Archive for June, 2013
Sunday, June 30th, 2013
Blind Mr. Jones was a UK Shoegazer band from the early 1990s. “Mesa” is from their second and last album, Tatooine. Since they broke up right after it’s release, presumably they were not the shoegaze droids the public was looking for…
Tags:Music, Shoegazer
Posted in Music | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 25th, 2013
Here’s the fascinating mystery behind Lori Ruff’s life. For starters, Lori Ruff wasn’t Lori Ruff: she had changed her name from Becky Sue Turner.
The problem is, she wasn’t Becky Sue Turner either, since the real Becky Sue died in 1971.
Her story “traces a path through California and Nevada, Idaho and Arizona and finally Texas.”
As of now, they still don’t know her real name.
Tags:crime, Mystery
Posted in crime | 2 Comments »
Monday, June 24th, 2013
Dead at 87.
It’s been a bad year for legendary SF/F/H writers dying, and it’s only half over.
Tags:Books, Fantasy, Horror, Obituary, Richard Matheson, Science Fiction
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | 3 Comments »
Sunday, June 23rd, 2013
“For I am the way, and the truth, and the life, and no one comes unto the McNuggets but through me.”
Tags:Food, pics
Posted in Food, pics | No Comments »
Thursday, June 20th, 2013
Actual discussion with female co-worker:
Her: It’s so cold!
Me: (Looking at handy digital thermostat above my desk) It’s a balmy 73.4 degrees.
Her: I keep my apartment at 79.
Me: There’s just no pleasing those of you who hail from the realms of Tartarus.
Tags:Austin, self-indulgent crap
Posted in Austin, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, June 20th, 2013
Time for another roundup of the books I’ve bought over the lat (roughly) half year. (Why June 13 rather than the end of the month? Because I’ve just purchased a large Roger Zelazny collection I have yet to catalog, and I want to get all this out of the way and posted before I start cataloging that.)
As always, all books listed here are Fine first edition hardbacks in Fine dust jackets unless otherwise noted.
Anderson, Poul. Homebrew. NESFA Press, 1976. First edition hardback, one of 500 copies signed by Anderson (Currey B, no priority), a Fine- copy with slight bumping at head and heel in a Fine- dust jacket with a tiny bit of dust patterning to rear dust jacket. Currey (1978), pages 10-11. Three short stories plus miscellany.
Ashley, Mike, editor. Steampunk. Fall River Press, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Anthology.
Asimov, Isaac. Foundations Edge. Whispers Press, 1982. First limited edition (consensus seems to be that the Doubleday trade edition precedes by about a month), #282 of 1,000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in quarter-bound leather over embossed cloth boards, top edge gilded in real gold, sans dust jacket, as issued. Hugo winner and Nebula Finalist. Chalker/Owings, p. 476. Bought off the Internet for $160.
Asimov, Isaac and Theodosius Dobzhansky. The Genetic Effects of Radiation. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1966. Presumed first edition chapbook (no additional printings listed), a Near Fine copy with slight dust soiling and age darkening to covers, and phantom crease to bottom corner. Non-fiction pamphlet. Marjorie M. Miller, Asimov: A Checklist, page 48.
Baker, Kage and Kathleen Bartholomew. Nell Gwynnes’s At Land and At Sea. Subterranean Press, 2013.
Baxter, Stephen. Gravity Dreams. PS Publishing, 2011. First edition hardback, #17 of 100 signed, numbered copies, Fine in a Fine dust jacket.
Benford, Gregory. At the Double Solstice. Cheap Street, 1986. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy, in original mailing envelope. Chalker/Owings, page 108, which lists this copy (with publisher’s greetings on (unnumbered) page 23) as one of 60 copies thus, one of apparently four states.
Benford, Gregory. Time’s Rub. Cheap Street, 1984. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy, in original mailing envelope. Chalker/Owings, page 107, which lists this copy (with publisher’s greetings on (unnumbered) page 19) as one of 73 copies thus, one of apparently four states.
Bishop, Michael and Steven Utley, editors. Passing for Human. PS Publishing, 2009. First edition hardback, #189 of 200 numbered copies signed by all the contributors, supposedly in a slipcase, but this copy actually came in a traycase, Fine in a Fine dust jacket and traycase.
Bok, Hannes. Bok 1. Glenn Nigra, 1975. Portfolio with 12 loose Hannes Bok illustration sheets, portfolio folder Fine- with bumping to corners, all illustrations Fine. Uneven shading in pic is a scanner artifact, as the portfolio folder is actually slightly too large to fit on the scanner.
