Literature/criticism

New York: Random House, 1991. Baker's third book is this humorous but still serious attempt to explain his relationship with John Updike, whom Baker met a single time in front of a plate of cold cuts at a Harvard Lampoon party in 1984. Baker has read all or nearly all of only eight Updike works and less than half of eight others. This hit or miss -- maybe mostly miss -- knowledge of Updike and Updike's writing is one that serves Baker's sometimes hilarious exploration of the relationship between reader and writer quite well. What we remember of a beloved novel or a favorite author's work may be mis-remembered or irrelevant or, perhaps, life changing, as Baker says his little bit of knowledge of Updike has been for him. Boards and text are clean, tight, square; dustjacket shows minimal surface and edgewear. Collectable.. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1985. Baldwin uses Atlanta's serial killer, Wayne Williams, as the springboard for Baldwin's assessment of Blacks in 1980's White America; First Printing of the First Edition. A controversial work by a controversial author. Collectable.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Fine/Very Fine. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

New York: The Dial Press, 1976. An essay on American film from one of the 20th Century's most versatile and controversial authors; First Printing of the First Edition; boards and text are clean, tight, square; jacket shows some wear with tears on front panel's top and bottom edges. Becoming harder to find.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Good Plus. more information

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New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1984. Barth's first non-fiction book, a collection of essays and other writing from the 1970s and '80s; First Printing of the First Edition Thus; text and boards are clean, tight, square; dust jacket slightly chipped at bottom of spine, otherwise very minimal surface and edgewear. A nice copy.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Very Good. more information

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Garden City: Doubleday, 1968. Barth subtitled this collection of satirical short stories:"Fiction for Print, Tape, Live Voice;" First Printing of the First Edition Thus; ex libris with library stamp on top edge and title page and large glue mark on back end page; dust jacket protected by Brodart but both flaps glued to covers; Good/Good. A nice reading or reference copy.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Good/Good. more information

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New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1984. The first work of non-fiction by the award-winning author of "Giles Goatboy" and "Lost In The Funhouse;" two small indentations on back cover near spine with matching marks on slightly worn dustjacket, o/w a Very Good copy in like dustjacket. . First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1987. Barthelme's final collection of short stories; First Printing of the First Edition Thus. Collectable.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

New York: Random House, 1991. The fifth collection of short stories, most from the 1980s, by one of the craft's masters.. First Printing, First Edition Thus. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

White Plains, NY: Peter Pauper Press, Inc., 1995. a collection of quotations on men and women, relationships, life lessons and some simple rules to live by culled from Austen's six novels, including "Emma" and "Pride and Prejudice; hardcover, 4 1/2 x 6"; text and boards are clean, tight, square; dustjacket shows only minimal surface and edgewear.. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. more information

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New York: William Morrow & Co., 1987. the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner, as well as the only writer to win three National Book Awards, Bellow presents a tragicomic novel that examines modern sexuality and the dilemma of two men whose brilliant minds can't save them from the everyday mistakes common to us all; hardcover; First Printing of the First Edition; boards and text are clean, tight, square, appear unread; dustjacket shows slight rubbing and shelfwear; Fine/Very Good. Collectable.. more information

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New York: Pantheon Books, 1991. A collection of essays, most from the 1980s by one of the best English art critics, poets and novelists, sharing his vision on painting, photography, time and reality. Scarce. Collectable.. First Printing, First U.S. Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. more information

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New York: Delacorte Press, 1980. Berger's eleventh novel; First Printing of the First Edition; a Fine copy in like dustjacket.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. more information

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New York: Delacorte Press, 1981. The fourth novel in Berger's Reinhart series; First Printing of the First Edition; remainder spray on bottom edge, two small, shallow circular indentations about 1 cm in diameter on lower third of back cover with matching indentations on dust jacket.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. more information

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New York: Riverhead/Penguin, 1999. one of Bloom's finest achievements as a critic and scholar; Bloom provides a comprehensive reading of every one of Shakespeare's plays while advancing the thesis that the dramatist not only reinvented the English language but also created human nature as it's known today; trade paperback; First Printing of the First Riverhead Paperback Edition; text is clean, tight, square; pictorial wrappers show very slight roll, very minimal edgewear; Very Good to Near Fine.. more information

