Search Results: Authors starting with V from Uncommon Sense

Mount Vernon: Peter Pauper Press, 1937. First edition. One of the scarcer books from this well known publisher. The book was printed posthumously in an edition of 100 copies for the friends of the author. Van Vliet was a teacher at the Katherine Branson School in Marin County, CA; the second item included is a selection of Latin texts from Cicero, mimeographed for the students at the school. The book is slightly smoke-damaged at the top and bottom of the front cover (from a 1968 fire), and the paper label on the spine has browned into illegibility and has partially flaked off. The interior of the book is clean except for the name of the previous owner, who has also written her name in the front of the Cicero chapbook. The latter has many words underlined and many numbers circled, but no translations or glosses as far as I can tell. Two uncommon items.

One of Vance's scarcer first editions. Doubleday mostly sold to libraries in the period when this was published. This is a clean ex-library copy with some flaws: the jacket is missing a tiny patch in the middle of the spine, the endpapers have tape on them, there is a coffee stain on pp 52 and 53, the spine is somewhat slanted, and the ends of the spine somewhat crushed. There is a "Library of Congress Surplus Duplicate" stamp split in two on the copyright and half-title pages (I've seen this stamp on other books in its complete form, and it's quite recognizable if one knows it). The jacket is unclipped, in a plastic protector. Not a collector's copy, but not just a place-holder: it's in quite good enough shape to stand up to many more readings. At least Doubleday used good paper and binding materials at this point in their history. Feel free to ask for more pictures or more information.

Cambridge MA: NESFA Press, 1985. First edition. Hardcover. As New/as new. Richard Powers. One of 200 slipcased copies (copy 15) of an edition of 1000 copies, with slipcase, signed on front free endpaper by both Vance and Richard Powers, the illustrator. As new in slipcase. Several early, minor Vance stories, with an introduction by Russell Letson, an outline of a story called "Cat Island", a short interview by Vance publisher Tim Underwood, and "A Vance Encyclopedia" -- a selection of the short pieces that start many of the chapters in some of his books, notably the Kirth Gerson and Alastor series. It's not a complete collection of such entries, but it's a good introduction to them. The slipcased edition is rarely offered for sale. Many copies of the trade edition were signed by Vance.