Posts Tagged ‘Books’
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022
All three of these were from a private collector culling his own collection:
King, Stephen. The Dead Zone. Viking, 1979. First edition hardback (“First published in 1979 by the Viking Press” on the copyright page), a Fine copy in a Fine, first state (price of $11.95 and code 0879 on the bottom of the flap), Mylar-protected dust jacket, inscribed by King: “To Brian —/Be well, hope you/like this/Stephen King/10/13/79.”). King’s seventh novel, and the fifth under his own name. Collings, Horror Plumbed, A7. Spignesi, The Shape Under the Sheet, pages 241-247. Waiter/Golden/Wagner, Stephen King Universe (Cemetery Dance edition), pages 187-194. Bought for $240.
King, Stephen. Gerald’s Game. Viking, 1992. First edition “preview edition,” one of 2,000 hardback copies with a handwritten note by King printed on the front free endpaper distributed at the 1992 American Booksellers Association convention, a Fine copy in a Fine printed and stapled cardboard slipcase, sans dust jacket, as issued. Collings, Horror Plumbed, A45. Waiter/Golden/Wagner, Stephen King Universe (Cemetery Dance edition), pages 285-290. Bought for $48.
King, Stephen. Pet Sematary. Doubleday, 1983. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Replaces a slightly less attractive copy. Collings, Horror Plumbed, A22. Spignesi, The Shape Under the Sheet, pages 301-304. Waiter/Golden/Wagner, Stephen King Universe (Cemetery Dance edition), pages 269-278 Bought for $15.
Tags:Books, Horror, signatures, Stephen King
Posted in Books, Horror | No Comments »
Monday, August 1st, 2022
Three Heinlein firsts bought from two different sources:
Heinlein, Robert A. Beyond This Horizon. Fantasy Press, 1948. First edition hardback, #413 of 500 signed, numbered subscriber copies (Currey State A), a Very Good copy with former owner George Price’s name and address on inside front cover and a quote from Hamlet (“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”) written on the front free endpaper in the same hand, with bumping at head and heel and a few faint spots of foxing to first few pages, in a Good+ dust jacket with 1/2″ chips to heel and bottom front cover, 1/4″ tackhead-sized chip to spine (affecting bottom of “O” in “HORIZON”), plus a few lesser chips, creases, rubs and general wear. Inscribed by Heinlein: “For George W. Price/All good wishes!/Robert A. Heinlein.” George W. Price ran Advent Publishers and participated in the 1959 Chicago Worldcon bid, and he seems to be still alive at age 93. Heinlein’s second novel. Currey, page 232. Chalker/Owings, page 158. Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4, 3-84. Bought for £350 from a notable UK book dealer.
This is the fourth signed Heinlein I’ve added to my collection. For others, see here and here.
Heinlein, Robert A. Glory Road. Putnam, 1963. First edition hardback (no statement of printing on copyright page, as per Currey), an Ex-Library copy with front free endpaper excised, discard stamps, abrasion wear along bottom boards, light paste-ghosts to inside covers, reinforcement to front and rear gutters, etc.; call it a Good+ Ex-Lib copy in a Very Good+ dust jacket with 1/32″ strip of loss at very bottom of heel, slight wear and creasing at head and heel, trace of crease along front spine join, thin, closed 2″ tear/crack along spine to middle of back cover, slight wear at points, and the barest trace of those paste ghosts to blind side; actually a very presentable copy of the dust jacket. Replaces another Ex-Library copy (non-first) in my collection. Currey, page 232. Bought for $16 from a collector culling his collection.
Heinlein, Robert A. The Menace From Earth. Gnome Press, 1959. First edition hardback, a Near Fine+ copy with slight bumping at head, heel and points (and far less than usual age darkening to the cheap later Gnome Press paper) in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with one 1/8″ closed tear and associated triangular crease to bottom rear dust jacket, very slight age darkening to spine, trace of edgewear to rear flap, and a few traces of dust soiling to white over, otherwise an extremely nice example of the dust jacket. Short story collection, including the classic “By His Bootstraps.” Currey, page 233. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, page 109. Chalker/Owings, page 205. Kemp, The Anthem Series, page 278. Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4, 3-87. ISFDB notes no price on dust jacket (as is the case here). Bought for £250 from a notable UK book dealer.
