Products
Small Rain Upon the Tender Herb
London: Religious Tract Society, [1860]. 1 x 1 1/4". [128 pp.]. Maroon morocco with gilt rulings to covers and spine, text block pulling away from binding but complete, all edges gilt, later edition, inked name and date on front free endpaper, in very good condition. (Welsh 6440, Bondy 126-7)
Printed originally ca. 1830, this sweet little religious book contains short Bible extracts for every day of the year, including February 29th. A very popular publication which was reprinted for about 60 years, yet surprisingly are a little scarce in good condition. This one printed by Spottiswoode & Co.
Snake: a poem, with accompanying images by Kent Rush
Oakland, CA: Puissant Press, 1984. Approximately 12 1/4 x 16". LIMITED edition of 25 copies with this being #15. Beige cloth over boards form outer clamshell case, blindstamped title on cover, inner slipcase in gray cloth over boards also blind stamped with the title, all of which are in fine condition and beautifully crafted. Twelve unbound leaves as issued with tissue guards separating the prints, nine unnumbered leaves of lithographs and collotypes hand drawn (some in color) and printed by the artist accompanying text of poem, inscribed on the colophon by the artist, in fine condition.
Kent Rush (1948 - ) was a San Francisco Bay Area native before he settled in Texas. He studied art, drawing and printmaking, at the then California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC), earning his BFA. He earned a Masters at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. His work has been exhibited extensively in the United States in solo, two and three person and group and competitive shows. Internationally he has also shown in London, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, and France. Kent inscribed a thank you to Beth Herrick, who hand set the typeface and hand printed the leaves at Puissant Press, Oakland, California and at Port and Starboard Press, Mount Desert, Maine (from the colophon). Only 3 institutional holdings at this time (9/19). "Snake" originally appeared as part of Lawrence's collection of poems, Birds, Beasts and Flowers, which was first published in the US in 1923.
Snowdrop
Paisley, Scotland: The Gleniffer Press, 1994. 29 pp. 5/8 x 7/8". LIMITED EDITION of 200 copies, this being #171. Light blue novalite boards, perfect bound, gilt title on cover and spine, original packaging, hand numbered on the colophon, in fine condition.
First published in 1812 in their first edition of Grimms' Fairy Tales, this story is more familiar world-wide as Snow White.
Sonnets to Craig
New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1928. 120 pp. Approximately 5 x 7 3/4". Dust jacket in very good condition, not price clipped, some chipping, rice paper repair, some wear. Grey cloth over boards with red lettering on cover and spine, tanned pages, overall near fine condition.
George Sterling (1869 - 1926) was an American writer and poet, based mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area, during its Bohemian phase. The "Craig" these sonnets refer to is Mary Craig, a woman he had hoped to marry but whom married Upton Sinclair instead.
Star of Ill-Omen
London: Hutchinson & Co., 1952. 320 pp. 5 1/4 x 7 1/2"; First edition; Inscribed by the author on title page, Illustrated dust jacket has really minor edge wear and slight rubbing, price of 12/6 net intact, nice and bright colors, in very good + condition; Black cloth over boards with crisp gilt lettering on spine, a few spots on fore edges, two pages with old newspaper imprint discoloring, otherwise a lovely copy in very good + condition.
Dennis Wheatley (1897 - 1977) was an English writer who wrote 65 novels from the 1930's through the 1960's, mostly thrillers, science fiction, and occult novels. It is said that one of his main characters, Gregory Sallust, was one of the inspiration's for the James Bond character by Ian Fleming. This book has it all: German scientists, Russian spies, beautiful women, atomic weapons, and flying saucers.
Ste. Ostrich in Manhattan: The Visitations of a Martyr
Berkeley: Flying Fish Press, 1990. 6 1/4 x 8"; LIMITED EDITION of 125, this being #58. Goldenrod cloth over boards with same color string to tie the book closed, paste down title label that wraps around from front cover to spine illustrated endpapers, colorful accordion folded pages that are hand sewn, beautifully illustrated by Lois Morrison, the pages open up to a 3-D visual and can even be removed from the cover to form an independent display, in near fine condition.
