Posts Tagged ‘chapbooks’
Monday, August 4th, 2025
Another Kathryn Cramer purchase.
Link, Kelly. 4 Stories. Jelly Ink, 2000. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy, singed by Link. Jelly Ink was Link’s own publishing house before Small Beer Press. Bought for $35.
Tags:Books, chapbooks, Fantasy, Kelly Link, signatures
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Wednesday, July 30th, 2025
Two more Kathryn Cramer purchases:
Clement, Hal. Some Notes on Xi Bootis. Advent: Publishers, 1960. First edition chapbook original, one of 500 copies (per Chalker Ownings), a Fine copy save a penciled “118” at top rear left corner. Given away as a freebie at the 1960 Pittsburgh Worldcon, where Clement gave a speech on the topic of speculative fiction set in this star system. Chalker/Owings, page 5. Hassler, Hal Clement, page 57, footnote 47. Not in Currey. Bought for $45.
Clement, Hal. Still River. Ballantine Books, 1987. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Clement. Pringle, Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction, page 302. (“**”). Bought for $15.
Tags:Advent: Publishers, Books, chapbooks, Hal Clement, Kathryn Cramer, Science Fiction, signatures, Worldcon
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Wednesday, June 18th, 2025
Another Dragonstairs chapbook:
Swanwick, Michael. S1ngular 1nterv1ews. First edition chapbook original, #57 of 60 signed, numbered copies, a Fine- copy with a slight crease in the middle. A series of one question interviews with science fiction professionals: David Hartwell (on editing Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun), Samuel R. Delaney, John Crowley, etc.
I will have one copy of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Tags:Books, chapbooks, David Hartwell, Dragonstairs Press, Gene Wolfe, John Crowley, Michael Swanwick, reference works, Samuel R. Delany, Science Fiction
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Wednesday, April 16th, 2025
Someone on Facebook was selling off the collection of an Arkham House/Weird Tales collector, and he had some Robert E. Howard chapbooks I pulled the trigger on.
Howard, Robert E. The Complete Yellow Jacket. Paul Herman, 1999. First edition chapbook original, #80 of 100 copies, a Fine copy. Collection of Howard’s work that appeared in The Yellow Jacket, the school paper for Howard Payne University.
Howard, Robert E. Pay Day. Cryptic Publications, 1986. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy. Eight extremely short stories. Editor Robert M. Price: “These tales represent Howard’s attempt to write ‘realistic’ fiction.”
Howard, Robert E. Two-Fisted Detective. Cryptic Publications, 1984. First edition chapbook original, one of 450 unsigned, unnumbered copies, a Fine- copy with slight bit of wear to the spine. Four stories featuring Detective Steve Harris.
Price, Robert M., editor. Two-Fisted Detective Stories Volume 2. Cryptic Publications, 1988. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy. Anthology of detective stories, including stories from Manly Wade Wellman (“Murder Music,” which doesn’t appear to be in the five volume Selected Stories), Robert Bloch (“The Knife and the Throat,” which doesn’t appear to have been reprinted in any Bloch collections), Lin Carter and C.J. Henderson.
All the above bought for $80.
Tags:Books, chapbooks, Fantasy, Manly Wade Wellman, Mystery, Robert Bloch, Robert E. Howard
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Wednesday, March 26th, 2025
Another Dragonstairs chapbook:
Swanwick, Michael. A Fantasist’s Guide to Venice. Dragonstairs Press, 2025. First edition chapbook original, #30 of 79 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Collection of short essays on various fantastic elements of Venice, in fact and fiction, following the author’s visit there.
Note that this is one of at least four different cover patterns for this title, all done in reds and yellows.
I will have a small number of copies of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, which should be out in May.
Tags:Books, chapbooks, Dragonstairs Press, Fantasy, Italy, Michael Swanwick, Venice
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Friday, February 28th, 2025
More books from that big Robert E. Howard purchase.
Howard, Robert E. The Adventures of Lal Singh. Cryptic Publications, 1985. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy. Short story collection.
