Two more Kathryn Cramer purchases:
Posts Tagged ‘signatures’
Library Additions: Signed Firsts of Hal Clements’ Xi Bootis, Still River
Wednesday, July 30th, 2025Library Addition: Signed First of Asimov’s Where Do We Go From Here
Tuesday, July 29th, 2025Another purchase from Kathryn Cramer:
Asimov, Isaac, editor. Where Do We Go From Here? Doubleday, 1971. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with one light thumbprint-sized blotch with a long sperm-like tail (binding flaw) to inside front cover, the ghost of that indention to the front free endpaper, slight bend at head, and front gutter just a little off from straight up and down (probably a binding flaw), in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Asimov. Reprint story anthology. Miller, Asimov: A Checklist, page 68. Currey, page 21. Bought for $100.
Library Addition: Assocational Proof of Gene Wolfe’s The Island of Doctor Death Inscribed to David Hartwell
Monday, July 28th, 2025Kathryn Cramer, after having numerous problems selling David Hartwell’s book collection in other venues, is now selling some directly. I contacted her, haggled over prices, and eventually we agreed on a purchase of several books, this being the first listed here.
Wolfe, Gene. The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories. Pocket Books, 1980. Proof (trade paperback format) of the paperback original first edition, a Fine copy, inscribed by Wolfe to his longtime editor Hartwell: “To Dave Hartwell, who/had sense enough to/separate the Doctor stories./Gene Wolfe”. Supplements another signed copy of this proof inscribed to me by Wolfe. In his Nova Express interview, Gene said Hartwell was the best editor he ever worked with. I suppose it’s a bit greedy to have two signed proof firsts of this, but I had long wanted an associational copy of a Wolfe title inscribed to Hartwell, and this is a pretty good one. Bought for $100.
Library Addition: Signed First of Jack Williamson’s Mazeway
Monday, July 14th, 2025Another bargain signed first off eBay:
Williamson, Jack. Mazeway. Del Rey, 1990. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Williamson. Bought off eBay for $10.
Jack was someone I knew from conventions, and he was a longtime subscriber to Nova Express. I pick up cheap signed firsts of his work whenever I can.
Library Addition: Signed Koontz, Ellison/Bryant PBOs
Tuesday, June 24th, 2025Two more signed paperbacks from that same eBay seller. The theme here seems to be “books I already had plenty of copies of.”
Library Additions: Two Signed Robert Bloch PBOs
Monday, June 23rd, 2025Two more purchases from that eBay seller who’s been offering signed PBOs:
Library Additions: Moorcock, Moore Firsts
Thursday, May 29th, 2025Two more purchases from the same Facebook seller I bought several Robert E. Howard items from.
Library Addition: Signed First of H. Beam Piper’s Four-Day Planet
Tuesday, May 27th, 2025In collecting science fiction, there are signature that are difficult and expensive, and others that are virtually unobtainable.
Signatures from H. G. Wells, Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick,. and Clark Ashton Smith are readily attainable, and I have multiple signed first editions from each. I even have H. P. Lovecraft’s signature in the form of a hand-written envelope.
But some other SF/F/H writers have signatures that range from impossible to nearly impossible. Stanley G. Weinbaum died so young that I’ve only heard of his signature being obtained on contracts. Henry Kuttner died quite young as well, though I’ve been able to obtain an association copy inscribed to Robert Bloch. Cordwainer Smith never attended conventions or signings, but I managed to find a book he formerly owned. Another, more modern writer who neither attends conventions nor signs books (he did one early in his career) is Greg Egan, but I managed to buy an associational copy of Axiomatic inscribed to editor David Pringle.
I do not have signatures of Robert E. Howard, C.M. Kornbluth or James Tiptree, Jr. (though I’ve unsuccessfully bid on examples of the latter).
Another writer with a difficult signature I lacked until recently was H. Beam Piper, a writer who died tragically (by his own hand) at age 60, which is not particularly young. Despite that, signed Piper first editions seem exceptionally scarce, and rarely seems to be offered for sale (Heritage Auctions has no records of an signed Piper being sold).
So when I saw this I jumped on it:
Piper, H. Beam. Four-Day Planet. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1961. First edition hardback (no statement of printing, as per Currey), a Near Fine copy with slight wear at heel and points, slight bend at head and heel, and slight dust-soiling to page block edges, and a trace of foxing to gutters, in a Very Good- dust jacket missing several small chips from spine, the largest about 1″ x 1/16″), about 1/4″ loss at head, and shallow loss at points, inscribed by Piper: “For Bill Stroup/—off for California with his banjo on/his knee –/Hope the Injuns don’t get him. /a-crossin’ the plains —/H. Beam Piper.” According to the seller, Piper was a friend of his father’s. Currey, page 402. Bought for $150, bargained down from $180.
Library Addition: Signed First of Rosenbach’s Books and Bidders
Monday, May 19th, 2025This was a pleasant and unexpected addition to my reference library.
Rosenbach, A. S. W. Books and Bidders. Little Brown and Company, 1927. First edition hardback (“Published November, 1927), a Fine-copy with a faint 1″ groove at head near rear join and slight bend at head and heel, in a Very Good+ dust jacket with a 1” closed tear and associated creases at top rear, two much smaller closed tears, slight shallow loss at head and heel, and a bit of soiling to white rear cover, with dedication slip tipped in at the dedication page: “To Ben F. Wallace, with all best wishes/a.s.w. Rosenbach/ June 20, 1933.” Rosenbach was probably the grandest of the grand old men of the American bookselling trade in the first half of the 20th century. Given that Rosenbach sold multiple Gutenberg bibles throughout his career, I think my own bookselling efforts rather pale in comparison. Still, I expect this will be full of bookselling tidbits of yesteryear. Given to me as a birthday gift by Dwight after we watched The Booksellers documentary, which I recommend to bibliophiles, and in which SF bookseller/collector/publisher Henry Wessels gets a fair amount of screen time.
Library Additions: Signed Sturgeon, Wagner, Wellman PBOs
Monday, May 12th, 2025Three more signed PBOs from that same eBay seller:
