One a signed, limited edition, the other inscribed to me in person.
Library Additions: Two Signed Joe R. Lansdale Firsts
June 7th, 2023Library Addition: Jack Vance in Pulps 1945-1975
June 6th, 2023Another addition to the reference work library:
(Vance, Jack) Jean Luc Esteban. Jack Vance: Works published in PULPS magazines 1945-1975. LuLu, 2023. First edition (POD) hardback, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. An odd reference work, showing the full-color cover illustrations, title pages, first few story pages, and interior black and white illustrations, for every story Jack Vance published in pulp magazines for the covered period. (Never mind that by the 1970s, the magazines publishing Jack Vance weren’t pulps and hadn’t been for some time.) Sort of an strange work, with high production values (all the page are slick stock, not just the ones for the color illustrations) and odd editorial choices (the Table of Contents is at the rear, and there are a lot of pages left unnecessarily blank). Also, there is no magazine or illustrator index. But buying this is a whole lot less expensive than tracking down every single issue covered. If this is the sort of reference work you think you need, then you need it, and if you don’t, you don’t. Note also that there are four slightly variant titles this could be known under: the spine says Jack Vance in Pulps 1945-1975, the front cover says Jack Vance in Pulps First issues 1945-1975, the half-title page says Jack Vance Pulps Editions 1945-1975, and the title page says Jack Vance: Works published in PULPS magazines 1945-1975. Yeah, the book could have used an editor…
Library Addition: Signed Robert Bloch Bibliography
June 5th, 2023Another addition to the reference library:
(Bloch, Robert) Larson, Russell D. The Complete Robert Bloch: An Illustrated Comprehensive Bibliography. Fandom Unlimited Enterprises, 1986. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine- copy with trace of wear at tips, signed by Bloch. Just what it says, an illustrated bibliography of Bloch’s work. Looks useful, though the type is a bit small for my aging eyes. Justice, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Reference 185. Bought of eBay for $35 plus shipping.
Shoegazer Sunday: Kinoko Teikoku’s Musician
June 4th, 2023Been a while since we did some Japanese Shoegaze, so here’s Kinoko Teikoku’s “Musician”:
It sounds a bit like Asobi Seksu crossed with Lemon’s Chair. It takes about 30 seconds to get beyond the initial noisy buzz.
Kinoko Teikoku evidently means “Mushroom Empire,” and they “suspended activity” in 2019.
Library Addition: Jeremias Gotthelf’s The Black Spider
May 29th, 2023Way down on the list of my collecting vectors is books about giant spiders, so when I saw in a Heritage Auctions lot I decided to track down a copy.
Gotthelf, Jeremias (pseudonym for Albert Bitzius). The Black Spider. John Calder (Publishers) Ltd., 1958. First English language edition, a Near Fine+ copy with slight spine lean and former owners name inside front cover under flap, in a Very Good+ dust jacket with 1/4″ chip at head, two pinhead-sized abrasions at heel front join, wear at points, and moderate age darkening to white portion of spine. Nineteenth century allegorical horror story about evil made manifest as a giant black spider. Introduced and translated from the original German by H. M. Waidson. Barron, Horror Literature 2-35. Not in Bleiler’s Guide to Supernatural Fiction. Bought off a fellow Biblio dealer for $21.25.
Library Addition: Clark Ashton Smith’s Seer of the Cycles
May 25th, 2023Another Clark Ashton Smith first.
Smith, Clark Ashton. Seer of the Cycles. CASiana Literary Enterprises (i.e., Roy A. Squires), 1976. First edition chapbook, #223 of 325 copies, a Fine copy in a slightly worn printed envelope that’s starting to split at the top fold. Fifth volume in the Second Series of Fugitive Poems (Xiccarph Edition). Joshi/Schultz/Connors, Clark Ashton Smith: A Comprehensive Bibliography, I.A.38 (for the Fugitive Poems: Second Series as a whole). Not in Currey. I also have Titans in Tartarus from this series. Bought off eBay for $35.
Library Additions: Two Harlan Ellison TPO Firsts
May 23rd, 2023Two collections of Harlan Ellison essays bought directly from the Ellison website.
Library Additions: R. A. Lafferty First Editions (2 of 2)
May 22nd, 2023Here’s the second part of cataloging those two Lafferty bulk orders.
Shoegazer Sunday: The Underground Youth’s “Underground”
May 21st, 2023UK-born, Berlin-resident The Underground Youth get labeled as post-punk, but echo-and-reverb drenched “Underground” seems pretty shoegazey to me, and a bit like Civic’s “Innocent.”
This is off their album Mademoiselle, which is available through iTunes.
Library Additions: R. A. Lafferty First Editions (1 of 2)
May 18th, 2023I’ve picked up a number of R. A. Lafferty first editions in the last few months, on two purchases: A UK resident selling off her husband’s private collection, and United Mythologies publisher Dan Knight resurfacing to sell off some of his stock. Both of these were part of collective purchases not tracked in email, so I’m not exactly sure what the price was for each, but I think the UM books were $30-50 signed and $15 unsigned. Plus the latest Centipede Press collected Lafferty volume.