Designed and printed by Julie Chen and Elizabeth McDevitt. Calligraphy by Keith Vinson. Flying Fish Press was established by internationally known book art educator an book artist Julie Chen in 1987. From her website, " I view reading as an intimate act in which the reader must be in close physical proximity to the book, can control the pace of reading through the self-directed turning of pages, or equivalent action, and must interact with the book through the manipulation of the book’s physical structure." This is one of her earlier books.
Steinbeck Ephemera from Salinas, CA First Day of Issue Commemorative Stamp Ceremony
Salinas, CA: Various, 1979. Tri-fold program titled "John Steinbeck. Pulitzer & Nobel Prize Novelist. 1902-1968", presented by Monterey Savings. Includes a biography, awards & honors, bibliography and commemorative stamp; Tri-fold brochure titled "John Stainbeck. 1902-1968", produced by the John Steinbeck Library; Folded card stock piece with photos, produced by the Valley Guild which owns and operates the John Steinbeck House; "Books about John Steinbeck", 8 stapled pages with books about Steinbeck and call numbers, produced by the Salinas Public Library; "Books - John Steinbeck", 6 stapled pages with books by Steinbeck and call numbers, produced by the Salinas Public Library; folded single sheet brochure from the John Steinbeck Foundation for the event; 2 more variants of the Steinbeck commemorative stamp on illustrated envelopes. All in fine condition.
A wonderful collection of ephemera items from the event at the Salinas Public Library for the First Day of Issue Commemorative John Steinbeck Stamp, with three stamps included. John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. (1902 - 1968), was a well-known American author, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning, "The Grapes of Wrath." Here is a collection of material that celebrates his life in an area he spent a lot of time in and drawing material from for his novels.
Stinger
New York: Pocket Books, 1987. 442 pp. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2". First Hard Cover Edition. Illustrated dust jacket with Book Club Edition on front flap, minor dark marks that are very subtle, some edge wear, otherwise in very good plus condition; Brown paper over boards with crisp golden lettering on spine, signed on the title page, slight foxing on top fore-edge, in near fine condition.
Robert McCammon (1952 - ), is a well-known fantasy/horror writer, having been a recipient of the Horror Writers of America, Inc.'s Bram Stoker Award and nominated for the 1988 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. This novel is about two aliens arriving in a small Texas town - one is a refugee and the other is a bounty hunter, who uses replicants with silver claws for hands and razor blade teeth to help him - the stingers. This is the true first hardcover edition, which precedes the British edition, published by Kinnell.
Stolen Faces
New York, Hagerstown, San Francisco, London: Harper & Row, 1977. 176 pp. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8 1/2". First edition, first printing, SIGNED and inscribed by the author on the title page. 1/4 bound brown cloth over boards with gold titles on spine and publisher blind stamp on cover, very slight shelf rubbing to bottom edges, otherwise fine condition. Illustrated dust jacket with a little rubbing in near fine condition. An excellent copy
From the jacket flap: Muphormosy, a disease not unlike leprosy, has ravaged the first settlers on the planet Tezcatl. Generations later, their similarly emaciated descendents live in a compound where they are isolated from the planet's normal inhabitants.
Stories Children Love
New York: Platt and Munk, 1933. Unpaginated. Approximately 10 x 12". Later printing, no dust jacket. Green cloth over boards with illustrated paste-down on front cover, some staining to a few pages, gift inscription on ffep, otherwise a good+ copy.
Beautifully illustrated by Eulalie and Lois Lenski with many full-color and black and white illustrations, stories included in book are Little Red Riding Hood, The Story of Peter Pan, Dick Whittington and His Cat, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Three Bears, Puss in Boots, Tom Thumb, and Jack and the Beanstalk.