Vidal, Gore
Hollywood: A Novel Of America In The 1920s

Imprint: New York City, NY, Random House, 1990
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. As New in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 436 pages. The sixth volume in the author's cycle on American history. Limited Slipcased Edition of 200 numbered and signed copies. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. The Limited Edition is now scarce. Like three other titles in the cycle ("Lincoln", "1876", "Empire"), Random House issued a Limited Edition for the novel. All of them are the most beautiful (and therefore most collectible) editions. An austerely elegant production by Random House: Regular-sized volume format. Black cloth boards with gilt titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Text by Gore Vidal. Red hard board slipcase. In publisher's original shrinkwrap. Without DJ, as issued. Presents Gore Vidal's "Hollywood: A Novel of America In The 1920's". Part of a grand vision of American history "from above", a multi-volume project that took the better part of forty years. The preceding novels, in historical order, are: "Burr", "Lincoln", "1876", "Empire", and "Washington, DC". The final volume is "The Golden Age", ironically and lovingly titled at the same time because, for Vidal, the first decade after the Second World War represents America at its peak: The most advanced, most prosperous, and most important (not just most powerful) nation in the world. Vidal's unblinking and penetrating vision throughout the entire cycle is the transformation of his beloved country from a struggling, proud, and independent Republic to a world power and out-of-control Empire. "Vidal's historical imagination is so powerful as to compel awe" (Harold Bloom). Most of his admirers deem the essays to be Vidal's greatest achievement because they are indeed so arresting, seductive, and inimitable. As always, Bloom's wisdom puts matters in perspective: The historical novels (and their contrapuntal inversion, Vidal's hyper-novel "inventions") will take their rightful place in his oeuvre. Gore Vidal died on July 31, 2012 at the age of 86, the last of the great American public intellectual/writers of our time. We live in the Age of Mediocrity, where (nearly) everyone is a critic/blogger/pundit mouthing timid, politically correct opinions. Pundits are retail thinkers, that is, they are not real thinkers. Someday, we will realize what we have irretrievably lost. An absolute "must-have" edition for Gore Vidal collectors. This copy is one of the Limited Slipcased Edition of 200 numbered and signed copies, indicated/numbered as such on the Front Limitation Page. It is very prominently and beautifully signed in blue ink-pen by Gore Vidal. This title is a great book. This is one of few copies of the Limited Slipcased Edition still available online, is still in the publisher's original shrinkwrap, and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Like three other titles in the cycle ("Lincoln", "1876", "Empire"), Random House issued a Limited Edition for "Hollywood". Among the bewildering number of choices available online, all of them are surely the most desirable editions. The full number line that includes the Number 2 (instead of the Number 1) with the "First Edition" statement were the Random House "true first" indications at the time of the book's publication. Copies available online have serious flaws, are in subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. Recipient of the National Book Award's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 for "Distinguished Contribution to American Letters". One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER GORE VIDAL TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0394576594.

Stock number: 12363. ISBN: 0394576594

$US 250.00

Vidal, Gore
Inventing A Nation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson

