Archive for the ‘Books’ Category

Library Addition: Henry Kuttner’s Murder of a Wife

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2015

Picked up a not-particularly-common Henry Kuttner hardback:

Kuttner, Henry. Murder of a Wife. Garland, 1983. First hardback edition (originally a PBO by Permabooks in 1958), a Fine- copy with slight bend at head and heel, sans dust jacket, as issued. Number 26 of Garland’s 50 Classics of Crime Fiction: 1950—1975 series. I’m not sure what the print run was, but if they were anything like Garland’s 50 Classics of Science Fiction runs, it was probably quite small. Hubin, Crime Fiction, 1749—1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography, page 236 (for the PBO). Bought for $30 online.

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Library Addition: Signed First of Paul Williams’ PKD Bio

Tuesday, December 15th, 2015

Found this at a Half Price Books in Houston over Thanksgiving:

(Dick, Philip K.) Williams, Paul. Only Apparently Real: The World of Philip K. Dick. Arbor House, 1986. First edition trade paperback original, a Near Fine+ copy with some non-breaking indentations on the cover, as the book were used underneath a piece of paper someone wrote or scribbled on, otherwise apparently unread. Signed by Williams (the signature matches those found online for the limited edition of Ubik: A Screenplay). The biography of Dick by his close friend and designated literary executor. Supplements a Fine unsigned copy. Bought for $3.98.

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Library Addition: Michael Swanwick’s Season’s Greetings

Friday, December 11th, 2015

Another signed Michael Swanwick chapbook has made its way to my mailbox:

Swanwick, Michael. Season’s Greetings. Dragonstairs Press, 2014. First edition chapbook original, #42 of 100 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy.

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I’ll have copies available for sale through the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

Library Addition: Signed Copy of Ray Bradbury’s Futuria Fantasia

Tuesday, December 8th, 2015

Here’s a nifty Ray Bradbury item some people may not know about:

Bradbury, Ray, editor. Futuria Fantasia. Graham Publishing/Blood and Guts Press, 2007. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by Bradbury, and containing a picture of him signing copies laid in. Reprints four issues of the fanzine of the title Bradbury produced just after graduating high school. Includes contributions from Robert A. Heinlein, Henry Kuttner, Hannes Bok, Damn Knight, Forrest J. Ackerman, etc. A fascinating glimpse into Bradbury’s early life, and the beginnings of several illustrious science fiction careers. Bought off eBay for $30. Replaces an unsigned copy.

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Library Addition: Philip K. Dick’s World of Chance

Monday, November 16th, 2015

I picked the following up as part of a swap:

Dick, Philip K. World of Chance. Rich and Cowan, 1956. First hardback edition and first thus under this title (the first hardback edition of Dick’s first published novel, published earlier in the U.S. as the paperback original Solar Lottery), an Ex-Library copy with tape ghosts to inside covers, slight signs of pocket removal from FFE, inner front hinge half-cracked, slight dust staining to page block edges, in a dust jacket that has about 1/8″ trimmed from top and bottom, and a larger amount (possibly 1/4″ to 1/2″) trimmed from inner flaps, not removing any text, but trimming the flap edges right to the edge of the text block, plus tape ghosts and a touch of edgewear; call it a Very Good-/Good+ Ex-Library copy, though it presents much better than that list of flaws would lead you to believe. Currey (1979), page 159. Levack, 38b. One of the rarest Dick hardcovers.

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Library Addition: Signed Isaac Asimov Limited Chapbook

Thursday, November 12th, 2015

This is one of the many things on my want list, since I always thought it was a neat little book, and I finally found a copy I could afford.

Asimov, Isaac. Three By Asimov. Targ Editions, 1981. First edition hardback, one of 250 signed copies, a Fine copy in a Near Fine- tissue paper dust jacket with a 7/8″ semi-closed tear on the top right front cover, with associated wrinkles (the white streaks at left and top are reflection glare from the dust jacket protector). All the pages seem to be made of hand-made paper with ragged edges. Bought for $107.79 off eBay.

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William Targ was a former editor at Putnam who ran a one-man small press in his retirement. This and the Ray Bradbury book Beyond 1984 were, as far as I know, the only SF Targ Editions published.

Library Addition: H. P. Lovecraft’s Collected Fiction: A Variorum Edition

Monday, October 26th, 2015

This came in recently:

Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by S. T. Joshi). H. P. Lovecraft’s Collected Fiction: A Variorum Edition, a three volume set consisting of Volume 1: 1905—1925, Volume 2: 1926—1930, and Volume 3: 1931—1936. Hippocampus Press, 2015. First edition hardbacks, one of only 750 sets, all Fine copies in Fine dust jackets and shrinkwrap, new and unread. “For the first time, students and scholars of Lovecraft can see at a glance all the textual variants in all relevant appearances of a story—manuscript, first publication in magazines, and first book publications. The result is an illuminating record of the textual history of the tales, along with how Lovecraft significantly revised his stories after initial publication. Along the way, Joshi has made small but significant revisions to his earlier corrected texts. He has determined, for example, that Lovecraft slightly revised some stories when a reprint of them was scheduled in Weird Tales, and he has altered some readings in light of a better understanding of Lovecraft’s customary linguistic usages.” So not only do these three volumes represent the complete and super-duper definitive edition of Lovecraft’s work, hardcore Lovecraft fans can see how both Lovecraft and others revised his work over the years.

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Update: They later published, and I obtained, a fourth volume.

I have sets of all four volumes for sale through Lame Excuse Books.

Guillermo del Toro Has A Pretty Awesome Prop Collection

Thursday, October 8th, 2015

The New York Times offers up a look at Guillermo del Toro’s collection of horror movie props, which is fairly impressive.

Who else do you know has a lifesize figure of H.P. Lovecraft reading one of his own books?

His library also includes at least one book with one of my stories in it (Horrors: 365 Scary Stories)…

(Hat tip: Liz Hand’s Facebook page.)

A Chance to Own a Stephen Hawking Signature

Tuesday, September 29th, 2015

Right now a book signed by Stephen Hawking be yours for only a bit over 20 grand, but expect that to go up.



And it’s not even one of Hawking’s own books, but a farewell gift for a co-worker who was leaving the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy at Cambridge University signed by the faculty, including Hawking.

“Hawking autographs are of the utmost rarity.” Indeed, though it’s already too rich for my blood, and I suspect it could easily go for 3-4 times the current price…

Library Additions: Two Horror First Editions

Thursday, September 24th, 2015

The only thing tying these two books together is that they’re both horror and I bought both from Lloyd Currey at 50% off:

  • Baker, Denys Val. The Face in the Mirror. Arkham House, 1971. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with just a trace of wear at bottom edge (probably do to an old fold-around dj protector that doesn’t encase the edges). Joshi, 60 Years of Arkham House, 112. Jaffery, Horrors and Unpleasantries, 118. Nielsen, Arkham House Books: A Collector’s Guide, 118. Chalker & Owings (1991), page 39. Not in Bleiler’s Guide to Supernatural Fiction (an odd omission). Bought for $12.50
  • Wagner, Karl Edward. Why Not You and I? Dark Harvest, 1987. First edition hardback, #252 of 300 copies signed by Wagner, a Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket with waviness to dust jacket rear, in a Near Fine paper slipcase. I also have a copy of the trade edition inscribed to me by Wagner at the 1988 Worldcon in New Orleans. Bought for $32.50.