. I also have the one done for Zelazny’s Amber. Bought for $1.
Tags:Books, Dean R. Koontz, Fantasy, Fred Duarte, James Morrow, Jerry Pournelle, R. A. MacAvoy, signed
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Wednesday, October 31st, 2018
This is not a library addition, but rather describing a book I’ve owned since 1989. With all the attention paid the new Netflix series of the same name, I thought I would put up a post on my own first edition of the book.
Jackson, Shirley. The Haunting of Hill House. Viking, 1959. First edition hardback, a Near Fine copy with slight bumping at head and heel in a Very Good dust jacket with shallow chipping and wear at head, heel and points, slight cracking along folds, and slight dust staining to white rear cover, but otherwise intact. Arguably the most important horror novel of the 20th century. Bleiler, Supernatural Horror in Literature, 1766 (in the Supplemental Section on page 547). Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, page 121. Barron, Horror Literature, 4-155. Tymn, Horror Literature, 4-119. Magill, Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature, pages 710-714. Bleiler, Supernatural Fiction Writers Volume I, page 483. St. James Guide to Horror Writers, page 292. Basis of the the classic 1963 film The Haunting, the not-at-all classic 1999 remake of same, and the 2018 Netflix miniseries. Bought for $45 at the 1989 Boston Worldcon, the first book for which I ever paid more than $35.
Tags:Books, Ghosts, Halloween, Horror, Shirley Jackson
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Thursday, October 25th, 2018
Sometimes you take a chance that pays off:
Blish, James. A Case of Conscience. Faber and Faber Limited, 1959. First hardback edition (“First published mcmlix” on copyright page, as per Currey), a Very Good copy with spine lean and dust soiling along top, in a Very Good dust jacket with a 1″ closed tear along top front and moderate dust soiling to white rear cover, and slight rubbing and wear at points. All in all, better condition than I expected from a description of “Good”. Hugo winner for Best Novel. The first volume in the After Such Knowledge thematic trilogy. Currey (1979), page 40. Pringle, SF 100 26. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, page 36. Locke, Science Fiction First Editions, pages 19-20. Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4, 3-21 (referencing the Ballantine PBO). Magill, Survey of Science Fiction Literature, pages 303-307. Bought for £60.63 from an online UK book dealer know more for quantity than quality, which is why it was a risk, but just slightly better copies list for over a grand. Supplements a copy of the Walker first U.S. hardback edition.
This is the last “difficult” Hugo winner in hardback for the period I collect (through 2014), which means I only lack Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, first editions of which are hardly difficult to come by.
Tags:Books, Hugo Award, James Blish, Science Fiction
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Tuesday, October 23rd, 2018
Here’s two unusual Robert E. Howard-related items I picked up off eBay relatively cheaply. I think both of these were originally freebie giveaways to promote fancy illustrated editions of Howard’s work:
(Howard, Robert E.) Gianni, Gary. Robert E. Howard’s Conan of Cimmeria: Drawings & Sketches by Gary Gianni. Wandering Star, no date (but 2003, as per the ISFDB). A Fine copy, signed by Gianni. Bought off eBay for $9.95.
Howard, Robert E. (Gianni, Gary, illustrator). Solomon Kane’s Homecoming. Wandering Star, no date (but 1997). A Fine copy, signed by Gianni. Four-page illustrated Howard poem, given away as a promotional item. This was also available in Gianni’s A Solomon Kane Sketchbook, but this 8 1/2″ x 11″ stand-alone item is a larger trim size. Not (yet) in ISFDB, and I only see one other reference to it online. Bought off eBay for $15.50.