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New York: Viking Penguin, 1987. Boyle's third novel, which won the National Book and Pen Faulkner Awards, is set in New York's Hudson Valley in the late 17th Century and then in the 1940s and '60s as it details the inter-related lives of three families; First Printing of the First Edition; dustjacket is price-clipped, still a very collectable copy.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Very Good. more information

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New York: Collier Books, 1961. Vintage paperback; Collier AS115; a selection of newspaper interviews, largely with American and English authors, written by Breit as a member of the editorial staff of "The New York Times Book Review from about 1948 to 1952, over fifty of the more than 120 "talks" he had with writers such as Eliot, Frost, Faulkner, Ellison and Hemingway; First Printing of the First Collier Edition; text is clean, tight, square; pictorial wrappers show light reading crease, very minimal surface and edgewear. Hard to Find. Collectable. . First Printing, First Edition Thus. Trade Paperback. Very Good to Near Fine. more information

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New York: Random House, 1980. a collection of journalistic fiction and non-fiction, including a piece on Marilyn Monroe, by the author of "In Cold Blood;" hardcover; Book Club Edition; text edges lightly foxed, o/w clean, tight, square; dustjacket shows minor surface and edgewear; Very Good/Very Good. A decent reading copy.. more information

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New York: Harper & Row, 1964. Cheever's sequel to his National Book Award-winning first novel, "The Wapshot Chronicle;" First Printing of the First Edition; text edges slightly soiled, o/w boards and text are clean, tight, square; dust jacket shows minor edgewear with two tiny chips at top of spine. A nice example of this highly desirable work.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. more information

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New York: Knopf, 1973. The sixth collection of short stories by this National Book Award winner, who's considered one of the great masters of the short story; First Printing of the First Edition; remainder mark stamped on front end page o/w a clean, tight copy in a dustjacket showing very minimal surface and edgewear.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Fine. more information

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New York: Knopf, 1982. Cheever's fifth novel and his last book is a fable about an older man's search for love; there are glue stains on inside covers, end pages and dustjacket flaps; text is undamaged and clean, not ex libris. A decent reading copy.. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Fair/Fair. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

New York: Harper & Row, 1957. Cheever's third book and first novel won the National Book Award in 1958; First Printing of the First Edition; minor shelf wear o/w text and boards are clean, tight, square; dustjacket shows some slight edgewear, back panel slightly soiled. A nice copy of a highly collectable work.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. more information

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New York: Hill and Wang, 1966. vintage paperback, Dramabook D29; a wide-ranging selection of primarily 20th century playwrights discussing the concepts and philosophy of their craft, including Ibsen, Shaw, Cocteau, Pirandello, O'Neill, Brecht, Sartre, Eliot and Ionesco; trade paperback; Seventh Printing of the First Dramabook Edition; previous owner's name on fep, o/w text is clean, tight, square in blue wrappers showing only minor surface and edgewear; Very Good to Near Fine.. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

Woodstock, NY: The Overlook Press, 2005. A compendium of facts and information about William Shakespeare and his work that will allow you to answer questions such as: Why is there a curse on one of Shakespeare's plays? Or, Why did 'Romeo and Juliet' nearly have a happy ending? Or, How many words did Shakespeare invent? David Crystal, the internationally known linguist and his son, Ben, a Shakespearean actor, have done an enormous favor to all who love Shakespeare and the English language. 214 pages including index; with bound-in ribbon bookmark. Boards' upper corners very lightly bumped, o/w boards and text are clean, tight, square; white dustjacket shows only some minor wear and soiling. . First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine. more information

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Garden City: Doubleday, 1971. A collection of journal entries and essays by the award-winning poet and author of "Deliverance." First Printing of the First Edition. Scarce. Collectable.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. more information

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New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987. Didion examines the relationship between Cuban exiles in Miami, FL, and rest of U.S., especially their political ties with Washington, D.C.; First Printing of the First Edition; remainder mark on bottom edge of text, o/w a Fine copy in like dustjacket.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. more information