Bradbury, Ray. Nemo! Subterranean Press, 2013.
Buekes, Lauren. The Shining Girls. Umuzi (South Africa), 2013. First edition hardback, #224 of 1000 copies signed and numbered by the author, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Precedes both UK and U.S. editions.
Dann. Jack. Insinuations. PS Publishing, 2010. First edition hardback, one of 100 signed, numbered copies (my number could either be 04, 14, or 64), Fine in a Fine dust jacket. Autobiography (non-fiction).
Davidson, Avram. The Beasts of the Elysian Fields by Conrad Amber. The Nutmeg Point District Mail, 2001. First edition chapbook, Fine.
Davidson, Avram. The Wailing of the Gaulish Dead The Nutmeg Point District Mail, 2013. Perfect-bound chapbook first edition, one of 200 copies in heavy cardstock with self-wrapper flaps and errata sheet pasted inside, a Fine copy. I’ll have copies for sale in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
De Camp, L. Sprague, and Fletcher Pratt. The Carnelian Cube. Gnome Press, 1948. First edition hardback, a Very Good+ copy with bumping at head and heel and wear at heel and tips, and slight dust soiling at head, in a Very Good- dust jacket with 1/4″ loss at head, and slightly less loss at heel and tips, significant fading to red ink on spine (the cube is barely carnelian anymore), partial stamp on rear flap, top front (non-price) flap trimmed at very tip, and general wear. The first Gnome Press book. Chalker & Owings, page 197. Earl Terry Kemp, The Anthem Series (see below), page 191. Currey (1978), page 132.
Really only a placeholder copy, and I wouldn’t even have picked it up if it hadn’t been part of a lot with:
De Camp, L. Sprague, and Fletcher Pratt. Land of Unreason. Henry Holt and Company, 1942. First edition hardback, a Near Fine+ plus copy, with slight bumping at head and heel and slight dust soiling to page block at heel, in a Near Fine dust jacket with age darkening to rear cover. A very nice copy, and a splendid example of the Boris Artzybasheff dust jacket. Bought for $34 for this and the above (plus shipping and buyers premium) off Heritage Auctions.
DeVore, Chuck. The Texas Model: Prosperity in the Lone Star State and Lessons for America. Texas Public Policy Foundation, 2012. Trade Paperback Original, Fine. Inscribed by the author. Non-fiction.
Dick, Philip K. The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick volume 3: On the Dull Earth. Subterranean, 2012.
Dick, Philip K./Howard L. Cory. The Unteleported Man/The Mind Monsters. Ace, 1966. First edition paperback original (PBO) (Ace Double G-602, 50¢ price on cover), a Near Fine copy with faint spine crease, touches of edgewear, a few dog-eared pages, and slighting foxing. Levack, PKD, 43a. Currey, page 159.
Dick, Philip K. The Unteleported Man. Berkley, 1983. First edition paperback original thus, with previously unpublished original ending, VG+ with spine creasing.
Di Filippo, Paul. Roadside Bodhisattva. PS Publishing, 2010. First edition hardback, one of 100 signed copies in traycase.
Ellis, Novalyne Price. One Who Walked Alone: Robert E. Howard: The Final Years. Donald M. Grant, 1986. Non-fiction. Basis of the movie The Whole Wide World.
Ellison, Harlan. The Deadly Streets. Edgeworks Abbey/Subterranean Press, 2013. First hardback edition. One of 750 trade copies.
Ellison, Harlan. Gentlemen Junkie. Edgeworks Abbey/Subterranean Press, 2013. First hardback edition. One of 750 trade copies.
Fanthorpe, R. L. (as Pel Torro). Galaxy 666. Tower Books, 1968. First American paperback edition, a Fine- copy with a touch of edgewear and a penciled letter at head. Reported to be the worst science fiction novel ever professionally published.
Gaiman, Neil. Day of the Dead: An Annotated Babylon 5 Script. DreamHaven Book, 1998. First edition trade paperback original, Fine. Bought for $1.
Gingrich, Newt. To Renew America. Harper Collins, 1995. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket with crease to front inner flap. Inscribed to me by the author. Non-fiction.
Haldeman, Joe. The Best of Joe Haldeman. Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, #147 of 250 signed, numbered copies.
Haldeman, Joe. The Best of Joe Haldeman. Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, trade edition.
Howard, Robert E. Lord of the Dead. Donald M. Grant, 1981.
