Posts Tagged ‘Books’
Thursday, September 22nd, 2016
The last “random” collection of stuff from the National Book Auction lots. These are seven reference works, ostensibly horror-related, but probably the most interesting is only tangentially related.
Collison-Morley, Lacy. Greek and Roman Ghost Stories. B. H. Blackwell, 1912. First edition hardback, a Very Good+ copy with a number stamped on page V, rubbing away of gilt spine lettering and points blunted, no dust jacket (possibly as issued). Non-fiction.
Frank, Frederick S. Gothic Fiction: A Master List of Twentieth Century Criticism and Research. Meckler, 1988. First edition hardback, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Reference work.
Otten, Charlotte F. A Lyncanthropy Reader: Werewolves in Western Culture. Syracuse University Press, 1986. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with one 1/4″ closed tear at top front, slight edgewear, and slight wear at points. Non-fiction.
Pollard, John. Wolves and Werewolves. Robert Hale, 1964. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with a tint bit of crimping at head and heel in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with one 1/8″ tear near spine, very slight dust staining to white rear dust jacket, and a tiny bit of edgewear, otherwise a nice, bright copy with unfaded orange lettering on the spine. Wolf and werewolf lore and myth from across Europe.
Porter, J. R. and W.M.S Russell. Animals in Folklore. D. S. Brewer Ltd and Rowman & Littlefield for the Folklore Society, 1978. First edition hardback, a Fine copy (with inserted color frontispiece intact) in a Fine- dust jacket with just a trace of edgewear. Non-fiction. This is pretty far afield of the research books I typically pick up, but two things made me keep this: 1. The fact the only other copy online lists for over $300, and 2. The presence of a sticker stating “From the Library of Angela Carter” affixed to the inside front cover (which is, in fact, identical to the one on the first edition of Carter’s The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr. Hoffman I bought from her estate off eBay). Not bad for a throw-in on a $30 lot…
(Rice, Anne) Beahm, George. The Anne Rice Companion. GB Ink, 1995. First edition hardback, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Reference work.
And that finishes off all the National Book Auction lots except a single-author lot I’ll probably get to next week…
Tags:Angela Carter, Anne Rice, Books, Horror, reference works, Werewolves
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Monday, September 19th, 2016
Still cataloging books that came in from that National Book Auction. Here are four horror anthologies from already-mentioned lot purchases that I incorporated into my library for various reasons:
Campbell, Ramsey, editor. Superhorror. St. Martin’s Press, 1976 (stated; ISFDB says 1977). First U.S. edition (though stating it was printed in Great Britain, suggesting that St. Martin’s bound the W. H. Allen sheets, so it might be more technically accurate to call this “First Edition, U.S. (second) state”), hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket that appears to have had some sort of very thin laminate applied to it; the edges of the flaps have uniform yellowed strip running the entire length of the flap and feeling ever-so-slight raised; the rest of the flaps are a pristine white; very odd. Horror anthology with original stories by (among others) R. A. Lafferty and Manly Wade Wellman. However, I mainly decided to keep this because it has a story by Joe Pumilia in it, and I knew I could get him to sign it at this year’s Armadillocon (which, in fact, I did).
Elwood, Roger, editor. The Berserkers. Trident Press, 1973. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with a slight wrinkle to top rear, a 1/32″ closed tear at head, and a tiny bit of crimping at head and heel. Original anthology by the prolific (but not particularly well-regarded) Elwood, who at one point in the 1970s was purportedly responsible for one quarter of all the original anthologies in science fiction. Keeping this because it includes an R. A. Lafferty story, “And Mad Undancing Bears.”
Miller, John and Smith, Tim, editors. The Were-Wolf and Other Tales from the Dark Side of the Moon. Chronicle Books, 1995. First edition small trim sized hardback (4 3/4″ x 6 1/4″), a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Reprint anthology, from mostly classical and other public domain sources (Ovid, Petronius, Bram Stoker), plus Angela Carter. Looks like an item that was aimed as an impulse buy at the register, but as such there are relatively few copies listed online. Unusual book design, consisting of white and red printing on black pages.
Parry, Michael. The Hounds of Hell. Gollancz, 1974. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Reprint anthology of weird stories about dogs, including stories by Manly Wade Wellman, Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, etc.
