Posts Tagged ‘Jack Williamson’
Monday, August 26th, 2024
A signed Jack Williamson first I picked up (cheap) mainly due to the publisher.
Williamson, Jack. Dragon’s Island and Other Stories. Five Star, 2002. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in decorated boards and a Fine dust jacket, inscribed by Williamson: “To Dane,/Jack Williamson/Bubonicon/2003.” Note: The cover title is Dragon’s Island, while Dragon’s Island and Other Stories appears on the title, half title and copyright pages. Bought off eBay for $26.
Five Star is a subsidiary of educational publisher Gale. They started out doing romance and mystery hardbacks, but began doing significant amounts of science fiction in 2002, were active for several years, then started to trail off around 2009. According to Willie Siros, they were quite hard to deal with, as they wanted you to order at least 25 books at a time to get a reasonable discount. I have a signed Robert Silverberg omnibus first from them, plus a few others. I pick up signed Five Star firsts of important writers when I see them cheap, because I suspect they were geared for the library market, and that there aren’t as many signed Five Stars firsts as there are of firsts from other publishers for the authors.
Tags:Books, Five Star, Jack Williamson, Science Fiction, signatures
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Monday, February 6th, 2023
Finishing up recorded the Metroplex PBO buys. All of these came from Half-Price Books.
Pohl, Frederik, and C. M. Kornbluth. The Space Merchants. Ballantine Books, 1953. First edition paperback original (no statement of printing, and simultaneous with the hardback edition, as per Currey), a Fine- copy with a touch of edgewear at points, otherwise new and unread. Pringle, SF 100 12. Currey, pages 289 and 405. Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4 *3-147. Magill, Survey of Science Fiction volume 5, pages 2127-2131. Supplements a hardback first inscribed to my by Pohl. Bought for $3.
Pohl, Frederik, and Jack Williamson. Starchild. Ballantine Books, 1965. First edition paperback original (“”First printing: November 1965″ and 50¢ price, as per Currey), a Fine- copy with just a trace of edgewear at head and heel and a tiny 3/16” non-breaking indention to front cover, otherwise tight, square and unread. Second book in the Starchild trilogy. Currey, pages 405 and 544. Supplements the SFBC Omnibus The Starchild Trilogy inscribed to me by Pohl and Williamson. Bought for $3.
Smith, Cordwainer. Space Lords. Pyramid, 1965. First edition paperback original, a Fine copy save a trace of foxing to inside covers. Currey, page 315. Bought for $4.00.
Smith, Cordwainer. The Underpeople. Pyramid, 1968. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine copy with one faint spine crease, bookstore stamp to blurb page, and edgewear. Part two of Nostrilia. Currey, page 315. Pringle, SF 100 46 (for Nostrilia). Bought for $1.99.
Smith, E. E. “Doc”. The Galaxy Primes. Ace Books, 1965. First edition paperback original (no statement of printing and 40¢ price, as per Currey), a Fine copy save for a trace of foxing to inside covers, otherwise tight, square and unread. Lucchetti, Doc: First Galactic Roamer, pages 50-51 (“Never issued in hardback.”) Currey, page 456. Bought for $3.
Vance, Jack. Showboat World. Pyramid, 1975. First edition paperback original (“March 1975” on copyright page and $1.25 cover price, as per Currey), a Near Fine+ copy with one slight spine wrinkle near heel, a few very small, very faint phantom crease on rear cover, and two very faint parallel printing lines across teaser page (looks like an artifact of the printing process). I read this last year and it’s still great fun. Hewett A47a. Cunningham 71a. Currey, page 500. Bought for $2.99.
Waldrop, Howard. Strange Monsters of the Recent Past. Ace, 1991. First edition paperback original thus, adding A Dozen Tough Jobs to the contents of All About Strange Monsters of the Recent Past, a Fine copy, now inscribed to me by Waldrop. I’ve had a lot of copies of this over the years, but since I already had All About Strange Monsters of the Recent Past and A Dozen Tough Jobs, I never added a copy to my own library until now. Bought for $3.
