I have a fairly ridiculous amount of non-fiction books by and about Philip K. Dick (essays, bibliographies, critical studies, etc.); I think just shy of three linear feet. But this, which came out in 2016 bearing blurbs from Tim Powers and James P. Blaylock, escaped my attention until this signed copy popped up on eBay at quite a modest price.
(Dick, Philip K.) Maer Wilson. The Other Side of Philip K. Dick: A Tale of Two Friends. No publisher listed (but Amazon lists CreateSpace), 2016. First edition trade paperback original (stated; it has a POD barcode on the last page), a Fine copy, inscribed by Wilson: “To Karl,/Thanks so much for/your support! I/hope you enjoy The/Phil I Knew./Happy Reading/Maer Wilson/[squiggle]/ 8/27/16”. Biography of Dick from someone who knew him for the last decade of his life. Introduction by Tim Powers. Bought off eBay for $16.99, which I think is only a buck or two more than what it goes for on Amazon (I’m not seeing a price on the book).
Someone on eBay was selling off a lot of Ray Bradbury correspondence, and I managed to snag a postcard and an envelope at very modest prices.
Bradbury, Ray. Signed, mailed card reading “Ray Bradbury [signature]/The Illustrated Man.” Mailed from Fairfield, California, Jan 24. 1984. The back is addressed to and from bookseller James M. Dourgaruan of Pacheco, California. Also included with this lot is a postcard or cover blank for the Bantam Paperback edition of The Illustrated Man. Naturally, I’ll tuck both of these inside my first edition of The Illustrated Man. Bought for $19.50.
Bradbury, Ray. Signed, mailed postcard to Tim Sinniger from Paris reading “&/23/89/Dear/Tim: Happy/wishes from/Paris! have/A Grand/Summer! See/you, I hope, in/the Autumn/Fondly!/Ray Bradbury.” I will lay this in one of my few unsigned Bradburys (though not, alas, the highly appropriate We’ll Always Have Paris, which is already signed). Bought for $23.65.
To my mind, a signed postcard is superior to a signed bookplate anyway, and signed Bradbury bookplates have gotten thin on the ground…
(Holdstock, Robert) Coxson, Dan, editor (Michael Moorcock, Lisa Tuttle, Justina Robson, etc.). Heartwood: A Mythago Wood Anthology. PS Publishing, 2024. First edition hardback, #120 of 200 copies signed by the editor and all fiction contributors (but not introduction author Moorcock), a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine slipcase. Anthology of stories set in Robert Holdstock’s Mythago Wood setting, a magical British ur-forest that gets larger (and more savage) the deeper you go.
I have one copy of this available through Lame Excuse Books.
More signed PBOs off eBay, all these by Jack Vance.
Vance, Jack. The Asutra. Dell, 1973. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with a touch of edgewear, one slight wrinkle near top of spine, and slight foxing to edges of inside covers, signed by Vance. Third book in the Durdane trilogy. Supplements the Underwood/Miller first hardback edition. Hewett, A45. Cunningham, 3.a. Currey, page 497. Bought for $13.50 off eBay.
Vance, Jack. The Face. DAW, 1979. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine- copy with faint crease along front spine join, start of a spine crease, crease along front spine, hairline cracks on front cover, edgewear and some wear to white back cover, and bookstore stamp to inside cover, signed by Vance (a late Vance signature). Fourth of the Demon Prince novels. Supplements the Underwood/Miller first hardback edition. Hewett, A61.b. Cunningham, 32.a. Bought off eBay for the opening bid of $10.
Vance, Jack. Future Tense. Ballantine, 1964. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with slight age darkening to white surfaces and slight foxing to inside cover edges, otherwise nice and square, signed by Vance, in flexible plastic book protector (these have done a good job protecting the book, but the previous owner taped several short, color-code chunks of information to the plastic so they have required considerable clean-up prying old tape off the plastic and cleaning off the sticky residue with Bestine). This was one of the few Vance titles I didn’t have any edition of (and the PBO is the only edition). Collection of four novelettes/novellas. Hewett, A6. Cunningham, 35.a. Currey, page 498. Bought off eBay for $16.50.
Vance, Jack. The Houses of Iszm b/w Son of the Tree. Ace Books, 1964. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with edgewear and some hairline cracks, since by Vance (late signature), in flexible plastic book protector. Supplements Underwood/Miller hardbacks and an unsigned PBO. Hewett A12 and A13. Currey, page 498. Cunningham, 41.a. Bought off eBay for $13.50.