Imprint: New Haven, CT, Yale University Press, 2003
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback , With Dust Jacket
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 198 pages. The author's book-length account on subject. One of the most important literary and historical texts of our time. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly the Softcover Edition. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only by a University Press. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Gore Vidal's "Inventing A Nation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson". The inaugural title in Yale University Press' landmark "American Icons" Series. It is riveting in its portrait of the new nation called the United States of America, which was inevitably a very messy experiment, constantly on the verge of falling apart altogether even before it could get off the ground (whereas previous European republics lasted for hundreds of years through autocratic means before finally collapsing). Vidal recounts the alliances, rivalries, egos, ambitions, and realities faced by the men who became the first three American presidents. "Much of Vidal's contempt for contemporary America originates in his admiration for how the Founding Fathers saw human nature. The Founders were not hypocrites disclaiming interest in power. They made an honest attempt in the Constitution to restrain what they saw as human beings' inevitable appetite for ambition and avarice" (Gilbert Taylor). With his cycle of novels on its history, Gore Vidal demonstrated that he is America's preeminent literary historian. He has had a lifelong parallel career as essayist/political commentator and his work, collected as "United States: Essays 1952-1992", won the National Book Award. In those luminous pieces as well as in this book, Vidal has one consistent, insistent theme: Humanity (our fallibility) and nobility (the ability to transcend our fallibility) always go hand in hand. Contrary to popular belief, Vidal was not an ideologue at all. Like other independent minds, he had little use for ideology, whether of the Left or the Right. Ideology is politics as dogma, orthodoxy, and received wisdom, the religion of our secular age. It is a poor substitute for thinking and a genuine worldview: Not Hegelian idealism, but instead an understanding of life that is grounded in reality, things as they really are, and at the same time, a vision of what they can and ought to be. Gore Vidal died on July 31, 2012 at the age of 86, the last of the great American public intellectual/writers of our time. We live in the Age of Mediocrity, where (nearly) everyone is a critic/blogger/pundit mouthing timid, politically correct opinions. Pundits are retail thinkers, that is, they are not real thinkers. Someday, we will realize what we have irretrievably lost. An absolute "must-have" title for Gore Vidal collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Gore Vidal. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. Recipient of the National Book Award's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 for "Distinguished Contribution to American Letters". One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER GORE VIDAL TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0300101716.

Stock number: 20692. ISBN: 0300101716

$US 150.00

Vidal, Gore
Screening History

Imprint: Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1992
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback , With Dust Jacket
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 96 pages. Collection of essays on subject. One of the best books on film ever written in our time. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly the British Edition, which looks exactly like it. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only by a University Press. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Gore Vidal's "Screening History". Essays that discuss the influence of the movies on American history and vice versa, with unexpected, Vidalian results. This is film criticism-as-autobiography, autobiography-as-film criticism, in the unique, seamless way that only Gore Vidal (and no other regular film critic) could possibly pull off. "Uses the movies of his youth as the key to an examination of his past. Young Gore's first confrontation with the reality of death occurred in his viewing of a poignant scene from 'The Prince and the Pauper' (1937). He is aware that films and other images from the media can be used to manipulate or define an event for its audience, and he realizes that the image often becomes the reality of that event" (Library Journal). Characterized by wit, insight, and penetrating brilliance, this is a nostalgic valentine to the movies from America's greatest man-of-letters, who was once a Hollywood screenwriter himself, "Ben-Hur" being the most celebrated, "Caligula" being the most controversial, very publicly disowned by him. Vidal's unsurpassed genius as an aphorist makes him our Montaigne, the greatest essayist America has ever produced. It also leads us to take his effortless one-liners at face value when the whole point of the aphorism is to read between the lines. "A narcissist is anyone better-looking than you" (Gore Vidal). Gore Vidal died on July 31, 2012 at the age of 86, the last of the great American public intellectual/writers of our time. We live in the Age of Mediocrity, where (nearly) everyone is a critic/blogger/pundit mouthing timid, politically correct opinions. Pundits are retail thinkers, that is, they are not real thinkers. Someday, we will realize what we have irretrievably lost. An absolute "must-have" title for Gore Vidal collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black pen-marker on the title page by Gore Vidal. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. Recipient of the National Book Award's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 for "Distinguished Contribution to American Letters". One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER GORE VIDAL TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0674795865.

Stock number: 20690. ISBN: 0674795865

$US 150.00

Vidal, Gore
The Smithsonian Institution

Imprint: New York City, NY, Random House, 1998
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback , With Dust Jacket
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 260 pages. The author's romance novel. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Gore Vidal's "The Smithsonian Institution". A career-twilight novel, a romance with a quintessentially Vidalian anti-Establishment twist. An acerbic look at American politics combined with a classic romance, as the self-consciously "modern-romance novel" DJ design exploits and alludes to. Filled with intrigue as well as vivid yet lyrical descriptions of erotic encounters that will put to shame the most unabashed erotica writers. Gore Vidal died on July 31, 2012 at the age of 86, the last of the great American public intellectual/writers of our time. We live in the Age of Mediocrity, where (nearly) everyone is a critic/blogger/pundit mouthing timid, politically correct opinions. Pundits are retail thinkers, that is, they are not real thinkers. Someday, we will realize what we have irretrievably lost. An absolute "must-have" title for Gore Vidal collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Gore Vidal. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page, as copies available online are. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Gore Vidal stopped touring in the late-1990's and lived in Italy for several decades, making signed copies of his books, especially the later ones, scarce. The full number line that includes the Number 2 (instead of the Number 1) with the "First Edition" statement were the Random House "true first" indications at the time of the book's publication. Copies available online have serious flaws, are in subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. Recipient of the National Book Award's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 for "Distinguished Contribution to American Letters". One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER GORE VIDAL TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0375501215.

