Library Addition: First Edition of H. G. Wells First Men In The Moon

April 25th, 2023

The second book from that H. G. Wells lot from Heritage Auctions I started listing yesterday.

Wells, H. G. The First Men in the Moon. George Newnes, Limited, 1901. First UK hardback edition (and first edition with complete text), second state binding (white rather than black endpapers, as per Currey), a Very Good copy with a 1 1/2″ x 3/4″ slight abrasion/rub to front cover, wear at head, heel and points and along spine, with small W.H. Smith blindstamp and inscription “M. G. Walkin-Graves/from K.M.K, J.H.A.H/Jan. 25. 1904” and price and “BL 1705” on front free endpaper, along with a large rectangle of light foxing there and a similar rectangle on rear free endpaper. His novel (possibly the first) of man landing on the moon, plus the Selenite civilization they find there. Filmed at least three times, most famously in 1964. H. G. Wells: A Comprehensive Bibliography 18. Scheck and Cox, H. G. Wells: A Reference Guide, page xxiv. Williamson, H. G. Wells: Critic of Progress, pages 111-119. Currey, page 518. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, page 226. Locke, Science Fiction First Editions, page 56. Locke, Voyages in Space 208.Bleiler, Checklist of Science Fiction & Supernatural Fiction (1978), page 205. 333, page 68. Anatomy of Wonder 4 1-98. Magill, Survey of Science Fiction, pages 782-785.

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Library Addition: First Edition of H. G. Wells’ The Country of the Blind

April 24th, 2023

Back in February, I won a lot of 13 H. G. Wells first editions from Heritage Auctions for $1,200 including buyer’s fee. Prior purchases and tax season have prevented me from cataloging them until now. Wells is one of the most important (arguably the most important) science fiction writers of all time. So even though his work dates from a bit before the period I usually collect, and this is missing the two most important of his early science fiction novels (The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds), and when I have bought Wells firsts, I’ve usually stuck to either books signed by Wells or in dust jacket, I was happy to pick these up, and I’ll be cataloging Wells volumes over the next week or so.

I think all these volumes belonged to Gary Munson, as I found a sales slip to him in one of the books.

I’ve decided to list them alphabetically by title (which is how I’ll be filing them anyway), so first up is…

Wells, H. G. The Country of the Blind and Other Stories. Thomas Nelson and Sons, no date (but 1911). First edition hardback (as per Currey), a Very Good copy with a dime-sized, light black dot to center of front cover, slight wear to bottom boards, slight wear at tips, head and heel and small “Fiction ● 1855” written in two different colors of ink (black and blue) at the top of the inside front cover and check-marks and red underlining on table of contents, five lines of penciled bookseller notes on the back of the color frontispiece page, and a few other touches of wear, lacking the rare dust jacket. Short story collection, including five previously uncollected stories. Scheck and Cox, H. G. Wells: A Reference Guide, page XXV, which lists the five stories first published in book form here as “A Vision of Judgment,” “The Empire of the Ants,” “The Door in the Wall,” “The Beautiful Suit,” and “The Country of the Blind.” H. G. Wells: A Comprehensive Bibliography 42. Currey, page 517. Bleiler (1978), page 205. Oddly enough, Locke’s A Spectrum of Fantasy page 225 lists five different editions of The Country of the Blind, but not this true first.

I had to adjust the contrast a bit to bring out the embossing.

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Library Addition: Tales From Arkham Sanitarium

April 20th, 2023

Ordered this back in 2021, and the trade state came in this year. (Still waiting on the limited.)

Sammons, Brian M. Tales From Arkham Sanitarium. Dark Regions Press, 2022. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy in decorated boards with one tiny bump near bottom front corner, sans dust jacket, as issued. Cthulhu Mythos anthology, featuring a few familiar names (Don Webb, W. H. Pugmire, etc.). I’m not thrilled that Dark Regions had fulfillment through Amazon, hence the bump. I will gave precisely one mint copy available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

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Shoegazer Sunday: Ozean’s “Scenic”

April 9th, 2023

Ozean’s “Scenic” was featured as part of a three song set quite a while back, but here it is on it’s own, accompanied by (mostly) quite beautiful AI-generated art.

Basically, AI generated art is now better than 95% of all self-published trade paperback art.

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Library Addition: Michael Swanwick’s Transits of Venus

April 7th, 2023

Another signed/limited Dragonstairs chapbook:

Swanwick, Michael. Transits of Venus. Dragonstairs Press, 2023. First edition chapbook original, #28 of 36 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy with interlocking geometric pattern cover (there were also floral pattern versions). I will have a very small number of copies available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

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Library Additions: Borderlands Little Books X 5 (3 of 3) (Sarrantonio, Silva, Straub, Williamson, Wilson)

April 6th, 2023

The third and last listing of that bulk Borderlands Little Books purchase, all but one off a 15 book bulk purchase.