Tags:Books, C. M. Kornbluth, Cordwainer Smith, E. E. "Doc" Smith, Fantasy, Frederik Pohl, Howard Waldrop, Jack Vance, Jack Williamson, PBO, Science Fiction
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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
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Sunday, February 27th, 2022
The final three Easton Press library additions from that big purchase.
Stross, Charles. Glasshouse. Easton Press, 2006. First edition thus, #469 of 900 signed copies, a Fine copy in embossed leather boards, with certificate of authenticity (also signed by Stross), an unused personalization plate, and an insert card “a note about GLASSHOUSE and the author CHARLIE STROSS” laid in, sans dust jacket, as issued. Supplements a copy of the trade first edition (ISFDB the books came out the same month; usually when that happens, the author gets the Easton Press books FedExed to them a few days before the laydown date of the trade edition, but most subscribers get their copies just after the trade is released.)
Stross, Charles. Halting State. Easton Press, 2007. First edition (ISFDB says it came out a month before the trade), #35 of 900 signed copies, a Fine copy in embossed leather boards, with certificate of authenticity (also signed by Stross), an unused personalization plate, and an insert card “a note about HALTING STATE and the author CHARLIE STROSS” laid in, sans dust jacket, as issued. Supplements a copy of the trade first edition.
Williamson, Jack. The Stonehenge Gate. Easton Press, 2005. First edition hardcover (ISFDB says this came out in March of 2005, while the serialized version was finishing up in Analog, while the Tor edition didn’t come out until August) #120 of 900 signed copies, a Fine copy in embossed leather boards, with certificate of authenticity (also signed by Williamson), an unused personalization plate, and an insert card “a note about THE STONEHENGE GATE and the author JACK WILLIAMSON” laid in, sans dust jacket, as issued. I note that it is fairly unusual for Tor to allow Easton Press to do an edition of one of their books, and I’ve seen writers complain that Tor contracts forbade them from Easton Press (or other signed/limited special editions), as they wanted their own books to be the true firsts. Williamson’s editor there was David Hartwell, a long-time fan of his work, and I can believe that such was his stature that an exception was made.
Tags:Books, Charles Stross, Easton Press, Jack Williamson, Limited Editions, Science Fiction
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Monday, July 9th, 2018
Three signed first edition hardbacks picked up from two different sources. The Effinger and the Lovegrove were picked up from a Lame Excuse Books customer for trade credit, and the Zelazny was from eBay.
Effinger, George Alec. Relatives. Harper & Row, 1973. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine- dust jacket with one 1/4″ closed tear on bottom front and very slight dust soiling to rear. Inscribed by Effinger: “For Dan Monte—/This is pretty scarce title. I/think the Center for Disease Control/developed a vaccine against this novel/shortly after publication. Well, it/was only my second book and I/was still learning—/George Alec Effinger.” I knew George (he came to the second Turkey City Writer’s Workshop I ever threw) and he signed most of his books for me, but I don’t think I picked this one up before he died. This and the Lovegrove were exchanged for credit.
Lovegrove, James. Provender Gleed. Gollancz, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed and dated by Lovegrove. I should really read some of the Lovegrove I already have…
Zelazny, Roger, editor. The Williamson Effect. Tor, 1996. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight bumping at head and heel and a few pinprick spots of foxing to FFE (maybe something with acidic paper was laid in there) in a Fine dust jacket. Tribute anthology for Jack Williamson, published after Zelazny’s death. Signed by Williamson and contributors Ben Bova, Mike Resnick and David Weber. Won off eBay for $24.07. Replaces an unsigned copy.
Tags:Books, George Alec Effinger, Jack Williamson, James Lovegrove, Roger Zelazny, Science Fiction, signatures, signed
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Wednesday, June 15th, 2016
Picked up another signed first by two Sf giants:
Pohl, Frederik and Jack Williamson. The Singers of Time. Doubleday Foundation, 1991. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with small wrinkle to top inner flap tip. Signed by Pohl. Bought off eBay for $4.00 plus shipping.
Tags:Books, Frederik Pohl, Jack Williamson, signatures
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Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015
More books from that Cold Tonnage 40% off order:
Brunner, John. Times Without Number. The Elmsfield Press, 1974. First hardback edition, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed and dated by Brunner in 1987, with his usual peace symbol. Currey (1979), page 24. Bought for £18.