Stock number: 13175. ISBN: 0375501215

$US 30.00

Vidal, Gore (Author); Gill, Tore (Photographer) & Scorer, Mischa (Film Director)
Vidal In Venice

Imprint: New York City, NY, Summit Books, 1985
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback , With Dust Jacket
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 160 pages. Book-length account on subject. One of Gore Vidal's finest achievements. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only simultaneously with the British Edition. The First Edition is now scarce. A sumptuous production by George Armstrong: Oversize-volume format. Brown cloth boards with gilt titles embossed on spine, as issued. Text by Gore Vidal. Photographs by Tore Gill. Edited by George Armstrong. Accompanying original VHS tapes of the film version-adaptations, "Vidal In Venice: Part One" and "Vidal In Venice: Part Two", narrated by Gore Vidal and beautifully filmed by Mischa Scorer, both in pristine, un-used condition. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper in Venice, Italy to the highest standards. In pictorial DJ with titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Presents Gore Vidal's "Vidal In Venice". The great writer's homage-tour-guide to the Old World's only surviving city. If the ruins of Athens and Rome be our link to the Age of Antiquity, Venice largely remains as it once was, "the world's most romantic city", albeit submerged in fetid waters. "Gore Vidal traces his roots back to Venice. He takes you along as he peers into Venice's mysterious, glorious, and twisted history. In this very personal tour of Venice Past and Present, Vidal guides you in his own special way, telling you as much about the Venetian people as he does about their empire, including visits to Crete and Naxos, Venetian strongholds of the past. The celebrated writer, who traces his ancestors to the imperial Venetians centuries ago, is an excellent guide: The art treasures, the sumptuous palaces, the literary past, the scandals of yesterday, and the tourist-y Venice of today all find their place in Vidal's chronicle as he wanders from the canals to the Doge's Palace. This is Venice as only Vidal's eyes could see it" (Publisher's blurb). An absolute "must-have" title for Gore Vidal collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black pen on the title page by Gore Vidal. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. It comes with the original VHS tapes of the film version-adaptations, "Vidal In Venice: Part One" and "Vidal In Venice: Part Two", narrated by Gore Vidal and beautifully filmed by Mischa Scorer, both in pristine, un-used condition. This title is a great book. As far as we know, this is the only such signed copy with original tapes of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (American) available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, pristine beauties. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare set thus. Recipient of the National Book Award's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 for "Distinguished Contribution to American Letters". One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine collectible set. (SEE ALSO OTHER GORE VIDAL TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0671606913.

Stock number: 20705. ISBN: 0671606913

$US 200.00

Vogt, Lars (Pianist) & The Editors of Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)
Lars Vogt: Bach: The Goldberg Variations

