Catalog 97, T-V
267. TATE, James. The Lost Pilot. New haven: Yale U. Press, 1967. His first regularly published book, a volume in the Yale Series of Younger Poets. Signed by the author. Light spotting to foredge; else fine in a dust jacket that is also fine but for an owner signature on the front flap.
268. TATE, James. Row with Your Hair. (San Francisco): (Kayak) (1969). An early book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. Designed and with illustrations by Mel Fowler, and printed by George Hitchcock, whose Kayak Press was one of the influential small presses in the late Sixties and early Seventies, publishing such writers as Tate and Raymond Carver when they were young and relatively unknown. This copy is signed by the author. Spine and edge-tanned, with some minor surface soiling to covers; very good in wrappers. Uncommon.
269. TATE, James. Riven Doggeries. NY: Ecco Press (1979). Volume 18 in the prestigious American Poetry Series. This is the hardcover issue; there was also a simultaneous paperback. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a small, light crease on the front panel. Signed by the author.
270. TATE, James. Constant Defender. NY: Ecco Press (1983). Volume 28 in the American Poetry Series. Again, this is the hardcover issue, there having been a simultaneous paperback. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
271. TATE, James. Selected Poems. Hanover: Wesleyan U. Press/U. Press of New England (1991). A landmark collection, which cemented Tate's reputation as one of the leading American poets of his generation. Winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Signed by the author. Fine in a very good dust jacket with several small edge tears, one internally mended.
272. TATE, James. Worshipful Company of Fletchers. Hopewell: Ecco Press, 1994. Winner of the National Book Award. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
273. TATE, James. Shroud of the Gnome. (Hopewell): Ecco Press (1997). His most recent collection, again issued simultaneously in hardcover and paperback, with a small hardcover printing. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
274. THEROUX, Paul. Sunrise with Seamonsters. Boston: Houghton Mifflin (1985). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of travel essays spanning twenty years. Spine-faded; near fine in wrappers.
275. -. Another copy. Wrappers detaching, one spot to cover; very good in wrappers.
276. THEROUX, Paul. My Secret History. NY: Putnam (1989). The uncorrected proof copy of this novel. Fine in wrappers.
277. THEROUX, Paul. The Happy Isles of Oceania. NY: Putnam (1992). Travel in the South Pacific. This is the uncorrected proof copy. Minor dampstaining to spine; near fine in wrappers.
A Remarkable Collection of Hunter S. Thompson
278. THOMPSON, Hunter S. Hell's Angels. NY: Random House (1967). The first book by Thompson, inventor of "gonzo journalism." Thompson spent a year following or hanging out with the Hell's Angels, ending up getting beaten up by several of them. This copy is signed (initialed) by Thompson on the front flyleaf and has a caricature of Thompson by Ralph Steadman on the title page of the first chapter. Laid in are two color photographs of Thompson and Steadman each signing the book; an autograph note signed by Steadman; a blank piece of stationery from the hotel where Steadman did his artwork; the photographic postcard that serves as the bookplate of the recipient, depicting the recipient, Steadman and William Burroughs, armed with rifles (Burroughs with a handgun) for the purposes of "making art." The book is a lovely copy, fine in a fine dust jacket. Books signed by Thompson are quite scarce; fine copies especially so. This copy, with its various signatures, drawings, and ephemeral pieces laid in, is unique.
279. THOMPSON, Hunter S. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. NY: Random House (1971). Thompson's second and most famous book, epitomizing the "Gonzo journalism" that the author invented and which, by a surprisingly universal consensus, he has elevated to the status of art. A classic of the freewheeling, drug-ingesting Sixties era, illustrated with hilarious and scary pen-and-ink drawings by Ralph Steadman. Just made into a movie by Terry Gilliam and starring Johnny Depp, which has received wildly varying reviews -- in keeping, one might think, with its subject matter -- and which was the talk of the Cannes Film Festival, regardless of reviews. Signed (initialed) by Thompson and by Ralph Steadman. Steadman has also profusely decorated the front and rear endpages and front and rear boards with his characteristic ink splashes as well as with silk screen images of Thompson, a cow skull and cactus, and he has hand-lettered the title of the book in orange ink on the front board. A photograph of Steadman at work is tipped to the front flap of the jacket protector. Very slight sunning to the upper edge of the boards, as is common with this title, otherwise fine in a fine dust jacket. An extravagant, unique copy -- the most remarkable we have ever seen, by far.
