Posts Tagged ‘signed’

Library Additions: Five Signed Ray Garton and David J. Schow Firsts

Thursday, December 27th, 2018

I haven’t been buying Ray Garton for a while, but I found a few things in the Camelot sale worth picking up:

  • Garton, Ray. Crucifax Autumn. Dark Harvest, 1988. First edition hardback, #194 of 300 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and Fine- slipcase with a couple of minor dings. The best of Garton’s early splatterpunk novels. Supplements a trade edition. Bought for $20, marked down from $50.

  • Garton, Ray. A Little Gray Book of Grim Tales. Borderlands Press, 2015. First edition hardback, #25 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. I rather like these little books. Bought for $20, marked down from $50.
  • Schow, David J. DJSturbia. Subterranean Press, 2016. First edition hardback, #137 of 750 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Short story collection interspersed with essays. Bought for $16 marked down from $40.
  • Schow, David J. Havoc Swims Jaded (with Water Music). Subterranean Press, 2006. First edition hardback, #60 of 150 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Supplements a trade edition. With Water Music, a 40-page chapbook about The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Both bought for $16 marked down from $40.

  • Schow, David J. Zombie Jam. Subterranean Press, 2005. First edition hardback, #436 of 750 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Compilation of Schow’s zombie fiction. Bought for $16 marked down from $40.
  • Library Additions: Four Signed David Morrell and Peter Straub Firsts

    Wednesday, December 26th, 2018

    Back to cataloging those Camelot Books sale purchases:

  • Morrell, David. Black Evening. Cemetery Dance, 1999. First edition hardback, one of 1500 copies signed by Morrell, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Short story collection. Bought for $16, marked down from $40.
  • Morrell, David. Stars in My Eyes: My love Affair With Books, Movies and Music. Gauntlet Press, 2016. First edition hardback, #29 of 300 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Essays on Morell’s favorite books, movies and music, including essays on Richard Matheson, Dan Simmons and William Tenn, in addition to Geoffrey Household’s Rogue Male, the inspiration for First Blood. Bought for $20, marked down from $50.

  • Morrell, David. Rambo: First Blood II. Borderlands Press/Gauntlet Press, 2016. First hardback edition, first signed/limited edition, and first edition thus, with material not in the Jove paperback novelization, #27 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. (The original First Blood is a very good action movie, but it’s a great novel.) Bought for $24, marked down from $60.

  • Straub, Peter. 5 Stories. Borderlands Press, 2007. First edition hardback, #328 of 350 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Bought for $24, marked down from $60.

  • Library Additions: Two Signed Ray Bradbury Firsts

    Thursday, December 20th, 2018

    Two more signed Bradbury firsts:

  • Bradbury, Ray. Dogs Think Every Day is Christmas. Gibbs/Smith, 1997. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, inscribed by Bradbury: “Marion! Chuck!/Enjoy! Love!/Ray Bradbury/Valentine’s /Day/1999!” Small trim size hardback containing the illustrated title poem and an introduction. I suspect this and the companion volume, With Cat For Comforter, were issued for the pet store trade. Replaces an unsigned copy. Bought off eBay for $36.

  • Bradbury, Ray. We’ll Always Have Paris. Morrow, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Inscribed by Bradbury: “Russ,/Ray Bradbury.” Short story collection. Tiny story: At the most recent Half Price Books coupon sale, they had several signed early Bradbury firsts from the late Fred Duarte estate for sale, but the condition was too poor for me to buy any of them. Then they had a signed copy of this, which was unpriced. “How much for this one?” “Let me check.” Comes back a minute later. “$150.” “Pass.” Then I went online and found this copy for $25, including shipping…
  • Library Additions: Several Half Price Books Purchases, Three Signed

    Monday, December 17th, 2018

    These were all books I picked up at various Houston Half Price Books stores the day after Thanksgiving. Those without prices were bought at half cover price.

  • Chabon, Michael. Moonglow. Harper, 2016. First edition hardback, one of an unstated number of signed limited copies sold by Powell’s Books, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket in a special slipcase, with a non-fiction Moonglow chapbook containing “The Box,” “The Facts,” and “The Interview” (Near Fine, with slight creasing) laid in. #63 in the Powells’ “Indiespensible” series, special signed editions sent out to book club members with various extras. Bought for $25.
  • Crais, Robert. The Wanted. Putnam, 2017. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Crais. I was looking through the discounted section of a Half Price Books, saw that this was a nice copy, thought to myself “I wonder if it’s signed,” picked it up, and it was. Hence George Locke’s dictum: “Don’t look for books, look at books.” Mystery novel. Bought for $3.00.

