Still more items from that Jack Vance lot. I never aspired to own a V-Con 7 Program Book, but since it’s signed by Vance, I do now!
Library Additions: Two Jack Vance-Related Program Books
August 14th, 2023Library Additions: Two Jack Vance Bibliographies
August 10th, 2023I don’t usually go out of my way to pick up older bibliographies if I have a better, more recent one, but both of these were part of that Forum auction lot, and one of them is signed by Jack Vance. Both have been superseded by Hewett.
Library Additions: Two Signed, Limited Jack Vance Reference Works
August 9th, 2023Two more items from that Forum Jack Vance lot.
These two books alone are probably worth more than I paid for the entire lot.
William Friedkin, RIP
August 7th, 2023No director probably ever had three films back to back as good as William Friedkin (who just died at age 87) did in the 1970s. The French Connection, The Exorcist and Sorcerer are each truly great films that stand the test of time. The first two made a ton of money (justifiably). The third one didn’t, but has one of the greatest, tensest scenes of all time.
Friedkin let the success of those first two go to his heads, and then a string of flops (including Cruising, a film that, like The Last Temptation of Christ, alienated its only potential audience) put him out of favor in Hollywood.
He also directed a pretty swell episode of the 1980s Twilight Zone reboot.
He had a wealth of talent, I just wish we had more first rate films from him.
Library Addition: Demon Prince: The Dissonant Worlds of Jack Vance
August 3rd, 2023There was a Forum (UK) auction that had a fair amount of science fiction in it, so I bit the bullet and bid even though it was one of those dread “no in-house shipping” deals. And I’m glad I did! Even though I did get rooked for £100+ for shipping, I managed to pick up a number of non-fiction works about Jack Vance for only £163.80 (including buyer’s premium), so £263.80 total. Here’s the first item from that lot.
(Vance, Jack). Rawlins, Jack. Demon Prince: The Dissonant Worlds of Jack Vance. Borgo Press, 1986. First edition hardback (plasticized boards), a Fine copy with “KATER-BOUND” sticker to rear cover (presumably as issued). Critical companion to the works of Jack Vance. Depending on the title, Borgo either did plasticized boards with the trade paperback encased, or cloth with the cover of the trade paperback pasted to the front; this is one of the former. I can’t recall ever seeing any copy of this title before, much less the hardback variant. Hewett, M.126. Cunningham, F.2.
Library Addition: Three Joe R. Lansdale Firsts
August 2nd, 2023Three Joe R. Lansdale first editions, two signed limited editions and a new Tachyon collection.
I will have copies of the last two in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Library Addition: Three Oversized Hardbacks
July 31st, 2023Three more items from that Heritage Auctions lot.
Library Additions: Three Lovecraft-Related Chapbooks
July 21st, 2023Still more items from that Heritage lot. Three 8 1/2″ x 11″ items that are all related to H.P. Lovecraft: one Lovecraftian art portfolio (plus an additional critical chapbook), one prose portfolio, and one fiction chapbook, the latter two from members of the extended Lovecraft circle.
(Though the seem the same size (the blog image default size), the Mosig chapbook is a much smaller trim size, which makes sense given it probably shipped inside the portfolio.)
I tend to pick up obscure Lovecraftian chapbooks when I see them and they’re cheap, and as I noted before, there are few cheaper price points than “you’ve already bought it.”
Library Addition: Fiona MacLeod’s The Hills of Ruel
July 18th, 2023Another book from that Heritage lot. Random short story collections of Celtic fantasy are not exactly my usual line, but I’m keeping this one to solve the mystery of why it was published.
MacLeod, Fiona (pseudonym for William Sharp). The Hills of Ruel and Other Stories. Heinemann, 1921. First edition hardback, a Near Fine+ copy in decorated boards (the design matching the dust jacket) with sight bumping at head, heel and points and slight foxing to inside covers and endpapers in a Very Good- dust jacket with a 7/8″ chip at head, 1/2″ chip at heel, smaller losses at top and bottom edges and wear along outer edges. Beliler Checklist (1978) page 131.
The mystery is why Heinemann decided to do such an elaborate book for an author that is fairly obscure today. It’s oversized (10 1/4″ high, the extact same height as the Dark Harvest first edition of Dan Simmons’ Carrion Comfort) with multiple inserted plates (most in color) and decorated endpapers.
The art, by M. H. Lawrence, in a sort of arts-and-crafts-meets-Art-Deco tops out at “sort of OK.” M. H. Lawrence turns out to be Margery Lawrence, more famous as a writer, including the psychic detective stories collected in Number Seven Queer Street published by Arkham House sister imprint Mycroft & Moran. Judging from the art here, concentrating on writing was probably the right choice.
Still, fiction works with multiple inserted plates are fairly rare, and today limited to pricey small press editions by the likes of Stephen King and George R. R. Martin. Why did Heinemann go to that extent for MacLeod/Sharp? (This was published 15 years after his death, and he’s clearly listed as being MacLeod on a page advertising MacLeod and Sharp books right before the first plate page.) Presumably Heinemann did well with him, as there are nine books by him and one about him (by his wife) listed there. Also, this ISFDB page says that this was done as a Christmas gift book, which explains the elaborate production.
As I’ve stated before, “you’ve already paid for it” is a pretty compelling argument for adding anything interesting to your library…
Library Addition: Two Arthur Machen Critical Chapbooks
July 14th, 2023More from that Heritage lot, namely two critical chapbooks on Arthur Machen, both from The Arthur Machen Society.
Neither of these is in Donald Hassler’s extensive secondary bibliography on Machen on page 180 of Dictionary of Literary Bibliography Volume 178: British Fantasy and Science-fiction Writers before World War I, nor Wilson’s Shadows in the Attic, nor Tymn/Schlobin/Currey, nor any other reference works at hand. The only bibliography I have of Machen is Danielson’s, which is literally 100 year old. Goldstone and Sweeter did a more recent bibliography (put out by the University of Texas Press, no less) that I should probably keep an eye out for.
Though I’m not really a Machen collector per se, there’s something deeply satisfying about unearthing rare reference chapbooks…