Kemp, Earl Terry. The Anthem Series: A Guide to the Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Weird Specialty Publisher’s of the Golden Age. The Last Stand, 2012. First edition trade paperback edition, oversized, a Fine copy (or it was before I started reading it). Non-fiction. I’ll try to finish a review of this in the near future.
Kinsella, W. P. Shoeless Joe. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1982. First edition hardback, a Near Fine- copy with a trace of spine lean and faint dust soiling at heel in a Fine- dust jacket with a thin line of very slight discoloration at the very top. Locke, Spectrum of Fantasy Three, page 49.
Klaw, Rick, editor. The Apes of Wrath. Tachyon, 2013. Trade paperback original, Fine. Inscribed to me by the author.
Lake, Jay (with illustrations by Frank Wu). Greetings From Lake Wu. Traife Buffet, 2006. First hardback edition, one of 250 copies signed by the author and illustrator, a Fine copy in decorated boards and cut-out slipcase, sans dust jacket, as issued. Contents differ considerably from 2003 trade edition. When this originally came out I thought “$150 for 250 signed, numbered copies? That’s a reasonable price point…for a Neil Gaiman limited.” (Sorry, Jay.) I picked this up for $30.
Lansdale, Joe R. Dead Aim. Subterranean Press, 2013. One of 400 signed, numbered copies.
Lansdale, Joe R. Dead Aim. Subterranean Press, 2013. Trade edition.
Lansdale, Joe R. (writing as Ray Slater). Texas Night Riders. Chivers Press/Curley Publishing, 1991. First hardback edition (preceded by the 1983 Leisure Books paperback original), an ex-library copy with minimal markings (a stamp on front free endpaper), otherwise VG in decorated boards with bumping along extremities, sans dust jacket, as issued. Part of the Large Print Atlantic Western line. Hankow, A Checklist of Joe R. Lansdale, A3b.
(Lansdale, Joe R.) Michael Blaine, Dennis Etchison, James Kisner, Dean R. Koontz, Joe R. Lansdale, Richard Christian Matheson, Robert R. McCammon, William F. Nolan, Alan Rodgers, David B. Silva, J. N. Williamson and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. The Monitors of Providence. World Fantasy Convention, 1986. First edition chapbook original, one of 1000 copies given out at the 1986 World fantasy Convention in Providence, RI, a Fine copy.
Leiber, Fritz. In the Beginning. Cheap Street, 1983. First edition hardback, #67 of 128 copies of the “Collectors’ Edition” signed by both Leiber and illustrator Alicia Austin (there were also 10 lettered collector’s copies, and 7 lettered and 32 number publisher’s copies), a Fine copy, in full cloth with title labels pasted on front and spine, sans dust jacket, as issued, with prospectus laid in. Chalker/Ownings, pages 106-107.
Ligotti, Thomas. The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein & Other Gothic Tales. Silver Salamander Press, 1994. First edition hardback, number 116 of 125 hardback copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, with small black and white art plate laid in. Bought for $200, marked down from $400, from the Half Price Books on 183 with their 50% off coupon (I showed up when the door opened). Probably the rarest Ligotti hardback. (Evidently the hardback state of The Silver Scarab Press edition of Songs From a Dead Dreamer is spurious; proof yet again you can’t completely trust Chalker & Ownings.)
(Lovecraft, H. P.) Burleson, Donald R. H.P. Lovecraft: A Critical Study. Greenwood Press, 1983. Non-fiction.
(Lovecraft, H. P.) Price, Robert M., editor. Worlds of Cthulhu. Fedogan & Breamer, 2012. Cthulhu Mythos anthology. Good to see Fedogan & Breamer wake from their deathless slumbers. I’ll have copies of this for sale in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
MacLeod, Ian R. Wake Up and Dream. PS Publishing, 2011. First edition hardback, #38 of 100 signed, numbered copies, Fine in a Fine dust jacket and slipcase.
McKillip, Patricia A. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Atheneum, 1974. First edition hardback, a Near Fine copy with bend at head and heel in a Near Fine- dust jacket with crimping at head and heel, edgewear and a closed 1/4″ tear at top front cover. The very first winner of the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. Pringle, Modern Fantasy 100, #54. Bought for $26 off the Internet.
Martin, George R. R. (and Roger Zelazny). The Last Defender of Camelot. Subterranean Press, 2003. First edition chapbook, a Fine copy, new and unread. Includes Martin’s teleplay for the revived Twilight Zone as well as Zelazny’s original story. Evidently done as part of the slipcased edition of Martin’s GRRM career retrospective collection.