Tags:Books, Fantasy, Fantasy Press, Robert A. Heinlein, Science Fiction, signatures, small press publishers
Posted in Basketball, Fantasy, Food | No Comments »
Monday, August 1st, 2022
Four different trade paperbacks, from three different sources, one signed.
Clute, John. Sticking To the End. Beccon, 2022. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine- copy with a bump at head. Collection of reviews, essays, etc. Supposedly both Beccon and Clute’s last book. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount. I will have copies available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Lansdale, Joe R. Born For Trouble: The Further Adventures of Hap and Leonard. Tachyon Press, 2022. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount. I have copies of this available through Lame Excuse Books.
O’Leary, Patrick. 51. Tachyon Press, 2022. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. Roswell/Area 51 novel. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount. I have copies of this available through Lame Excuse Books.
Pournelle, Jerry, editor. A Step Farther Out. Ace, 1979. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine- copy with edgewear and slight age-darkening to pages, inscribed by Pournelle: “To Brian & Becky —/Now Eternal —/Jerry Pournelle.” Collection of essays, a few of which are reprinted from That Buck Rogers Stuff from 1977 (which I also have a signed copy of). The very last book from the private collector sale, thrown in as a freebie. I needed to research whether there was a hardback edition; there was, but it came out later in the UK, so this is still the true first.
Tags:Books, Jerry Pournelle, Joe R. Lansdale, John Clute, Patrick O'Leary, Science Fiction, science fiction criticism
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | No Comments »
Thursday, July 28th, 2022
I was not particularly interested originally when Centipede Press did their signed, limited prestige reprints of Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead. They’re solid novels (something that can’t be said of Xenocide), but not among my particular favorites of SF novels in the 1980s. However, I was interested in Ender’s Way, since that contains previously uncollected Ender stories, but it sold out before I could pick up dealer copies.
Given that, I was happy to pick up this set:
Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Way. Centipede Press, 2021. First edition, #156 of 300 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and Fine two-piece capped cloth slipcase, still in shrinkwrap. With:
Card, Orson Scott. Speaker for the Dead. Centipede Press, 2020. First edition thus, #156 of 300 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and Fine two-piece capped cloth slipcase. Hugo and Nebula winner for best novel.
Both books bought for $400 off eBay, a significant discount off the original cover price for both ($250 for Ender’s Way and $295 for Speaker for the Dead.
And if any of you out there have #156 of Ender’s Game you’re willing to part with at a reasonable price, let me know…
Tags:Books, Centipede Press, Limited Editions, Orson Scott Card, Science Fiction
Posted in Basketball, Science Fiction, technology | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 27th, 2022
Closing in on completing my Manly Wade Wellman collection.
Wellman, Manly Wade. Jamestown Adventure. Ives Washburn, 1967. First edition hardback, an Ex-Library copy with usual stamps, checkout card, discard stamp, dust jacket taped to boards, sticker to spine and bottom price clipped (top price intact). (There was also an Uncle Sam sticker (presumably to indicate historical fiction) on the old-style Plasti-Kleer protector that has left a ghost image on the dust jacket through the protector.) Young adult historical novel. Currey, page 513. Bought from an online dealer for $2.83.
Wellman, Manly Wade. The Specter of Bear Paw Gap. Ives Washburn, 1966. First edition hardback, a Near Fine copy in decorated boards with parallel bumps to top and non-authorial inscription to FFE, in a Near Fine- dust jacket with clipped top price (bottom price intact), several small closed tears at top and bottom (including two with associated triangular creases), slight rubbing along folds, and gold “Guaranteed Binding” on bottom front cover extending across spine (possibly as issued). Young adult historical novel, the second in the Bear Paw Gap between The Mystery of Bear Paw Gap and Battle at Bear Paw Gap, both of which I already owned. Currey, page 514.
Tags:Books, Manly Wade Wellman
Posted in Books | No Comments »
Thursday, July 21st, 2022
Holkins, Jerry and Mike Krahulik. Lexcalibur II: The Word in the Stone. Penny Arcade, 2021 (i.e., 2022). First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. More fantasy-gaming themed humorous poetry, and sequel to the first Lexcalibur.
