Posts Tagged ‘First Edition’
Monday, December 8th, 2014
I’ve never been a big Piers Anthony fan, so it might surprise some that I’m picking these up. But: A.) I have a long-term goal of picking up all the Gregg Press hardbacks, B.) I am given to understand that these (along with Macroscope and On A Pale Horse) are among his best work, and C.) They were incredibly cheap, $6 (plus bidder fee and shipping) for all three (plus a random Xanth novel) from a Heritage Auction.
Anthony, Piers. Bio of A Space Tyrant 1: Refuge. Gregg Press, 1985. First hardcover edition, a Fine copy in a Fine dust.
Anthony, Piers. Bio of A Space Tyrant 2: Mercenary. Gregg Press, 1985. First hardcover edition, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket.
Anthony, Piers. Bio of A Space Tyrant 3: Politician. Gregg Press, 1985. First hardcover edition, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with edgewear at head.
See Hartwell, David G. “The GREGG PRESS Science Fiction Series 1975-1985 Complete, a Preliminary Annotated Checklist.”
These were the only volumes of the series done by Gregg Press. Volumes 4-6 were evidently done in hardcover by something called “Xlibris Corporation,” which I would guess is a Print-On-Demand publisher and lord, did they put some stupidly hideous covers on them…
Tags:Books, First Edition, Gregg Press, Piers Anthony
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 4th, 2014
Three more Ray Bradbury chapbooks from small press publisher Roy A. Squires, all bought from Lloyd Currey for $28 each.
Bradbury, Ray. Old Ahab’s Friend, and Friend to Noah, Speaks His Piece. Roy A. Squires, 1971. First edition thread-bound chapbook original, #152 of 485 copies, a Fine copy.
Bradbury, Ray. That Ghost, That Bride of Time. Roy A. Squires, 1976. First edition thread-bound chapbook original, #289 of 400 copies, a Fine copy, in mailing envelope. (You can’t see from the scan, but the title is just barely visible through the slightly translucent paper wrapper.)
Bradbury, Ray. That Son of Richard III. Roy A. Squires, 1974. First edition thread-bound chapbook original, #164 of 400 “ordinary” copies, a Fine copy, in mailing envelope. With small typed note from the publisher laid in: “Send No Money, Rik. We’ll get squared away at Westercon.” and “RAS” signature.
Tags:Books, chapbooks, First Edition, Ray Bradbury, Roy A. Squires, Science Fiction
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Wednesday, December 3rd, 2014
Update: I was curious about the publisher’ stamp, so I asked Moorcock why “Wehman Bros./Publishers/138 Main Street/Hackensack, N.J.” was stamped on the title page. Mike thinks these copies were illegally imported into the U.S. and sold by Wehman Bros., which would explain the $3.00 stamp on The Stealer of Souls (and there appears to a sticker pull just above the price clip on the other where the same $3.00 stamp used to be); I guess that would make them second state dust jackets. I’ve also noted that the binding on The Stealer of Souls is actually the First State binding, as per Tanalorn Archives.
I bought a lot of imperfect Michael Moorcock first editions in a Heritage auction. There were a total of seven titles I got for $26 plus buyer’s premium and shipping. Four will be going cheap in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, but these are going into my own library:
Moorcock, Michael. The Stealer of Souls. Neville Spearman, 1963. First edition hardback, a Fine- first state (orange binding with black lettering) copy with publisher stamp for “Wehman Bros./Publishers/138 Main Street/Hackensack, N.J.” on title page, and some slight bend at head and heel, in a Very Good-, price-clipped dust jacket with $3.00 stamp above price clip, rubbing and shallow chipping and wear at extremities. Though I usually look for books in better condition than this (at least for this era), this and Stormbringer were too cheap to pass up. Tanalorn Archive, page 32. Currey (1979), page 373.
Moorcock, Michael. Stormbringer. Herbert Jenkins, 1965. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with “Wehman Bros./Publishers/138 Main Street/Hackensack, N.J.” stamp on title page, and slight bend at head and heel, in a Very Good, price-clipped dust jacket with sticker pull just over the price clip, rubbing and shallow chipping at extremities. Tanalorn Archive, page 32. Currey (1979), page 373.