Disch, Thomas and Charles Naylor. Neighboring Lives. Scribner’s, 1981, First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight bumping at head in a Near Fine- dust jacket with one 1/8″ by 1/4″ triangular chip at top front cover ner head and wear at points. Signed by both Disch and Naylor. Bought for £18.
(The scratches in this pic are surface wear on the dj protector.)
Joyce, Graham. The Limits of Enchantment. Gollancz, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by Joyce. Bought for £9.
Le Guin, Ursula K. From Elfland to Poughkeepsie. Pendragon Press, 1973. First edition paperback chapbook original, #49 of 100 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Non-fiction. Currey (1979), page 306. Bought for £18.
Williamson, Jack. Manseed. Del Rey, 1982. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by Williamson. Bought for £9.
Tags:Books, First Edition, Graham Joyce, Jack Williamson, John Brunner, signed, Thomas M. Disch, Ursula K. Le Guin
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Monday, July 20th, 2015
Finally obtained a book I’ve been trying to get for over 20 years, ever since hearing about it while compiling Bruce Sterling’s bibliography for Nova Express in the early 1990s:
Martin, George R. R. The John W. Campbell Awards Volume 6. Bluejay Books, 1986. Uncorrected proof, trade paperback format, of the never-published hardback first edition, a Very Good- copy, being well-read with creasing along front and back spine joins, bottom of front spine join starting to split, a few spots of staining (including one to the edge of side/bottom page block), and general wear, with note on front cover stating “To/Shelia/Williams/Isaac/Asimov” and a note on the table of contents saying the Orson Scott Card story listed was going to be replaced with another Card story. Never produced because Bluejay Books went out of business in 1986. Copy on the back covers states the book was to be produced in both hardback and trade paperback formats.
The contents are as follows:
Page 1: “Preface” — George R. R. Martin
Page 9: “On John Campbell” — Jack Williamson
Page 17: “The Djinn Who Watches Over the Accursed” — Stephen R. Donaldson (Published in Word Tales, the book published for the 1985 World Fantasy Convention in Tucson.)
Page 41: “Angel Engines” — Bruce Sterling (Note: This story is present in the book, but is missing from the the (probably hastily typed) Table of Contents.) (Remains unpublished.)
Page 57: “The Necropolis at Fang Shang” — Bruce Sterling (Remains unpublished.)
Page 71: “Adrift Among the Ghosts” — Jack L. Chalker (Appeared as an original story in the Chalker collection Dance Band on the Titanic in 1988.)
Page 89: “The Red Hawk” — Elizabeth A. Lynn (Had previously appeared as a stand-alone Cheap Street chapbook in 1983.)
Page 123: “Unwyrm” — Orson Scott Card (Never published in this form, a novella that takes up half the book, but was evidently incorporated into Card’s 1987 novel Wyrms.)
Page 251: “The John W. Campbell Award Winners: 1973—1985” (No author listed, just a list of winners and nominees by year.)
Bought for $100 from an editor who was downsizing his library as part of moving.
Tags:Bluejay Books, Books, Bruce Sterling, Elizabeth Lynn, First Edition, George R. R. Martin, Jack Chalker, Jack Williamson, Jim Frenkel, John W. Campbell Award, Orson Scott Card, proof, Stephen R. Donaldson
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Wednesday, September 17th, 2014
There is no theme, only Zuul interesting stuff that’s come in after I got back from Worldcon.
Asprin, Robert and Jody Lynn Nye. Myth-Told Tales. Meisha Merlin, 2003. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, signed to a Jennifer by both authors on August 31, 2003 (when I believe they attended Dragoncon). I haven’t read Asprin’s work in quite a while, but this was only $3 at Half Price Books.
Haldeman, Joe, editor. Study War No More. First edition hardback, a Near Fine copy with crease to FFE and a BB-sized outward bump (probably a binding flaw) near top of spine, in a Near Fine+ slightly spine-faded dust jacket. Signed by Haldeman and contributors Harlan Ellison, Poul Anderson and George Alec Effinger. Anthology. Bought off eBay for $24.99.
