Search Results: Titles starting with O from Downtown Brown Books, ABAA

1975. Ephemera. Near Fine. Two leaves, original ribbon-copy typescript. This poem appeared in Searching for the Ox (1976). Old paperclip stain; folded for mailing, else fine. With a carbon-copy typed letter to Bill (William Cole, an editor and anthologist) signed "Louis." Simpson writes, "The two or three people who have seen this poem tell me its funny. I wouldn't have thought so, considering the mention of concentration camps and bombs, but I could be wrong.

San Francisco: Watkins' Pacific Coast, 1867. Ephemera. Very good. A stereograph view of the Oregon Steam Navigation pier at The Dalles, a lumber and passenger port about 80 miles east of Portland. Watkins copyrighted this view in 1867. This stereo card is seen on orange (this) and yellow mounts. The yellow mount examples include the date adopted here. The orange cards may have been made at a slightly later date, but prior to the mid-1870s, when Watkins lost possession of his negatives in a financial dispute. Minor wear to the corners; image with medium contrast and minor staining.

[Washington, DC]: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1942. Ephemera. Near fine. The smallest of three sizes of this homefront poster promoting the Office of Civilian Defense (OCD). The artist was one of the few women to design government posters during the Second World War. According to the Long Branch, New Jersey, Daily Record (12 October 1942), Emily Newman was an advertising art student at the Pratt Institute and won a contest to design the OCD poster. The large sizes were placed on the sides of trucks; this smaller size was destined for department stores. Newman's design incorporates photo montage into her graphic design 21 by 19-1/2 inches. Poster O-473121. A near fine example, folded, as issued. This is an original World War II poster, not a reproduction.

[Washington, DC]: United States Office of Price Administration, 1943. Ephemera. Very good. During the Second World War, posters like this one hung in most of the grocery stores in the United States, but few of them have survived. A key homefront concern of the federal government was runaway inflation, which had posed a significant economic problem during World War One. In addition to rationing, the federal government implemented price controls for projects in high demand and short supply. Stores were not supposed to charge more than the posted price and there was a corresponding campaign to convince shoppers not to pay more. This poster is likely from Richmond, Virginia (rather than the eponymous city in California). It covers meat, dairy products, and many name brands of groceries. 32 by 24 inches. A very good copy, with light chipping to the edges and some minor splits to the folds. SHIPS FOLDED. This is an original World War II poster, not a reproduction.

Mexico: Imprenta Universitaria, 1959. First Edition. Trade paperback. Very good. The noted Central American writer's first book, a collection of short stories. Monterroso (a Honduras native but a Guatemalan citizen who lived in exile in Mexico) is known for his humorous stories. This collection presages his literary career with its comic title, which translates as "Complete works (and other stories)". Obras completas calls to mind modern ironic titles published decades later like Dave Eggers' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and Jincy Willett's Winner of the National Book Award. 135 pages. First edition (first printing). Very good in printed wrappers (paperback).

Valletta, Malta: Malta Library Association, 1973. First Edition. Pamphlet. Very good. Once of the scarcest of Burgess's books, a chapbook printing of his lecture to the Malta Library Association in June 1970. The text is based on a transcription of a tape recording, corrected by the author. Burgess and his wife moved to Malta in 1968; the Maltese government confiscated and burned 47 of the Burgesses' books on the grounds they were obscene. Burgess protested and gave this speech exploring the ideas of obscenity and pornography. In response to giving this lecture, Malta confiscated the Burgesses' house. The text of this talk was not published again until 2018. In a review of that edition in the Guardian, Louise Rhind-Tutt, wrote, "Obscenity & the Arts is based around tumultuous events 50 years ago that still resound around the world today. Raising questions about pornography, censorship and freedom of speech, it's a timely work by one of Britain's most internationally acclaimed authors." 9-1/4 by… Read More

Baltimore, MD: Cemetery Dance, 2010. First Edition. Trade paperback. Fine. An advance copy, issued prior to the first edition, of this collection of horror stories. Illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne. 492 pages. A fine copy in decorated wrappers (paperback).

Madrid: Insula, 1949. Second Edition. Trade paperback. Near fine. An expanded and re-organized edition of this autobiographical prose poems, first published in London in 1942, while the Spanish poet was in exile because of the civil war going on in his native Spain. A classic of mid-20th century Spanish poetry. Published in an edition of 500 copies. Second edition (first edition published in Spain). Covers a bit soiled, but otherwise near fine in the original printed wrappers; this copy not numbered. With the ownership stamp of Miguel Gonzalez-Gerth on the inside of the front cover.

New York: Viking, 1997. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. A picture book about a little girl and a rescue octopus. The basis of the TV series Willa's Wild Life. First edition (first printing with a numberline ending in 1). A fine copy in a fine dust jacket. Signed by Yaccarino on the dedication page, with a small drawing of a bird's head. Uncommon signed.

New York: Michael di Capua Books and Scholastic, 2010. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. A picture book by the author of The Phantom Tollbooth, illustrated by Feiffer. First edition (stated). A fine copy in a fine dust jacket. Signed on the front free endpaper by both Juster and Feiffer. Scarce signed by both.

New York: Michael di Capua Books and Scholastic, 2010. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. A picture book by the author of The Phantom Tollbooth, illustrated by Feiffer. First edition (stated). A fine copy in a fine dust jacket. Signed on the front free endpaper by both Juster and Feiffer. Scarce signed by both.