Howard, Robert E. The Coming of El Borak. Cryptic Publications, 1987. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy. Short story collection.
Howard, Robert E. The Grey God Passes. Charles Miller, 1975. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy. Chalker/Owings, page 547.
Howard, Robert E. and Tevis Clyde Smith (“El Gringo” (E. A. Fisher) illustrator). Red Blades of Black Cathay. Real Free Press, 1975. First edition chapbook graphic novel, a Fine copy.
Howard, Robert E. Valley of the Lost. Charles Miller, 1975. First edition chapbook original, #691 of 777 signed by illustrator Bot Roda, a Fine copy (the ragged right edge of the front cover seems intentional). Chalker/Owings, page 547.
Tags:Books, chapbooks, Charles F. Miller, Cryptic Publications, Fantasy, Robert E. Howard
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Wednesday, February 26th, 2025
Still more items from that Robert E. Howard purchase. All of these are illustrated short fiction chapbooks.
Howard, Robert E. Blades for France. George T. Hamilton, 1975. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with faint dust prints to front cover.
Howard, Robert E. Isle of Pirate Doom. George T. Hamilton, 1975. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with slight wear to top corners.
Howard, Robert E. The King’s Service. George T. Hamilton, 1976. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket.
Howard, Robert E. The Shadow of the Beast. George T. Hamilton, 1977. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with slight bend to top front right corner.
Howard, Robert E. The Shadow of the Hun. George T. Hamilton, 1975. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with slight crease to top left front corner.
Howard, Robert E. Spears of Clontarf. George T. Hamilton, 1978. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket.
Tags:Books, chapbooks, Fantasy, George T. Hamilton, Robert E. Howard
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Tuesday, February 25th, 2025
Two more items from that large Robert E. Howard purchase, both reference works on Howard.
(Howard, Robert E.) de Camp, L. Sprague. The Miscast Barbarian: A Biography of Robert E. Howard (1906-2936). Gerry de la Ree, 1975. Presumed second printing (no limitation statement on final page, as pr Chalker/Owings) oversize chapbook original, a Fine copy. A short (42 pages, including art, bibliography and notes), impressionistic biography of Howard by de Camp, who was later to do a much more extensive biography of Howard, Dark Valley Destiny, in collaboration with his wife Catherine Crook de Camp. It is an understatement to note that de Camp’s biography, and his long legacy collecting, editing and publishing Howard’s work, is not regarded with universal love by the Robert E. Howard community. Chalker/Owings, page 128.
(Howard, Robert E.) Lord, Glenn. The Last Celt: A bio-Bibliography of Robert Ervin Howard. Donald M. Grant, 1976. First edition hardback a Fine- copy in a Fine- dust jacket with bumped corners. About a hundred pages of biography of Howard by various people (including H. P. Lovecraft), with the rest taken up with a bibliography. This is one of those books I vaguely thought I already had, and one I’ve already started referencing for these Howard purchases. Chalker/Owings, page 218 (“Good and very useful.”).
Tags:biography, chapbooks, Gerry de la Ree, Glenn Lord, L. Sprague de Camp, reference works, Robert E. Howard
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Monday, February 24th, 2025
A private seller contacted me about selling me a number of the Robert E. Howard books I had on my want list, and we settled on a price of $725 plus shipping for some 40 titles. Some of those will go in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, but most are are going in my library and will take some time to list. I’ll start with the chapbooks, since they’re less challenging to shelve, and first among the chapbooks are these three, all published by Roy A. Squires. Many of those Robert E. Howard chapbooks were done in editions of a thousand or more, but these, in addition to being higher quality, were done in editions in the low hundreds.
Howard, Robert E. The Road to Rome. Roy A. Squires, 1972. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy in a Fine- envelope with slight wear at edges. Lord, The Last Celt: A Bio-Bibliography of Robert Ervin Howard, page 128. The Private Press of Roy A. Squires 17. Chalker/Owings, page 589.
