New Arrivals
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.
Medea: Freely adapted from the Medea of Euripides
New York: Random House, 1946. 107 pp. Approximately 6 x 9 1/2". First Edition, first printing. Dust jacket has some darkening to the spine and sun fading on both covers, some chipped and rough edges with a missing small piece at the top of the spine, otherwise in very good condition; Orange paper over black cloth boards,copper lettering crisp on spine, Paul Elder & Co. Bookstore label on rear pastedown endpaper, first printing indicated by the missing word "least" on line 21 of p. 99, in near fine condition.
Medea is a Greek play by Euripides (first produced in 431 BC) that poet Robinson Jeffers has modernized. For instance, he replaces the Greek chorus by three women who represent women in their youth, middle age, and elder years. The play centers around a deeply flawed but strong and powerful heroine with themes of racism, sexism, political power, and justice. Robinson Jeffers (1887 - 1962) was an American poet best known for his work about the central California coast.
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.
Nansen
New York: Viking Press, 1945. 170 pp. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8 1/2". First Edition, third printing (July, 1945). Illustrated wrappers, some tears and missing sections but front cover is mostly intact, in very good condition. Blue cloth over boards with black design on cover and lettering on spine, some wear to spine top and bottom, INSCRIBED by author on the front free endpaper, beautifully illustrated in blue tones, slightly musty smell, otherwise in near-fine condition.
A beautiful book, illustrated by Boris Artzybasheff, Caldecott Honor recipient noted for his strong work and surreal designs, this is a biography about Fridtjof Nansen, a noted Norwegian scientist, explorer, and diplomat. A fascinating look at this influential and humanitarian person. Winner of a Newberry Honor award in 1941. Scarce in jacket and signed.
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.
Licence Renewed
London: Jonathan Cape, 1981. Approximately 5 1/4 x 8". Pictorial jacket is in near fine condition, with only a tiny bit of wear at the bottom of the spine, not price-clipped. Black cloth over boards with crisp gilt lettering on spine, slight bumping to spine bottom, some slight foxing to page edges, otherwise in near-fine condition. Overall, a lovely copy of this first edition of the first James Bond continuation novel by John Gardner.
John Edmund Gardner (1926 - 2007), was a British novelist who not only wrote fourteen original James Bond novels, but also wrote the novel versions of two Bond films. The exciting plot of this book, from the jacket, involves the deranged Dr. Anton Murik, a terrorist named Franco, and a beautiful woman, of course, named Lavender Peacock.
Cup of Gold
New York: Covici Friede, (1936). 269 pp. Approximately 5 1/4 x 7 3/4". Second Edition. Decorative dust jacket in very good condition with author of "Of Mice and Men" on cover, some darkening to spine, minor edge wear and small enclosed tear on bottom of front cover, price clipped, repair tape on the inside. Blue cloth over boards, top stain blue, blind stamping of ship and scroll on front cover, gilt-stamped spine slightly faded, near-fine condition. (Goldstone & Payne, A1c)
John Steinbeck (1902 - 1968) was an American author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. This is John Steinbeck's first novel and is an historical fiction loosely based on the life and adventures of privateer Henry Morgan. The "Cup of Gold" refers to Panama City, where a lot of the action takes place.
Double O Seven. James Bond. A Report.
London: Neville Spearman, Holland Press, 1964. 160 pp. Approx. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2". Dust Jacket in fine condition. Black cloth over boards with crisp and bright silver lettering lettering on spine, SIGNED and INSCRIBED on the front free endpaper to Raymond Toole-Stott (an MBE, a well-known collector of circus books and bibliographer, as well as a personal friend of Somerset Maugham), very minor foxing to top edges, otherwise in near-fine condition.
Oswald Frederick Snelling (1916 - 2001) was a British author, best known for this book, the only analysis of the James Bond series that was personally authorized by Ian Fleming. Snelling met Fleming while working at Sotheby's Rare Book Department. Selling over a million copies, Double O Seven was published in several languages and was published in the American market in 1965.
Fletcher and Zenobia
New York: Meredith Press, 1967. 6 1/4 x 6 1/4". First Edition, Pictorial dust jacket and boards with a few ships near the spine top, not price-clipped, in very good condition. Pictorial boards with slight indentation near top spine edge, full-color illustrations throughout, pages clean and unmarked, otherwise in very good condition. (Toledano A25)
A humorous story about a cat, a doll and a moth. Delightful and quite less macabre than Gorey's usual style.
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.