Posts Tagged ‘Books’

Library Addition: Joe R. Lansdale’s Tight Little Stitches In A Dead Man’s Back

Wednesday, October 13th, 2021

Another book for my complete Lansdale collection from that same private collector:

Lansdale, Joe. R. Tight Little Stitches In A Dead Man’s Back. Pulphouse, 1992. First edition hardback chapbook, #70 of 100 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Short story hardback issue #28. Story originally appeared in John Maclay’s Nukes anthology in 1986. This is the first separate edition. Bought from a private collector for $75 (which is considerably more than I paid for The Steel Valentine).

I may have mentioned that I avoided the Pulphouse short story hardback line when it first came out, as I had a hard time thinking of them as real books rather than gimmicks, and didn’t expect them to hold their value. Now, after I’ve collected everything else by the author, I’ve been picking them up. Most can still be had cheap, but not this one.

Library Addition: The Gonzo Tapes (Lansdale, Waldrop, Barrett)

Monday, October 11th, 2021

Another private collector Lansdale purchase:

Lansdale, Joe R., Howard Waldrop and Neal Barrett, Jr. The Gonzo Tapes. Scorpio Inc., no date (Howard says he recorded his October 7, 1992; since they were first sold at Armadillocon, and that year’s Armadillocon started just two days later, I’m guessing it was released at the 1993 Armadillocon). First edition cassette tape package, containing three cassettes with two stories each being read by authors Joe R. Lansdale (“Steppin’ Out, Summer 1968” and “By Bizarre Hands”), Howard Waldrop (“French Scenes” and “The Passing of the Western”) and Neal Barrett, Jr. (“Winter on the Belle Forche” and “Class of ’61”), along with a single trifold sheet attached to the inside of the front case lid with adhesive to the back, a Fine copy. Bought from that same private collector for $10.

Neal Barrett’s wife Ruth was the driving force behind this project. According to Howard, these all sold out at the Armadillocon they were released at, but I know copies were easy to find for many years after. Now, however, you don’t see them much anymore, and there’s precious little information about this on the Internet…

Library Additions: Three Lansdale Chapbooks

Friday, October 8th, 2021

Three Joe R. Lansdale chapbooks purchased from that same private collector:

  • Lansdale, Joe R. On The Far Side of the Cadillac Desert With Dead Folks. Roadkill Press, 1991. First separate edition chapbook, #488 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Originally appeared in the 1989 Skipp & Spector anthology The Book of the Dead. Bought from a private collector for $25.
  • Lansdale, Joe R. The Orbit #1. Subterranean Press, no date (but 1999). First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy. “The Official Joe R. Lansdale Newsletter.” First of two put out. With:
  • Lansdale, Joe R. The Orbit #2. Subterranean Press, no date (but 1999). First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy. Second and last issue. Bought for $15 for the pair off a private collector.

  • Library Addition: Lettered Edition of Joe R. Lansdale’s The Bottoms

    Thursday, September 30th, 2021

    Still another Lansdale lettered edition bought from that same private collector:

    Lansdale, Joe R. The Bottoms. Subterranean Press, 2000. First edition hardback, letter R of 26 signed, lettered copies, a Fine leatherbound copy in a Fine dust jacket and Fine traycase with full color illustration mounted inside front lid. The Subterranean edition was the true first edition, preceding the Mysterious Press edition by several months. Edgar Award winner for Best Novel. Bought for $300 from a private collector, which is just twice list price for the regular numbered edition.

    The plastic illustration protector shows both glare and the shadow of my hands holding the iPhone to get the photo. (Also some glare off the dust jacket protector on the book itself.)

    Library Addition: Lettered Edition of Joe R. Lansdale’s The Long Ones

    Wednesday, September 29th, 2021

    Another lettered copy purchased from that private collector:

    Lansdale, Joe R. The Long Ones. Necro Publications, 1999. First edition hardback, letter R of 26 signed, leatherbound lettered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine traycase, sans dust jacket, as issued. In addition to the leather binding and traycase, this edition features an inserted (not attached) printed ribbon with title and author, a color frontispiece illustration, and several inserted black and white illustrations not in the ordinary numbered edition. Bought from a private collector for $300.

