Posts Tagged ‘pulp’

Library Additions: Signed Firsts of Bierce, Farmer and King (Not Signed by Bierce, Farmer or King)

Thursday, December 30th, 2021

Something of an oddball category, all true firsts, all signed by contributors, but not by the most famous author.

  • Bierce, Ambrose. A Little Blue Book of Civil War Horror Stories. Borderlands Press, 2021. First edition hardback, #462 of 500 numbered copies signed by introduction author Lawrence C. Connolly, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Bierce famously disappeared in Mexico after riding with Pancho Villa. Since he was born in 1842, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that he won’t be signing any more books. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount. I will have copies of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

  • Farmer, Philip Jose. Greatheart Silver and Other Pulp Heroes. Meteor House, 2019. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by editor Michael Croteau and introduction author Garyn G. Roberts. Collection of pulp hero tales. Bought off eBay for $24.

  • King, Stephen, and Richard Chizmar. Gwendy’s Button Box. Cemetery Dance, 2017. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Chizmar. “A brand new Castle Rock novella.” Bought at a Half Price Books in Houston for $30.

  • Library Additions: Three Half Price Books Purchases

    Tuesday, August 1st, 2017

    Here are three random library additions, the only common denominator of which was that I picked all of them up at Half Price Books.

  • Leckie, Ann. Ancillary Justice. Orbit, 2013. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine, new and unready copy. Hugo and Nebula Award winner. Bought for $7.99 at Half Price Books. Supplements the later Gale/Thorndike Press large print hardback edition and the Subterranean Press signed/limited edition.
  • Pohl, Frederik and Lester Del Rey (as Edson McCann). Preferred Risk. Simon and Schuster, 1955. First edition hardback, a Near Fine- copy with page block spotting at heel, in a Near Fine dust jacket with traces of wear at points and moderate soiling to white rear panel. Inscribed by Pohl: “To Rick—/With all good/wishes—/”Edson”/or/Fred Pohl.” Currey (1979), page 404. Bought for $8, down from $10 with a 20% off coupon. This is a case of knowing more than the bookseller, since I knew this was a Pohl/Del Rey pseudonym and what Pohl’s signature looks like. As for the book itself, evidently Galaxy magazine and Simon and Schuster ran a contest for an SF novel, didn’t like any of the submissions, and got Pohl and Del Rey to write this under a pseudonym for the contest.

    Preferred Risk

    IMG_1405

  • Vachess, Andrew, Geoff Darrow, Michael Black and Gary Gianni. The Shaolin Cowboy Adventure Magazine No. 1. Dark Horse, 2012. First edition trade paperback original, a Near Fine+ copy with a small scrape at heel and just a trace of wear. Signed by Vachess, Darrow and Black. Pulp fiction homage that looks like fun. Bought for $7.99.

    Shaolin Cowboy

    IMG_1408

  • Random Monkey Gorilla Business

    Friday, March 2nd, 2012

    First up, from the world of auctioning, comes the offering of the exceedingly rare issue of June 1926 Zeppelin Stories pulp containing Gil Brewer’s “The Gorilla of the Gas Bags,” a holy grail for gorilla and zeppelin fans everywhere.

    This issue formerly belonged to SF writer and pulp collector Frank M. Robinson. Bidding is currently up to $2,000, which does rather take it out of the impulse purchase range for me. Assuming, of course, that Rick Klaw, Jess Nevins and Mark Finn didn’t all chip in together to purchase it. But really, it’s a comparative bargain right now, since one just sold for $6,572.50

    Second, as seen on Fark, a giant mechanical gorilla was found abandoned in Witchford, Cambridgeshire, UK.

    Insert your own gorilla in the mist joke here…