Posts Tagged ‘signatures’
Monday, March 13th, 2023
These two items came from a Kickstarter.
Aquilone, James, editor. Kolchak: The Night Stalker: 50th Anniversary. Moonstone, 2022. First edition hardback graphic novel, the hardcover variant version (ISBN 978-1-946346-16-2), a Fine- copy with slight bumping to upper points, in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued, with illustration card signed on the back by Aquilone laid in. Collection of stories (some graphic novel style some straight prose) based on the legendary Kolchak: The Night Stalker TV show. According to the Kickstarter page, there were 231 of this version backed.
Aquilone, James, editor. Kolchak: The Night Stalker: Satanic Panic ’88 + Two Other Uncanny Tales. Moonstone, 2022. First edition comic book, a Fine copy, signed by Aquilone. Bought from Kickstarter as an add-in to the above.
And here’s my review of the original The Night Stalker TV movie.
Tags:Books, Carl Kolchak, graphic novel, Horror, Kickstarter, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, signatures, TV
Posted in Books, Horror | No Comments »
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 »
Friday, July 8th, 2022
Four books picked up from a UK book dealer, three of which are signed copies from important Golden Age small presses.
Campbell, John W. Cloak of Aesir. Shasta Publisher, 1952. First edition hardback, a Near Fine- copy with 2″ x 3/4″ light black staining to back rear cover (appears to be moisture staining from the cover dye), with a tiny bit of transfer to the very bottom outer tips of last few pages as well, with a few slightly light spots to boards, slight bumping at head and heel, and slight foxing along gutters, in a Very Good- dust jacket with light staining down spine, spots of light staining across back cover, shallow edge chipping at head, heel and points, signed by Campbell. Stories written under his Don A. Stuart pen name. Currey, page 97. Locke, Spectrum of Fantasy, page 46. Chalker Ownings, page 398. Kemp, The Anthem Series, page 166. Supplements an unsigned copy. Bought for £36.
de Camp, L. Sprague and P. Schuyler Miller. Genus Homo. Fantasy Press, 1950. First edition hardback, first state (Currey A) binding of green cloth lettered in gold, #172 of 500 numbered copies signed by both authors, further inscribed by Miller “To Sylvester Brown, Jr./in the hope that we’ve guessed/all wrong about tomorrow,” a Near Fine- copy with non-authorial judgement of the book written in a neat hand on the inside front cover (hidden by dj flap), gold spine lettering slightly rubbed and bumping at heel, and trace of foxing to inside covers and end-papers, in a Very Good+ dust jacket with closed tear creases to the bottom 1/4″ to 1/8″ of the front bottom edge, smaller closed tear and creasing at heed, quarter-sized abrasion to front cover affecting G in “Genus,” edgewear at heel, slight dust soiling to white back cover, and a few other touches of rubbing (slightly exaggerated in scan). Sleeper awakes sort of novel about a busload of humans awakening in a far future world ruled by evolved primates (thirteen years before Pierre Boulle’s La Planète des singes). I had several de Camp signatures already, but not one for Miller. Currey, page 133. Chalker Owings, page 160. Kemp, The Anthem Series, page 32. Bought for £45.
(Dick, Philip K.) R.D. Mullin, Istvan Csicsery Rosney, Jr., Arthur B. Evans and veronica Hollinger, editors. On Philip K. Dick: 40 Articleas from Science-Fiction Studies. SF-TH, Inc., 1992. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Collection of critical essays on Dick from a wide variety of authors (Kim Stanley Robinson, Gregg Rickman, Stainislaw Lem, etc.). I was unaware that there was a hardback of this until it showed up in the catalog. Supplements a trade paperback copy. Bought for £112.50.
van Vogt, A. E. The Weapon Makers. Hadley Publishers, 1947. First edition hardback, a Near Fine copy with wear at head and heel, trace of rubbing to spine, and some dime-sized spots of foxing to inside covers, in a Very Good dust jacket with long wrinkles across back cover, shallow loss at points, spine quite faded, and a few additional touches of wear, inscribed by the author: “To/Fred C. Brown/best wishes,good luck/and cheerio. A. E. van Vogt.” Hadley was one of the earliest SF specialty publishers, and I now have three of their four books (including Campbell’s The Mightiest Machine and L. Ron Hubbard’s Final Blackout, but lacking E.E. “Doc” Smith’s The Skylark of Space, as it was a reprint of the Buffalo Book Company true first edition (which I have)). Currey, page 496. 333, page 65. Locke, Spectrum of Fantasy, page 217. Chalker Owings, page 231. Kemp, The Anthem Series, page 345-346. Bought for £112.50.
Tags:A. E. van Vogt, Books, Fantasy Press, Hadley Publishing, John W. Campbell, L. Sprague de Camp, P. Schuyler Miller, Philip K. Dick, reference works, Science Fiction, science fiction criticism, Shasta Publishers, signatures, small press publishers
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | No Comments »
Monday, May 30th, 2022
Back when James P. Blaylock made it to Armadillocon more regularly than he does now, I got him to sign most of his early work, but neglected to pick up The Elfin Ship, The Disappearing Dwarf and The Stone Giant because I wasn’t yet the completest I am now and they looked a bit “Elfy Welfy” for my tastes. I’ve picked up a couple since, but haven’t had a chance for Blaylock to sign them. These are from the estate of editor and publisher John Pelan (Axolotl Press, Silver Salamander, etc.), sold through Centipede Press, each a price of about $5 each. Since Pelan published several Blaylock books through Axolotl, these are interesting associational copies.
Blaylock, James P. The Digging Leviathan. Ace, 1984. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with a tiny flake from the bottom front corner tip, inscribed by Blaylock: “To John Pelan,/the favorite of my/own books./Cheers/James P. Blaylock.” Replaces an unsigned copy and supplements an inscribed first of the Morrigan hardback.