Howard, Robert E. A Song of the Naked Lands. Roy A. Squires, 1973. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy in a Near Fine+ envelope with fold to flap and slight wear at edges. Lord, The Last Celt: A Bio-Bibliography of Robert Ervin Howard, page 130. The Private Press of Roy A. Squires 21. Chalker/Owings, page 589.
Howard, Robert E. Up, John Kane! Roy A. Squires, 1977. First edition chapbook original, a Fine- with one faint surface scratch and faint indentation through pages copy in a Fine- envelope with slight wear at edges. The Private Press of Roy A. Squires 33. Chalker/Owings, page 590.
I have quite a number of Squires chapbooks, I think just under half of the ones listed as actual publications in The Private Press of Roy A. Squires, so perhaps I should pick up the rest. I know I lack three more Howard chapbooks from Squires: Altars and Jesters, Black Dawn, and The Gold and the Grey. I’ve added those to the wanted list.
Tags:Books, chapbooks, Fantasy, poetry, Robert E. Howard, Roy A. Squires
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Monday, February 10th, 2025
Five chapbooks, four from Roy A. Squires, two concerned with small press chapbook publishing, one a modern oddity.
(Lafferty, R. A., Gene Wolfe) Knight, Dan (Amanda Patchin and Brent Towell, interviewers). Hedgehog Press Interviews Dan Knight. Hedgehog Press, 2024. First edition chapbook original, #23 of 50 copies, a Fine copy, with frontispiece tissue guard laid in. Interview with the publisher of United Mythologies Press, small press publisher of several works by R. A. Lafferty and Gene Wolfe. Bought off Abebooks for $15 plus shipping after Knight mentioned the existence off it on a Gene Wolfe group on Facebook. Do I want all the Lafferty and Wolfe critical chapbooks? Yes, yes I do.
Smith, Clark Ashton. Nero. Roy A. Squires, 1964. First edition chapbook original, one of “about 450” copies (Chalker/Owings says 381), a Fine copy of what seems to be the “ordinary” edition in a slightly crease and age-darkened white envelope. Squires’ second Clark Ashton Smith work. The Private Press of Roy A. Squires 3. Joshi/Schultz/Connors, Clark Ashton Smith: A Comprehensive Bibliography, I.A.20. Chalker/Owings, page 588. This and the other four Squires books were bought for $140.
Smith, Clark Ashton. The Potion of Dreams. Roy A. Squires, 1975. First edition chapbook original, copy 124 of 292 copies, a Fine copy in a Near Fine+ envelope with age-darkening to edges. “The Fugitive Poems, Second Series, Third Volume, Xiccarph Edition.” The Private Press of Roy A. Squires 28. Joshi/Schultz/Connors, Clark Ashton Smith: A Comprehensive Bibliography, I.A.38.a. Chalker/Owings, page 589.
Smith, Clark Ashton. A Song From Hell. Roy A. Squires, 1975. First edition chapbook original, copy 124 of 296 copies, a Fine- copy with two thin scratches to front, in a Very Good only envelope whose flap came off when I opened it up. “The Fugitive Poems, Second Series, Second Volume, Xiccarph Edition.” The Private Press of Roy A. Squires 27. Joshi/Schultz/Connors, Clark Ashton Smith: A Comprehensive Bibliography, I.A.38.a. Chalker/Owings, page 589.
Squires, Roy A. The Private Press of Roy A. Squires. Roy A. Squires, 1987. First edition chapbook original, copy #128 of 230 copies of the “standard format” edition, a Fine copy in a Fine- envelope with short tears at either end of the flap fold and a touch of age-darkening to edges. Descriptive bibliography of the press. The Private Press of Roy A. Squires 39 (yes, the bibliography is the last item listed in the bibliography). Chalker/Owings, page 590. Burgess, Reference Guide to Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror 258.
Tags:bibliography, Books, chapbooks, Clark Ashton Smith, Dan Knight, Fantasy, Gene Wolfe, Horror, interview, Roy A. Squires, small press publishers, United Mythologies Press
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