Rare books from Uncommon Sense

New York: Putnam, 1966. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good/good. Heinlein's fourth and last Hugo winner. A reasonable copy: jacket rubbed, missing a small portion near the spine affecting the T in "The". Gold printing on spine somewhat tarnished. Book looks used, Jacket is unclipped, with $5.95 price. List of titles facing the title page has "Rocket Ship Galileo" written on the side in ink -- apparently this title was left off the list of titles by Heinlein. An acceptable copy of a book that is seldom offered. Not ex-lib. tsw

Sauk City WI: Arkham House, 1957. First edition. Howard's first collection of poetry. Like Kipling, Howard was a first-rate doggerelist, an uncommon skill (many people do it badly). This is one of the 536 copies that has the title running up the spine of the book, rather than down, making it the first state. There were only 100 of the second state. A difficult book to find in either state. Jacket shows the usual rubbing on the back panel (perhaps a bit more than other copies) -- printing heavy black on a coated white stock and then stacking copies next to each other is a recipe for making copies appear rubbed. Slight edgewear on jacket, slight bumping on spine, gold printing on spine a bit toned -- still, quite a nice copy of a desirable book with one of the smaller print runs from this desirable press. If you can find a better copy cheaper, buy it! TW

London: Macmillan, 1977. First edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/fine. A very nice copy of the first Brother Cadfael novel. In this book Edith Pargeter combined her excellent historical novel abilities with her nom-de-plume Ellis Peters' well-constructed mysteries and started the boom in historical mysteries that continues to this day. There are many earlier examples of the form, but this is where it takes off and becomes a major publishing category. Historically important, well written, and a scarce book to find in nice condition. This copy has a previous owner's minuscule inscription on the front free endpaper (signature and date of 10 Dec 77, and the cryptic notation "F.E." indicating it was purchased through British bookseller Francis Edwards Ltd.), and very slight bumping to the spine, both head and tail, creasing the jacket slightly. The jacket is unclipped, and the book was not read more than once or twice. A nice copy of a cornerstone volume. Any photo attached to my listings are of the actual… Read More

A solid copy of this edition of reprints of 12 plates by McBey, who was one of the more influential figures of the rise of etchings in the early 20th Century. The pages on this copy are moderately foxed; foxing does not affect the rectos of the tipped-in plates, though a few have slightly visible stains on the versos.
Taped to the front free endpaper is a typed letter, signed, from McBey to Roi Partridge at Mills College from 1941 talking about a meeting while McBey was visiting the San Francisco area. Laid in are also three handwritten letters from McBey's wife Marguerite to Partridge and his wife (his third wife, May Ellen Fisher) from 1941 and 1943, talking about photography, their visits, and potential future visits. Also included is a four-page prospectus for the Minton, Balch edition of The Etchings of James McBey by Malcolm C. Salaman, including list prices for the book in both its trade and limited editons, with three reproductions of McBey etchings. The prospectus shows serious edge-wear,… Read More

One of seventy-five copies of the limited edition of this collection of etchings by Kinney, with an original etching of Ruth St. Denis. Book is as new, but the box in which it is contained is missing a small portion of the edge (visible in the picture). Included with the volume are three extra unsigned engravings by Kinney: his New Year cards for 1934, 1935, and 1938. All are whimsical fantasy scenes of dancer-like elves. Many engravers of the period produced such cards, and they are significantly less frequently offered than their major works. This is copy 55 of 75 copies, with uncut pages and the original glassine wrapper. The original etching is laid into a folding paper case that is bound into the book. The limited edition is scarce, and the extra cards are scarcer.

First English translation, from the Victorian era, of what is probably the best known classical Chinese novel. An exceedingly scarce book: this copy is complete, though the paper cover is barely holding on and the spine is quite bare. This is volume 1 of a two-volume set. I wish I had the second volume! Page 379 is an errata sheet, which features three hand-corrections in pen: I am told that all copies appear to have these corrections. Front cover missing a few pieces and somewhat discolored; edges somewhat worn, spine in only fair condition, but the body is overall quite clean and free of markings. Further pictures available on request.Not available for overseas shipping without prior arrangement. Actual cost of shipping is likely to be around $250 outside the US via a secure shipper.