McCammon, Robert. I Travel By Night. Subterranean Press, 2013. Trade edition.
McCammon, Robert. I Travel By Night. Subterranean Press, 2013. #306 of 474 signed, numbered copies. The trade edition precedes by about 8 weeks.
Moorcock, Michael. Epic Pooh. British Fantasy Society, 1978. First edition chapbook, Fine- with tiny bit of creasing to bottom outer corner tip. Non-fiction.
Moorcock, Michael. Wizardry and Wild Romance. Gollancz, 1987. Non-fiction.
Novik, Naomi. Empire of Ivory. Harper Voyager, 2007. First hardback edition; the U.S. edition, which I have, is a PBO that precedes by a month. The fourth Temeraire, and since I have the rest in hardback, and just read the third one, I thought it was high time to pick this up…
Potter, J. K. (William Schafer and Bill Sheehan, editors). Embrace the Mutation. Subterranean Press, 2002. First edition hardback, one of 250 copies signed by the artist and editors. Anthology of stories based on Potter’s work.
Powers, Tim. Salvage and Demolition. Subterranean Press, 2013. One of 350 signed, numbered copies.
Powers, Tim. Salvage and Demolition. Subterranean Press, 2013. Trade edition.
Resnick, Mike. Lucifer Jones. Warner Questar, 1992. First edition paperback original this, a Fine- copy with just a trace of wear at tips.
Russell, Eric frank. The Space Willies b/w Six Worlds Yonder. Ace Books, 1958. Paperback reprint, VG with spine creasing and wear.
Scalzi, John. Redshirts. Tor, 2012. Bought for half cover price at Half Price Books.
Simmons, Dan. The Guiding Nose of Ulfänt Banderōz. Subterranean Press, 2013. First separate hardback edition, #179 of 250 signed, numbered copies.
Simmons, Dan. The Guiding Nose of Ulfänt Banderōz. Subterranean Press, 2013. First separate hardback edition. Trade edition.
Smith, Clark Ashton. The Tartarus of the Suns. Roy A. Squires, 1970. First edition thread-bound chapbook, a Fine copy in envelope. The Fugitive Poems, First Fascicle, Zothique Edition. This is copy 105. Donald Sydney-Fryer, Emperor of Dreams: A Clark Ashton Smith Bibliography, P. 140. Chalker Owings, P. 588.
Smith, Clark Ashton. The Titans in Tartarus. Roy A. Squires, 1974. First edition thread-bound chapbook, a Fine copy in envelope. The Fugitive Poems, Second Series, First Volume, Xigarph edition. This is copy 30 of the “small” edition (as opposed to the “manuscript” sized edition). Donald Sydney-Fryer, Emperor of Dreams: A Clark Ashton Smith Bibliography, P. 140. Chalker Owings, P. 589.
(Smith, Clark Ashton) Sidney-Fryer, Donald. Clark Ashton Smith: The Sorcerer Departs. Tsathoggua Press, 1997. First edition chapbook, Fine-. A critical miscellany, plus one poem by Smith.
(Smith, Clark Ashton). The Tales of Clark Ashton Smith: A Bibliography. Thomas C. L. Cockcoft, 1951. First edition chapbook, one of 500 copies, Near Fine- with a few small spots of soiling, phantom crease to rear dust jacket, and age darkening. Non-fiction. Currey (1978), P. 455. Tymn Schlobin Currey, A Research Guide to Science Fiction Studies, 323. A very early Clark Ashton Smith bibliography. Not as useful as I hoped it would be.
Smith, Michael Marshall (translation and re-translation by Benoît Domis and Nicholas Royle). The Gist. Subterranean Press, 2013. One of 300 signed, numbered copies. Literary experiment in which a story by Smith is translated into French, and then translated back.
Smith, Michael Marshall (translation and re-translation by Benoît Domis and Nicholas Royle). The Gist. Subterranean Press, 2013. Trade edition.
Smith, Reginald. Weird Tales in the Thirties. Self published, no date (but 1966). First edition, 8 1/2″ x 11″ side-stapled, mimeographed from typewritten copy, Near Fine- copy with small abrasion at top front, and slight bend to front and rear self-covers. Long essay about the magazine. Joshi, H. P. Lovecraft: An Annotated Bibliography, III-D-574.
Stableford, Brian. Optiman. DAW, 1980. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with a few pinpoint rubs.
Swanwick, Michael. It Came Upon a Midnight. Dragonstairs Press, 2011. First edition chapbook original, #81 of 100 signed, numbered copies, a Fine- copy with one faint stray mark to front.