280. THOMPSON, Hunter S. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. (San Francisco): Straight Arrow (1973). Thompson's third book and the second of his "Fear & Loathing" accounts. In this, Thompson covers the Nixon/McGovern race for the Presidency, bringing to the campaign a sense of humor and horror that is simultaneously both off-the-wall and entirely appropriate to its subject. Signed (initialed) by Thompson and inscribed by Steadman, who did a number of illustrations for the book, and with original artwork by Steadman across the front and rear endpapers, and the front and rear boards. Steadman has silk-screened images of Thompson, bats, a cow skull and a cactus and hand-lettered the title and author of the book on the front cover. A fine copy in a very good, price-clipped, first issue dust jacket with moderate edgewear. The first issue jacket is extremely scarce and, once again, this copy is extravagant and unique, being both signed by Thompson and with original artwork by Steadman, an increasingly respected, and collected, artist. Laid in is the recipient's photographic bookplate.
281. -. Same title. London: Allison & Busby (1974). The uncommon first U.K. edition. Inscribed by Ralph Steadman. Fine in near fine jacket. Laid in is the recipient's "bookplate," depicting himself, Steadman and Burroughs.
282. THOMPSON, Hunter S. The Great Shark Hunt. NY: Summit/Rolling Stone (1979). The first collection of Thompson's short pieces for magazines, his fourth book overall. Signed (initialed) by the author. The paper covering the rear board has a slight production wrinkle; still fine in a fine dust jacket.
283. THOMPSON, Hunter S. Screwjack. Santa Barbara: Neville, 1991. A collection of three short pieces by Thompson, along with a half-mad letter to the publisher that serves as introduction to the volume. Thompson's first limited edition; one of 300 numbered copies signed by the author. Additionally, this copy is signed by Steadman and bears a hand-colored caricature by him of Thompson. Fine without dust jacket, as issued.
284. -. Same title. Of 26 lettered copies, this is letter "B." Signed by the author. Additionally, this copy is signed by Steadman and bears a hand-colored caricature by him of Thompson. Fine without dust jacket, as issued. Laid in is a blank piece of stationery from the hotel where Steadman signed the book, and the recipient's photographic bookplate picturing himself, Steadman, and William Burroughs. We have not seen the lettered issue of this title offered on the market in several years, and we've never seen a copy "extra-illustrated" like this one. Unique.
285. THOMPSON, Hunter S. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Other American Stories. NY: The Modern Library (1996). First thus. Inscribed by Ralph Steadman. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Laid in is the recipient's "bookplate," a photographic postcard depicting himself, Steadman and William Burroughs.
286. THOMPSON, Hunter S. Road Dog Ale. Denver/Aspen: Broadway Brewing/Flying Dog Brew Pub (n.d.). A collaboration between Thompson and Steadman on the labels for a Scottish ale (the first collaboration of a projected series). Five pieces total: two front labels, with art by Steadman and a motto by Thompson; one rear label, with government alcohol warnings and a blurb by Thompson explaining his motto; a card meant to be hung from the bottle's neck, which has a short history of ale by Thompson, concluding with a poem; and finally a sticker reproducing the larger of the two front labels. All pieces fine.
287. THOMPSON, Hunter S. The Proud Highway. NY: Villard (1997). Volume One of "The Fear and Loathing Letters," printing Thompson letters from 1955-1967. Signed by the author, who has initialed the book and then written out the full name "Hunter" on the looping curve of his "H." Fine in a fine dust jacket.
288. -. Same title, the advance reading copy, unsigned. Fine in wrappers.
289. (THOMPSON, Hunter S.). PERRY, Paul. Fear and Loathing. The Strange and Terrible Saga of Hunter S. Thompson. NY: Thunder's Mouth Press (1992). A biography of Thompson. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by Ralph Steadman, who did the dust jacket art and provided a blurb for the jacket: "Oh! That sleazy brain -/ damaged cretinous BASTARD!/ Don't ask me/ about him."
290. (THOMPSON, Hunter S.). CARROLL, E. Jean. Hunter. (NY): Dutton (1993). A gonzo biography of Thompson, written by a reporter who was chased off Thompson's ranch just hours before they were scheduled to get married, according to the publisher. Much of the book is written in "oral history" style, with many quotes from Thompson's various friends and associates. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by Ralph Steadman.
291. (THOMPSON, Hunter S.). WHITMER, Peter O. When the Going Gets Weird. NY: Hyperion (1993). Another biography of Thompson. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by Ralph Steadman.
