Rare books from James M. Dourgarian, Bookman

NY, Viking, 1939, first edition, first printing, dust jacket. Hardcover.. No book is more identified with John Steinbeck than this masterpiece which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and which was the source for the film version directed by John Ford that starred Henry Fonda as Tom Joad and which won Jane Darwell an Academy Award for her portrayal of Ma Joad, the book was also the source for the Tony Award-winning Broadway play, one of the true high spots of 20th Century literature, jacket designed by Elmer Hader, this is an incredibly scarce Review Copy with review slip from Viking, this is the only review copy seen by this bookseller in more than 50+ years of being involved in all things Steinbeck, see Goldstone & Payne A12a, see Morrow 107. Fine in a jacket with a couple of small tape ghosts from where the review slip was previously affixed, jacket is otherwise clean, bright, and fine.

NY, Robert M. McBride, 1929, first edition, dust jacket. Hardcover.. Author's First Book, first issue with top edge stained and with the final black leaf present, with the rare colorful pirate dust jacket illustrated by Mahlon Blaine, one of only 1,537 copies, published when Steinbeck was 27 years old and just two weeks before the 1929 stock market crash, a historical novel about the pirate Henry Morgan rendered in a purple prose manner quite unlike his realistic descriptive storytelling that followed, Goldstone & Payne A1a, Morrow 1. Very good book in a jacket with the usual spine color fade with chipping to top and bottom of spine, jacket with internal tape reinforcement.

London, Heinemann, 1939, first British edition, first printing, dust jacket. Hardcover.. With the very scarce wrap-around band noting this was a Book Society Fiction Choice, this copy with a small slip affixed to the title page that is Inscribed by John Steinbeck ("For L. Downing/John Steinbeck"), Goldstone & Payne A12b, Morrow 108. Near fine.

n.p., 20th Century-Fox, 1940, first edition.. A complete set of 11X14-inch color lobby card posters for the original release of this classic story and classic film which was directed by the famed John Ford and which starred Henra Fonda as Tom Joad, Jane Darwell as Ma Joad, and John Carradine as Casy, the set also includes its original printed housing envelope which is probably even more scarce than the posters, the fragile housing envelope is plain brown and is printed with the film title, Steinbeck's name, Fonda's name, etc. none of these posters were in the Adrian H. Goldstone collection, but see Goldstone & Payne E6, not recorded by Morrow, extremely scarce, especially as a complete set and with the housing envelope. While there are pin holes in some corners from theatre mounting, as usual, these posters are uniformly clean, bright, and fine.

NY, Viking, 1962, first edition, wrappers. Softcover.. Frontispiece photo portrait of Steinbeck, one of 3,200 copies printed, Goldstone & Payne A40a, Morrow 269, this copy Inscribed by Steinbeck on the title page ("For Lou Robinson/with pleasure,/John Steinbeck"), very scarce thus. Fine.

NY, Marguerite and Louis Henry Cohn, 1947, first edition, wrappers. Softcover.. First and only edition, No. 7 of only 60 copies printed by Ward Ritchie, with its original white paper envelope which is also No. 7, the first 10 copies went to Steinbeck with the remainder going to the Cohns (House of Books) for Christmas gift presentation, this elusive "A" item is a letter from Steinbeck to Arnold Gingrich, editor of "Esquire," thanking him for sending a watch as a gift, the letter is full of Steinbeck's typical humor noting that he had expected a watch when he graduated from high school, but none was forthcoming, and since he didn't actually graduate from Stanford University he likewise hadn't received a watch as a gift, Goldstone & Payne A26a, Morrow 199 and 200. Fine.

n.p. (NY), n.p. (The Viking Press), n.d. (1944), first edition, wrappers. Softcover.. Advance copy, an uncorrected galley proof, bound in plain, unprinted tannish wrappers, printed on rectos only, a very scarce advanced state of this minor, or not so minor, Steinbeck masterpiece whose themes of death and loneliness are masked by its surface layer of humor, all the more rare in that this is an Author Presentation Copy, Inscribed by Steinbeck to the best man at his second marriage, Howard O. Hunter, who was the Works Progress Administration (WPA) commissioner in the early 1940s under the FDR administration, Steinbeck and his second wife, Gwen Conger, were married March 29, 1943, just 11 days after receiving his final divorce decree from his first wife, Carol, Steinbeck has Inscribed the first preliminary as follows, "For Howard/who really/belongs in/Cannery Row/John Steinbeck/last night in New York 1944," this galley lacks all the preliminaries found in the 1945 published version such as half titles,… Read More

NY, Robert O. Ballou, 1933, first edition, dust jacket. Hardcover.. First issue of his third book, one of only 598 copies actually bound and sold, Goldstone & Payne A3a, Morrow 22, endpapers, title page vignette, and dust jacket illustrated by Mahlon Blaine, this book is Steinbeck at his most powerful and his most mystical. Black top edge stain still very black, book cloth somewhat mottled, jacket with one short tear, this is a very pleasing and attractive copy of a very scarce book.