Tags:Books, Fantasy, Penny Arcade, video game
Posted in Books, Fantasy | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 20th, 2022
Another signed PBO:
Farmer, Philip Jose. The Lovers. Ballantine Books, 1961. First edition paperback original (PBO), a Very Good+ copy with crease across bottom rear corner and slight spine lean, signed by Farmer. One of the first science fiction novels to deal frankly with sexual themes. Brizzi, The Work of Philip Jose Farmer, pages 18-24. Currey, page 185. Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4, *3-69. Supplements a signed copy of the later hardback first edition. Won off eBay for $9.99.
Tags:Books, PBO, Philip Jose Farmer, Science Fiction
Posted in Basketball, Science Fiction, technology | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 19th, 2022
I had both of these titles, but not in these states:
Lansdale, Joe R. Dread Island. IDW Publishers, 2010. First edition hardback, #60 of 100 signed, numbered copies, a Fine- copy with slight wear at head and small abrasion to bottom board edge, in a Fine- dust jacket with slight wear, in a Fine slipcase. Supplements a signed, non-slipcased copy. Bought off eBay as part of an under $100 lot. Isajanko, A039aii.
(Crack at top is either a stray dog hair or a scanner artifact.)
Lansdale, Joe R. The Two-Bear Mambo. James Cahill Publishing, 1995. First edition hardback, letter T of 26 lettered copies, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket (as issued), in a Fine slipcase. Supplements a copy of the regular Cahill limited edition, which is distinctly less attractive than this. I saw a picture of someone else’s copy of this and went “That’s pretty! I need to pick that up!” Isajanko, A017aii. Bought off a fellow dealer for $200.
Tags:Books, IDW, Joe R. Lansdale, Limited Editions
Posted in Books, Horror | No Comments »
Monday, July 18th, 2022
Scott Cupp mentioned this book many years ago, and it sounded like an interesting example of psychological horror, so I’ve kept an eye out for it, and a cheap copy finally turned up.
Scarborough, Dorothy (as Anonymous). The Wind. Harper & Brothers, 1925. First edition hardback, a Good+ copy with spine cracked, front hinge cracked, spots and abrasions to cover, slight fraying to head and heel, with small former owner plate for Violet Hayden Dowell (a Dallas author and art collector) on inside front cover, and a different ownership name written on FFE, along with “[Scarborough, Dorothy]. Tale of a women in west Texas driven insane by the incessant blowing of the wind. The novel was the basis of the 1928 film starring Lilian Gish. Bought for $36.
Tags:Books, Horror, Texas
Posted in Books, Horror | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 13th, 2022
Three different Jack Vance firsts, bought from various sources.
Vance, Jack (Terry Dowling and Jonathan Strahan, editors). The Jack Vance Treasury. Subterranean Press, 2006. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine, Mylar-protected dust jacket, new and unread. When this was published, I managed to pick up the signed, limited edition (probably on sale), but not the regular trade edition. Out of print for over a decade, but bought from Camelot Books at the original cover price of $38.
Vance, Jack. The Star King. Berkley Medallion, 1964. First edition paperback original, a near Fine copy with wrinkle along spine join, slight bumping at head, heel and bottom front corner, slight small creases to outer top corners, trace of age darkening and soiling to white cover, and slight foxing to inside covers, signed by Vance, with color laser-printed picture of Vance signing laid in. The first Demon Princes novel, shortened to Star King for many subsequent editions. Hewett, A15a. Cunningham, 76a. Bought off eBay for $15.50.
Vance, Jack. When The Five Moons Rise. Underwood Miller, 1992. First edition hardback, #245 of 300 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine slipcase. Short story collection. Hewett A86. Cunningham, 83a. Showed up on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $50, easily $100 below what they usually go for, so naturally I jumped on it.
Tags:Books, Jack Vance, Limited Editions, PBO, Science Fiction, Subterranean Press, Underwood/Miller
Posted in Basketball, Science Fiction, technology | No Comments »