Imprint: Helsinki, Finland, Ondine Record Label, 2017
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. As New in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 1 pages. Rare Lars Vogt collectible set. A pristine copy of the Compact Disc (CD) recording of Bach's "Goldberg Variations" with a pristine copy of the Souvenir Program of his Chicago recital on January 27, 2019, both signed by Lars Vogt. The first and only release on CD. Presents "Bach: The Goldberg Variations". One of the definitive performances of Johann Sebastian Bach's marathon masterpiece. Among his last works, it is a "summing-up" of everything he knew, mastered, and surpassed about the High Baroque canonical style. The "Goldberg Variations" consists of thirty variations on the spare bass line of the opening Aria (instead of the Aria's melody). Vogt performs all the variations and all of the repeats indicated by Bach, resulting in a recording that lasts 76 minutes and 38 seconds. It is nothing less than a staggering, Olympic-level feat that he re-created "live" for his last-minute Chicago recital (in addition to a selection of Brahms pieces as "warm-up"). An absolute "must-have" collectible, not just memorabilia, item for Lars Vogt collectors. This copy of the Compact Disc (CD) of "Goldberg Variations" is very prominently and beautifully signed in black pen-marker in front by Lars Vogt. It is signed directly on the CD Cover itself, as was his preference. It comes with a pristine copy of the Souvenir Program of his Chicago January 27, 2019 recital, during which event he performed the "Goldberg Variations" in its near-77-minute entirety, and during which his signature was obtained, also very prominently and beautifully signed in black pen-marker by Vogt. This title is a great CD recording. As far as we know, this is the only such signed copy of this historic recording (with signed Souvenir Program) available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, pristine beauties. A rare signed set thus. One of the greatest pianists of our time. A fine set. (SEE ALSO LEIF OVE ANDSNES, MAURIZIO POLLINI, ARCADI VOLODOS, EVGENY KISSIN, LANG LANG, YUNDI, JON NAKAMATSU, AND JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET TITLES IN OUR CATALOG).

Stock number: 22181.

$US 50.00

Volodos, Arcadi & The Editors of The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)
Arcadi Volodos Chicago Symphony Center 2000/2001 Solo Recital

Imprint: Chicago, IL, Performance Media, 2000
Edition: First Edition
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. Unpaginated. Rare Arcadi Volodos collectible item. A pristine copy of the Souvenir Program of Arcadi Volodos' Chicago Symphony Center 2000/2001 solo recital, signed by Arcadi Volodos. Pictorial softcovers, as issued. Without DJ, as issued. A rare signature by the great pianist, obtained on the occasion of the complete performance of Russian and piano transcriptions by Arcadi Volodos of great songs, marches, and symphonic music. A great memento/souvenir of a magnificent marathon performance of some of the most challenging, most beautiful, and most important pieces in the virtuoso piano repertoire. An absolute "must-have" collectible, not just memorabilia, item for Arcadi Volodos collectors. This copy of the Souvenir Program is very prominently and beautifully signed in black pen-marker on the Program Schedule page by Arcadi Volodos. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. As far as we know, this is the only such signed copy of this historic program available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Arcadi Volodos seldom does public signings, and when he does, limits what he is willing to sign to one piece per person, making signed materials scarce. A rare signed copy thus. One of the greatest pianists of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO LEIF OVE ANDSNES, MAURIZIO POLLINI, EVGENY KISSIN, LANG LANG, YUNDI, JON NAKAMATSU, JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET, AND LARS VOGT TITLES IN OUR CATALOG).

Stock number: 5525.

$US 20.00

Waldman, Ayelet
Daughter's Keeper

Imprint: Naperville, IL, Sourcebooks, Inc., 2003
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback , With Dust Jacket
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 335 pages. The author's debut novel. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with the Softcover Edition. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Ayelet Waldman's "Daughter's Keeper". Her first serious novel. After the considerable success of her Mommy-Track Mystery Series, Waldman writes a real, powerful novel that tackles economics, the law, social mores, and how human beings' natural tendencies interact with and counteract one another. "Waldman's passion and affection for her characters shines through" (Publishers Weekly). An absolute "must-have" title for Ayelet Waldman collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Ayelet Waldman. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is now collectible. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce signed copy thus. One of the most brilliant American writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER AYELETE WALDMAN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 140220096X.

Stock number: 10061. ISBN: 140220096X

$US 30.00

Wallace, David Foster
This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered On A Significant Occasion, About Living A Compassionate Life

Imprint: New York City, NY, Little, Brown And Company, 2009
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback , With Dust Jacket

