Archive for June, 2021
Monday, June 28th, 2021
I blame Michael Swanwick for this one, who noted “articles about him claimed that he wrote a story a day and never published any.” So when I saw a signed copy of this pop up in the list of items for sale from that big collection on eBay mentioned in previous posts, I picked it up.
Skelton, Red. The Great Lazarus. Skelton Publications, 1986. First edition hardback (stated), a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Skelton. Swanwick says it may qualify as magic realism. Bought off eBay for $24.50.
If you’re under a certain age, Red Skelton’s name probably means nothing to you. Even more so than Jerry Lewis, his style of comedy went so far out of fashion in the 1970s that he’s little remembered now, despite having a variety show that lasted 20 years on prime time television. Skelton was once so important that he was considered a mime equal to Marcel Marceau (with which he did a series of shows) and talk show host Mike Douglas (another name largely lost in time) once had an entire week of shows where Skelton was the only guest. These days, all the things he excelled in (broad comedy, clowning and mime) are deeply out of fashion.
Sick transit gloria mundi…
Tags:Books, Fantasy, Red Skelton, TV
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Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021
Here are two different signed, limited edition anthologies from different publishers that, spine-out, look a whole lot like each other because they were printed using the same printing and binding technology. Chalker/Ownings called it the “Newcomer-Dikty process,” which turned out to be an early example of what became “Print On Demand” publishing, though both books below are true first editions with defined print runs.
Cahill, James, editor. Lamps on the Brow. James Cahill Publishing, 1998. First edition hardback, #70 of 274 numbered copies signed by all the contributors, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, in a Fine slipcase, as issued. Low print-run anthology of original stories (all save the last one by A. E. van Vogt), featuring Gene Wolfe, Mike Resnick, Andre Norton, Bruce Bethke, etc., plus an introduction by Ben Bova. I also have Ten Tales, a similar Cahill anthology. Cahill was active in the 1990s, publishing books by Joe R. Lansdale, Tim Powers, etc. I also think he did some mystery limited editions. Bought off eBay for $58, slightly more than half the original publication price of $100.
Rusch, Kristine Kathryn, editor. Pulphouse Winter 1990: Issue Six. Pulphouse Publishing, 1990. First edition hardback, #196 of 250 numbered copies signed by all the contributors, a Fine- copy with a tiny crease at head, sans dust jacket, in a Fine slipcase, as issued. Back in the dim mists of the late 1980s, I thought the black trade edition of Pulphouse: The Hardback Magazine, with it’s faux leather, embossed covers and deckled edges, was fairly attractive. Many of the Author’s Choice Monthly volumes were also worthwhile. Then Pulphouse wildly overproduced a huge variety of material nobody wanted, almost single-handedly depressing the market for small press books in the early 1990s. This volume has work (and signatures) from Avram Davidson, George Alec Effinger, Bradley Denton, Charles De Lint, Susan Palwick, etc. “Shrunk,” the Effinger story, is actually one George brought to the second Turkey City Writer’s Workshop I ever threw, which he said he had just missed selling to Playboy. According to him, Alice Turner had said “Well, I looked at it, and looked at it, and I finally decided it just wasn’t right for us.” Said George: “Do you realize what she said? ‘You just missed $5000 by that much.’ Tell me what’s wrong with it! I’ll walk to New York on my knees and fix it!” I already have all 12 issues of the trade edition of the hardback magazine run, and pick up the signed editions when I find them cheap, and I now have four. Chalker/Owings (2002), page 715. Bought off eBay for $25, more than half off the original offering price of $60.
Tags:A. E. van Vogt, Ben Bova, Books, Bradley Denton, Bruce Bethke, Fantasy, Gene Wolfe, George Alec Effinger, James Cahill, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Mike Resnick, Pulphouse, Science Fiction
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Thursday, June 17th, 2021
Two more small press firsts:
Bull, Emma, and Will Shetterly. Double Feature. NESFA Press, 1994. First edition hardback, #24 of 175 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and Fine slipcase. Short story collection by this pair of married Minnesota writers. Bought off eBay for $20.50.
Hodgson, William Hope (Sam Moskowitz, editor). Out of the Storm. Donald M. Grant, 1975. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Uncollected fantasies, with Stephen Fabian illustrations. Bought off a fellow Biblio dealer for $20 after discount.
Tags:Books, Emma Bull, Fantasy, Horror, NESFA Press, Sam Moskowitz, small press publishers, Stephen Fabian, Will Shetterly, William Hope Hodgson
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Wednesday, June 16th, 2021
Another Tim Powers limited edition from Charnel House:
Powers, Tim. Artificial Light. Charnel House, 2021. First edition hardback, #67 of 100 signed, numbered hardback copies in Japanese Red Snow Dust silk (the same material used for Charnel Houses’ edition of Powers’ Collected Stories), a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. A beautiful Charnel House production. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount. There’s also a lettered state and a wraps state (not seen).
I’ll have copies of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Tags:Books, Charnel House, Fantasy, small press publishers, Tim Powers
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Thursday, June 10th, 2021
Three new R. A. Lafferty firsts, two signed (one by Lafferty).
