Wednesday, May 7, 2008

1888 Theodore Roosevelt stories / Frederic Remington illustrations


Available is a two Volume Octavo Set of the Century Magazine including works by Theodore Roosevelt: "Ranch Life in the Far West" (33 Illustrated by Frederic Remington); "Frontier Types" (10 Illustrations by Frederic Remington); "Sherrif's Work on a Ranch" (11 Illustrations by Frederic Remington); and "The Ranchman's Rifle on Crag and Prairie" (10 Illustrations by Frederic Remington). Presented in matching RED leather volumes - very rare to come by!



Book Description:
New York: The Century Co; two volumes. Vol 35 (new series Vol 13) November 1887 - April 1888, 972 pages with index in front. Vol 36 (new series Vol 14) May - October 1888, 960 pages with index in front. Both bound in quarter red leather with red boards, four raised spine bands as well as gilt spine lettering, 8vo (9-3/4" tall x 6-1/2" wide). All edges speckled. The set presented here is in good condition, with conditions noted: some noticeable wear to the leather on both volumes, especially on corners, head and tail of spines and bumped / rubbed corners. The binding is very tight on each volume, with no off-setting of the engravings. Literally hundreds of illustrations, both named and un-named, including those by Remington (listed above), Joseph Pennell, George Gibson, including many others. Nice illustrated frontispiece of George Washington within Vol 35.

These two volumes also contain writings by Mark Twain ("Meisterschaft:In Three Acts"), Henry James ("Robert Louis Stevenson", "The Liar - In Two Parts"), Walt Whitman, John Burroughs ("Matthew Arnold's Criticism", "The Heart of the Southern Catskills") and General John C. Fremont, including numerous other authors. These volumes are difficult to keep together due to multiple authors and numerous collectors looking for the same books.

Background:
Roosevelt built a cattle ranch he named Elk Horn thirty five miles north of the boomtown, Medora, North Dakota. On the banks of the "Little Missouri," Roosevelt learned to ride, rope, and hunt. Roosevelt rebuilt his life after his wife and mother's deaths, and began writing about frontier life for Eastern magazines (SEE ABOVE LISTINGS!). As a deputy sheriff, Roosevelt hunted down three outlaws who stole his river boat and were escaping north with it up the Little Missouri River. Capturing them, he decided against hanging them and sending his foreman back by boat, he took the thieves back overland for trial in Dickinson, guarding them forty hours without sleep and reading Tolstoy to keep himself awake. When he ran out of his own books, he read a dime store western one of the thieves was carrying.

After the uniquely severe U.S. winter of 1886-1887 wiped out his herd of cattle and his $60,000 investment (together with those of his competitors), he returned to the East, where in 1885, he had built Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, New York. It would be his home and estate until his death. Roosevelt ran as the Republican candidate for mayor of New York City in 1886 as "The Cowboy of the Dakotas." He came in third. (Taken from Wikipedia).


To find out more about this title, or find out more about its value, go here.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

1933 Thomas Wolfe short story 1st printings



Available are two different issues of Scribner's magazine from 1933 containing first printings of his short stories:

June, 1933 Contains the short story, "Death - The Proud Brother". First appearance of this story; with illustrations. This story was published again in "From Death To Morning." Very good copy.
July, 1933 Contains the short story, "No Door". First appearance of this story. Complete issue. Also contains items by Herbert Reed - "The Davis Cup" (Tennis), William Lyon Phelps, and others.

Condition: Both within original paper wraps in good condition. Spine complete, clean and readable. Slightest creasing to front lower outer corner of cover. Slight staining caused from staple binding - staining seen in two spots on front and back covers near spine. Comes inside a crystal clear, acid-free mylar slip for long-term protection.

As I said in my last post, these first printing stories are collectible, yet not many of the typical collectors go after them - they take a special breed of book collector...I can only assume that once you start moving into collecting everything your favorite author published, the disease has consumed you. If that is the case, these magazines are reserved for you. They are here, merely to feed your habit. If you claim you are a "serious" Wolfe collector - and have not started to collect his short stories, then take my advice. Walk away. Do so before the addiction spreads. But the chase is fun, isn't it? To see the value, or find more about this and other collectible 1st printing magazines by Wolfe, go here.

1933 William Faulkner short story 1st printing



Available is a copy of a first appearance of the Faulkner short story, "There Was A Queen - A Story". The complete story was found in "Scribner's Magazine" Jan. 1933, pp.10-16.

Description:
New York: Scribner's Monthly Magazine, Volume 93, No. 1 January 1933. Original orange and black pictoral paper wraps. Complete issue. Also contains items by Vachel Lindsay, A. J. Villiers, Malcolm Cowley, Josephine Herbst, and others.
Condition: Original paper wraps in good condition. Spine readable, with slight chipping at head and tail of spine. Slight stain on front and back cover from staples, near spine. Full covers are detached from binding, but tight and clean. Writing on front cover, "P.54" near the "S" in Scribner'(s). Comes inside a crystal clear, acid-free mylar slip for long-term protection.

These first printing stories are collectible, yet not many of the typical collectors go after them - they take a special breed of book collector...as many authors publish short stories or other submissions in obscure or short-run publications. Not the case in this example - Faulkner had already wrote Soldiers Pay, Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, and Light in August by the time this was written. Faulkner started out in short stories, and must have enjoyed them, as he had published around 47 shorts prior to "Queen". The other reason why only a special breed of collector go after the magazine published shorts is generally it takes a large amount of time to scan through seller's stock to find the "jewels" they don't know they have. This would be the only "affordable" way to fund your short story collection, as there are so many. Usually the individual monthly publication, as in this case, still in its original paper wraps, are not in the best condition, hardly enough to be deemed "collectible".

Not so in this case. The fragile paper wraps are in good condition, except for the flaw of the entire cover detaching from the magazine, due to the weak staples employed by Scribner's in the 1920's - 1930's. Typical flaw, but in its crystal-clear acid free slip, one cannot tell. As is the reason why it is reasonably priced. To see the value, or find more about this and other collectible 1st printing magazines, go here.