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Santa Barbara, CA: Capra Press, 1975. In 1975, Durrell gave a pair of impromptu lectures at Cal Tech and Claremont College in California, reminiscing about Greece as a young writer and later as a diplomat; the lectures became the bases for this book; text illustrated with photos; bookseller's sticker (small green dot) in lower corner of back cover. Wrappers and text clean and bright. An exceptionally nice copy.. First Printing, First Paperback Edition. Trade Paperback. Near Fine to Fine. more information

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New York: E.P. Dutton, 1961. A collection of correspondence between Durrell and Alfred Perles about Henry Miller, author of "Tropic of Cancer," "Sexus," etc., with "intermissions" by Miller himself; First Printing of the First Edition; boards and text clean and tight; dustjacket slightly soiled, yellowing along edges. Collectable. Scarce.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Very Good. more information

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New York: Dutton, 1980. A collection of Elkin's best work excerpted from his previous books and with a foreword by Robert Coover; First Printing of the First Edition Thus; boards and text are clean and tight; dustjacket shows some soiling and a small tear upper back panel.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. more information

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New York: Random House, 1964. In April, 1962, about three months before his death, William Faulkner visited the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, read from his soon-to-be-published novel, "The Reivers," answered questions about his work and the following day attended two advanced literature courses. All were tape recorded and later edited to create this book; previous owner's inscription on fep, o/w text and boards clean, tight; dustjacket shows some yellowing and very minor wear to top and bottom of spine. Collectable. Scarce.. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Very Good/Fine. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

New York: Random House, 1968. a collection of sixteen short sketches written by Faulkner for the New Orleans Times-Picayune early in his career, as well as an essay on Sherwood Anderson not included in earlier publications; First Printing of the First Edition Thus; boards and text clean, tight; dustjacket's back panel shows some discoloration and soiling. Collectable. Scarce. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Good Plus. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1961. In November, 1936, the publishers of Esquire launched a new magazine called Coronet. Over the next two-and-a-half decades Coronet published more than its share of the great reporting, writing, art and photography of its time, and, exactly twenty-five years later, in October, 1961, it went to press for the last time because, its people said, it was the right time. "Fabulous Yesterday" is the 25th anniversay album of Coronet, containing work by writers such as Sinclair Lewis, P.G. Wodehouse, John Steinbeck, and Sherwood Anderson, photographers including Dorothea Lange and WeeGee, politicians such as John F. Kennedy, Adlai Stevenson and Fidel Castro; and artists and scholars including Bertrand Russell, Salvador Dali, and Philip Wylie. It is a unique window from which to view the tumultuous times of what has been described as America's "Greatest Generation;" hardcover, 8 1/2 x 11 1/4, illustrated with black & white photos, drawings, cartoons; First Printing of the First Edition; corners slightly bumped, with very minor edgewear, black cloth-covered boards and text are clean, square, tight; no dustjacket; Very Good to Near Fine. Scarce and Collectable.. more information

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New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. The sequel to the Goldstones' first book on book collecting and collectors, "Used and Rare," this second volume of lightly humorous explorations into the curious world of bibliophiles sees them get hooked on the writing, correspondence and couplings of the Bloomsbury group as they also try book collecting on the Internet and are introduced to the hypermoderns; fep's upper corner is clipped, o/w boards and text are clean, tight, square; the dustjacket shows minimal surface and edgewear, no tears or chipping.. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Very Good/Near Fine. more information

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New York: The Viking Press, 1973. Vintage paperback, P-75 in the Viking Portable series, one of the few devoted to a living author who helped editor Philip Stratford with selection of the pieces, which includes autobiographical material from Greene's memoirs; two complete novels, "The Heart of The Matter" and "The Third Man;" six short stories, one of which had not been previously collected; nine essays on other books and authors and ten public statements on morality and issues of the day; text is clean, tight, square, w/o underlining or highlighting; wrappers show slight reading crease, minimal surface and edgewear. Scarce, especially in this condition.. First Printing, First Paperback Edition. Trade Paperback. Near Fine to Fine. more information