Tags:anthology, Books, Horror, Manly Wade Wellman, National Book Auctions, R. A. Lafferty, Ramsey Campbell, Roger Elwood
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Thursday, September 15th, 2016
Actually more like two-and-a-half collections with some odd additional material. All these were left over from other National Book Auction lots and, after checking them out, I decided to incorporate them into my library for, essentially, free. (There were several books from those lots I’m passing on, so each of these looked to have some point of interest.)
Bullock, Michael. Green Beginning, Black Ending: Fables. Sono Nis Press, 1971. First edition hardback, a Very Good+ copy with slight wear to boards at head and heel, dusty page block at head, and small triangular abrasion to top front right board in a Very Good- dust jacket with spine fading, significant creasing and rubbing to top of front cover, 1/2″ semi-closed tear at top front fold, blindside tape at head and top front fold, and general wear. Inscribed by Bullock on the FFE: “With good wishes from/Michael Bullock 2.8.71.” There’s also what appears to be a stock number, a price, and “with odd vampire vignette” all in pencil, the last presumably from the vampire and werewolf collector whose collection this came from. Supposedly surreal stories by someone more famous as a translator and poet. Only two copies on Bookfinder, neither signed. Not in in Carter’s The Vampire in Literature, Bleiler’s Supernatural Fiction, Reginald, or, probably, anything else.
James, M. R. (Peter Haining, editor). The Book of Ghost Stories. Stein and Day, 1982. First American edition (this appears to be a reprint of the UK Book of the Supernatural (with the same contents) from 1979), a Fine- copy with slight wear at points in a Very Good dust jacket with significant rubbing to rear cover. A collection of some of James’ previously uncollected short stories, plus commentary on his work by various writers, Christopher Lee, etc., and even an anonymous piece, “The Vampire of Kring,” that James believed formed the basis of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Looks like an interesting miscellany in a book I probably couldn’t sell, so…
Pei, Mario A. Tales of the Natural and the Supernatural. Devin-Adar, 1971. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Short story collection by this noted Italian-American linguist and writer. Includes “The Sparrows of Paris” (see Bleiler, Supernatural Fiction, 1298), a short werewolf novel. Reginald, 11279.
Tags:Books, Horror, M. R. James, Mario Pei, Michael Bullock, surrealism, vampires, Werewolves
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Monday, September 12th, 2016
This is another book I picked up in the National Book Auction. In fact, I’ve wanted a copy for quite a while, ever since I saw publisher/bookseller George Locke bring them to the 2002 World Fantasy Convention in Minneapolis. However, three things kept me from picking up a copy then:
- It was a pricey book (there’s no cover price, and it’s not in the ISFDB, but I think George was selling them for somewhere in the $75—$125 range) at a time when I was buying very few books in that price range.
- The chances of my running across any first edition Penny Dreadfuls here in the United States of the 21st century ranges from exceedingly slim to absolutely nil.
- Worst of all, all the copies George had there seemed to have warped boards from the transatlantic flight.
So I was happy to pick up a copy through the National Book Auction as part of a lot for $30, less than cover price would have been.
Waite, Arthur Edward. The Quest for Bloods: A Study of the Victorian Penny Dreadful. Privately printed (Ferret Fantasy), 1997. First edition oversized (8 1/2″ x 12″) hardback, no limitation stated on this copy of the “regular” edition (though I get the impression that there were less than 500 printed total, and possibly considerably less than that), a Fine- copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a slight bump and associated wrinkle near the head (and possibly some slight fading of the spine and other portions of the yellowish orange dust jacket).
Tags:Books, Ferret Fantasy, George Locke, Horror, National Book Auctions, reference works
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Friday, September 9th, 2016
Another item from the werewolf and vampire lots at that National Book Auction.
Brennan, Joseph Payne. The Borders Just Beyond. Donald M. Grant, 1986. First edition hardback, one of 750 copies, all signed by Brennan, a Fine copy in a Fine-dust jacket with a tiny bit of wear wear at points. Chalker/Owings, 223.
Part of the same $55 lot as the three Derleth Arkham House books.
Tags:book auction, Books, Donald M. Grant, Horror, Joseph Payne Brennan, National Book Auctions, signed
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Thursday, September 8th, 2016
More from the National Book Auctions werewolf collection offering:
Munn, H. Warner. Tales of the Werewolf Clan Volume One: The Tomb of the Bishop. Donald M. Grant, 1979. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a few small nicks at extremities. Illustrated by “Jeff K. Potter” before he started initializing his first name. Chalker/Owings, 219-220.