Swanwick, Michael. Midwinter Elves. Dragonstairs Press, 2012. First edition chapbook original, #15 of 100 signed, numbered copies, a Fine- copy with small stain on rear.
Vance, Jack. The Avatar’s Apprentice. Sadlark Press, 2011. First edition chapbook, one of 30 copies printed from photopolymer plates, a Fine copy, new and unread. According to the publisher “I collected all the excerpts from the five Demon Princes novels that dealt with the Avatar’s Apprentice: Scroll from the Ninth Dimension, and put them into one book. I letterpress printed, illustrated, and hand bound an edition of thirty-five. I used photopolymer to print all the text and images in this book.” I’ve comfirmed with the publisher via email that the edition is actually the 30 stated on the limitation page at back.
Vance, Jack. The Eyes of the Overworld. Gregg Press, 1977. First hardback edition, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Sequel to The Dying Earth featuring Cugel the Clever. Precedes the Underwood/Miller edition. Hewett, A26g. Currey (1978), page 498.
Vance, Jack (writing as Ellery Queen). Four Men Called John. Gollancz Detection, 1976. First hardback edition a Fine- copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a tiny bit of crimping at head, and a few faint invisible, non-breaking surface scratches. Hewett, A14j. Actually, Jerry Hewett was the one who picked this up for me, since he knew I was looking for it…
Vance, Jack. Magic Highways. Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback. Omnibus.
Vance, Jack. Strange Notions with The Dark Ocean. Underwood/Miller, 1985. First edition hardbacks, number 47 of 500 signed (Strange Notions only, as issued), numbered sets in slipcase, Fine, sans dust jackets, as issued. Mystery novels. Hewett, A75 and A76.
Vance, Jack. To Live Forever. Ballantine books, 1956. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy in a Near Fine- dust jacket with slight spine fading and tiny (1/32″) chipping at head and heel. Signed by Vance. Currey (1978), page 500, A1 (dark blue) binding. Hewett, A4ab.
Varley, John. Good-bye, Robinson Crusoe and Other Stories. Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, #146 of 1,000 signed, numbered copies.
Vinge, Vernor. Children of the Sky. Tor, 2011
Waldrop, Howard. Strange Things in Closeup. Legend, 1989. Trade paperback original, Near Fine- with slight spine crease and the usual age darkening to the paper (ubiquitous for Orbit/Legend books of this era).
Wellman, Manly Wade. The Complete John Thunstone. Haffner Press, 2012.
(Wells, H. G.) William J. Scheick and J. Randolph Cox. H. G. Wells: A Reference Guide. G. L. Hall & Co., 1988. Fine-, with tiny crimps at head and heel, sans dust jacket, as issued.
Williams, Tad. Diary of a Dragon. Subterranean Press, 2013. Trade paperback chapbook first edition, #86 of 750 signed, numbered copies.
Wilson, Robert Charles. Vortex. Tor, 2011.
Wolfe, Gary K. American Science Fiction: Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s. The Library of America, 2012. First Edition hardback thus, being a two volume compilation of some of the best American SF novels of the 1950s: Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth’s The Space Merchants, Theodore Sturgeon’s More Than Human, Leigh Brackett’s The Long Tomorrow, Richard Matheson’s The Shrinking Man, Robert A. Heinlein’s Double Star, Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination, James Blish’s A Case of Conscience, Algis Budrys’ Who?, and Fritz Leiber’s The Big Time, both volumes Fine in Fine dust jackets, new and unread, in a Fine slipcase. This is an example of book collecting madness, since I either have first editions of, or have already read, all the books here except Who?, but I thought this was a handsome set when it came out, and snapped this up when it showed up at Half Price Books.
(Wolfe, Gene) Andre-Driussi, Michael. Gate of Horn, Book of Silk. Sirius Press, 2012. Non-fiction.
(Wolfe, Gene) Fawcett, Bill and J.E. Mooney, editors. Shadows of the New Sun: Stories in Honor of Gene Wolfe. Tor, 2013. Uncorrected proof (trade paperback format) of the first edition, Fine.
Wyly, Sam and Andrew. Texas Got It Right! Melcher Media, 2012. Trade Paperback Original, Fine. Non-fiction.
Zelazny, Roger. Damnation Alley. Putnam, 1969. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with just a tiny bit of edgewear along top front. Levack, Amber Dreams, 9a. Currey (1978), page 570.
Zelazny, Roger and Robert Sheckley. If At Faust You Don’t Succeed. Bantam, 1993. Uncorrected proof (trade paperback format) of the trade paperback original first edition, Fine, new and unread.
