Posts Tagged ‘Fantasy’
Sunday, January 5th, 2014
This came in the day before Christmas, and I haven’t had a chance to blog it until now. It isn’t quite a book, but close enough:
Picacio, John. John Picacio 2014 Calendar. Lone Boy, 2013. First edition, Fine, signed by the artist, with Kickstarter specials, including six oversized loteria cards, a sketcbook, and a signed pencil. Click to embiggen.
Tags:art, Calendar, Fantasy, John Picacio, Science Fiction
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Monday, December 30th, 2013
Here’s the third and final list of books I bought at Recycled Books in Denton for my own library. (Here’s Part One and Part Two). A few more will show up in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog. Again, I didn’t pay more than $40 for anything here, and most were less.
(Koontz, Dean R.) Kotker, Joan G. Dean Koontz: A Critical Companion. Greenwood Press, 1996 (stated; probably more recent). Reprint hardback, Fine, sans dust jacket, as issued. Non-fiction.
Silverberg, Robert. Capricorn Games. Random House, 1976. Signed by Silverberg. Currey (1979), page 436.
Smith, George O. The Brain Machine. Garland Press, 1975. First hardback edition, Fine, sans dust jacket, as issued. Originally a paperback original under the title The Fourth “R”. Currey (1979), page 458. Garland, like Gregg Press, usually did interesting hardback reprints.
Smith, George O. Hellflower. Abelard Press, 1953. First hardback edition, a Fine copy in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with slight spine fade to red portions and tiny traces of wear, otherwise a complete, bright and attractive dust jacket. Currey (1979), page 458.
Swainston, Steph. The Modern World. Inscribed by the author: “S. Swainston/12.05.07/’All things from eternity are of like forms/And come round in a circle.’ — Marcus Aurelius”. With photograph of the author laid in. Bought for $24. I should really get around to reading The Year of Our War some day…
Swanwick, Michael. Moon Dogs. NESFA Press, 2000. First edition hardback, one of 175 signed slipcased copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Supplements an inscribed trade copy.
Taine, John. The Time Stream. Buffalo Book Company, 1946. First edition hardback, a Near Fine copy with foxing to inside covers and a few faint pinpoint spots on boards, in a VG- dust jacket with uneven loss to top edge, mostly 1/16″ but occasionally as much as 1/4″. According to Chalker/Owings (1991), page 78, only 500 copies were ever bound, and half of those were lost in a rainstorm. Currey (1979), page 29. Bleiler Checklist, 1978, page 191. Locke, Spectrum of Fantasy One, page 211. 333, page 63. An important early SF specialty book.
Vinge, Joan D. World’s End. Bluejay Books, 1984. First edition hardback, #127 of 750 signed numbered copies in slipcase, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. This copy has been additionally inscribed by Vinge: “”To Marcia Adams/-with all my best wishes-!/Joan D. Vinge/2005.” There was a PBS cooking show host and cook book author by that name who died in 2011; not sure if that’s who it’s inscribed to or not. I do wonder how many of these slipcased hardcovers Bluejay Books did. I have their slipcased edition of K. W. Jeter’s Dr. Adder, and I know they did a few others, but there does not appear to be a list online. I’ll write Jim Frenkel and ask…
Wells, H. G. (edited by Robert Philmus and David y. Hughes). Early Writings in Science and Science Fiction by H. G. Wells. University of California Press, 1975. Presumed first edition hardback (no additional printings listed), a Fine- copy with slight crimping at head and heel and trace of foxing to inside front covers, in a VG- dust jacket with a 1/2″ square chip missing from bottom front cover and a 3/8″ chunk tapering to a point over 3″ missing at top rear. Not in Currey. Reginald, 1975-1991, 36697. Dictionary of Literary Biography: Volume 178: British Fantasy and Science-Fiction Writers Before World War I, page 242. Not a great dust jacket, but it was only $8, and copies online are somewhat pricey…
Tags:Books, Dean R. Koontz, Fantasy, First Edition, George O. Smith, H. G. Wells, Horror, Joan D. Vinge, John Taine, Michael Swanwick, pics, Robert Silverberg, Science Fiction, signed, Steph Swainston
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, pics, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »
Friday, December 20th, 2013
Another book from my recent buying spree, an early Arkham House title:
Smith, Clark Ashton. Lost Worlds. Arkham House, 1944. First edition hardback, a Near Fine+ copy with slight crimping at head and heel, bump to top front corner, usual age darkening to pages, and a trace of foxing to gutters, in a Near Fine dust jacket with age darkening to light-colored portion of spine, short closed tear and associated 1/2″ wrinkle crease at head, a tiny bit of rubbing at heel, and age darkening around edges and crease folds. Smith’s second prose collection and the seventh Arkham House book published. Currey (1978), page 453. Locke, Spectrum of Fantasy One, page 200. Bleiler, Guide to Supernatural Fiction, 1485. Tymn, 4-202. Joshi, Sixty Years of Arkham House 7. Derleth, 30 Years of Arkham House, 7. Jaffery (1982), 7. Nielsen, 7. Bought for $172 off the Internet.
Tags:Arkham House, Books, Clark Ashton Smith, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, pics, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 19th, 2013
I’m closing in on a complete Manly Wade Wellman first edition collection (closer to completing that than my complete Heinlein collection, but farther than my complete Lafferty, Lansdale or Zelazny collections). I picked up two firsts, one off eBay, another off a major science fiction book dealer.