Ralph Steadman Silkscreen Art
292. (THOMPSON, Hunter S.). STEADMAN, Ralph. Silkscreens. (Lexington): (Joe Petro III) (1994-95). A selection of color silkscreens by Ralph Steadman, one of the most notable of contemporary artists, whose work is most familiar to the general reading public in the illustrations he did for some of Hunter Thompson's books, in particular Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Several of the images listed here pertain directly to Thompson's work, and several are initialed by him in addition to being signed by Steadman.
a. "Bub." 22 1/2" x 30". 1994. One of 50, numbered and signed by Steadman. A striking, nine-color image of a parrot. Rolled, fine.
b. Another copy of "Bub," this being an "artist's proof." Identical to the above but marked "A/P" rather than numbered. Signed by Steadman. Rolled; fine.
c. "Bats Over Barstow." 26" x 40". 1994. One of 77 numbered and signed by Steadman. A five color image derived from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, being a redrawn version of the illustration which adorned the cover of that book. Rolled, fine. Probably his most famous picture and, according to Steadman, he will never do this image again.
d. "The Sheriff." 30 1/2" x 44". 1995. One of 77 numbered and signed by Steadman and initialed by Thompson. Steadman and Thompson collaborated on this piece, derived from a photograph of Thompson from the time he ran for Sheriff in Aspen, CO; a huge splash of red, resembling blood, covers Thompson's head. Again, a striking, almost shocking, image. Rolled, fine.
e. "Vintage Dr. Gonzo." 16 1/2" x 19". 1995. An illustration of Thompson taken from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. A four-color image, one of 500 numbered copies signed by Steadman and initialed by Thompson. Rolled, fine.
f. Another copy of "Vintage Dr. Gonzo," this being an "artist's proof." Identical to the above but marked "A/P" rather than numbered. Signed by Steadman and initialed by Thompson. Rolled; fine.
g. Another copy of "Vintage Dr. Gonzo," this being one of 10 numbered copies shot by Thompson. Identical to the above but shot full of buckshot. Signed by Steadman and initialed by Thompson. A little-known "issue" of this title, which we have never seen offered for sale before. Bullet holes; rolled; else fine.
293. (THOMPSON, Hunter S.). Press Pass. 1996. A photographic press pass to the December 12, 1996 tribute to Thompson. Laminated, with orange string. Fine. Also included is a photograph of Thompson with Johnny Depp, who plays Thompson in the just-released movie.
294. (THOMPSON, Hunter S.). Marilyn Chambers Photo, Gunshot. A 4¼" x 5½" card with a half-tone photograph of porn star Marilyn Chambers posing in the nude, holding a box of Ivory Snow detergent, which is illustrated with a photograph of her holding a young baby. Chambers starred in the ground-breaking porn movie, Behind the Green Door, produced by San Francisco porn kings, Jim and Artie Mitchell, longtime friends of Thompson. Their theater, the O'Farrell, was considered the Carnegie Hall of pornography in those days, and Thompson made such regular visits there that at one time he had business cards made up reading "Hunter S. Thompson Night Manager the Mitchell Brothers Theater." Chambers' posing as the idealized young mother for Ivory Snow before it was known that she made her living in porn was a scandal for the detergent company, which recalled hundreds of thousands of boxes and replaced Chambers' photo with a painted image, although the woman still bore a striking resemblance to Chambers. This card is torn through with two jagged holes, and is stamped on the verso: "Front Cover Shot With A .45 By Hunter S. Thompson." Two bullet holes, else fine.
295. THOMPSON, Jim. Nothing More than Murder. NY: Harper & Brothers (1949). His scarce third novel, and the last hardcover he published before moving onto a career of writing pulp paperbacks, some of which have since become classics of the hardboiled noir genre. Thompson has enjoyed a renaissance of popularity in the years since his death, and a number of his books have been made into movies, including The Grifters, The Getaway, and the French film Coup de Torchon. This is a very good copy in a dust jacket with several edge tears at the spine and rear panel, which have been internally tape-repaired. A very presentable copy of an extremely scarce book by one of the masters of noir.
296. THON, Melanie Rae. Meteors in August. NY: Random House (1990). First novel by this writer who was selected as one of Granta's 20 best young American novelists. This copy is fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author in 1996.
297. THON, Melanie Rae. Girls in the Grass. NY: Random House (1991). Her second book, first collection of stories. Signed by the author in 1996. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
298. TYLER, Anne. The Accidental Tourist. NY: Knopf, 1985. A novel made into an award-winning movie that solidified Tyler's place as one of the foremost writers of her generation. One of an unspecified number of copies with a leaf tipped in signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
299. TYLER, Anne. A Patchwork Planet. NY: Knopf, 1998. The advance reading copy of her latest novel, just published to substantial critical acclaim. The first printing of the trade edition is announced on the cover as 250,000 copies. Needless to say, the trade edition will not be a scarce book, but the advance copies probably numbered only in the hundreds or, at most, the low four figures, making this a much more collectible issue of the book. Fine in wrappers.
300. UPDIKE, John. A Good Place. (n.p.): Aloe, 1973. One of his scarcer, early limited editions, from the time before they proliferated. A short (5 page) essay on his home town of Ipswich, Massachusetts. One of 100 copies, signed by the author. Fine in saddle-stitched self wraps.
