New Arrivals
For Kicks
London: Michael Joseph, 1965. 256 pp. Approximately 6 1/4 x 9 1/4". 1st Edition, first printing. Illustrated dust jacket in very good condition with some chipping and subtle pen mark on cover, not price-clipped; Green cloth over boards, gilt title on spine very crisp, minor foxing and darkening to the fore-edges, dark shadow on page prior to half-title due to old bookmark, otherwise in near 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' 3rd novel, with Daniel Roke, Australian horse breeder temporarily turned UK investigator.
Children of the night
New York: G.P. Punam's Sons, 1992. 382 pp. 6 1/4 x 9 1/4". First Edition, first printing. Illustrated dust jacket in near-fine condition; black cloth over boards, crisp gilt lettering on spine, map endpapers, faint spotting on top page edges, inscribed on the title page to Diane Peterson, a well-known ABAA dealer, "To Diane Peterson -- /Greetings from Transylvania/Dan Simmons, accompanied by a unique vampire drawing by the author, in fine condition. (Clute & Nicholls, p 1111.)
Simmons' tenth novel, this is an epic horror novel about an American hematologist who adopts a Romanian boy with a mysterious illness that may hold the key to a cure of cancer and AIDS, who unfortunately has a hidden tie to the vampire family of Vlad Dracula. Scariness and horror ensues. This novel was a Locus Award Winner in 1993. Dan Simmons (1948 - ) was the winner of the 1986 World Fantasy Award for his novel Song of Kali.
Role of Honour
London: Jonathan Cape and Hodder & Stoughton, 1984. Approximately 5 1/4 x ". Illustrated dust jacket by Trevor Scobie with author photo, original price of £7.95 intact, in fine condition; Black paper over boards with crisp, gilt lettering on spine, one flawed page printed by publisher that was not cut properly and folded in, otherwise beautifully bright and unmarked, in fine condition.
Base on the Ian Fleming character, this is Gardner's fourth James Bond book. The plot, from the jacket, involves a computer wizard, a mercenary army, and SPECTRE.
A Bestiary
Boston: Anne & David Bromer, 1979. [19] pp. approx. 2 1/4 x 2 1/16", oblong. LIMITED EDITION of 125 copies, this being #87. Marbled wrap with title label over marbled cover with title label, 15 wood engravings,letterpress on Troya paper, signed by the artist on the colophon, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Bromer 5)
Sarah Chamberlain has illustrated books from Aesop’s Fables to Margarette Reid’s The Button Box. She studied under renowned printmakers and illustrators Barry Moser and Leonard Baskin, and from the 1970s to the 1980s ran the Chamberlain Press.
Ethical Setting
Dallas, TX: Aredian Press, 2019. Approximately 2 1/4 x 2 1/4". First edition, LIMITED EDITION of 10 copies. Design binding by Patrice Miller of Aredian Press, black cloth over boards with silver spider web design, paper title label on removable band, accordion fold, printed on translucent vellum and Neenah Classic Stipple, signed and numbered by the publisher on the colophon, in fine condition.
This John Dos Passos (1896 - 1970) quotation is from The Theme is Freedom (1956). Patrice Miller's work has found its way to private and university collections, in the states and abroad. Human foibles, nature’s panoply, and artistic cleverness cannot help but inform future work. She continues to bind, and rebind, in Dallas, Texas.
Machine Gun Fire Control
Cleveland, OH: Edward C. McKay, 1917. 84 pp. plus advertisements. First Edition. Approximately 5 x 6 3/4". Black cloth stiff paper covers with some chipping and loss, some spotting to cover and faded title, owner signed on front-free endpaper, very few ink marks on the text, slightly musty smell, very good condition.
This text was written and the control rule designed in order to try and teach the difficult subject of the exterior ballistics of the machine gun and to simplify to a minimum the mathematical operations in the control of fire. (from the preface). Illustrated with many figures and diagrams.
Charles Warren Stoddard: California Classic Series
Los Angeles: Arroyo Guild Press, 1909. 63 pp. Approximately 6 1/4 x 5", oblong. First Edition. Grey paper over boards with dark lettering, some loss to spine, deckled edge paper, gift inscription on front free endpaper in beautiful script handwriting, loose boards, some rubbing to edges, otherwise in very good condition.
Charles Warren Stoddard (1843 - 1909), was an American author and poet who lived most of his life in California. He was in San Francisco during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and is buried in Monterey, CA. Included in this volume are his works: Apostrophe to the Skylark, The Bells of San Gabriel, Joe of Lahaina, and Father Damien Among His Lepers.
Die Erinnerungen des Giacomo Casanova. Vollständig übertragen von Heinrich Conrad. Mit einer Einleitung von Friedrich Freska. (The Memories of Giacomo Casanova)
Berlin: Benjamin Harz, [1911]. Approximately 5 x 7 1/2". Volumes 1-3 only (volumes 4-6 missing). Marbled boards with half leather binding, top edge gilt, 5 bands and title on spine, fine gold embossing, illustrated title page and frontispiece,some rubbing to edges and slight rip in leather on volume 1, in very good + condition.
The memories of Giacomo Casanova (1725 - 1798). Completely translated by Heinrich Conrad. With an introduction by Friedrich Freska. Conrad attaches great importance to emphasizing the completeness of his transmission, except for the two chapters that Casanova, for some unexplained reason, has removed himself.
Driving Force
London: Michael Joseph, 1992. 277 pp. Approximately 6 1/4 x 9 1/4". 1st English Edition. Illustrated dust jacket in fine condition; Black cloth over boards, gilt title on spine, signed by the author on the half-title page, 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' 31st book, with jockey, Freddie Croft, trying to deal with a conspiracy involving the seedy underside of horse-racing.
Hinky Haiku
Dallas, TX: Aredian Press, 2016. Approximately 3 x 2", oblong. First edition, LIMITED EDITION of 20 copies, this being #4. Design binding by Patrice Miller of Aredian Press, Gold and black checkerboard paper over boards, traditional stab binding, beautiful black and gold endpapers, Japanese mulberry paper, signed and numbered by the author on the colophon, fine condition.
Overwrought by grade-schoolers and wanna-be poets, the haiku has been abused unintentionally for far too long. First attempted to distract themselves during an excruciating flight, the authors acknowledge that the haiku in its purest expression is both lyrical and majestic. These are neither, but offer commentary on modern life.