Someone had a lot of eleven Ray Bradbury firsts listed on eBay for $420, and accepted a $300 offer. These are the ones going into my library (two replacing unsigned copies), the rest will be offered for sale in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Library Additions: Six Signed Ray Bradbury Firsts
October 10th, 2022Library Addition: First Edition of Robert A. Heinlein’s Rocket Ship Galileo
October 6th, 2022I am slowly gathering a complete collection of Robert A. Heinlein first editions. Rocket Ship Galileo, his very first, was one that got too expensive for me to pick up for a long time, and all that were listed online where either well over a grand, or fairly crummy copies they still wanted close to a grand for. So I waited, and was finally able to snag a pretty nice copy in my price range.
Heinlein, Robert A. Rocket Ship Galileo. Scribner’s, 1947. First edition hardback (Scribner’s seal and “A” printing code, as per Currey), a Near Fine copy with non-authorial inscription on FFE and mild blocks of foxing to inner covers and endpapers, in a Near Fine first state (unclipped $2.00 price) dust jacket with a pinhead-sized hole near heel and spine fading, and a tiny bit of wrinkling to bottom rear flap, otherwise a bright, vibrant example of the dust jacket. It’s a really attractive copy, and because the area of the hole and the board color are both dark, it doesn’t jump out at you. Currey, page 234. Locke, Spectrum of Fantasy, page 109 (he calls for “light yellow” endpapers, but these are really more of a light tan). Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4, *5-62. Franklin, Robert A. Heinlein: America as Science Fiction, pages 75-76. Not in 333. Not in Magill’s Survey of Science Fiction Literature. Bought off a fellow Biblio dealer for $360.
Library Addition: Joe Hill’s NOS4A2
October 5th, 2022Another Half Price Books find:
Hill, Joe. NOS4A2. HarperCollins, 2013. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a slight bit of crimping at head and heel. Magic girl vs. Rolls Royce-driving vampire. Basis of a TV show. Bought for $13.04.
Library Addition: Library of America’s H.P. Lovecraft Tales
October 4th, 2022This was one of my rare impulse purchases. I chanced across it looking for something else, saw it was at an attractive price, made an offer at even lower price, and picked it up.
Lovecraft, H. P. (Peter Straub, editor). Tales. Library of America, 2005. First edition hardback (and First printing stated), a Fine copy in a Fine subscribers copy slipcase, sans dust jacket, as issued. Has just about every one of Lovecraft’s greatest hits. Bought off eBay for a make offer price of $15.
Halloween Horrors: Caving Gone Wrong
October 1st, 2022What can go wrong when exploring the deepest cave on earth?
Plenty.
This is a really gripping scary story, and somebody should make it into a movie.
Library Addition: Gardner Dozois’ In His Own Words
September 30th, 2022Another Dragonstairs chapbook:
Dozois, Gardner (Michael Swanwick, interviewer). In His Own Words. Dragonstairs, 2022. First edition chapbook original, #56 of 60 numbered copies signed by Swanwick, a Fine copy. Condensed transcription of an interview Swanwick conducted with Gardner at the 2001 Capclave. Instantly out of print from the publisher.
I will have an extremely small number of these available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Library Addition: Charlotte Riddell’s A Little Purple Book of Sharp Wit
September 27th, 2022Part of my standing order of Little Books from Borderlands:
Riddell, Charlotte (AKA Mrs J. H. Riddell) (Meghan Arcuri, editor). A Little Purple Book of Sharp Wit. Borderlands Press, 2022. First edition hardback, #462 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. The latest in their reprints of 19th century authors series. Riddell was a prolific writer in her day, only a portion of which were ghost stories, four of which are collected here. It will be interesting to see if this volume sells for them, given that she’s no Robert W. Chambers when it comes to collectability.
I will have one copy of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Shoegazer Sunday: Slowdive’s “Sleep” Live
September 25th, 2022Slowdive’s “Sleep” was one of those Souvlaki outtakes that showed up on numerous bootleg demo compilations but never had an official release.
This version, recorded live at Komedia, Bath in the UK on May 18th this year, is evidently the first time they ever played it live.
Library Addition: Masters of Science Fiction: Jack Dann
September 20th, 2022Another Masters of Science Fiction volume came in.
Dann, Jack. Masters of Science Fiction: Jack Dann. Centipede Press, 2022. First edition hardback, #251 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. A very attractive volume, as are the other books in this series.
I will have one copy of this available for sale in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
In The Court of the Crimson King With AI Generated Art
September 15th, 2022There’s been a lot of talk lately about AI-generated art. Someone inputted the lyrics to King Crimson’s prog-rock classic “In the Court of the Crimson King” into Midjourney and the results are a lot better than I expected.
Sureal, nameless abominations are the sort of area I would expect AI art to excel in. Skilled painterly depictions of human faces? Not so much.
Not that it won’t try. Beware the Loab.