301. UPDIKE, John. Rabbit is Rich. NY: Knopf, 1981. The third of his "Rabbit Angstrom" books, winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, a rare literary "double." Signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf. Spots to foredge and offsetting to front endpapers; near fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
302. UPDIKE, John. Trust Me. NY: Knopf, 1987. The limited edition of this collection of stories. One of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in acetate dust jacket (a few wrinkles) and a fine slipcase.
303. UPDIKE, John. S. NY: Knopf, 1988. An epistolary novel based on an ashram similar to that operated by the popular guru Rajneesh during the 70's and 80's. This is the limited edition. One of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
304. UPDIKE, John. Rabbit at Rest. NY: Knopf, 1990. The concluding volume of the award-winning Rabbit Angstrom saga, one of the most highly praised fictional sequences of our time. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
305. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. The announced first printing of the trade edition was 125,000 copies. The proof may be as much as 1000 times scarcer. Fine in wrappers.
306. UPDIKE, John. Toward the End of Time. (n.p.): (Hamish Hamilton) (1998). The advance reading copy of the first British edition. Fine in wrappers.
307. UPDIKE, John. Bech at Bay. NY: Knopf, 1998. The uncorrected proof copy of his 49th book, subtitled "A Quasi-Novel," and a sequel to Bech: A Book and Beck is Back. Scheduled for October, 1998, publication. Fine in wrappers.
308. -. Another copy. Rear cover corner creased; else fine.
An Early Proof with Updike Translations
309. (UPDIKE, John). YEVTUSHENKO, Yevgeny. Stolen Apples. Garden City: Doubleday, 1971. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of Yevtushenko's poetry, translated by nine different authors including John Updike, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Richard Wilbur and Stanley Kunitz, who has signed his contribution. There is also an inscription on the half-title, which may be Yevtushenko's. A very good copy in tall wrappers. A scarce proof.
UPDIKE, John. See Broadsides, at end of Catalog.
310. VONNEGUT, Kurt, Jr. Cat's Cradle. NY: HRW (1963). One of his greatest novels, a simultaneous condemnation and celebration of science, religion and humanness which has been called "a quietly satirical consideration of mankind and its need for sympathy and compassion, proposing that we live by foma, lies that make for human happiness." One of Pringle's 100 best science fiction novels. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a small spot of rubbing on a blank portion of the front flap. A title that is especially susceptible to wear, because of the thin, unlaminated paper dust jacket; this is a very nice copy.
311. VONNEGUT, Kurt, Jr. Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade. (n.p.): Seymour Lawrence/Delacorte (1969). Vonnegut's masterwork, a powerful fictional memoir of his experiences during the Allied fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany. Vonnegut's philosophical reflections on the tragic absurdity of humankind are embedded in an impressionistic, pessimistic, comic science fiction tale that is a high spot of the literature of the 1960s and since. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a bit of darkening to the spine. A very nice copy of one of the high spots of postwar American fiction.
312. VONNEGUT, Kurt, Jr. Happy Birthday, Wanda June. NY: Dell (1970). The uncorrected proof copy of one of Vonnegut's scarcest titles, a play that opened off-Broadway in 1970 and later made it to Broadway for a successful, although relatively short, run. The trade edition (published under the Delacorte name with a 1971 copyright date) has an introduction by Vonnegut that does not appear in the proof. Crease to rear cover, a few short horizontal tears to spine, minor surface soiling; very good in wrappers. Scarce; not noted in the bibliography, although the bibliographers did note the existence of proofs that they had seen.
313. VONNEGUT, Kurt, Jr. Between Time and Timbuktu. (Herts): Panther Books (1975). The first British edition of this "space fantasy" for television, created by David O'Dell from works by Vonnegut, and then given to Vonnegut to "fart around with" (his words). Vonnegut does not count this as one of his own publications, but he does provide a long preface about the advantages of novels over films. Only published in wrappers; near fine with the price excised from the rear cover. An uncommon edition of one of Vonnegut's scarcest titles.
314. VONNEGUT, Kurt. Timequake. NY: Putnam (1997). His most recent, and supposedly final, novel, in which the author and his fictional alter-ego, Kilgore Trout, each touch on stories they would have liked to have told and, in doing so, tell another, about the whole in life being the sum of the parts one attends to. This is the issue in maroon boards with speckled endpapers. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
315. -. Another copy. The variant issue in red boards and plain endpapers. No priority determined. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
316. -. Same title, the advance reading copy of the first British edition. London: Jonathan Cape (1997). Fine in wrappers.
VONNEGUT, Kurt. See Broadsides, at end of Catalog.