Hardcover
Two Bear Cubs
California: Yosemite Association, 1997. (36) pp. Approximately 10 x 10 3/4". First Limited Edition of 200 numbered and 26 lettered copies, this being #13. SIGNED by both author and illustrator. Pictorial boards with full color illustrations throughout. Extra illustration for limited edition only, not in trade copies. Fine in fine dust jacket in fine slipcase.
Authentic Southern Sierra Miwok Indian legend a retold by the author with information about the tribe. Beautifully done.
Up 65 Years to Larchmont
Los Angeles: Bela Blau, 1970. 31 pp. Approximately 1 3/16 x 1 5/8". Brown-red leather over boards with gilt title on cover and gilt publisher on spine, decorative endpapers, frontispiece, letterpress and gilt leather by Bela Blau, in near fine condition. (Bradbury, Dawson 37)
A lovely little book about the various locations over the years of Dawson's Book Shop in the Los Angeles area, known as "one of the six renaissance miniature book publishers in the U.S. during the early 1960s." (Bradbury) Bela Blau, along with his wife Mariana, came to the U.S. from Hungary in 1956 and established a bindery business. An amazing award winning binder, his leather work and attention to detail is remarkable.
Usher's Passing
New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1984. 401 pp. Approximately 6 1/4 x 9 1/4". First edition, first printing. Illustrated jacket in fine condition. Black cloth 1/4 bound over red boards, gilt title on spine, signed by author on title page, some spotting to top page edges, otherwise in near fine condition.
Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's story "Fall of the House of Usher", this book covers the idea of what would have happened if all of the Usher's hadn't died. Set in North Carolina, present day, five generations of Usher's tell their story.
Vincent in Arles: Four Letters to Theo
Velp, Netherlands: Catharijne Press, 2003. Approximately 1 7/8 x 2 1/2 ". 59 pp. DELUXE LIMITED EDITION of 20 copies (I - XX), this being #IV. Blue cloth slipcase containing a 5 euro coin showing van Gogh's portrait made up of the letters of his name; the coin was issued in 2003 by the Royal Dutch Mint in honor of the 150th birthday of Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890). Tan cloth over boards, blue endpapers, tipped in frontispiece and tipped in illustrations (color plates), printed in 6 point Swift font, in fine condition.
According to the publisher's introduction, "This miniature book is a tribute to the remarkable artist, reviled during his life, celebrated after his death." Even though Van Gogh wrote over 200 letters while staying in Arles, these 4 letters to his brother Theo give us some insight into his thought processes during this zenith of his career.
Wallace Stegner: A Descriptive Bibliography
Lewiston, ID: Confluence Press, Inc., 1990. First Edition. No dust jacket, as issued. Green cloth over boards with crisp gilt design on cover and lettering on spine, signed by Stegner and the author on the title page, limited to 1,000 copies, no edge wear and looks unread, really minor foxing to top page edges, otherwise in near fine condition.
Wallace Earle Stegner (1909 - 1993) was an American novelist and short story writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1972 for "Angle of Repose" and the National Book Award for "The Spectator Bird" in 1977. He won numerous other awards and his legacy lives on in many parts of the United States and Canada, with a Stegner Fellowship program in creative writing at Stanford University being one of the highlights. This is a must-have for any Stegner collector.
Water
New Britain, CT: REM Miniatures, 2003. 2 1/4 x 1 5/8". (vi), 4 pp, (1) page. LIMITED EDITION of 100 copies. Black buckram with hand-colored paper label on upper cover , cover label & frontispiece by Seth Massmann, hand coloring by Eloise & Robert Massmann. A fine copy in stiff gray paper publisher's sleeve.
From the proceedings of the Company of Amateur Brewers, 1932.
Westwind Songs
Minneapolis: Edmund D. Brooks, 1902. 99 pp + advertisements. 4 x 5 3/4"; First Edition. Gray paper over boards, red title on cover and spine, spine edge chipped at bottom and starting to peel away from cover, slight rubbing to top edges of covers, otherwise in very good condition.
Arthur Upson (1877 - 1908) was an American poet with Minnesota roots. He was at the University of Minnesota and was the editor of the Minnesota Daily, the campus newspaper. He reworked the song "Hail! Minnesota" which later became the state song. He died at the young age of 31. He was compared to Kets or Chatterton by Sinclair Lewis, who wrote an editorial obituary. This is Upson's fourth book.
When Molly Was in the Hospital
Rayve 1994 first hardcover printing. Nice to have a book inscribed by both author and illustrator. Book is tight and square. No dust jacket. Cover is bright, with minimal edge wear and corner bumping. Interior is clean, no bookstore stamps or writing.
Wildflowers of the John Muir Trail
Santa Cruz, CA: Peter & Donna Thomas, 2002. (40) pp. Approximately 2 1/8 x 2 5/8". LIMITED EDITION of 150 copies, this being #60. Green painted handmade papers over boards, title and illustration label on sleeve cover, inside white paper made by Peter from cotton rag and Donna's hiking shirt, digital printing with reproduction of text handwritten by Donna, reproductions of thirty-nine watercolor paintings by Donna, numbered on the colophon, in fine condition. (P&D Thomas Bibliography A109)
Donna Thomas and Kate McLaughlin hiked the John Muir trail in 2002. They identified flowers and Donna printed them on the spot. This beautiful book was a Miniature Book Society Distinguished Award winner in 2003.
Wooden Willie
Chicago: M. A. Donohue & Company, 1927. 95 pp. 6 x 9"; Illustrated dust jacket has really minor wear, a small tear to the back cover, in near fine condition; Illustrated boards with black cloth spine, beautiful full-color illustrations throughout including some fantastic endpapers, some rubbing to bottom edges of book and a little only at the top, otherwise a lovely copy in very good + condition.
Johnny Gruelle (1880 - 1938), was an American children's book author, comics author, illustrator, and political cartoonist. He is probably best known for his Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls and books.