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 140 pages. The author's Commencement Address. Now considered a contemporary classic. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only that sold out shortly after publication. The First Edition is now rare. Presents David Foster Wallace's "This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered On A Significant Occasion, About Living A Compassionate Life". His moral philosophy, originally delivered as the Commencement Address at Kenyon College in 2005, the first and only one he ever gave, distilled in a single-reading volume. In book form, it is re-presented as a series of thoughts, aphorisms, and sayings, one on each page. "How does one keep from going through their comfortable, prosperous adult life unconsciously? How do we get ourselves out of the foreground of our thoughts and achieve compassion? The speech captures Wallace's electric intellect as well as his grace in attention to others. After his death, it became a treasured piece of writing, commented on endlessly in blogs, and emailed from friend to friend. Writing with his one-of-a-kind blend of casual humor, exacting intellect, and practical philosophy, David Foster Wallace probes the challenges of daily living and offers advice that renews us with every reading" (Publisher's blurb). Whatever one has to say about Wallace's lecture (in agreement or in rebuttal), "This Is Water" is written in his most intimate voice, could only have been written by him, and is thoughtful, provocative, and heartfelt. It shows that however playful, satirical, and ironic his tone could be, David Foster Wallace actively resisted the exploitation of the audience by the entertainment industry American publishing had become. For he was the Real Thing, and his death has been yet another blow to the most important idea of serious contemporary culture: Principled resistance to the status quo through writing that is an empowering engagement between writer and reader. Wallace's themes were revisited and his address matched, not surpassed, by fellow writer George Saunders in the latter's own Commencement Address, "Congratulations, By The Way: Some Thoughts On Kindness" (2014). David Foster Wallace committed suicide - in the most determined and gruesome manner imaginable, by hanging himself - on September 12, 2008 at the age of 46. An absolute "must-have" title for David Foster Wallace collectors. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws or are in innumerable subsequent printings. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare copy thus. Selected by The New Yorker Magazine as one of the "Twenty Writers For The 21st Century". Winner of the MacArthur Genius Grant. One of the most brilliant American writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER DAVID FOSTER WALLACE TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0316068225.

Stock number: 22320. ISBN: 0316068225

$US 100.00

Walser, Robert (Translated by Susan Bernofsky) & Benjamin, Walter (Contribution)
Robert Walser: Microscripts

Imprint: New York City, NY, New Directions/Christine Burgin Gallery, 2010
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback , With Dust Jacket

First Edition / First Printing. As New in As New Dust Jacket. 160 pages. Facsimile of the author's handwritten works, presented as an Artist Book. One of the greatest books of our time. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only that sold out shortly after publication. It marks the very first collaboration between New Directions and Christine Burgin Gallery New York to publish Walser's art-related works, which now include several, beautifully produced books. The First Edition is now rare. Presents Robert Walser's "Microscripts" in a felicitous English translation. Known and celebrated as such because he wrote down every single page in his extremely minute handwriting. "Robert Walser wrote many of his manuscripts in a highly enigmatic, shrunken-down form. Narrow strips of paper covered with tiny ant-like markings only a millimeter or two high came to light only after the author's death in 1956. At first considered a secret code, the microscripts were eventually discovered to be a radically miniaturized form of German script: A whole story could fit on the back of a business card. Selected from the six-volume German transcriptions of the original microscripts, these 25 short pieces are gathered in this gorgeously illustrated publication. Each microscript is reproduced in full color in its original form: The detached cover of a trashy crime novel, a disappointing letter, a receipt of payment. Walser used the pages of small tear-off calendars (but only after cutting them length-wise and filling up each half with text). Schnapps, rotten husbands, small-town life, the radio, pigs (and how none of us can deny being one), jealousy, Van Gogh, and marriage proposals are some of Walser's subjects" (Publisher's blurb). "The incredible shrinking writer is a major 20th-century prose artist who, for all that the modern world seems to have passed him by, fulfills the modern criterion: He sounds like nobody else" (The New Yorker Magazine). "One of the profoundest products of modern literature" (Walter Benjamin). An absolute "must-have" title for Robert Walser collectors. This title is a great book. This is one of few copies of the First American Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws while the few copies in fine condition command as much as $900. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare copy thus. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER ROBERT WALSER TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0811218805.