  • Duncan, Andy and Ellen Klages. Wakulla Springs. Tor, 2015. First edition hardback (evidently a reprint of an electronic version), a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, presumably as issued. Weird trim factor, being a small format hardback sightly smaller than a paperback. Bought for $4.99.

  • Howard, Robert E. Trails in Darkness. Baen, 1996. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with slight edgewear to top front cover and slight foxing to inside covers. Volume VII in the Robert E. Howard library.
  • Howard, Robert E. Beyond the Borders. Baen, 1996. First edition paperback original, a Fine copy. Volume VI in the Robert E. Howard library.
  • Kuttner, Henry (& C. L. Moore). Clash By Night. Hamlyn, 1980. First edition paperback original, a Very Good copy with a a long crease across the front cover. Short story collection. Kuttner’s name alone appears on the cover, but the title page also has C.L. Moore’s name, and all the stories are collaborations between the two.
  • Sammon, Paul M., editor. Splatterpunks: Extreme Horror. St. Martin’s Press, 1990. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with slight edgewear at head, heel and points. Signed by contributors Joe R. Lansdale, Ed Bryant, Nancy Collins and Chas. Balun. I had a copy of this (and I’m cited as an expert in here), but I didn’t get Ed Bryant to sign my copy, so this was a nice find. Bought for $12.49.

  • Library Additions: Signed Heinlein, Tiger! Tiger!

    Friday, December 14th, 2018

    The family of a late SF bookseller finally finished getting getting his stock online, so I checked out their newly christened website to see what was there, and immediately snapped up two books I thought were under-priced:

  • Bester, Alfred. Tiger! Tiger!. Sidgwick and Jackson, no date (but 1956). First edition hardback (no statement of printing on copyright page, as per Currey), a Near Fine- copy with bookstore stickers (Foyle’s) inside front cover (under flap), slight bumping at head and heel, darkening to page edges, and a tiny bit of spine lean, in a Very Good- dust jacket with three significant chips at top front, longest two 1″ long by 1/8″ high and 3/4″ high by 1/4″ long near flap join, with shallower chipping at head, heel and points, slight age darkening to white rear cover, and a 1 1/2″ closed tear at top front cover near spine join. These would be significant enough flaws that I would have avoided buying this copy except that it was only $40! That’s somewhere between 1/5th and 1/10th what it’s worth. The true first edition, first printing of Bester’s masterwork, later published in the U.S. as The Stars My Destination, and a science fiction keystone I’ve lacked for a long, long time. I will probably purchase facsimile dust jackets to wrap around to better display both this and the item below better. Currey (1979), page 33. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, page 33. Locke, Science Fiction First Editions, pages 18-19. Wendell, Alfred Bester, pages 28-36. Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4, 3-19. Magill, Survey of Science Fiction Literature, pages 2168—2172. Day, Supplemental Checklist of Fantastic Literature, page 8. Aldiss, Billion Year Spree, page 247.

  • Heinlein, Robert A. The Past Through Tomorrow. Putnam, 1967. Second printing, a Very Good copy with one BB-sized indention in the spine with a small hole in the middle, with slight bumping at head and heel, in a Poor dust jacket (and it’s not even the right dust jacket, having coming from a book club edition) with the front, back and spine split into three panels (now taped back together), with further chips, tears, separation between the pieces, etc. Inscribed by Heinlein: “To Karol, Best Wishes/Robert A. Heinlein.” For some reason, this is one of the hardest of his books to find signed by Heinlein. Bought for $200. This is only the second signed Heinlein in my collection, after a signed book club edition of Time for the Stars I bought from David Hartwell for $40.

  • Library Addition: Signed, Limited Edition of Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policeman’s Union

    Wednesday, December 12th, 2018

    Saw references to this (which might have preceded the trade edition) online, and finally found a copy cheap.

    Chabon, Michael. The Yiddish Policeman’s Union. HarperCollins, 2007. First edition hardback, one of 1,000 copies signed by Chabon in a wooden slipcase, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and slipcase, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap (I think it’s the publisher’s, which is why I haven’t removed it). Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel. Supplements a trade copy of the novel inscribed to me by Chabon right after he won the Nebula for it. Original list price was $150. Bought off eBay for $50.