Lafferty, R. A. The Collected Short Fiction Volume Six: The Man Who Never Was. Centipede Press, 2021. First edition hardback, #40 of 300 numbered copies signed by Neil Gaiman, John Pelan, and Jacob McMurray, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Presumably the last volume edited by John Pelan, who died April 12. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount. Normally I would have copies available, but all the copies I’ve been allocated have sold to people who bought previous volumes with matching numbers.
Lafferty, R. A. The Early Lafferty II. United Mythologies Press, 1990. First edition chapbook original, #57 of 100 signed, numbered copies, a Near Fine copy with some phantom creasing on the top left front cover. Bought for $49.99 off eBay. The signed copy of this chapbook original sold for $7, and the unsigned for $4, and both editions are now scarce and pricey.
(Lafferty, R. A.) Cheek, Kevin, editor. Feast of Laughter Volume 5. Kistic Press, 2020. First edition trade paperback original (POD publication), a Fine copy. Ongoing anthology series of Lafferty interest, including fiction, essays, etc. Includes three Lafferty works (“The Hands of the Potter: An Idyll” (which seems to be fiction, and not in the ISFDB), “Astérix et Cléopâtra” (a review of the French comic) and “Riddle Writers of the Ithmus,” a short essay. Plus contributions from Michael Swanwick, Howard Waldrop, etc. Bought from Amazon at full price, since they do fulfillment (and hence the link on the title).
Tags:Books, Centipede Press, Fantasy, R. A. Lafferty, reference works, Science Fiction, small press publishers, United Mythologies Press
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Wednesday, June 9th, 2021
Two more items from that ongoing collection sale on eBay:
Derleth, August as Stephen Grendon. Mr. George and Other Odd Persons. Arkham House, 1963. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with possibly a tiny amount of spine fading, right at the edge of perceptability, an extremely bright and attractive copy. Stories written by August Derleth under his open pseudonym, most of which appeared in either Weird Tales or The Arkham Sampler. 100 Books by August Derleth, page 93 (“Awaiting Publication”). Joshi, Sixty Years of Arkham House, 70. Thirty Years of Arkham House, 70. Jaffery, Horrors and Unpleasantries, 72. Nielsen, Arkham House Books, 74. Currey, page 148. Chalker/Owings, Science Fantasy Publishers, page 32. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction, 524. Bought off eBay for $48.
Howard, Robert E. Almuric. Donald M. Grant, 1975. First hardback edition, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Currey, page 248. Locke, Spectrum of Fantasy, page 117. I put off picking up these Donald M. Grant Howard firsts for quite a while since they seemed readily available, but that no longer seems to be the case. Bought off a fellow Biblio dealer for $18.
Tags:Arkham House, August Derleth, Books, Donald M. Grant, Fantasy, Horror, Robert E. Howard, small press publishers
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Thursday, June 3rd, 2021
Someone sold off a large science fiction collection on eBay, including a great deal of Stephen King. All the actual King books went for way more than I bid, but I did pick up a couple of King reference works:
(King, Stephen) Blue, Tyson. The Unseen King. Starmont House, 1989. First edition hardback, #24 of 100 copies with a signed, numbered sheet done for The Overlook Connection laid in, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Critical companion of Stephen King works that had never (up to this publication) been republished. I’m sort of half-assedly collecting all these Starmont House/Borgo Press SF/F/H critical hardbacks when I find them cheap. Won off eBay for $15.50.
(King, Stephen) Terrell, Carroll F. Stephen King: Man and Artist. Northern Lights, 1990. First edition hardback, #158 of 400 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine- slipcase with two pinprick nicks to the top rear. Critical companion. Won off eBay for $30.51.
Tags:Books, Horror, reference works, Starmont House, Stephen King
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Tuesday, June 1st, 2021
Or, to be more pedantically correct, two states of the same Michael Swanwick chapbook:
Swanwick, Michael. The Book of Blarney. Dragonstairs Press, 2021. First edition chapbook original, #44 of 50 signed, numbered copies, this one in a patterned darker green wraps (call it state A, no precedence), a Fine copy. “Four whimsical, cynical vignettes on the theme of Ireland’s religious and literary history. 5 ½ by 4 ¼ inches. Wrapper of Nepalese lokta paper, in two different states. Decorated with an applied harp label and green ribbon. Numbered and signed by the author. Issued in an edition of 50, 11 of which were distributed to participants of Michael Swanwick’s virtual kaffeklatch at 2021 Boskone.”
Swanwick, Michael. The Book of Blarney. Dragonstairs Press, 2021. First edition chapbook original, #48 of 50 signed, numbered copies, this one in solid emerald green wraps (call it state B, no precedence), a Fine copy (though with a wrinkle present in the wraps paper). Both editions sold out the same day they were offered for sale.
I will have a very small number of copies available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog (which next on the to-do list after finishing my taxes).
Tags:Books, chapbooks, Dragonstairs Press, Fantasy, Michael Swanwick, small press publishers
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