Products
The Short Reign of Pippin IV
New York: Viking Press, 1957. 188 pp. Approximately 5 1/4 x 8". First Edition, first state of dust jacket. Illustrated dust jacket in very good condition with minor edge wear, some rubbing, publisher's price of $3.00 on the front flap; Strawberry cloth over boards with heraldic blind-stamping, yellow spine with red printing but discolored/darkened slightly, top stain red, pages clean and bright, in very good condition. (Goldstone & Payne A36a)
Generally considered as one of Steinbeck's lesser books, this book did become popular enough to be a book-of-the-month selection. This is Steinbeck's only work of political satire and tells the story of an amateur astronomer, Pippin, who is proclaimed King of France. He spends most of his time trying to avoid any responsibilities and deal with hangers-on with inherited money. Much of the satire is clearly relatable to today's people and politics as well.
The Stone Arbor
Boston/Toronto: Little, Brown & Co., 1960. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8". First edition appearance of all thirteen short stories, dust jacked illustrated by Edward Gorey, some edge wear rubbing and small nicks, darkening of spine and small insect holes, unclipped jacket with $4.00 price intact, bookstore sticker on rear cover, in very good condition. Book has paper over boards, cloth spine which is fading on ends, some edge wear, small amount of spotting to top edges, otherwise in very good condition. (Toledano D-Angell)
Roger Angell (1920 - 2022) was an American essayist and fiction writer. He was The New Yorker's first fiction editor. This is his first book which is a collection of short fiction pieces and personal narratives. Dust jacket is illustrated by Edward Gorey (1925 - 2000), an American artist and writer, best known for his eccentric imagery and stories, often set in Victorian and Edwardian settings.
The Story of Word Pictures
Santa Cruz, CA: The Good Book Press, 1984. 14 pp. Approximately 2 x 2 1/8". LIMITED EDITION of 200 copies, the first fifty are hand-painted and bound in leather, this being #197 of the regular printing. Pale green paper wrap with design and title on cover and spine in fine condition. Green boards with design on front cover, printed on a hand-operated printing press on Peter's handmade paper, one minor foxing spot on rear endpaper, numbered on the colophon, in near fine condition. (Bradbury, Peter and Donna Thomas 11).
Peter and Donna Thomas, well-known book artists, authors, and paper-makers, have been operating their private press since 1976. This is a lovely little book with elfin maidens and wizards and words by the author on how to gather pictures in your own head.
The Terminal Man
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972. 247 pp. 5 3/4 x 8 1/2"; First Edition. Dust jacket is price clipped, otherwise in very good condition; Grey paper with brown cloth over spine, stated First Edition on copyright page, top edge stained green, in near fine condition. (Clute & Nicholls p. 273)
Michael Crichton (1942 - 2008) graduated from Harvard with an MD, which is apparent in much of his work. He first wrote under the name of John Lange but The Andromeda Strain is the second work of his under his own name, which was very successful. It was made into a movie in 1974 and delves into the morality of using electronic brain implants to control behavior, now a better known method of the use of a neurostimulator.
The Transcendent Man
New York: Rinehart & Co., 1953. 244 pp. Approximately 5 x 7 1/2". First edition, first printing with price of $2.50 on dust jacket flap. Gray boards, red and black spine letters with very minor rubbing to extremities, usual toning to text block, near fine condition. Dust jacket in near fine condition with crease and rubbing on back. NF/NF.
A science fiction story about an unseen alien race, called Capellans, living among us, harvesting "the thought forces released by humans at death."
The Trouble With Eden
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1973. First hardcover printing. Dust jacket is in very good condition with some edge wear, drink water mark, some shelf wear and minor chips, not price clipped. Red cloth over boards with gilt spine title, top edge has small red ink stain, some tanning, otherwise very good contion.
Jill Emerson is a pseudonym of Lawrence Block (b. 1938). Block is an American crime writer best known for two long-running New York–set series, about the recovering alcoholic P.I. Matthew Scudder and gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, respectively. Block was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 1994. This fiction novel, set in New Hope Pennsylvania, has a diverse set of characters, some who struggle against temptation and some who don't.
The Wayward Bus
New York: Viking Press, 1947. 312 pp. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8 1/4". Pictorial jacket is in very good condition, with some wear, slight chipping of the spine, tape repairs to the inside of the jacket, original price of $2.75 intact, first edition first printing dust jacket. Grey cloth over boards with crisp lettering on cover and spine, blindstamp on front cover the same shade as the rest of the binding, top stained red, in near-fine condition. (Goldstone & Payne A23 third issue)
Originally thought to be one of Steinbeck's weaker novels, it was actually financially successful. The interesting thing about it is that no one single character in the book dominates. Rather, the viewpoint shifts from one character to another quite frequently, with access to the character's thoughts through an internal monologue. Adapted to film in 1957 to some success at the box office, it starred Jayne Mansfield, Joan Collins, Dan Dailey and Rick Jason.
The Wayward Bus
New York: Viking Press, 1947. 312 pp. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8 1/4". Pictorial jacket is in very good condition, with some wear, slight chipping of the spine, tape repairs to the inside of the jacket, original price of $2.75 intact. Dark reddish-orange cloth over boards with crisp lettering on cover and spine, blindstamp on front cover a lighter shade then the rest of the binding, top is not stained green and there is no book club dot so likely some variant of first printing, slight edge wear to covers especially along the bottom edges, stained on the upper page edge corners, otherwise in very good condition. (Goldstone & Payne A23a)
Originally thought to be one of Steinbeck's weaker novels, it was actually financially successful. The interesting thing about it is that no one single character in the book dominates. Rather, the viewpoint shifts from one character to another quite frequently, with access to the character's thoughts through an internal monologue. Adapted to film in 1957 to some success at the box office, it starred Jayne Mansfield, Joan Collins, Dan Dailey and Rick Jason.
The Well Known Family Game
Germany: n.p., (ca 1920). First edition presumed. Slipcase with chips and small loss of paper affecting two words of the instructions, glossy illustration to front cover, directions to the game on back cover, in good + condition. Twelve cards, 1 1/2 x 2 1/4", cards titled and crudely illustrated in blue, some with roughly trimmed edges (as issued), in about near fine condition.
An apparently unrecorded gambling card game, manufactured in Germany in the early 20th century from cheap materials. The cards are lettered in pairs from A to F and illustrated with members of several "families" such as George Brown, Mrs. John Smith, etc.
This Perfect Day
New York: Random House, 1970. Harcover. 317 pp. Book Club Edition. Dust jacket is in fair condition: some edge wear, shelf wear, creases, several large tears and corner bumping, interior is excellent, clean, some tanning, binding is tight but book is slightly cocked. Very good condition.
A dystopian novel by the author of Rosemary's baby, with the main character being a young man named Chip, "who fights a desperate battle for freedom in a world benumbed by chemistry and computerization."