Moorcock, Michael. The Sword of the Dawn. White Lion, 1973. First hardback edition, a Fine- copy with a tiny bit of bend at head and heel in a Near Fine dust jacket with slight rubbing. Tanalorn Archive, page 34. Currey (1979), page 373.
Tags:Books, Fantasy, First Edition, Michael Moorcock
Posted in Books, Fantasy | 1 Comment »
Monday, November 17th, 2014
I picked up two early Arkham House books from two different sources:
Hodgson, William Hope. The House on the Borderland and Other Novels. First edition hardback, a Very Good+ copy with bumping at corners, small dust print at bottom page block outer edge, and faint foxing to gutters, in a Very Good+ dust jacket with 1/16″ chip at heel, wear at points (including a pinhead hole at lower front edge), and extremely mild sun-fading to the spine; it’s actually a wonderfully bright example of the Hannes Bok dust jacket, and the only better copies I’ve seen were at least three times the price. Includes the title novel, plus The Boats of the ‘Glen Carrig’, The Ghost Pirates, and The Night Land, all of which were previously published individually (and all of which now go for well over a grand). One of the four large-format Arkhams, the other being H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider and Others and Beyond the Wall of Sleep, and Robert E. Howard’s Skull-Face and Others, all three of which I still lack. Joshi, Sixty Years of Arkham House, 16. Derleth, 30 Years of Arkham House, 16. Jaffrey, Horrors and Unpleasantries, 19. Nielsen, Arkham House Books: A Collector’s Guide, 16. Blieler, Checklist of Science-Fiction and Supernatural Fiction (1978), page 101. Blieler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction, 821. Bought for £220 plus shipping off eBay.
Walton, Evangeline. Witch House. Arkham House, 1945. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Joshi, Sixty Years of Arkham House, 11. Derleth, 30 Years of Arkham House, 11. Jaffrey, Horrors and Unpleasantries, 11. Nielsen, Arkham House Books: A Collector’s Guide, 11. Blieler, Checklist of Science-Fiction and Supernatural Fiction (1978), page 202. Blieler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction, 1655. Crawford, Donahue and Grant, 333, page 67. Barron, Horror Literature: A Reader’s Guide, 3-203. Tymn, Horror Literature: A Core Collection and Reference Guide, 4-216. Bought for $47 off the Internet. It seems that every time I would see a copy at auction, I’d ask myself “Do I already have a copy of that?” Now I know the answer to that question…
Tags:Arkham House, Books, Evangeline Walton, First Edition, Hannes Bok, Horror, Science Fiction, William Hope Hodgson
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Wednesday, November 12th, 2014
I picked this up at Half Price Books on Tuesday using one of their 40% off coupons:
Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. Random House, 1957. First edition hardback (“First Printing” stated), a Fine- copy with just a tiny bit of bend at head and a tiny bit of pulling away of just the center of the top page block, and a tiny dust print at the outer bottom near page block edge, in a Very Good- first printing ($6.95 price and 10/57 code on front flap) dust jacket with shallow chipping at extremities (most notable at head and heel, perhaps 1/8″ at front and rear spine join points) and associated abrading, and blind-side age darkening, but otherwise an intact and fairly attractive example of the dust jacket. With clipping of a letter from Rand from the March 21, 1960 issue of Time magazine laid in. The novelistic summation of Rand’s Objectivist philosophy, Atlas Shrugged is one of the bestselling books (and most important political novels) of the 20th Century, and a central document for the Libertarian political movement. It’s also science fiction, not only featuring political and economic upheaval in a dystopian future, but also a new super-strong metal alloy and a hidden valley protected by a force field. In college, it took me two weeks to read the first 200 pages of Atlas Shrugged, and two days to read the last 800 pages. A personal favorite of both myself and my father. Bought for $270, marked down from $450.