Munn, H. Warner. Tales of the Werewolf Clan Volume Two: The Master Goes Home. Donald M. Grant, 1980. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Also illustrated by Potter. Chalker/Owings, 220.
Part of the same eight book/$60 lot as the Boucher.
Tags:book auction, Books, Donald M. Grant, Horror, National Book Auctions, Werewolves
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Wednesday, September 7th, 2016
Here’s the second post on books from that National Book Auction:
Boucher, Anthony. The Compleat Werewolf. Simon & Schuster, 1969. First edition hardback (“First Printing” stated), a Fine- copy with slight dust soiling at head and heel in a Fine- dust jacket with a thin line of dust staining along spine join on rear cover. Jones/Newman, Horror 100 66. Bleiler, Guide to Supernatural Fiction 232.
Part of an eight book lot I paid $60 for, of which others will be listed here in coming days…
Tags:Anthony Boucher, book auction, Books, Horror, National Book Auctions
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Tuesday, September 6th, 2016
So the very same day that I bought books from the Fred Duarte estate and from the Cold Tonnage sale also saw the close of a National Book Auctions featuring multiple lots from a serious werewolf and vampire collector. I missed out on two of the rarer items I bid on (Jane Gaskell’s The Shiny Narrow Grin, a mod vampire novel that’s the only Gaskell first edition I don’t own, and a better copy than mine of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend), but I ended up getting four mixed lots at bargain prices, the first three containing books from that werewolf/vampire collection, and the fourth…
Well, I’ll get to that eventually.
I’ll be listing the books incorporated into my own library here, while the rest will be offered up (most at bargain prices) in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
The first set of books I’m listing are three August Derleth firsts from Arkham House, which he, of course, co-founded and ran until his death in 1971. I collect Arkham House much more than I collect Derleth per se, but all I’ve read of him are his dreadful posthumous Lovecraft “collaborations,” which I’m given to understand are not representative of his work as a whole.
Derleth, August and Mark Schorer. Colonel Markesan and Less Pleasant People. Arkham House, 1966. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with just a trace of wear at points and a trace of dust soiling on white portions of dust jacket at rear. Collaborative short story collection. Joshi, Sixty Years of Arkham House 87. Jaffery, Horrors and Unpleasantries 93. Nielsen, Arkham House Books: A Collector’s Guide, 93. Derleth, Thirty Years of Arkham House 87. Currey, page 146.
Derleth, August, editor. Dark Mind, Dark Heart. Arkham House, 1962. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with slight dust soiling to white rear cover. Anthology. Joshi, Sixty Years of Arkham House 64. Jaffery, Horrors and Unpleasantries 66. Nielsen, Arkham House Books: A Collector’s Guide, 68. Derleth, Thirty Years of Arkham House 64. Currey, page 151.
Derleth, August, editor. Over the Edge. Arkham House, 1964. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with slight rubbing along rear cover fold. Anthology. Joshi, Sixty Years of Arkham House 75. Jaffery, Horrors and Unpleasantries 79. Nielsen, Arkham House Books: A Collector’s Guide, 81. Derleth, Thirty Years of Arkham House 79. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, page 6. Currey, page 153.
All three books bought for $55 as part of an eleven book lot.
Tags:Arkham House, August Derleth, Books, First Edition, Horror
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Saturday, September 3rd, 2016
Here’s the last two books from that Cold Tonnage 40% off sale:
Clute, John. Pardon This Intrusion: Fantastika in the World Storm. Beccon Publications, 2011. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. Collection of reviews and essays.
Clute, John. Stay. Beccon Publications, 2014. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. Collection of reviews and essays.
I now have all the Clute critical collections, as well as both his novels.
And now that I’ve finished cataloging the Cold Tonnage purchase, instead of being 100 books behind in my cataloging, I’m only about 55…
Tags:Books, Cold Tonnage, John Clute, Science Fiction, science fiction criticism
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Thursday, September 1st, 2016
The second-to-last post cataloging books I got from the Cold Tonnage 40% off sale:
Sladek, John. Black Aura. Jonathan Cape, 1974. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Currey, page 450. Mystery novel. Bought for £9 after discount.
Sladek, John (as Richard A. Tilms) The Judgement of Jupiter. New English Library, 1980. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Ostensibly non-fiction, this is, like Arachne Rising (which I also have) a spoof of pseudoscience. Bought for £9 after discount.
Tags:Books, Cold Tonnage, John Sladek, Science Fiction
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