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New York: Dell, 1966. foreword by Simone de Beauvoir; Vintage paperback, Dell 4609; described as "the extraordinary autobiography of an extraordinary woman" who narrates her life and loves with amazing honesty; First Dell Edition, First Printing; slight spine lean, text is clean and tight, mild age-tanning; wrappers and spine show light reading creases, some slight edgewear. . First Edition Thus. Mass Market Paperback. Good Plus to Very Good. more information

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London: Souvenir Press Ltd., 1972. Poet and author Long bases his fictional narrative on the true story of a Spanish survivor of a shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico in 1528, who, with three other men, completed an eight-year odyssey across the North American continent. The second story in this little book (4 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches) is also based on a real person -- Malinche, also known as Dona Marina, the Yucatecan slave girl who served as an interpreter to Cortes during his conquest of Mexico; preface by Henry Miller; this edition published in Great Britain by Souvenir Press for distribution in the U.S. by SMU Press, Dallas; blue-grey cloth-covered boards and text are clean, tight and square; white dustjacket shows some light soiling and foxing, no tears or chips. An interesting work in its own right or as an uncommon addition to a Henry Miller collection.. First Printing, First Edition Thus. Hard Cover. Fine/About Very Good. more information

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New York: Rinehart & Co., 1951. Mailer's first novel after his celebrated "The Naked and the Dead;" boards show some rubbing and edgewear, with minor chipping at top of spine; dustjacket is considerably worn and chipped along edges with fold between back panel and spine worn through in places though basically whole; protected now by mylar. . First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Very Good/Fair. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

New York: Dell Publishing Co. Inc., 1968. Vintage paperback, Dell 3952; a collection of Mailer's magazine essays on the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, Vietnam, sex, the FBI, etc.; slight spine lean, mild age-darkening, o/w text is clean, tight; pictorial wrappers show minimal surface and edgewear. Collectable.. First Printing, First Paperback Edition. Mass Market Paperback. Good Plus to Very Good. more information

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Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1975. Mailer's report of the "rumble in the jungle" championship heavyweight prizefight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman; ex libris with library stamp on top and bottom edges of text; damage to fep from card pocket, and tape marks on inside covers; still tight and clean; dustjacket, protected by library's heavy duty mylar, is price-clipped and back flap creased but in surprisingly good shape. A nice reading copy.. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Fair/Good Plus. more information

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Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1983. Mailer's historical novel is set in Egypt twelve hundred years before Christ and features a man reborn three times during the course of this 709-page book. Weight may require extra postage.. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. more information

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Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1982. A collection of Mailer's essays and other short work from the 1970's on everything from sex, the media, spies, and politics to writers and writing, art and success and his own books and career; boards and text are clean, tight; dustjacket shows wear at corners and on edges with a one-inch tear and chip on lower left corner of back panel, still quite presentable. Scarce. . First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Very Good/Good Plus. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1971. Mailer's polemic on sex and feminism; boards and text are clean and tight; dustjacket is price-clipped, somewhat worn, o/w Very Good. Collectable.. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Very Good/About Very Good. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

New York: Art Digest Co., 1980. Volume 54, No.9; a Special Section on The Bather, including essays on works by Degas, Cezanne, Corot, Manet, Courbet, even Benton; other articles include a critical piece by Donald B. Kuspit on Carter Ratcliff's reading of the work of Robert Morris, titled "The Artist (Neo-Dandy) Stripped Bare by His Critic (Neo-Careerist) Almost", and on the work of Louisa Mattiasdottir by Deborah Rosenthal and Jed Perl, as well as reviews of work by Dine, Hofmann, Mangold, Levine, Berg, and several group shows; 9 x 12", 176 pages in paper wrappers; front cover: Nevelson"s Sky Cathedral -- Moon Garden + One, 1957-60 (detail); illustrated with numerous b & w and collor photographs; text is clean, tight, square; covers show only light surface and edgewear. Collectable.. First Edition, First Printing. Magazine. Near Fine to Fine. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

