Search Results: Authors starting with E from Captain Ahab's Rare Books

Minneapolis: Red Egypt Press, 1994. Limited Edition. One of 20 copies (plus three Artist's Proofs) specially bound and signed by Rathman, this being copy no.20. Quarto (33.5cm); text is letterpress printed on Rives BFK, wire-bound into grey cloth-covered boards, with pictorial label inset on front cover; publisher's matching cloth slipcase; [26]pp; illustrated with 9 three-color engravings from relief prints and etchings by David Rathman. Fine in a Fine slipcase. An elaborate production, pairing the poetry of Russell Edson (1935-2014) with the artwork of Minneapolis-based visual artist David Rathman. Edson, a Guggenheim Fellow, has been called the "godfather of the prose poem in America." Uncommon, evidently sold out prior to publication; OCLC notes 8 holdings.

Santa Barbara: Capricorn Press, 1970. First Edition. Cloth Issue, one of 50 copies specially bound and signed by the author. Octavo (24.5cm); beige buckram, with decorative title label mounted to front cover; [6],7-34,[6]pp. Hint of foxing to text edges, else very Near Fine. The Santa Barbara poet's first book, published when she was 24 years old - a collection of poems inspired chiefly by the natural world. This copy is unnumbered - an overrun from the collection of Earle and Larry Gray, owners of the Earle Gray Book Binding Company, who were responsible for binding most of the books published by the Black Sparrow Press and a host of smaller California publishers.

Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1994. First Edition. First Printing, cloth issue, one of 200 copies. Octavo (23.5cm); pictorial paper-covered baords and blue cloth backstrip, with title label mounted to spine, publisher's original acetate dustjacket; 192,[5]pp. Fine in a lightly rubbed, Near Fine dustjacket. Three hundred and twenty-two poems written between 1959 and 1992, in the tradition of William Carlos Williams.

[San Francisco: S.i., 1959. Large, early photographic portrait of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, taken in the basement of his City Lights Bookstore a few years after it opened. Ferlinghetti is seated on a stool, a shelf of books in the background (including Kerouac's Mexico City Blues), pointing at a door painted with the words "I Am The Door." William J. Eisenlord (1926-1997) was a San Francisco photographer and owner of the Omnibus Gallery in Sacramento, best-known for his photographs of City Lights Bookstore, and the San Francisco jazz and beat poetry scene. His photographic archive is held by the Archives of American Art. Original black & white photograph, measuring ca.11" x 13.75" (27.5cm x 35cm), mounted to mat-board. With holograph note in graphite and ink on verso: "Photo by Bill Eisenlord / L. Ferlinghetti / in basement City Lights - 1954(?) / No Block. San Francisco." Light wear to extremities, small pencil notation and signature of R.E. Johnson along lower margin on verso; Near Fine.

Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1866. First Edition. Handsome set of Eliot's fifth novel, published in an edition of 5252 copies. A social novel, centered around the political disputes in a small, fictitious English town during the time of the Reform Act of 1832. Baker & Ross A8.1; Sadleir 814. First Impression. Three octavo volumes (20cm); three-quarter navy blue crushed morocco and denim blue cloth, bound by Bayntun (Riviere); spines in six compartments, with five raised bands, and titling and floral decorations stamped in gilt on spines; marbled endpapers; top edges gilt; [iv],303,[1]; [iv],290; [iv],283,[1]pp. Half-titles present in each volume, though Vol.3 lacks the ad leaves [258-288] ("absent in some copies," Baker & Ross, p.228). Spines uniformly faded to a pleasant blue-green, with a few pinpont rubs to same; faint, tiny stains to the corners of a few leaves in Vol.1; some occasional, very faint foxing to margins, though on the whole, the text is quite fresh; Near Fine.

New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1939. Early printing, lacking the requisite "first American edition" statement on the copyright page. Octavo (22cm); light gray cloth, with titles stamped in black on spine; dustjacket; [10],11-46,[2]pp. Spine gently sunned, some faint, scattered foxing to upper board edges and spine, and dust-soil to upper edge of textblock; Very Good+. Dustjacket is unclipped (priced $1.25), gently sunned and lightly dust-soiled, with modest wear to extremities, a few faint stains, a chip to lower left corner of rear panel, and an attendant tear (tape-mended on verso); Very Good. Eliot's much-reprinted book of poems on the psychology and social lives of cats, basis for Andrew Lloyd Weber's 1981 musical of the same name. Ref.Gallup A34b.

London: Allison & Busby Ltd, 1984. First UK Edition. Ellroy's second book, first published by Avon in 1982 as a paperback original; the British edition is the first and only hardcover format of this title. An important novel in the Ellroy canon, as it marks the first appearance of his character Dudley Moore. Copies signed by Ellroy (with his initials) are plentiful - copies with lengthy, early inscriptions are not. First Impression. Octavo (22.25cm); black cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine; dustjacket; [vi],342pp. Inscribed by the author in an early hand on the front endpaper: "To Sol and Patty Grossman - L.A. in the 1950's wants to singe your souls with intimations of murder and sensual rebirth! Be there or be square! James Ellroy." Fine in a Fine, unclipped jacket, with light fading to author's name on the spine.

Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1975. First Edition. Deluxe Issue, one of five copies specially bound and designated for use by the author, publisher, and members within the inner circle of the press, this one marked "Binder's Copy" and signed by the author on the colophon. Octavo (23.5cm); printed paper-covered boards and patterned cloth backstrip, with title label mounted to spine; publisher's original acetate dustjacket; [14],15-168,[4]pp. Fine in a lightly rubbed, Near Fine dustjacket. A collection spanning the first three decades of the Black Mountain poet's work. Morrow & Cooney 202c.

Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1998. First Edition. First Printing, cloth issue, one of 200 copies. Octavo (23.5cm); decorative paper-covered boards and red cloth backstrip, with title label mounted to spine; publisher's original acetate dustjacket; [10],11-190,[6]pp. Faint, tiny stain to upper right corner of front cover, else Fine in a lightly rubbed, Near Fine dustjacket.

Santa Barbara: Capricorn Press, 1971. First Edition. First Printing, hardcover issue, one of 100 copies. Octavo (23cm); pictorial paper-covered boards; [4],5-22,[6]pp. Gently spine-sunned, covers a little dust-soiled and faintly foxed, with some faint, scattered foxing to text edges and margins; Very Good+.

Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1973. First Edition. Limited Issue, one of seven copies specially bound and designated for use by the author, publisher, and members within the inner circle of the press, this one marked "Binder's Copy" and signed by the author on the colophon. Octavo (21.5cm); blue marbled paper-covered boards, with decorative title label mounted to front cover; publisher's original acetate dustjacket; [iv],7,[5]pp. Small, faint smudge to lower front endppaer, else Fine in a lightly rubbed, Near Fine dustjacket. A handsome production of Eshleman's poem, issued to celebrate the marriage of poet Diane Wakoski to Michael Watterlond. Morrow and Cooney 143b.

Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1946. First Edition. The hand-boiled author's first book, and the first to feature Chicago private detective Paul Pine. "Paul Pine, solo sleuth, from a pauper's funeral to a five body carnage, is almost sunk without trace by the girl whose marriage he is to prevent. Pine's snooping lands him in wrong with the police, gets him quite a view of Chicago's underworld, and earns him more than one manhandling, until the answers are opened up by the girl - in not quite the way he thought" (Kirkus Review). The earliest inscription we have seen on any of the author's books. Hubin, p.134. First Printing. Octavo (19.75cm); red cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine and front cover; dustjacket; 245,[9]pp. Inscribed by the author the day after publication on the front endpaper: "To Katherine Le Roy / in appreciation / Howard "John Evans" Browne / 5/24/46." Spine ends gently nudged, beginning oxidation to gilt titling, with a small, faint splash mark to upper edge of… Read More

Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow Press, 1982. First Edition. Deluxe Issue, one of probably no more than a half-dozen copies specially bound and designated for use by the author, publisher, and members within the inner circle of the press, this one marked "Binder's Copy" and signed by Everson on the colophon. Octavo (23.5cm); printed paper-covered boards and grey patterned cloth backstrip, with title label mounted to spine; publisher's original acetate dustjacket; ix,[x-xvi],17-197,[7]pp; with an original holograph poem by Everson on a tipped-in leaf, following the copyright page. Light foxing to upper edge of textblock, else Near Fine, in a lightly rubbed, Near Fine dustjacket. An intensely autobiographical work by Everson, with an introduction by editor Lee Bartlett.

Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1996. First Trade Edition. First Printing, cloth issue, one of 250 copies. Octavo (23.5cm); decorative paper-covered boards and blue cloth backstrip, with title label mounted to spine; publisher's original acetate dustjacket; [8],9-325,[7]pp. Fine in a lightly rubbed, Near Fine dustjacket. Handsome edition of the poet's autobiography, detailing at length his spiritual conversion.

New York: New Directions, 1948. First Edition. Attractive copy of Everson's first major collection, gathering selections from his previous volumes, together with at least one unpublished poem and a three-page preface by the poet. Warmly inscribed to his preliminary bibliographer, the poet and editor David Kherdian, who included Everson's work (alongside that of Ferlinghetti, Snyder, McClure, Meltzer, and Whalen) in his 1967 work Six Poets of the San Francisco Renaissance: Portraits and Checklists. Bartlett & Campo A9. First Printing, one of 1,000 copies. Octavo (23.25cm); burgundy cloth and patterned paper-covered boards, with titles stamped in gilt on spine; red topstain; dustjacket; 148,[2]pp. Inscribed by the author on the front endpaper: "For Dave Kherdian on the eve of finishing his bibliography, and on the afternoon of the interview / With best wishes and every prayer for his well being / Brother Antoninus / March 1, 1966 / Kentfield Priory." Upper right corners gently tapped (though still… Read More