    Library Addition: Lettered Edition of Joe R. Lansdale’s Blood Dance

    Tuesday, September 28th, 2021

    Another purchase from that same private collector as the two previous Lansdale lettered editions:

    Lansdale, Joe R. Blood Dance. Subterranean Press, 2000. First edition hardback, letter R of 18 signed, lettered copies, a Fine copy in a beautiful full-cloth binding and a Fine traycase with an additional Mark A. Nelson illustration mounted on the inside front cover, sans dust jacket, as issued. The Lost Lansdale Volume Three. Bought for $250 off a private collector.

    Note: The bottom right of the illustration looks strange due to reflections off the protective plastic covering over the illustration.

    Library Addition: Lettered Edition of Joe R. Lansdale’s Texas Night Riders

    Monday, September 27th, 2021

    More from that private collector purchase:

    Lansdale, Joe R. (originally writing as Ray Slater). Texas Night Riders. Subterranean Press, 1997. First edition hardback thus and first U.S. hardback edition (preceded by the PBO and the Chivers large print hardback), copy P of 26 signed and lettered copies, a Fine copy bound in quarter-leather, in a Fine- patterned slipcase with slight rubbing to corners, sans dust jacket, as issued. This was early in Subterranean’s history, and they were still using the 4 x 3 acrostic spine logo. Bought for $220.

    Library Addition: Lettered Edition of Joe R. Lansdale’s Waltz of Shadows

    Thursday, September 23rd, 2021

    Here’s the first of several Lansdale items I obtained from a fellow collector who was selling off his collection:

    Lansdale, Joe R. Waltz of Shadows. Subterranean Press, 1999. First edition hardback, letter R of 52 signed, lettered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine- traycase with a few small, shallow, random indentations. The Lost Lansdale Volume One. Chalker/Owings (2002), page 855. Unnoted by Chalker/Owings (or my proof copy of The World Lansdalian), this edition is bound in a very attractive, deep purple cloth rather than the light blue of the trade edition. Bought for $190 ($5 less than cover).

    Library Addition: Lettered Edition of Joe R. Lansdale’s The Nightrunners

    Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021

    Here’s a book I’ve wanted for quite a while, and finally pulled the trigger on:

    Lansdale, Joe R. The Nightrunners. Dark Harvest, 1987. First edition hardback, letter X of 26 signed, lettered copies, a Fine copy in white leather and a wooden slipcase (AKA “slipcrate”), sans dust jacket, as issued. (Note: The wooden slipcase has three small notches at the back, but given the uniform staining, they were there when the book left the publisher.) Lansdale’s landmark splatterpunk novel, featuring two very bad boys and The God of the Razor. Chalker/Owings, page 120 (Jack was not a fan of the novel). Bought off a fellow Biblio dealer for $315.

    The scan doesn’t do justice to the silver highlighting on the lettering. It’s a very attractive book.

    Note that this is the third Dark Harvest “slipcrate” edition I’ve added to my library, along with George R. R. Martin’s Portraits of His Children and Chet Williamson’s Dreamthorpe.

    I would sort of like to pick up all the other Dark Harvest “slipcrate” lettered editions, but not at the prices people are currently asking for them.

    Note: I’ve recently picked up a lot of Lansdale lettered editions, so watch this space…

    Library Additions: Three Asimov Titles

    Tuesday, September 21st, 2021

    Outside of eBay, I rarely win things at auction these days, as almost everything seems to go for more than I’m willing to bid. But here’s an exception on: Three items from the same Asimov-heavy auction that I picked up at bargain prices.

  • Asimov, Isaac. The Best of Isaac Asimov. Doubleday, 1974. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight bumping at head and heel and a slight bit of lean, in a Very Good, price-clipped dust jacket with a 1/4″ closed chip at head, shallow edgewear at head, and slight dust staining to white rear cover. Just what the title says, and it includes “Nightfall” and “The Last Question.” Bought in an online auction for $4.88 plus shipping.
  • (Asimov, Isaac) Carl Freedman. Conversations With Isaac Asimov. University Press of Mississippi, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy with with ISBN sticker to rear cover, sans dust jacket, presumably as issued. (The Google Books image also lacks a dust jacket.) Collection of interviews with Asimov. There was a simultaneous trade paperback edition, and the hardback state seems uncommon. Bought at auction for $1.22 and shipping.
  • (Asimov, Isaac) James Gunn. Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction. Oxford University Press, 1982. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Probably the main critical study of Asimov’s work. Bought at auction for $1.22 and shipping.