New York: Art Digest Co., 1980. Volume 54, No. 6; critical and historical essays and reviews of the fine arts including work by or about Allan Gussow, Arthur Dove, Dore Ashton, Jasper Johns, Joseph Beuys, Al Held, Irving Sandler and Ida Kohlmeyer; a special section : "How, When, and Why Modern Art Came to New York," an original manuscript by Marius de Zayas; front cover: a photograph, "Marius de Zayas at 291," 1913, by Alfred Stieglitz. Paper covers, 192 pages, 9 x 12," illustrated with numerous b & w and color photos; lower fore-corners of covers and text are lightly bumped and creased, o/w very minimal surface and edgewear; text is clean, square and tight throughtout. Collectable.. First Edition, First Printing. Magazine. Very Good to Near Fine. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

New York: Vintage Books, 1958. vintage paperback, Vintage V58; a selection of Mencken's literary and social criticism chosen from his six volumes of "Prejudices" by James T. Farrell with an introduction by Farrell; trade paperback; First Printing of the First Paperback Edition; text slightly age-tanned along edges, o/w clean, tight, square; pictorial wrappers show light soiling and aging with small stain on spine; Very Good to Near Fine. Scarce.. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

New York: New Directions, 1961. Vintage paperback, New Directions 110; a collections of Miller's short fiction, essays, and criticism from the 1930's and '40's; one-reader text is clean, tight and square, edges slightly soiled; wrappers featuring photo of Miller show very minimal surface and edgewear. Collectable.. First Edition Thus. Trade Paperback. Very Good to Near Fine. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1965. Vintage Paperback, Evergreen Black Cat Book BC-97; an essay on the literary and social implications of sex by the author of "The Tropic of Cancer;" text is clean, tight, somewhat age-tanned; covers browned around edges and spine, minimal creasing and surface wear. Collectable.. First Printing, First U.S. Edition. Mass Market Paperback. Very Good to Near Fine. more information

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New York: The Noonday Press, 1964. Vintage paperback, N 260; the first collection of literary and social criticism by "Commentary's" editor-at-large (then editor-in-chief) and the first of his ten books, is a selection of essays largely on American literature in the 1950s and early '60s; text is clean, tight, square, very slightly rolled, lightly age-tanned; wrappers show only minimal surface and edgewear. Scarce in paperback.. First Printing, First Edition Thus. Trade Paperback. Good Plus to Very Good. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)

Baden, PA: Rainbow's End Co., 1994. A collection of poems written by a woman who has experienced drug addiction, alcoholism, and multiple abusive relationships and is now in recovery; several black and white drawings; small inscription to previous owner on dedication page, o/w text is clean, tight; white pictorial wrappers very slightly rolled with light reading crease, no other surface or edgewear. . First Edition, First Printing. Trade Paperback. Very Good to Near Fine. more information

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Minneapolis: Crossover Press, 1997. Pronzini returns to the land of bad fiction that produced "Gun In Cheek" and "Son of Gun In Cheek," humorous and affectionate studies of badly written mystery and crime fiction, with this compilation of reviews, anecdotes, one-liners and historical tidbits from the worst in Westerns. One sample: the book's dedication is taken from Nelson Nye's dedication to "Wild Horse Shorty," and reads, "For my long-suffering wife -- who deserves it." Hardcover First Edition, First Printing, limited to 250 copies numbered and signed by Pronzini on the back end page and on the title page; Very Fine in Very Fine dustjacket and slipcase. Makes an unusual and fun gift for a western fan.. more information

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New York: New Directions, 1956. This work by Purdy was originally privately published in two paperbound volumes: a short novel, "63: Dream Palace," and nine short stories titled, "Don't Call Me by My Right Name." They attracted an extraordinary amount of attention and were then published by Victor Gollancz, London, as a single volume. New Directions added two more stories by Purdy and published this volume titled, "Color Of Darkness." Text and boards are clean, tight, square; dustjacket slightly edgeworn, somewhat soiled. Collectable.. First Printing, First Edition Thus. Hard Cover. Very Good/About Very Good. more information

Offered by H.W. Gumaer, Bookseller (United States)