Zivkovic, Zoran. The Ghostwriter. PS Publishing, 2012. #44 of 100 signed, numbered copies. Fine in a Fine dust jacket.
Tags:Avram Davidson, Books, Clark Ashton Smith, Fantasy, Gene Wolfe, Gregory Benford, Horror, Isaac Asimov, Jack Vance, Joe R. Lansdale, L. Sprague de Camp, Michael Moorcock, Michael Swanwick, Philip K. Dick, Roger Zelazny, Science Fiction, Tim Powers, Western
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, pics, Science Fiction | No Comments »
Monday, June 17th, 2013
Books and related items, and no particular theme, other than interesting firsts I picked up. Been dawdling about getting this documented, and now I need to put it up so I can catalog a major acquisition of books I made Friday…
Bok, Hannes. Bok 1. Glenn Nigra, 1975. Portfolio with 12 loose Hannes Bok illustration sheets, portfolio folder Fine- with bumping to corners, all illustrations Fine. Uneven shading in pic is a scanner artifact, as the portfolio folder is actually slightly too large to fit on the scanner.
De Camp, L. Sprague, and Fletcher Pratt. The Carnelian Cube. Gnome Press, 1948. First edition hardback, a Very Good+ copy with bumping at head and heel and wear at heel and tips, and slight dust soiling at head, in a Very Good- dust jacket with 1/4″ loss at head, and slightly less loss at heel and tips, significant fading to red ink on spine (the cube is barely carnelian anymore), partial stamp on rear flap, top front (non-price) flap trimmed at very tip, and general wear. The first Gnome Press book. Chalker & Owings, page 197. Earl Terry Kemp, The Anthem Series*, page 191. Currey (1978), page 132.
Really only a placeholder copy, and I wouldn’t even have picked it up if it hadn’t been part of a lot with:
De Camp, L. Sprague, and Fletcher Pratt. Land of Unreason. Henry Holt and Company, 1942. First edition hardback, a Near Fine+ plus copy, with slight bumping at head and heel and slight dust soiling to page block at heel, in a Near Fine dust jacket with age darkening to rear cover. A very nice copy, and a splendid example of the Boris Artzybasheff dust jacket. Bought for $34 for this and the above (plus shipping and buyers premium) off Heritage Auctions.
McKillip, Patricia A. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Atheneum, 1974. First edition hardback, a Near Fine copy with bend at head and heel in a Near Fine- dust jacket with crimping at head and heel, edgewear and a closed 1/4″ tear at top front cover. The very first winner of the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. Pringle, Modern Fantasy 100, #54. Bought for $26 off the Internet.
Swanwick, Michael. It Came Upon a Midnight. Dragonstairs Press, 2011. First edition chapbook original, #81 of 100 signed, numbered copies, a Fine- copy with one faint stray mark to front.
Swanwick, Michael. Midwinter Elves. Dragonstairs Press, 2012. First edition chapbook original, #15 of 100 signed, numbered copies, a Fine- copy with small stain on rear.
Vance, Jack. The Eyes of the Overworld. Gregg Press, 1977. First hardback edition, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Sequel to The Dying earth featuring Cugel the Clever. Precedes the Underwood/Miller edition. Hewett, A26g. Currey (1978), page 498.
Wolfe, Gary K. American Science Fiction: Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s. The Library of America, 2012. First Edition hardback thus, being a two volume compilation of some of the best American SF novels of the 1950s: Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth’s The Space Merchants, Theodore Sturgeon’s More Than Human, Leigh Brackett’s The Long Tomorrow, Richard Matheson’s The Shrinking Man, Robert A. Heinlein’s Double Star, Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination, James Blish’s A Case of Conscience, Algis Budrys’ Who?, and Fritz Leiber’s The Big Time, both volumes Fine in Fine dust jackets, new and unread, in a Fine slipcase. This is an example of book collecting madness, since I either have first editions of, or have already read, all the books here except Who?, but I thought this was a handsome set when it came out, and snapped this up when it showed up at Half Price Books.
*This is a newly published reference work on SF specialty publishers. I hope to finish a review of it Real Soon Now, and I’ll have copies for sale through Lame Excuse Books.
Tags:Books, Fantasy, First Edition, Fletcher Pratt, Gary K. Wolfe, Gnome Press, Hannes Bok, Jack Vance, L. Sprague de Camp, Michael Swanwick, Patricia A. McKillip, pics, Science Fiction
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