    Forgive the crappy scan, since it’s still in the shrinkwrap…

    Library Additions: Four Books From Half Price Books, Two Signed

    Tuesday, November 13th, 2018

    No theme, except for the place I bought them and picking them up really cheap:

  • Koontz, Dean R. (as K. W. Dwyer). Dragonfly. Random House, 1975. First edition hardback (“First Edition” and numberline starting with “2”, as per Random house practice), an Ex-Library copy with most of the usual flaws, including stamps at head and page block side, tape ghosts inside covers, spine lean, ink writing and some edge-staining on FFE; call it a Very Good- Ex-Lib copy, in a Fine- dust jacket with a bit of wrinkling at head and heel. Kotker, Dean R. Koontz: A Critical Companion, page 175. Bought at Half Price Books for $2.
  • MacAvoy, R. A. Trio for Lute. Nelson Doubleday (SFBC), 1984. First hardback and first omnibus edition thus (with code P08 on page 631, as per ISFDB), a Very Good copy with some dampistaining transfer to blind side of dust jacket, in a Very Good- dust jacket with same, as well as multiple small tears at head, slight wear at head and heel, and abrasions along rear flap fold. Signed by MacAvoy: “For Fred/Bertie/MacAvoy.” Almost certainly another book from Fred Duarte’s library. Omnibus edition of Damiano, Damiano’s Lute and Raphael. Bought for $2.

  • Morrow, James. The Madonna and the Starship. Tachyon, 2014. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, signed by Morrow. Bought for $4.99.
  • (Pournelle, Jerry) Acres, Mark. Combat Command in the World of Jerry E. Pournelle’s Janissaries: Lord of Lances. Ace, 1988. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with some edgewear. These Combat Command novels were strategic “pick your own path” adventures. Sort of an oddball concept. I also have the one done for Zelazny’s Amber. Bought for $1.
  • Library Addition: Tim Powers’ Collected Stories

    Tuesday, September 4th, 2018

    Another elaborate Charnel House Tim Powers book:

    Powers, Tim. The Collected Stories of Tim Powers. Charnel House, 2018. First edition hardback (or first thus; see below), #58 of 124 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Even though this was sold out shortly after it was announced, I will have copies for sale in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog. [Sold out.]

    One thing the scan doesn’t do justice is just how sparkly this book is, it being “bound in Japanese ‘Snow Dust'” silk silver foiled boards.

    There was a 2017 Baen hardback collection, Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers, but this collection evidently has an additional story, in addition to being signed and much better looking…

    Library Additions: 5 Tachyon TPO Firsts, 3 Signed

    Friday, August 24th, 2018

    More Armadillocon purchases, all picked up at the usual dealer discount:

  • Beagle, Peter S. The Overneath. Tachyon, 2017. First edition trade paperback original, Fine. Signed by Beagle. Short story collection.

  • Beagle, Peter S. Summerlong. Tachyon, 2016. First edition trade paperback original, Fine. Signed by Beagle. Novel.
  • Beagle, Peter S. and Jacob Weisman, editor. The New Voices of Fantasy. Tachyon, 2017. First edition trade paperback original, Fine. Anthology. Signed by Beagle and Weisman.
  • Walton, Jo. Starlings. Tachyon, 2018. First edition trade paperback original, Fine. Short story collection.
  • Watts, Peter. The Freeze-Frame Revolution. Tachyon, 2018. First edition trade paperback original, Fine. New novel. “How do you stage a mutiny when you’re only awake one day in a million? How do you engage an enemy that never sleeps, that sees through your eyes and hears through your ears and relentlessly, honestly, only wants what best for you?” Looks interesting.
  • Note that most of these will be available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

    Library Additions: Two Signed Jack Vance Firsts

    Monday, August 13th, 2018

    Somebody was selling off what seemed to be a pretty complete Jack Vance collection on eBay, and I took the opportunity to bid on some signed copies, including these two I won:

  • Vance, Jack. Maske: Thaery. Berkley, 1976. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Very Good+ dust jacket with shallow chipping at head and a few other nicks. Signed by Jack Vance. Hewett, A52. Won off eBay for $40.96.
  • Vance, Jack. Gold and Iron. Underwood-Miller, 1982. First edition hardback, one of 200 copies signed by Vance, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Originally published in paperback original as Slaves of the Klau. Supplements the trade edition. Hewett, A9e. Won off eBay for $81.