Last published of the Virgin series of Doctor Who New Adventures -- number 56 of 61 by internal chronology. Virgin continued with New Adventures featuring Bernice Summerfield, but this one includes The Doctor. Quite scarce at this point. This is a clean copy, no internal markings, slight corner bumping, not ex-lib. Feel free to ask for further pictures or description.

Gregg Press first hardcover edition (first printing stated) of this oddity by Niven and Pournelle. If you want the book, you already know about it. However, what makes this copy special is that it is a genuine presentation copy: a present from Larry Niven to Bill Rotsler on Rotsler's 57th birthday, and so inscribed. Very slight bumping on the spine, else an apparently unread copy. Rotsler and Niven were friends through the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society (LASFS) and LASFS gave away Rotsler's books at a convention after he died. This contains the LASFS bookmark from that give-away. I could include a photo, but all these Gregg Press books look alike!

One of the truly great coming-of-age stories, and a difficult book to find in the first edition (so stated on verso of title page; no later printings listed). This copy is signed by Alexander on the half-title. The book has some foxing on the top edge, and two small ink marks on the bottom of the page block (probably from a used bookstore, possibly from remaindering). The jacket has small closed tears on the edges, and one major flaw: someone removed, quite sloppily, a sticker (Caldecott honor sticker, I'm guessing) from the upper right front cover. More photos available on request.

A nice copy in a price-clipped jacket with minor wear at the spine. Inscribed by Ley to Nathan Weinberg, dated Sept 1 1949 (book publication is listed as Sept 1949 on verso of title page). No mention of later printings, as was standard for Viking first printings of this period. Tissue inserts present protecting the color endpaper illustrations. Jacket in mylar protector. Very uncommon signed, particularly in the month of publication.

Signed on title page by author with generic inscription ("Cheers!) and a small doodle. A nice clean copy, showing having been read a couple of times by a careful reader. New Adventures 71, featuring Bernice Summerfield but not The Doctor, as Virgin has lost the license. Uncommon.

The Outward Bound edition.: two volumes As nice a pair of copies as one is likely to see, in the original glassine protective wrappers (no printing on them; some small closed tears, one long closed tear on rear of one volume). Top edges gilt (dusty); original tissue guards present at frontispiece. No markings inside. Clean, bright, tight copies.

Collins White Circle Pocket Edition #228. Great 1940s cover! Colonel Anthony Gethryn must prove a man innocent of a murder he's been convicted for in only 5 days. MacDonald was a great practitioner of the mystery-suspense genre; his books remain readable, even if his characters are nowhere near as enlightened as we tend to be today. Please read this volume in its historical context. A very clean copy, spine slightly darkened with very faint reading crease: see photos.

Limited signed edition of this horror anthology, signed by all contributors on 3 sheets in the beginning: copy 308 of 500 noted on the third sheet. This copy lacks the slipcase, but has the dustjacket near fine with slight jacket wear on the edges. Priced accordingly -- an excellet way to get the signatures of many of the greats of the horror boom of the late 20th century.

Advance uncorrected proof (frequently referred to as an ARC, advance reading copy, and several other names) of this important YA novel. These are sent to reviewers and bookstores to try to drum up support for a new title, and usually include publication information that is not otherwise available -- date of publication, audience demographics and the like. The number of copies printed is smaller than the number of first edition copies. They are rarely seen signed, and are frequently not kept in very good condition. This is an excellent copy of this early state of a very sought-after book, inscribed to a known SF/Fantasy bookseller -- if you like, I'll include a provenance note about where it came from and how it got signed. Shipping outside the USA will be much more expensive than Biblio allows for; please enquire before ordering if you live outside the USA.