Three signed, limited Ray Bradbury editions from different sources:
Posts Tagged ‘Associational Copy’
Library Additions: Three Signed Ray Bradbury Limited Editions
Tuesday, February 28th, 2023Library Addition: Four Signed Robert Bloch Firsts
Monday, December 26th, 2022This is the second Heritage Auctions lot I won this year, after the Clark Ashton Smith lot. And like that lot, these were from the Gary Munson Collection.
Warren Buffet once gave collecting advice to be willing to stretch yourself for desirable items, which is great advice…if you’re worth $110 billion. But I did stretch myself a tiny bit for this one, because I noticed something the auction house hadn’t.
Bought for $630, including buyer’s premium.
Library Additions: Four James P. Blaylock PBOs Inscribed To John Pelan
Monday, May 30th, 2022Back 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.
Library Addition: Association Copy of Avram Davidson’s Redward Edward Papers Inscribed to Randall Garrett
Tuesday, May 28th, 2019This is something I located at a Half Price Books here in Austin:
Davidson, Avram. The Redward Edward Papers. Doubleday, 1978. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight bend at head and heel in a Near Fine dust jacket with very faint spotting, fading the red lettering on spine, slight age darkening to the white cover, and a few tiny specks of dust soiling. Inscribed to fellow science fiction and fantasy writer Randall Garrett on the front free endpaper: “June 25/78 Pacific Grove/Califo./For an old, good and helpful/friend,/Randall Garrett/with the Compliments/of the Author,/Avram Davidson.” Additionally signed by Davidson on the title page. Bought from Half Price Books for $45.
Garrett was author of the popular Lord Darcy series of fantasy detective novels, basically Sherlock Holmes with magic. He spent the last years of his life in Austin in what we would now call a “memory care facility” after a bout of viral meningitis.
Library Addition: Manly Wade Wellman Associational Copy
Monday, April 22nd, 2019Picked up another Manly Wade Wellman associational copy at a bargain price:
Wellman, Manly Wade. Harper’s Ferry Prize of War. MacNally of Charlotte, 1960. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight wear at heel and head in a Near Fine dust jacket with slight spine fading, a tiny bit of loss at tips, and a touch of edgewear at head and heel. Inscribed by Wellman to his brother and fellow author Paul I. Wellman on the pictorial front free endpaper: “author time to Paul/the old War Chief of the/Tribe/Centia Campa/from/Manly”. Civil War history book. Bought off eBay for $20.
This is the second Manly Wade Wellman associational copy inscribed to Paul I. Wellman that I own, the other being Third String Center.
Library Addition: Henry Kuttner First Signed to Robert Bloch
Monday, October 23rd, 2017I try to collect at least one signature for every writer I seriously collect. I have signatures for H. G. Wells, H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Tom Reamy, to name a few.
I also have a few books signed by C. L. Moore, but not (until this item) any by her husband, Henry Kuttner, who were both behind the Lewis Padgett pseudonym. Kuttner, a first rate writer, died in 1958, and works signed by him seldom come on the market. However, I found the following first edition online, and not only is it signed, it’s an inscribed association copy.
Padgett, Lewis (Henry Kuttner and possibly C.L. Moore). The Brass Ring. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1946. First edition hardback, a Very Good+ copy, with uneven fading to the spine (looks to be lightening in relation to the dust jacket) and age darkening to pages, in a Good+ dust jacket with a 1″ chip to bottom front and 1/4″ chipping at head and heel. Not a great copy, but it does have a great inscription on the front free endpaper: “For Bob —/In memory of a happy childhood at the old Basutoland reformatory,/now dust./Hank/(“Lewis Padgett”)”. It also has Bloch’s signature at the top of the page. Currey, page 291 (which says this was in collaboration with C. L. Moore). Hubin, Crime Fiction: 1749—1980, page 309 (which credits this to Kuttner alone). Bloch and Kuttner were friends and collaborators, making this a very important association copy from one SF giant to another. Bought, after much haggling, for $500 from a dealer online.
Library Additions: Two Inscribed Michael Moorcock Firsts
Wednesday, August 17th, 2016Two more books from the Cold Tonnage 40% off sale, both Michael Moorcock first editions, both inscribed, one an associational copy:
Two Highlights of the Forthcoming Bonhams Book Auction
Thursday, May 26th, 2016Bonhams has a book auction coming up on June 8. There are a lot of interesting things outside of fiction (like Mohammed Ali’s passport), but very few items of interest to science fiction collectors.
However, there are two quite notable exceptions:
Library Addition: PB of Neal Barrett, Jr.’s Through Darkest America Inscribed to Lewis Shiner
Wednesday, March 4th, 2015I found this shopping at Half Price Books, bought it, then confirmed my suspicion:
Barrett, Neal. Through Darkest America. Worldwide, 1988. First paperback edition, a Fine- copy with tiny bump to bottom front corner and slight age-darkening to paper, otherwise apparently unread. Inscribed by Barrett, Jr. to fellow Texas science fiction writer Lewis Shiner: “11/29/88//Unca Lew—/Having you here for/a while has made my/day, as ever—/(Signature)”.
Lew confirmed that it was indeed inscribed to him, noting he must have sold it because he was moving again and already had the hardback…