NY, Covici Friede, 1935, first edition, first printing, dust jacket. Hardcover.. His breakthrough novel that follows the antics of Monterey's paisanos, this surface story is an allegory based on the Knights of the Round Table, this is an unrecorded Review Copy with the Covici Friede review slip tipped to the front free endpaper which prints the publication date as May 28, 1935 and shows the published price as $2.50, very scarce thus, the trade edition was comprised of 4,000 copies, illustrated by Ruth Gannett, see Goldstone & Payne A4b, see Morrow 29, although not specifically indicated, this was M. B. Goldstone's copy, he was the brother and rival collector of Adrian Goldstone upon whose collection the Steinbeck bibliography is based. Very good.

Salt Lake City, University of Utah, n.d. (1935), first edition, wrappers. Softcover.. Author's First Book, a legendary rarity, the text is followed by a bibliography of Dutton's writing, the text is a condensation of Stegner's thesis at the State University of Iowa in 1935 (that titled Clarence Edward Dutton, Geologist and Man of Letters), Colberg A1, Colberg indicates two copies found - one belonging to Stegner and one at the Library of Congress, Stegner himself indicated to this bookseller that he owned three copies, one of which went to a noted Stegner collector, one of which his widow, Mary, retained for the family, and one that she gave to a Bay Area bookseller well-associated with the Stegners, Sylvia Asendorf, to whom Mrs. Stegner Inscribed this copy ("Sylvia, thank you for all/your help./Fondly/Mary Stegner"). Minor age to wrappers and two small paper scrapes to rear wrapper, else fine.

NY, Harper & Row, 1986, first edition, first printing, dust jacket. Hardcover.. Signed by Hillerman, a Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee (their first pairing) mystery set in Shiprock and the nearby Navajo reservation, Hieb bibliography A9a, this copy with 22 original drawings by Navajo artist Ernest Franklin, 19 of which are in color, very scarce thus, with slipcase. Fine.

NY, Harper & Row, 1970, first edition, first printing.. This is the ultimate copy of Author's First Book, it is an Inscribed Presentation/Association Copy of the highest order, inscribed by Hillerman to Navajo artist Ernest Franklin who went on to create a cottage industry wherein he illustrated many of Hillerman's titles in an after-market situation where individuals brought him copies of Hillerman's books for Franklin to illustrate, the vast majority of such books include just one illustration by Franklin, this one has 30 (!) illustrations by Franklin in addition to Hillerman's doubly signed inscription ("with my thanks to/Ernie Franklin/for showing me/what Leaphorn/looks like/TH"), the inscription is on the title page, Hillerman has additionally signed his full name under his printed signature on the title page, Joe Leaphorn is the Navajo tribal policeman created by Hillerman with this book (and who appears in many of his subsequent books) who solves the mysteries that Hillerman created, there is… Read More

NY, Harper & Row, 1982, first edition, first printing, dust jacket. Hardcover.. His second Jim Chee mystery, this one set in the eastern Hopi and adjacent Navajo reservations, this copy Signed by Hillerman, Hieb bibliography A7a, Hillerman thought this was his best plot, this copy includes a phenomenal 23 original color illustrations by Navajo artist Ernest Franklin depicting many plot elements and at least two of Jim Chee, very scarce thus, with slipcase. Faint erasure of pencil notation on the front free endpaper, else fine.

NY, Brewer, Warren & Putnam, 1932, first edition, dust jacket. Hardcover.. With a first issue dust jacket, his second book, Goldstone & Payne A2a, Morrow 14, this first edition is one of only 1,650 copies actually bound (from a print-run of 2,500 sets of sheets), only a paltry 650 copies were actually sold, this was his first book with what could be called the Steinbeck "sound," the book is comprised of inter-related stories set in a valley that came to represent Steinbeck Country, in these stories something is not quite right with the inhabitants of this otherwise peaceful valley, according to Harry Thornton Moore in his first critical study of Steinbeck's works, The Pastures of Heaven "is the most popular of Steinbeck's three early books. It points the way to most of his subsequent writing," this example of a short story cycle may well be Steinbeck's finest work, scarce when found with the correct dust jacket, those jackets that are noted as 2 mm shorter than the book are second issue jackets.… Read More

n.p., J. Wilson McKenney, 1959, first edition.. A broadside that excerpts an article on teachers originally written for and published by the "CTA Journal" in November 1955, this is one of the great Steinbeck rarities, so rare that it is virtually unknown, it is one of only 12 copies hand-set and printed by McKenney, so stated, McKenney was the printer for the "CTA (California Teachers Association) Journal" as well as the magazine's editor, he had also been a book publisher via his Wilmac Press, he was able to gain approval of his printing this broadside only after agreement between himself, Steinbeck, and his agents that the print-run would be small enough so as to be not commercially viable, the broadside measures c.10X14 inches, the text is about the three teachers who were most important in Steinbeck's life, he specifically mentions Ed Ricketts, by number this would be the second rarest Steinbeck collectible, it is so rare that no Steinbeck collection, public or private, is known to have a copy,… Read More