Tags:Ayn Rand, Books, First Edition, Science Fiction
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Monday, October 13th, 2014
I’m one step closer to having a complete R. A. Lafferty collection in hardback, having picked up this:
Lafferty, R. A. Horns On Their Heads. Pendragon Press, 1976. First edition hardback, #Q of 50 signed hardback copies, a Near Fine copy with 1/2″ inch of darkening around the top and outer edge of the rear panel, and darkening to spine, sans dust jacket, as issued.
Supplements the signed wrappers edition, which I already had. The only Lafferty hardback I now lack is the Pendragon Press companion to this volume, Funnyfingers and Cabrito. (I’m excluding those POD hardbacks of two Lafferty stories that fell into the public domain.)
Tags:Books, chapbooks, First Edition, R. A. Lafferty, Science Fiction
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Thursday, October 9th, 2014
A variety of interesting chapbooks came in, including two books about H. P. Lovecraft’s family and a few Swanwick chapbooks I hadn’t been able to pick up before:
(Lovecraft, H.P.) Faig, Kenneth W. The Parents of Howard Philip Lovecraft. Necronomicon Press, 1990. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy, signed on the inside front cover by Faig. Non-fiction.
(Lovecraft, H.P.) Squires, Richard D. Stern fathers ‘neath the mould: The Lovecraft Family in Rochester. Necronomicon Press, 1995. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy. Non-fiction. This and the above bought for $28.29 off eBay.
Mieville, China. The Apology Chapbook. China Mieville/World Fantasy Convention, 2013. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy, new and unread. Issued in lieu of Mieville being able to make his scheduled Guest of Honor appearance at the 2013 World fantasy Convention in Brighton.
Purdom, Tom. Reentry and other thoughts on Science Fiction. Dragonstair Press, 2014. First edition chapbook, a Fine- copy with slight crease to left edge. Non-fiction essays on science fiction.
Swanwick, Michael. American Cigarettes. Dragonstairs Press, 2011. First edition chapbook, a slender 8 pages (including self wrappers), #85 of 100 signed, numbered copies, Fine, with advert for Dancing With Bears laid in.
Swanwick, Michael. The Nature of Mirrors. Dragonstairs Press, 2011. First edition chapbook, a slender 12 pages (including self wrappers and two blanks), #67 of 100 signed, numbered copies, Fine.
Swanwick, Michael. Song of the Lorelei. Dragonstair Press, 2011. First edition chapbook, a slender 8 pages (including self wrappers), #88 of 100 signed, numbered copies, Fine.
Tags:Books, chapbooks, China Mieville, Fantasy, First Edition, H. P. Lovecraft, Horror, Michael Swanwick, pics, reference works, Science Fiction
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Wednesday, September 17th, 2014
There is no theme, only Zuul interesting stuff that’s come in after I got back from Worldcon.
Asprin, Robert and Jody Lynn Nye. Myth-Told Tales. Meisha Merlin, 2003. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, signed to a Jennifer by both authors on August 31, 2003 (when I believe they attended Dragoncon). I haven’t read Asprin’s work in quite a while, but this was only $3 at Half Price Books.
Haldeman, Joe, editor. Study War No More. First edition hardback, a Near Fine copy with crease to FFE and a BB-sized outward bump (probably a binding flaw) near top of spine, in a Near Fine+ slightly spine-faded dust jacket. Signed by Haldeman and contributors Harlan Ellison, Poul Anderson and George Alec Effinger. Anthology. Bought off eBay for $24.99.
Pohl, Frederik, and Jack Williamson. Land’s End. Tor, 1988. First edition hardback, a Very Good+ copy with slight crease to spine, slight bend at head and heel, and a trace of lean, in a Near Fine- dust jacket with 1″ x 1/8″ crease at top dj rear and wear at extremity points. Inscribed by both authors: [In Williamson’s hand] “For/Debbie/with the very best/Jack Williamson/[in Pohl’s hand] and/Fred Pohl.” Bought for $20 off eBay.
Smith, Clark Ashton. The Immortals of Mercury. Stellar Publishing Corporation, 1932. First edition chapbook original, Very Good only, more browned than usual. Probably the most expensive of all the Stellar series, as it frequently lists for over $100. Bought for $29.99 off eBay. For more on the Stellar series, see here.
