Products
Arthur C. Clarke: The Authorized Biography
Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1992. 430 pp. 6 x 9 1/4"; Pictorial dustjacket in fine condition; Black paper over boards with gilt lettering on spine, signed Arthur C. Clarke bookplate on front paste-down endpaper, many black and white photographs, in fine condition.
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (1917 - 2008) was the author or more than sixty books and has received many awards for both his science fiction and his scientific non-fiction writing. This biography explores his career and personal vision though candid interviews with Clarke, his friends, family members, and colleagues. The numerous black and white photographs enhance the biography in a delightful way. Bookplate printed "Ex Libris, Arthur C. Clarke" with illustrations of the monolith from his 2001 Space Odyssey series and dolphins from his novel, Dolphin Island.
Assorted Stories: Prose Words
Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 1987. [20] pp. Approximately 7 1/2 x 7 1/2". LIMITED EDITION of 400 copies, this being #253. Grey handmade Canterbury cover stock with title and illustration on front, paper sewn inside, handset in Ehrhardt type, illustrated by Peter Bailey, signed and numbered on the colophon by the author and artist, in fine conditon.
Travers Rafe Lee Harwood (1939 - 2015), was an English poet, often associatiod with the British Poetry Revival. Except for a brief time in Greece and the United States, he mostly lived in Brighton. He had an involvement with the New York School of poets and was a member of the Poetry Society in Britain. He was a union official and was involved with the Labour Party in its radical years and his political leaning were evident in his poetry in the early 1980s. There is a Rowan Tree planted in his honor in New York City's Central Park as well as a paving stone along the park's Literary Walk. This is an interesting collection of short stories with various titles, such as: Hommage a Beatrix Potter, A Rangoon Creeper, Purple Sheets, Dream Bed, Woolly Rhinoceros, Mosquito Nets, Nautical Business, and Booth's Bird Museum.
Árpádok : I. Andrástól I. Gézáig (1046-1077)
Budapest: Pátria Nyomda, 1988. 433 pp. Approximately 1 1/2 x 1 3/4". LIMITED EDITION of 400-600 copies, this being #179. Brown leather with beautifully designed and colorful enamelled metal plaque edged in gilt decoration on front cover, title in gilt on spine, gilt decoration on back cover, decorative endpapers, 7 full-color illustrations and 4 tinted one with two folding diagrams, text in Hungarian, in fine condition.
This is volume 14 of the Kings of Hungary series. Only 3 Worldcat Holdings at this time.
Bathtub
[Oakland, CA]: Rebis Press, 1975. Approximately 7 x 7". LIMITED EDITION of 1,000 copies. Illustrated stiff paper covers, stitched binding, illustrated by John Wehrle, offset printing, published on an N.E.A. grant, very slight discoloration, minor crease to back cover, in near fine conditon.
Rebis Press was an influential small press in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was a joint venture of Betsy Davids and Jim Petrillo, who were colleagues at California College of the Arts and Crafts (CCAC). They were collaborators and teachers whose content is highly personal. Bathtub is a treasure -- a wonderful story about a flying bathtub that travels the world. Clever illustrations by John Wehrle place Bathtub in familiar famous art scenes.
Benjamin Franklin, September 17, 1787
Salisbury, CT: Lime Rock Press, 1981. 25 pp. Approx. 1 x 1". Printed with two bindings: one suede and the other cowhide. Brown leather with Franklin's signature in gilt on the cover, marbled endpapers, housed in clear plastic case, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Lime Rock 10)
From the Great American Speeches series, this little book relays the speech Franklin gave, urging his fellow delegates to join ranks in signing the new United States constitution. His speech was given a standing ovation. Lime Rock Press is the private press of Whitney North Seymour, Jr. and is run also by his wife and daughters who contribute photography, art, printing and binding.
Bernhardt Wall in Miniature
Worcester, MA: Robert C. Bradbury, 2007. 31 pp. Approximately 2 1/2 x 3". LIMITED EDITION of 45 copies. Blue cloth over boards with pictorial paper label on upper cover, marbled endpapers, letterpress, three mounted illustrations, in fine condition.
Bernhardt Wall (1872 - 1956) was an American historian and lithographic illustrator. He was known as the "Postcard King" as he designed more than 5,000 comic cards. He worked with a variety of publishers over his career and specialized in famous people and historical events. Each copy of the regular edition is illustrated with three original miniature etchings by Bernhardt Wall, at least one of which is an illustration. Special copies have thematically related illustrations and deluxe copies have additional etchings mounted in matching volumes. This little book includes bibliography/listing of miniature illustrations by Wall. Only 2 library holdings and not in the trade at the moment (5/22). Somewhat scarce.
Blood Sport
London: Michael Joseph, 1967. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8". Illustrated dust jacket in near fine condition, designed by Broom Lynne, very little edge wear and slight creases as the top of the spine, original price of 25s intact. Blue cloth over boards with crisp gilt titles on spine, clean and tight, in fine condition.
Born Richard Stanley Francis (1920 - 2010), Dick Francis was a British crime writer whose novels were mostly centered on horse racing in England (he was a former steeplechase jockey himself). This book is Dick Francis' 7th book, with Gene Hawkins appearing for the first time as a government security agent. Edgar Award nominee. Adapted into TV film in 1989 with Ian McShane in the protagonist role of David Cleveland.
Bones: A Nameless Detective Mystery
New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985. 5 3/4 x 8 1/4". 196 pp. Illustrated dust jacket with some creasing and wear at the edges, in very good + condition; Black cloth over boards with silver lettering on spine, in near fine condition.
Bill Pronzini, winner of the Best Novel of 1981, awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America for his novel "Hoodwink", Pronzini lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, as does his nameless detective. Bones is a mystery about a dead man's reasons for suicide and end up involving a figid wife, a ruthless lawyer, a bitter ex-wife, and a beligerant taxidermist turned landlord (according to the dust jacket flap). Full of deceit, intrigue and murder, it's an exciting mystery.
Burning Bright
New York: The Viking Press, 1950. 159 pp. Approximately 5 x 7 1/2". First edition, first printing. Dust jacket is very good with minor chips and wear and does have the $2.50 price on flap, small closed tear on front top edge of cover. Original tan cloth over boards, red lettering on cover and spine, orange dye on top edges, bookseller's ticket on rear paste-down endpaper, very minor foxing to edges, otherwise in near fine condition. (Goldstone & Payne, A29a)
The form of this book is a "play-novelette", which is a play that is easy to read or a short novel that can be played. Steinbeck used this method experimentally in "Of Mice and Men" and "The Moon is Down" but this book is a more complete attempt at this form. While this book was not critically acclaimed, Steinbeck, as always, is a very vivid writer and bring his four characters to life in this play concerned with the timeless themes of love, jealousy, friendship, and the desire to have a child.
Cape Cod Yesterdays
Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1935. 48 pp. Approximately 6 3/4 x 9 3/4"; LIMITED EDITION of 1075, this being #471 as indicated on the colophon, although the slipcase indicates copy #826, signed by both author and illustrator. Slipcase slightly corner bumped but in near-fine condition with spine label showing title and limitation in excellent shape. Calico cloth covered boards with quarter-bound linen backing, beautiful pictorial endpapers, top edge of all-rag paper is trimmed but other edges are untrimmed, both b/w and full color illustrations by Harold Brett, extra label at rear of book, otherwise in fine condition.
Told from the point of view of remembrances of the departing way of life in Cape Cod. Informal diaglogue brings back the time of general stores, ships that sailed without gasoline engines, travelling by horseback instead of car, fishing, all told with the Cape Cod landscape as a beautiful and scenic background.