  • Sarrantonio, Al. A Little Yellow Book of Fevered Stories. Borderlands Press, 2004. First edition hardback, #168 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Bought as part of the 15 book lot.

  • Silva, David B. A Little White Book of Lies. Borderlands Press, 2005. First edition hardback, #168 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Bought as part of the 15 book lot.

  • Straub, Peter. A Little Blue Book of Rose Stories. Borderlands Press, 2004. First edition hardback, #168 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Bought as part of the 15 book lot.

  • Williamson, Chet. A Little Blue Book of Bibliomancy. Borderlands Press, 2016. First edition hardback, #456 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Bought off eBay for $14.06.

  • Wilson, F. Paul. A Little Beige Book of Nondescript Stories. Borderlands Press, 2004. First edition hardback, #168 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Bought as part of the 15 book lot.

    • I also received a slipcase for five of the books, which I may use after I get a new bookcase.

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    Shoegazer Sunday: Glixen’s “Moodswing”

    April 2nd, 2023

    Glixen evidently hales from Phoenix, and that’s about all I know about them. Except the fact that they make some tasty, fuzzy noise.

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    Library Addition: Borderlands Little Books X 5 (2 of 3) (Le Fanu, Maclay, Massie, Monteleone, Picarelli)

    March 30th, 2023

    Five more Borderlands Little books, most from that 15 book purchase.

  • Le Fanu, Sheridan (edited by Eric J. Guignard). A Little Fuchsia Book of Fears. Borderlands Press, 2023. First edition hardback, #462 of 500 numbered copies signed by the editor, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. I will have copies of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

  • Maclay, John. A Little Red Book of Vampire Stories. Borderlands Press, 2003. First edition hardback, #168 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Bought as part of the 15 book lot.

    .

  • Massie, Elizabeth. A Little Magenta Book of Mean Stories. Borderlands Press, 2003. First edition hardback, #168 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Bought as part of the 15 book lot.

  • Monteleone, Thomas F. A Little Brown Book of Bizarre Stories. Borderlands Press, 2004. First edition hardback, #168 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Bought as part of the 15 book lot.

  • Piccirilli, Tom A Little Black Book of Noir Stories. Borderlands Press, 2003. First edition hardback, #168 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Bought as part of the 15 book lot.

    Ignore the dirt and rubbing, which are just scanner artifacts.

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    Library Additions: Borderlands Little Books X 5 (1 of 3) (Gaiman, Blackwood, DeChancie, Gardner, Keene)

    March 28th, 2023

    Since I already had a significant number of titles in the series, I decided to build out a complete collection of Borderlands Little Books. These come from two sources: 1.) Direct dealer purchases from the publisher, and 2.) A lot of 15 titles, including the Gaiman title (the most difficult one I still lacked) for $886.

  • Blackwood, Algernon (Mark Sieber, editor). A Little Black Book of Bedevilment. Borderlands Press, 2022. First edition hardback, #462 of 500 copies signed by the editor, a Fine copy. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount. I will have copies of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

  • DeChancie, John. A Little Gray Book of Alien Stories. Borderlands Press, 2004. First edition hardback, #168 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Bought as part of the 15 book lot.

  • Gaiman, Neil. A Little Gold Book of Ghastly Stuff. Borderlands Press, 2011. First edition hardback, #168 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Mixture of fiction, non-fiction, essays, speeches, poetry, etc. Cool cover illustration by Gahan Wilson. Probably the hardest of the Little Book series to find (followed by the Lansdale, Ligotti and Malerman volumes). Bought as part of the 15 book lot.

  • Gardner, Craig Shaw. A Little Purple Book of Peculiar Stories. Borderlands Press, 2004. First edition hardback, #168 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Bought as part of the 15 book lot.

  • Keene, Brian. A Little Silver Book of Street Wise Stories. Borderlands Press, 2008. First edition hardback, #168 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Bought as part of the 15 book lot.

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    Shoegazer Sunday: Chromatics Cover of “Petals”

    March 26th, 2023

    A few weeks ago, I heard a more modern song whose melodic structure really reminded me of Hole’s “Petals,” which meant it’s been running through my head a lot recently. And then I found out that The Chromatics had covered it for a movie soundtrack.

    It’s not exactly Shoegaze, but I think it might qualify as Dreampop.

    One problem though: It’s only half the song. Here’s the original:

    Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins fame wrote the music, but I think Courtney Love wrote the lyrics. Despite her well-documented personal problems, she was occasionally a very good lyricist, back in the day.

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