Tags:art, book, chapbooks, Fantasy, Gary Gianni, Robert E. Howard
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Monday, October 22nd, 2018
I picked up a signed R.A. Lafferty chapbook, one of the Drumm chapbooks I already had, but in unsigned form:
Lafferty, R.A. It’s Down the Slippery Cellar Stairs. Chris Drumm, 1984. First edition chapbook original, #76 of 100 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Drumm Booklet No. 14. Non-fiction collection. Bought off eBay for $23.95. Obviously I should have bought all these signed Lafferty chapbooks from Drumm back when they were $5 each, but I wasn’t collecting him then…
Tags:Books, chapbooks, Chris Drumm Books, R. A. Lafferty, Science Fiction, signatures, small press publishers
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Thursday, October 18th, 2018
I picked up another Philip Jose Farmer paperback original associational copy:
Farmer, Philip Jose. The Purple Book. Tor, 1982. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine- copy that, while tight and square, shows numerous small spots of rubbing across the front and rear cover as well as slight age-darkening to pages. Inscribed to fellow SF/F author Robert Adams of Horseclans fame: “To Bob Adams/From/Philip Jose/Farmer.” Thematic collection, containing “The Oögenesis of Bird City,” “Riders of the Purple Wage,” “Spiders of the Purple Mage,” “The Making of Revelation, Part I”, and “The Long Wet Purple Dream of Rip van Winkle.” Bought for $10 off eBay.
Another Farmer PBO inscribed to an SF author in my library can be found here.
Tags:Associational Copy, Books, Philip Jose Farmer, Robert Adams, Science Fiction
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Wednesday, October 3rd, 2018
I picked up two Centipede Press books, one off eBay and the other direct from the publisher:
Smith, Clark Ashton. In the Realms of Mystery and Wonder: Collected Prose Poems and Artwork of Clark Ashton Smith. Centipede Press, 2017. First edition hardback, #36 of 300 signed (by editor Scott Conners) and numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine slipcase. This actually sold out before I could pick it up, but I ended up buying this copy off eBay for $110.06, which is less than half the $225 offering price.
Wilson, Richard (John Pelan, editor). Masters of Science Fiction: Richard Wilson. Centipede Press, 2018. First edition hardback, #350 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread, still in shrinkwrap. A hefty 700 page short story collection from the Nebula-winning author of “Mother Goddess of the World.” Bought from the publisher at the usual dealer discount, and I’ll have a copy available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Tags:Books, Centipede Press, Clark Ashton Smith, Horror, Richard Wilson, Science Fiction, small press publishers
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Thursday, September 27th, 2018
Sometimes you overpay for something because you couldn’t afford it when it came out, or to get the whole set.
Both of these volumes were produced by the Vance Integral Edition project (VIE for short), and were produced separately from the 44 volume VIE set (which I also own). I thought the volumes too pricey for what you got when they were announced, but since I’m closing in on a complete Jack Vance hardback collection, and own a VIE, I paid a premium for each.
Vance, Jack. Coup de Grace and Other Stories. Vance Integral Edition, 2001. First edition hardback, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued, matching the appearance of the “Reader’s Edition” of the Vance Integral Edition. Short story collection done as a “preview” edition to generate interest in the VIE project. Offered at $75. Chalker & Owings (2002), page 946. Chalker & Owings list a print run of 1,000 copies, which seems too high given the relative scarcity of the title, though several were evidently distributed at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Bought off eBay for $102.50.
Vance, Jack. Strange She Hasn’t Written/Death of a Solitary Chess Player/The Man Who Walks Behind (AKA 14 bis). Vance Integral Edition, 2006. First edition hardback, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued, matching the appearance of the “Reader’s Edition” of the Vance Integral Edition. The original titles for three mystery novels originally published under the Ellery Queen pseudonym as (respectively) The Four Johns, A Room to Die In and The Madman Theory, with textual corrections based on evidence of Vance’s original manuscripts uncovered as part of the VIE text correction process. Evidently one of 400 copies printed. ISFDB gives an offering price of $63, [Edited to add: Though this issue of Cosmopolis says they were available to subscribers like myself for $45]. Bought off eBay for $122.50. Edited to add: This source says that there were only 100 copies of this volume printed, which accords much more with how rarely I’ve seen it offered…
Neither of these volumes comes to market nearly as often as the stated print runs would have you believe, so I was happy to snag these.
I lack but one other VIE volume, the “science fiction preview” volume containing The Languages of Pao and The Dragon Masters, which I’ll have to put on the want list even though I already have first edition hardbacks of both… (Update: Now I have that as well.)
Tags:Books, Jack Vance, Limited Editions, Mystery, Science Fiction, small press publishers, Vance Integral Edition
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