Still more items from that Jack Vance lot. I never aspired to own a V-Con 7 Program Book, but since it’s signed by Vance, I do now!
(Vance, Jack) V-Con [7] Program Book. V-Con 7, 1979. First edition program chapbook original (10 3/4″ tall by 8 1/4″ wide), a Fine- copy with just a tiny bit of fading to the stapled spine edge, signed by Vance. Program books for a 1979 convention in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Jack Vance was Guest of Honor (and Frank Herbert Toastmaster). I have also taken the liberty of scanning an advert for an ambitious young cyberpunk found within…
(Vance, Jack) (Tim Underwood and Chuck Miller, unlisted editorsThe Book of the Sixth World Fantasy Convention. Underwood/Miller, 1980. First edition hardback, one of 1000 copies, a Fine- copy, with slight bumping at head and heel, sans dust jacket, as issued, with pocket program and card for the convention laid in. World Fantasy Convention where Jack Vance was Guest of Honor. Hewett, M88.
I don’t usually go out of my way to pick up older bibliographies if I have a better, more recent one, but both of these were part of that Forum auction lot, and one of them is signed by Jack Vance. Both have been superseded by Hewett.
(Vance, Jack) Levack, Daniel J. H. and Tim Underwood. Fantasms: A Bibliography of the Literature of Jack Vance. Underwood-Miller, 1978. First edition trade paperback original (simultaneous with a much smaller hardback run), one of 900 copies, a Fine- copy with slight bumping to points, signed by Jack Vance. The first serious, professional bibliography of Vance’s work. Hewett, M47. Cunningham, E1. Stephensen-Payne/Benson, M3.
(Vance, Jack) Stephensen-Payne, Phil and Gordon Benson, Jr. Jack Vance: A Fantasmic Imagination (2nd Revised Edition) A Working Bibliography. Galactic Central, no date (but 1990). First edition of one-sided brad-bound sheets, either Fine- (for the condition of the sheets), with a two penciled notes at bottom of front page, or Very Good+ is you count the wrinkled condition of the Duotang thin cardstock brad binder, but it is unreasonable to expect such to last decades in pristine condition. Back before the rise of Internet bibliographies, a number of projects were started to make comprehensive science fiction bibliographies. (Willie Siros was involved in one, until he said he hit the undocumented limit of many-to-many links in the Macintosh 4D database software.) Galactic Central was one project working on an author-by-author basis, this being the 28th in a series that eventually reached 58 before petering out. Hewitt, M152. (He states that Borgo Press even did a hardback of this! I’ve never seen one.) Not in Cunningham.
(Vance, Jack) Hewitt, Jerry, and Daryl F. Mallett. The Work of Jack Vance: An Annotated Bibliography & Guide. Borgo Press/Underwood -Miller, 1994. First edition hardback, #121 of 200 numbered copies signed by Vance, introduction author Robert Silverberg, Hewett and Mallett, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued, in a Fine- slipcase with a bump to the top rear that I probably inflicted myself. The definitive Vance bibliography. Supplements a trade copy. Hewitt, M166 (yes, a reference to the book in the book itself). Cunningham E.2. Jerry tells me that Mallett was actually the editor rather than co-compiler, and on my trade copy he’s crossed out “Borgo” and written in “Bozo” on the title page. I sense some tension there…
(Vance, Jack) Temianka, Dan. The Jack Vance Lexicon: From Ahuloh to Zipahgote. Underwood-Miller, 1992. First edition hardback, #87 of 200 numbered copies signed by Vance and Temianka, a Fine- copy with a slight bit of bend at heel, sans dust jacket, as issued, in a Fine slipcase. Just what it says, a Lexicon of Vancian vocabulary. Supplements a trade copy. Hewitt, M163. Cunningham I.3.
These two books alone are probably worth more than I paid for the entire lot.
No director probably ever had three films back to back as good as William Friedkin (who just died at age 87) did in the 1970s. The French Connection, The Exorcist and Sorcerer are each truly great films that stand the test of time. The first two made a ton of money (justifiably). The third one didn’t, but has one of the greatest, tensest scenes of all time.
Friedkin let the success of those first two go to his heads, and then a string of flops (including Cruising, a film that, like The Last Temptation of Christ, alienated its only potential audience) put him out of favor in Hollywood.
He also directed a pretty swell episode of the 1980s Twilight Zone reboot.
He had a wealth of talent, I just wish we had more first rate films from him.
There was a Forum (UK) auction that had a fair amount of science fiction in it, so I bit the bullet and bid even though it was one of those dread “no in-house shipping” deals. And I’m glad I did! Even though I did get rooked for £100+ for shipping, I managed to pick up a number non-fiction works about Jack Vance for only £163.80 (including buyer’s premium), so £263.80 total. Here’s the first item from that lot.
(Vance, Jack). Rawlins, Jack. Demon Prince: The Dissonant Worlds of Jack Vance. Borgo Press, 1986. First edition hardback (plasticized boards), a Fine copy with “KATER-BOUND” sticker to rear cover (presumably as issued). Critical companion to the works of Jack Vance. Depending on the title, Borgo either did plasticized boards with the trade paperback encased, or cloth with the cover of the trade paperback pasted to the front; this is one of the former. I can’t recall ever seeing any copy of this title before, much less the hardback variant. Hewett, M.126. Cunningham, F.2.
Three Joe R. Lansdale first editions, two signed limited editions and a new Tachyon collection.
Lansdale, Joe R. Edge of Dark Water. PS Publishing, 2012. First edition hardback, letter D of 26 lettered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine slipcase. Supplements a signed Mullholland Books first and both a signed PS trade edition and a signed, numbered copy. Not really an impressive limited, as it’s identical to a signed, numbered copy, but it was only $75, which is about what the regular numbered edition goes for these days. Isajanko, A044.d.ii (but he doesn’t list this lettered edition).
Lansdale, Joe R. Things Get Ugly: The Best Crime Stories of Joe R. Lansdale. Tachyon, 2023. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount.
Lansdale, Joe R. and Kasey Lansdale. Terror is Our Business: The Dana Roberts Casebook of Horrors. Short Scary Tales (SST) Publications, 2023. First edition hardback, #101 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, with tissue paper closure sticker laid in.
I will have copies of the last two in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