Tuttle, Lisa. A Spaceship Built of Stone and Other Stories. The Women’s Press, 1987. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. Inscribed to me by the author: “For Lawrence/A spaceship built of stone/should not fall apart. I/hope this one lasts/All the best/Lisa Tuttle/20 Aug 2014”. (An additional personal postcard to me is laid in as well.) Sent to me by the author. The story is that I found a less perfect copy of this book at an Oxfam shop for £1.50, and bought it with the intention of having Lisa sign it at Worldcon. However, when I did so, the first leaf of the book fell out! At which point Lisa said she’d mail me a copy…
Tags:Books, Clark Ashton Smith, Fantasy, First Edition, Frederik Pohl, Jack Williamson, Joe Haldeman, Lisa Tuttle, Science Fiction
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Thursday, September 11th, 2014
I recently got in three interesting trim-sized chapbooks, two hardback and two signed:
Gaiman, Neil. The Sleeper and the Spindle. Morrow/Harper Collins, 2014. First separate edition hardback (it appeared in an anthology in 2013), a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Chapbook on the Sleeping beauty theme, only available through California bookstores on California Book Day (May 3, 2014).
Powers, Tim. Appointment on Sunset. Charnel House, 2014. First edition hardback, #115 of 250 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued, with signed and numbered toe-tag affixed to the front cover.
Swanwick, Michael. Solstice Fire. Dragonstairs Press, 2013. First edition side-sewn chapbook original, #42 of 100 signed numbered copies, a Fine copy.
One other thing these have in common: I’ll have copies for all three available through Lame Excuse Books (inquire if you want one).
Tags:Books, chapbooks, Dragonstairs Press, Fantasy, First Edition, Michael Swanwick, Neil Gaiman, Science Fiction, small press publishers, Tim Powers
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Friday, September 5th, 2014
I saw grand old British bookseller/publisher/bibliographer George Locke at the London Worldcon. George has been book hunting and dealing in the field longer than I’ve been collecting, and has written a number of important bibliographies in the field, of which the three volume Spectrum of Fantasy set and Voyages in Space: a Bibliography of Interplanetary Fiction, 1801-1914 are perhaps the best known.
George has just published two books of genre bibliographic material, in editions of a mere 50 (!) copies each which, with a little prodding and discounting, he convinced me to pick up.
Teitler, Stuart A. By the World Forgot. Privately printed (Ferret Fantasy), 2014. First edition trade paperback original, one of 50 numbered copies (this one inscribed to me by compiler George Locke, noting he hadn’t gotten around to numbering them yet), a Near Fine copy with slight creasing near the spine (a result of carrying it around in my carry on luggage). A 130 page (plus a catalog at the back) annotated bibliographic compendium of lost race fiction compiled by Teitler, a noted American book scout and lost race collector. Probably destined to become the definitive book on the subject.
Teitler, Stuart A., George Locke and Others. By the Book World Remembered. Privately printed (Ferret Fantasy), 2014. First edition trade paperback original, one of 50 numbered copies (this one also inscribed to me by compiler George Locke, but not yet numbered), a Fine copy. Another non-fiction reference book, 146 pages, something of a memorial to Teitler, told largely in epistolary format, of the friendship between the two, covering book hunting, finer points of lost race bibliographic information, catalog and collection listings, etc. If you’re a hardcore book geek, you’ll love this stuff; if you’re not, it will probably leave you cold.
(Shadow effect is a scanner artifact.)
I paid £100 for the pair (a show special, since I believe George is selling them at £65 each).
If you’re looking to pick one or both of these up, you’ll probably have to contact George directly:
George Locke
Ferret Fantasy
27 Beechcroft Road
Upper Tooting
London, SW27 7BX
020 8767 0029
george_locke at hotmail.com
Tags:bibliography, Books, Fantasy, Ferret Fantasy, First Edition, George Locke, Lost Race, Science Fiction, science fiction bibliography
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