Wellman, Manly Wade. The Ghost Battalion. Ives Washburn, 1958. First edition hardback, most likely a repaired Ex-Library copy, Very Good with tape ghosts on boards, front free endpaper excised and another attached in it’s place, slight wear at heel, dust soiling at head, and slight crimping at head and heel, in a Near Fine dust jacket with edgewear and about 1/16″ inch of color loss at heel, and possible spine fading (hard to tell, since it’s a different color than the front and back covers). Second book in the Iron Scouts Civil War YA trilogy. Bought for $18 off eBay.
Wellman, Manly Wade. What Dreams May Come. Doubleday, 1983. First Edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, with signature plate signed by Wellman attached to front free endpaper. Features supernatural detective John Thundstone. Replaces an Ex-Library copy in my collection. Bought for $20 from a major SF book dealer.
Tags:Books, Fantasy, First Edition, Horror, Manly Wade Wellman
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror | 2 Comments »
Monday, December 16th, 2013
From Michael Swanwick comes the sad news that Rosemary Wolfe, Gene Wolfe’s wife of more than 50 years, has died.
I don’t have a lot to add to Michael’s write-up. I knew that she had been suffering for ill health for some time, and had been confined to 24-hour care for over a year.
My condolences to Gene and the rest of the Wolfe family on her passing.
Here’s a scanned picture of Gene and Rosemary on their wedding day from A Wolfe Family Album:
And here’s a picture of Gene and Rosemary (with Elizabeth Hand in-between) at the 2009 Readercon:
Tags:Fantasy, Gene Wolfe, Obituary, pics, Rosemary Wolfe, Science Fiction
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Wednesday, December 11th, 2013
If you like Barry Hughart, you should really try reading Earnest Bramah’s Kai Lung series, which is exceptionally entertaining. Though most of the Kai Lung first editions were published slightly before my main collecting period, I do snatch up nice copies in dust jacket when I see them at an affordable price (though I doubt I’ll ever have a Bramah collection to rival Mike Berro’s).
Bramah, Earnest. The Moon of Much Gladness. Cassell & Company, 1932. First edition hardback (Berro A17), a Fine- copy with slight bends at head and heel in a VG+ dust jacket with a 1/8″ chip at rear head join, slight cracking at top edge of front cover, and dust soiling to rear, otherwise a fairly bright and attractive copy of a book seldom offered in dust jacket. Bought for $300 off the Internet from a major SF book dealer.
(Click to embiggen, but note that the what appear to be tiny spots of white rubbing to the black dj are in fact scanner artifacts.)
Tags:Books, Ernest Bramah, Fantasy, First Edition
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Sunday, November 17th, 2013
I don’t back that many Kickstarters, but this one is tempting, especially since I do like the iconic work of Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, and appreciate the conniptions he induces in the Art Police.
The problem is, I’ve never played Magic: The Gathering. But I bet there are enough people out there who have to make this Kickstarter, which is currently 30% away from their $1,000 goal.
(Hat tip: Moe Lane.)
Tags:art, Fantasy, Games, Kickstarter
Posted in Fantasy, Kickstarter | No Comments »
Monday, November 11th, 2013
I meant to put a word in on the 2014 John Picacio Calendar Kickstarter but Stuff and Things got in the way.
Anyway, now that it’s in the last three days, your time to join it is running out. The project is already funded, but I get the impression it won’t be sold in stores.
It’s also a chance to support his ongoing Loteria card project:
If you like art and need a calendar, you might want to go over and get in while the getting is good…
Tags:art, Fantasy, John Picacio, Kickstarter, Loteria, Science Fiction
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Wednesday, November 6th, 2013
If you collect everything an author wrote (or, in my case, everything they wrote which has been published as a separate items), you can end up with things that stray fairly far from what most people think of as “books.” Here are two recent acquisitions that may cause more than one collector to go “What the hell?”
Gaiman, Neil, with David McKean. Mythological Creatures. The Royal Mail, 2009. First edition folded broadside, legal-paper sized printed cardstock, two-sided, with six stamps in attached Mylar pouches, Fine. Collectable stamp folder with six mini-stories by Gaiman, one for each mythological creature on the stamps, with Dave McKean art. An odd item I only recently became aware of, and one that may frustrate Gaiman completists a few years hence…
Swanwick, Michael. Tumbling. Dragonstairs Press, 2013. First edition micro-chapbook original, 3″ x 2 3/4″, #10 of 50 signed, numbered copies, Fine, new and unread. Bought from the author at the 2013 San Antonio Worldcon. Dragonstairs Press is Swanwick and his wife, and they do short run Swanwick chapbooks. This one is even a shorter run than their usual 100 copies.
Tags:Books, Fantasy, Michael Swanwick, Neil Gaiman, Science Fiction, stamps
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Wednesday, October 30th, 2013
Another crazy collector item for my Zelazny library:
(Zelazny, Roger) Kovacs, Christopher, compiler. The Ides of Octember: A Pictorial Bibliography of Roger Zelazny. NESFA Press/Camelot Books, 2011. First hardback edition, letter M of 21 lettered copies with a Zelazny signature sheet (taken from unused Ultramarine Press Zelazny books), a Fine copy in three-quarters bound leather, in a Fine patterned traycase with the pictorial cover from the trade paperback edition, sans dust jacket, as issued.
An elaborate aftermarket edition of this Zelazny incorporating unbound NESFA sheets obtained by the compiler.
I paid $191 for it, considerably less than the $500 list price it was offered at.
Tags:Books, Fantasy, first editions, Limited Editions, Roger Zelazny, Science Fiction
Posted in Books, Fantasy, pics, Science Fiction | 2 Comments »