Blaylock, James P. The Disappearing Dwarf. Del Rey, 1983. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with edgewear and flake chips to outer rear corners, inscribed by Blaylock: “To John,/on the first anniversary/of a hell of a good idea./Cheers,/Jim,/aka James P. Blaylock.” Sequel to The Elfin Ship. Replaces an unsigned copy.
Blaylock, James P. The Elfin Ship. Del Rey, 1983. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine- copy with slight spine creasing, inscribed by Blaylock: “To John Pelan,/My first book, but/not a bad one, I/hope./Best wishes/James P. Blaylock.
Blaylock, James P. The Stone Giant. Ace, 1989. First edition paperback original, a Fine copy with the barest trace of edgewear. Inscribed by Blaylock: “James P. Blaylock/For John,/I hope this is readable./I write it about 5 years/ago and don’t rightly/remember./Cheers/Jim.” Sequel to The Disappearing Dwarf. Replaces an unsigned copy.
Tags:Associational Copy, Books, Fantasy, James P. Blaylock, John Pelan, PBO, signatures, Steampunk
Posted in Books, Fantasy | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 18th, 2022
Another signed first edition from a Grandmaster. I knew Jack a little, and he was a long-time subscriber to Nova Express.
Williamson, Jack. The Silicon Dagger. Tor, 1999. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, inscribed by Williamson: “For/Vicky/Foreman/Jack Williamson/3-2-2000.” Jack’s second-to-last novel. Hauptmann, The Work of Jack Williamson, A78 (still forthcoming at the time). Won off eBay for $5.
Tags:Books, Jack Williamson, Science Fiction, signatures
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | No Comments »
Thursday, April 14th, 2022
The Sheckley was bought directly from the publisher, while the two Watts titles were bought from a collector culling his collection.
Sheckley, Robert. Masters of Science Fiction: Robert Sheckley. Centipede Press, 2022. First edition hardback, #350 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. “Signed by Jim & Ruth Keegan, with facsimile signatures by Robert Sheckley, Christopher Priest, and John Pelan.” The signed edition is sold out from the publisher, but I’ll have a few copies in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Watts, Peter. Blindsight. Centipede Press, 2020. First limited edition hardback, #177 of 300 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Watts Hugo-Award nominated novel about a mission sent to examine an alien probe in the Kupier Belt. Well-written and super depressing, Blindsight argues that self-aware, sentient life is an evolutionary dead-end. (There’s an interview Joe Rogan did with Neill Blomkamp about the resurrected vampires that are part of the book, but they’re not even the most interesting or fundamental part of the novel.) Supplements a copy of the Tor true first edition.
With:
Watts, Peter. Echopraxia. Centipede Press, 2020. First limited edition hardback, #177 of 300 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Sequel to Blindsight that I haven’t read yet. Sets of these went out of print shortly after their announcement, and seems to be pretty close to Unobtanium on the secondary market. Bought for $400 for the pair from a private collector.
Tags:Books, Centipede Press, Limited Editions, Peter Watts, Robert Sheckley, Science Fiction, signatures, signed, small press publishers
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | No Comments »
Thursday, January 27th, 2022
I already had two books signed by Robert A. Heinlein, one a second printing with a crappy dust jacket, the other a book club edition I bought off David Hartwell at an Armadillocon for $40. This is both the first signed, limited edition Heinlein I’ve bought, and the first first edition signed by him (though I have plenty of unsigned Heinlein firsts).
Heinlein, Robert A. JOB: A Comedy of Justice. Del Rey, 1984. First edition hardback, #109 of 750 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Near Fine slipcase with a quarter-sized water spot and a faint scratch, sans dust jacket, as issued. Not my favorite Heinlein, but quite readable by the standards of late-period Heinlein. Bought off eBay for $300.
Tags:Books, Fantasy, Limited Editions, Robert A. Heinlein, signatures, signed
Posted in Books, Fantasy | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 4th, 2022
Picked this up on my Thanksgiving trip to Houston:
Rushdie, Salman. The Satanic Verses. Viking, 1989. Fourth printing of the first American edition, a Fine- copy with slight bend at head and heel in a Fine- dust jacket with slight curl at head, signed by Rushdie, with sales slip from a bookseller stating it was a signed copy laid. The book that earned Rushdie a fatwa from the Ayatollah Khomeini. Supplements a first printing of the first American edition (the Viking UK edition precedes). Bought at a Houston-area Half Price Books for $7.99.
Tags:Books, Fantasy, Salman Rushdie, signatures
Posted in Books, Fantasy | No Comments »
Thursday, December 30th, 2021
Something of an oddball category, all true firsts, all signed by contributors, but not by the most famous author.
Bierce, Ambrose. A Little Blue Book of Civil War Horror Stories. Borderlands Press, 2021. First edition hardback, #462 of 500 numbered copies signed by introduction author Lawrence C. Connolly, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Bierce famously disappeared in Mexico after riding with Pancho Villa. Since he was born in 1842, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that he won’t be signing any more books. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount. I will have copies of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Farmer, Philip Jose. Greatheart Silver and Other Pulp Heroes. Meteor House, 2019. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by editor Michael Croteau and introduction author Garyn G. Roberts. Collection of pulp hero tales. Bought off eBay for $24.
King, Stephen, and Richard Chizmar. Gwendy’s Button Box. Cemetery Dance, 2017. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Chizmar. “A brand new Castle Rock novella.” Bought at a Half Price Books in Houston for $30.
Tags:Ambrose Bierce, Books, Fantasy, Horror, Philip Jose Farmer, pulp, Richard Chizmar, Science Fiction, signatures, Stephen King
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | No Comments »