Vance, Jack. The Pnume. Ace, 1970. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with slight edgewear, signed by Vance. Fourth Planet of Adventure book. Hewett A36. Cunningham, 65.a. Currey, page 500. Supplements a Dobson hardback first. Bought off eBay for $14.50.
Vance, Jack. Space Opera. Pyramid Books, 1965. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with slight edgewear, signed by Vance. Hewett A18. Cunningham, 74.a. Currey, page 500. Supplements the Underwood Miller hardback. Bought off eBay for $16.50.
Vance, Jack. Wyst: Alastor 1716. DAW Books, 1978. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine copy with a long wrinkle down spine and slight edgewear, signed by Vance, in flexible plastic book protector. Hewett, A54. Cunningham, 86.a.
I’ve been buying some signed PBOs off eBay as of late, and here are the first two:
Bloch, Robert. Firebug. Regency, 1961. First edition paperback original, a Very Good copy a spine crease and lean, edgewear, a few tackehead sized abrasions and pages darkening, signed by Bloch. Supplements a signed hardback first of the Scream omnibus, which contains Firebug. Bought for $17.50.
Farmer, Philip Jose. The Green Odyssey. Ballantine Books, 1957. First edition paperback original (simultaneous with the much more difficult hardback), a Very Good+ copy with spine creasing and lean, with crease to bottom rear corner, a few hairline cracks, and edgewear, inscribed “to John/from/Philip Jose Farmer.” Farmer’s first published book (though not the first written). Supplements an unsigned, less attractive PBO copy (and I still need the hardback first). Bought off eBay for $18.50.
Swanwick, Michael. Father Winter. Dragonstairs Press, 2023 (not sold until 2024). First edition chapbook original, #13 of 120 signed, numbered copies of which 36 were offered for sale, a Fine copy.
I will have one copy of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, which will probably be May 2025.
Here’s a long-time want that popped up at a good price from a seller in Europe.
Farmer, Philip Jose. Night of Light. Garland, 1975. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight bend at heel, sans dust jacket, as issued. Bought for $27.16 plus Transatlantic shipping, which essentially doubled the price.
Here’s a book that might drive many a Lansdale completist crazy.
Lansdale, Joe R. Tarzan and the Land That Time Forgot. TimeShifter Press, 2018. First edition chapbook original, #22 of 75 numbered copies signed by the book designer and cover illustrator (but not Lansdale), a Fine copy. Published for an annual gathering of “the Edgar Rice Burroughs Clan of Friendship.” Tarzan/Land that Time Forgot crossover. With Zeppelins! Isajanko, The World Lansdalean, pages 298-299 (for two previous publications in books, but not this chapbook). Bought from an online book dealer for $25.
Three more paperback originals added to the library, all from DFW used book stores.
Brunner, John. Wear the Butcher’s Medal. Pocket Books, 1965. First edition paperback original (“First printing……..May, 1965,” as Per Currey), a Very Good copy with spine creasing, foxing to inside covers, and slight wear at points, one crease and a few small indentations to rear cover, otherwise a fairly nice copy. Looks like a mainstream thriller in the mode of Geoffrey Household’s Rogue Male. Like Philip K. Dick, Brunner wrote several novels outside the SF/F/H genre, but unlike Dick, managed to get them published in his lifetime, though none seemed to make much of an impression. Currey, page 74. De Bolt, The Happening Worlds of John Brunner, page 23. Bought from Half Price Books for $2.99.
Lee, Tanith. Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer. DAW, 1983. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine copy with one faint spine crease, previous owner’s name on blurb page, and slight edgewear. Supplements a copy of the SFBC (first hardback) edition. Bought from Lucky Dog Books for $2.50.
Niven, Larry. Ringworld. Ballantine Books, 1970. First edition paperback original (“First Printing: October 1970,” as per Currey, a Very Good- copy with 1/4″ chip to top front corner, and another 3/4″ x 1/16″ chip to middle of front cover edge, spine crease, pages brittle, and a few pinpoint spots of soiling to page block edges, plus a few other spots of wear. Hugo and Nebula winner for Best Novel. Currey, page 387. Pringle, Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction, page 262 (“***”). Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4 *4-316. Magill, Survey of Science Fiction Literature, pages 1799-1804. The true first edition and the one in which Niven infamously had the earth rotating the wrong way. Supplements a copy of the Gollancz hardback first. Bought for $4.99.