Praha [Prague]: V. Palásek a Frant. Kraus, 1935. A rare Czech poster, announcing a series of performances in Prague of Czech translations of poetry by the French Surrealists André Breton, Paul Eluard, and Benjamin Péret, with an announcement of a lecture by André Breton in Brno. The typographic poster was designed with empty space to add a pasted-on sheet, the example here promoting André Breton's lecture "What is Surrealism" in Brno on Thursday, April 4, [1935]. The poster design suggests that other lectures could be promoted by changing the paste-on copy (although this is just supposition on the part of your cataloguer). This poster is printed letterpress on thin brown paper measuring 18-3/4 by 12-7/16 inches with an 8-1/4 by 5-7/8-inch offset lithograph onlay. Breton, Eluard, and Péret visited Czechoslovakia for two weeks in 1935 at the invitation of Vitezslav Nezval, a founding member of the Czech Surrealists, who had met them in Paris two years earlier. Nezval interpreted Breton's… Read More

Reading, PA: Fantasy Press, 1947. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Near fine. A yymposium by Robert A. Heinlein, John Taine, Jack Williamson, A. E. Van Vogt, L. Sprague de Camp, Edward E. Smith, and John W. Campbell, Jr. Each author contributes a short essay on science fiction writing. First edition (stated). A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket.

[N.-pl. but San Francisco?]: Clifford Burke [Cranium Press], 1970. First Edition. Pamphlet. Fine. This is one of 50 signed and numbered copies of Maya Quarto 12 (last of the series). Letterpress printed on handmade paper. A lovely example of Bay Area fine press printing from the late 1960s and early 1970s in a series edited by David Meltzer and Jack Shoemaker. [12] pages. First edition (first printing). A fine copy in sewn wrappers. Signed and numbered by Corman on the colophon page.

Aurora, MO: POSTER Project, 1992. First Edition. Ephemera. Fine. The first three issues of Wilson's "journal about events posters & the arts of happenings." The newspapers are printed on white heavy newsprint and folded like tabloid magazines. The issues have drawings by Robert Crumb. The second issue is dedicated to Rick Griffin, the poster artist who had recently died. Roughly 17 by 23 inches. Volume I, numbers 1, 2, and 3. Fine copies.

Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1943. A homefront poster from the Second World War, issued as part of a government effort to eliminate the black market for gasoline. The poster, printed in red and blue on off-white paper, lists eight actions a gas station attendant must take to ensure that the customer's ration card is valid and used correctly. See the June 17, 1943, Chippewa Herald-Telegram for more details on the program. 14 by 20 inches. With old folds, as issued. Small split at center fold at the bottom of the poster. This is an original World War II poster, not a reproduction.

Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, 2011. 58 pages. 7-1/2 by 11-1/4 inches. An edition of 200 copies. Colección del San Juan. A collection of poems, photocopied on brown recycled paper, designed and illustrated by Manuel Darío. The cover is a paper collage, handcolored and embellished with thread. OCLC: BNCJM CWR ESAEC EYM FQG FXG HLS IND IQU IUL LRU NDD NOC NYP PAU UMK. A fine copy.

[Isaac Asimov?], 1980. Ephemera. Near fine. A single sheet reprinting lyrics to two songs about Sherlock Holmes written by Isaac Asimov to the tunes of Danny Boy and The Minstrel Boy. The first song begins, "Oh, Sherlock Holmes, the Baker Street Irregulars / Are Gathered here to honor you today" and the second concludes "And bless that clever design, / That gave the Baker Street Irregulars / Fully sixty tales, not fifty-nine." Asimov was the "Resident Genius" of the Baker Street Irregulars and in 1984 and 1985 he addressed the group and sang these songs. This song sheet was probably handed out at the BSI gathering in 1985. Judging from the pictures of the BSI dinners, perhaps 200 copies would have been printed. Photocopied on tan 8-1/2 by 11 inch paper. A very scarce Asimov publication. First printing (probably). Light creases to paper, else fine. This copy is inscribed by Asimov to the Sherlock Holmes collector and fellow Irregular, Gerald "Jerry" Wachs.

New York and Archer City, TX: Simon and Schuster and Three Dog Books, 2005. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. I wonder what Larry McMurtry's publisher thought when he told them he was writing a book about mass killings in the 19th century. In any case, this book describes massacres at the Sacramento River, Mountain Meadows, Sand Creek, Marias River, Camp Grant, and Wounded Knee, among others. "These massacres involved Americans killing Indians, but also Indians killing Americans, and, in the case of the hugely controversial Mountain Meadows Massacre in 1857, Mormons slaughtering a party of American settlers, including women and children." For all our current angst about mass shootings, modern Americans are nowhere near as good as mass murder as the pioneers. This is one of 75 numbered copies, signed by McMurtry, and issued by his local bookstore in an attractive slipcase. For a number of years, Three Dog Books put out these limited editions using the trade edition of the book to which they added… Read More

Baltimore, MD: Cemetery Dance, 2006. First Edition. Pamphlet. Fine. A chapbook with two stories, limited to 653 copies, signed by both authors. 24 and 20 pages. First edition (first printing). A fine copy in stapled wrappers (pamphlet). Signed by Hautala and Braunbeck.