Posts Tagged ‘Mystery’

Library Addition: Two Signed Lansdale Firsts

Monday, November 29th, 2021

Picked up from Armadillocon last month.

Lansdale, Joe R. Cold in July with Savage Season. Mark V. Ziesing, 1989/1990. First hardback edition and first edition hardbacks, Fine- (Cold in July)/Near Fine+ (Savage Season) with faint spotting at head, heel and on pageblock, in Fine dust wrappers, and a Fine- slipcase with a touch of wear, each inscribed to late Texas writer Carrier Richerson. While these are the trade hardbacks, one thing Ziesing did for this and the Waldrop set was offer the trade editions in overrun slipcases (something to check for if you’re buying a set). Supplements a PC limited set I got for helping transcribe Cold in July for Ziesing. Isajenko, World Lansdelean A011b and A013a. Bought at Armadillocon for $32.

The blotching on Cold in July is just dust jacket protector reflections.

Library Addition: Two SST Joe R. Lansdale Limiteds

Thursday, November 18th, 2021

Two more SST Lansdale limiteds came out a while back, and I’m just now getting around to listing them.

  • Lansdale, Joe R. Hap and Leonard: Of Mice and Minestrone. Short Scary Tales (SST) Publications, 2021. First hardback edition and first limited edition (the Tachyon trade paperback, which I also have, precedes), #101 of 400 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Linked Hap and Leonard short stories.

  • (Lansdale, Joe R.) Fred Isajanko. The World Lansdalean: The Authorized Joe R. Lansdale Bibliography. Short Scary Tales (SST) Publications, 2021. First edition hardback, #101 of 1000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine slipcase. Bibliography of Lansdale’s work, that also includes bonus Lansdale fiction in the back. I have not checked to verify that all of my edit suggestions on the ARC made it into the final edition.

  • I will have copies of both these available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

    Library Addition: Lettered Edition of Joe R. Lansdale’s The Bottoms

    Thursday, September 30th, 2021

    Still 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 Waltz of Shadows

    Thursday, September 23rd, 2021

    Here’s the first of several Lansdale items I obtained from a fellow collector who was selling off his collection:

    Lansdale, Joe R. Waltz of Shadows. Subterranean Press, 1999. First edition hardback, letter R of 52 signed, lettered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine- traycase with a few small, shallow, random indentations. The Lost Lansdale Volume One. Chalker/Owings (2002), page 855. Unnoted by Chalker/Owings (or my proof copy of The World Lansdalian), this edition is bound in a very attractive, deep purple cloth rather than the light blue of the trade edition. Bought for $190 ($5 less than cover).

    Library Addition: Lee Child’s A Little Gold Book of Unconsidered Trifles

    Wednesday, July 28th, 2021

    Another book in the Borderlands Little Book series:

    Child, Lee. A Little Gold Book of Unconsidered Trifles. Borderlands Press, 2021. First edition hardback, #498 of 600 signed and numbered copies, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Mixture of fiction and non-fiction by the best-selling author of the Jack Reacher series, some original to this volume, including a piece from Esquire. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount. Right on the verge of selling out, and may be out of print by the time you read this.

    I will have copies of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog (currently in progress).

    Library Addition: Signed Michael Dirda On Conan Doyle First

    Wednesday, February 24th, 2021

    Did you know that Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Michael Didra published a book on Arthur Conan Doyle? Neither did I until I saw a signed first available from The Mysterious Bookshop for cover price.

    Dirda, Michael. On Conan Doyle. Princeton University Press, 2012. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, with publisher’s information card laid in. Critical book on Arthur Conan Doyle, covering both Sherlock Holmes and his other works. Bought at a dealer discount.

    Dirda is an astute literary critic who also covers science, and I’m passingly acquainted with him. (He’s also bought the occasional book from me.)

    Library Addition: First Edition of Kuttner and Moore’s The Day He Died

    Monday, December 7th, 2020

    Another addition to my Kuttner/Moore collection:

    Kuttner, Henry and C.L. Moore (as Lewis Padgett). The Day He Died. Duell, Sloan and Pierce, 1947. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with a little bit of bend at head and heel in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with small chip at heel and associated 1/2″ closed tear, plus a trace of wear at points. Mystery. I saw a less attractive copy in an online auction go for considerably more than I was willing to spend, so I bought this (the nicest copy online) from a notable SF dealer for $220.

    See also: The Brass Ring.

    Library Additions: Three Signed Firsts

    Wednesday, September 9th, 2020

    Three signed hardback firsts editions, of various types:

  • De Palma, Brian and Susan Lehman. Are Snakes Necessary? Hard-Case Crime, 2020. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by both authors. Bought from The Mysterious Bookstore at a dealer discount.

  • Holkins, Jerry and Mike Krahulik. Penny Arcade 6: The Halls Below. Del Rey, 2010. First edition hardback, #885 of 1000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy with inset color cover illustration, sans dust jacket, as issued. Collection of Penny Arcade cartoons. Bought from the Penny Arcade store for $30.

  • Russell, Mary Doria. Doc. Random House, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Russell. Western novel about Doc Holliday Bought from The Mysterious Bookstore for $10.
  • Library Additions: Five Joe Lansdale Books

    Wednesday, June 10th, 2020

    Still more books for my complete Joe Lansdale collection, including three recently published books that I’ll have copies of in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, already in progress.

    This includes two books I didn’t pick up when they came out because I already had the first hardback edition and didn’t feel a need to pick up a post-first limited. In the intervening years the, book market has changed quite a bit, and post-first limiteds have gotten a lot more common. Plus I already had just about everything else Joe published, so I’m rounding out my collection. And I got them at quite attractive prices.

  • Lansdale, Joe R. Act of Love. Cemetery Dance, 1992. First limited edition hardback (preceded by both the Leisure books PBO and the Kinnell UK hardback), #465 of 750 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine slipcase. Bought off eBay for $36 (list price is $50).

  • Lansdale, Joe R. Hap and Leonard: Blood and Lemonade. Short Scary Tales (SST) Press, 2020. First hardback edition and first signed limited edition (preceded by the Tachyon trade paperback), #101 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. I’ll have copies of this available in the forthcoming Lame Excuse Books catalog.
  • Lansdale, Joe R. Jane Goes North. Subterranean Press, 2020. First edition hardback, #264 of 2,000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Road trip novel. I’ll have copies of this too in the forthcoming Lame Excuse Books catalog.
  • Lansdale, Joe R. Of Mice and Minestrone. Tachyon, 2020. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. “Hap and Leonard: The Early Years.” And yes, I’ll have copies of this as well in the forthcoming Lame Excuse Books catalog.
  • Lansdale, Joe R. Paradise Sky. Short Scary Tales (SST) Press, 2016. First UK edition and first limited edition hardback, a PC copy of 350 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and decorated boards. Bought for $30 of eBay.

  • If you want to receive a copy of the forthcoming catalog, drop me a line at Lawrence Person (lawrenceperson@gmail.com)

    Would You Believe William Shatner As Archie Goodwin?

    Friday, April 17th, 2020

    Seeing is believing:

    That’s the unsold pilot for a 1959 Nero Wolfe TV show, with Shatner as Goodwin and Kurt Kasznar (probably known best, most unfairly, for a role in Land of the Giants) as Wolfe.

    I could definitely see myself watching this on METV…

    (Hat tip: Don Webb.)