August 6th, 2025
Another Kathryn Cramer purchase:
Farmer, Philip Jose. The Unreasoning Mask. Putnam, 1981. First edition hardback (simultaneous with the trade hardback), #349 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Pringle, Science Fiction: The Hundred Best Novels 96. Pringle, Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction, pages 339-340 (“***…Metaphsyical space opera, one of the author’s best”). Supplements a copy of the trade hardback. Bought for $35.

Tags: Books, Kathryn Cramer, Philip Jose Farmer, Science Fiction
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August 4th, 2025
Another Kathryn Cramer purchase.
Link, Kelly. 4 Stories. Jelly Ink, 2000. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy, singed by Link. Jelly Ink was Link’s own publishing house before Small Beer Press. Bought for $35.


Tags: Books, chapbooks, Fantasy, Kelly Link, signatures
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July 31st, 2025
Another Kathryn Cramer purchase:
Disch, Thomas M. The Businessman: A Tale of Terror. Harper & Row, 1984. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Disch. Cawthorn and Moorcock, Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels 98. Pringle, Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels 88. Supplements an unsigned copy. Bought for $20.


Tags: Books, Horror, Kathryn Cramer, signatures, Thomas M. Disch
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July 30th, 2025
Two more Kathryn Cramer purchases:
Clement, Hal. Some Notes on Xi Bootis. Advent: Publishers, 1960. First edition chapbook original, one of 500 copies (per Chalker Ownings), a Fine copy save a penciled “118” at top rear left corner. Given away as a freebie at the 1960 Pittsburgh Worldcon, where Clement gave a speech on the topic of speculative fiction set in this star system. Chalker/Owings, page 5. Hassler, Hal Clement, page 57, footnote 47. Not in Currey. Bought for $45.


Clement, Hal. Still River. Ballantine Books, 1987. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Clement. Pringle, Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction, page 302. (“**”). Bought for $15.

Tags: Advent: Publishers, Books, chapbooks, Hal Clement, Kathryn Cramer, Science Fiction, signatures, Worldcon
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July 29th, 2025
Another 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.


Tags: anthology, Books, David Hartwell, Isaac Asimov, Kathryn Cramer, Science Fiction, signatures
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July 28th, 2025
Kathryn 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.


Tags: Associational Copy, Books, David Hartwell, Fantasy, Gene Wolfe, Kathryn Cramer, proof, Science Fiction, signatures
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July 23rd, 2025
This was simply a case of browsing eBay and going “Well, that’s pretty damn cheap.”
Simmons, Dan. The Crook Factory. Easton Press, 1999. First edition hardback thus, #264 of 1,050 copies, a Fine leatherbound copy, sans dust jacket, as issued, with “a note about THE CROOK FACTORY and the author DAN SIMMONS” and Certification of Authenticity laid in. Supplements an inscribed first edition. Bought off eBay for $20.

Tags: Books, Dan Simmons, Easton Press, eBay, Limited Editions, Science Fiction
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July 14th, 2025
Another 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.
Tags: Books, eBay, Jack Williamson, Science Fiction, signatures
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July 10th, 2025
The field has long needed a better, up-to-date Robert Bloch bibliography. I’m not sure this new Print-on-Demand volume quite ticks all the boxes.
Nemeth, Jim (with Randall D. Larson). Robert Bloch: An Unconventional Bibliography. No publisher listed (but probably Amazon KDP), 2025. Print-On-Demand “first edition” (printing date of “03 July 2025”), a Fine copy. “This bibliography, as unconventional and idiosyncratic as Bloch himself, documents the entire oeuvre of his varied and diverse career, sprinkled throughout with Bloch’s own remembrances regarding many of his works.” Alas, one “unconventional” touch is the omitting of standard bibliographic information like first edition points (there is no mention of how to tell apart the two printings of Sea Kissed, for example), or things like page counts, prices, etc. Still, there’s a good bit of useful information in here, and the Larson essays look interesting. Bought from Amazon for $18.99.

Tags: Amazon, bibliography, Books, Horror, Print-on-Demand, Robert Bloch
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July 8th, 2025
Closing in on a complete set of these:
Bradbury, Ray (with Kent Williams, Craig P. Russell, Segrelles, John Van Fleet, Chuck Roblin, Ray Zone, Ralph Reese and Al Williamson). The Ray Bradbury Chronicles Volume 1. Byron Preiss/Mantier, Beall, Minoustchini Publishing, 1992. First edition hardback graphic novel, a Fine- copy with a tiny bit of bumping at heel in a Fine- dust jacket with a trace of wear at points. Bought off eBay for a $25 offer.

I now only lack Volume 5…
Tags: Books, eBay, Fantasy, graphic novel, Horror, Ray Bradbury, Science Fiction
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