Pohl, Frederik, and Jack Williamson. Land’s End. Tor, 1988. First edition hardback, a Very Good+ copy with slight crease to spine, slight bend at head and heel, and a trace of lean, in a Near Fine- dust jacket with 1″ x 1/8″ crease at top dj rear and wear at extremity points. Inscribed by both authors: [In Williamson’s hand] “For/Debbie/with the very best/Jack Williamson/[in Pohl’s hand] and/Fred Pohl.” Bought for $20 off eBay.
Smith, Clark Ashton. The Immortals of Mercury. Stellar Publishing Corporation, 1932. First edition chapbook original, Very Good only, more browned than usual. Probably the most expensive of all the Stellar series, as it frequently lists for over $100. Bought for $29.99 off eBay. For more on the Stellar series, see here.
Tuttle, Lisa. A Spaceship Built of Stone and Other Stories. The Women’s Press, 1987. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. Inscribed to me by the author: “For Lawrence/A spaceship built of stone/should not fall apart. I/hope this one lasts/All the best/Lisa Tuttle/20 Aug 2014”. (An additional personal postcard to me is laid in as well.) Sent to me by the author. The story is that I found a less perfect copy of this book at an Oxfam shop for £1.50, and bought it with the intention of having Lisa sign it at Worldcon. However, when I did so, the first leaf of the book fell out! At which point Lisa said she’d mail me a copy…
Tags:Books, Clark Ashton Smith, Fantasy, First Edition, Frederik Pohl, Jack Williamson, Joe Haldeman, Lisa Tuttle, Science Fiction
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Monday, November 18th, 2013
Some more library additions, with no particular theme except books signed by the author.
Bear, Greg. Early Harvest. NESFA Press, 1988. First edition hardback, #173 of 250 signed, numbered copies (800 print run total), a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and slipcase. Supplements a signed trade copy. Bought off the Internet for $37.50.
Bradbury, Ray. Driving Blind Avon Books, 1997. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Inscribed by Bradbury: “Marilyn! /Onward!/Ray Bradbury/Oct. 18, ’97”. Bought for $20 off eBay.
Gaiman, Neil. Fortunately the Milk…. HarperCollins (UK), 2013. First edition hardback (the UK and U.S. edition were evidently simultaneous), slipcased limited edition (“with exclusive bookmark”) sold by UK bookstore chain Foyle’s signed by Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddle, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued, still in shrinkwrap. I think this state came out about a month after the trade edition. Young adult novella. Bought for £19.99 plus shipping off eBay.
Gibson, William. Zero History. Putnum, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by Gibson. Bought for $12 (marked down from $20) at a Half Price Books during a coupon sale.
Lake, Jay. Dogs in the Moonlight. Prime Books, 2004. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a bit of wear at the tips. Signed by Lake. Missed this when it came out, mainly because Prime was still part of Wildside. Bought for $24 off the Internet.
Lake, Jay. Endurance. Tor, 2011. Signed by Lake. Bought for 20% off cover at the San Antonio Worldcon.
Pohl, Frederik, with Jack Williamson. The Saga of Cuckoo. Nelson Doubleday (SFBC), 1983. First edition thus and first hardback (a book club omnibus edition of Farthest Star and A World Around a Star, both previously published only in paperback), code “N34” on page 433 (as per ISFDB), a Fine- copy with a tiny bit of crimping at head and heel, in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by both Pohl and Williamson. Bought for $22.50 off eBay.
Powers, Tim/James P. Blaylock. The Way Down the Hill/The Pink of Fading Neon. Axoltl Press, 1986. First Edition hardback, #178 of 300 hardback copies by both authors and introducers Ed Bryant and Charles De Lint, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Bought for $30 plus shipping from Heritage Auctions. One of those books I wasn’t sure whether I owned or not, since I had the other Axolotl Press Powers and Blaylock books…
Tags:Books, First Edition, Frederik Pohl, Greg Bear, Jack Williamson, James P. Blaylock, Jay Lake, Mystery, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, Science Fiction, signed, Tim Powers, William Gibson
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