Stock number: 18205. ISBN: 0811218805

$US 300.00

Walser, Robert (Translated by Christopher Middleton And Others) & Sontag, Susan (Contributor)
Robert Walser: Selected Stories (includes "the Walk")

Imprint: New York City, NY, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1982
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback , With Dust Jacket

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 195 pages. Retrospective collection of short stories. The single best introduction to the literary art of Robert Walser. The first appearance of the collection in English and in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly the FSG Softcover Edition, the Grove Press, and New York Review/NYR Classics Reissued Editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now rare. Presents, in its Hardcover Edition format, Robert Walser's "Selected Stories" in various felicitous English translations. Some of his finest and most representative works gathered in one elegant volume. As the best introduction to the writer's vast body of work, it remains unsurpassed. The forty-two pieces encompass not just his stories proper, but everything from journal entries, critical essays on art and literature, biographical sketches, and the singularly Walserian oeuvre of anecdotes, fables, and visions. Notably includes his masterpiece, "The Walk", one of his longest works. For all (or perhaps because) of its rhetorical excess and didacticism, its quirky irony and humor make it one of the greatest and most endearing pieces by a Master of the short form. "He is most at home in the mode of short fiction. These stories show him at his dazzling best" (J. M. Coetzee). "How to place the mysterious Swiss writer Robert Walser, a humble genius, who possessed one of the most elusive and surprising sensibilities in modern literature? Walser is many things: A Paul Klee in words, the maker of droll, whimsical, tender, and heartbreaking verbal artifacts; an inspiration to such very different writers as Kafka and W. G. Sebald; an amalgam, as Susan Sontag suggests in her Preface to this volume, of Stevie Smith and Samuel Beckett" (Publisher's blurb). "If Walser had a hundred thousand readers, the world would be a better place" (Hermann Hesse). An absolute "must-have" title for Robert Walser collectors. This title is a great collection. This is one of very few copies of the First American Edition/First Printing still available online and despite its imperfection (slight ding on one top board corner, but it's there) is still in especially fine condition: Every page is clean, crisp, and bright. The white-dominant DJ is near-immaculate, there is NO toning on the spine at all, and it is NOT price-clipped. Please note: This is the basis of, precedes, and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly the FSG Softcover Edition, the Grove Press, and New York Review/NYR Classics Reissued Editions. A rare copy thus. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER ROBERT WALSER TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0374259011.

Stock number: 21373. ISBN: 0374259011

$US 100.00

Walser, Robert (Author) & Bernofsky, Susan (Translator/Scholar)
The Robber

Imprint: Lincoln, Nebraska, University Of Nebraska Press, 2000
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback

First Edition / First Printing. As New in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 141 pages. The author's re-discovered 1925 novel. One of the greatest novels of the 20th century. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly the Softcover Edition. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only by a University Press. Without DJ, as issued. The First Edition is now rare. Presents Robert Walser's "Der Rauber" in a felicitous English translation by Susan Bernofsky. She has also written an illuminating Introductory Essay. Marks the auspicious (albeit very belated) appearance of the great novel in English, although it was not published in the German original until almost fifty years later, in 1972. "A quirky masterpiece of High Modernism, a love story that unravels as it goes along" (Susan Bernofsky). The tender, quirky tone is established from the get-go, by the first two sentences: "Edith loves him. More on this later". "A major 20th-century prose artist who, for all that the modern world seems to have passed him by, fulfills the modern criterion: He sounds like nobody else" (The New Yorker Magazine). "One of the profoundest products of modern literature" (Walter Benjamin). An absolute "must-have" title for Robert Walser collectors. This title is a great book. This is one of few copies of the First American Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws or are remainder-marked while the few copies in fine condition command as much as $500. This is a surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare copy thus. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER ROBERT WALSER TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0803247893.

Stock number: 21734. ISBN: 0803247893

$US 200.00

Walther, Thomas (Author/Collector/Curator) & Fineman, Mia (Contributor)
Other Pictures: Anonymous Photographs From The Thomas Walther Collection

Imprint: Santa Fe, NM, Twin Palms Publishing, 2000
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback , With Dust Jacket
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 178 pages. Retrospective collection of photographs. One of the most beautiful photography books of our time. Limited Edition of 5000 copies. The first and only edition. The Limited Edition is now scarce. An austerely elegant production by Jack Woody: Regular-sized volume format. Gray cloth boards with black titles embossed on cover and spine, as issued. Photographs by various contributors, all of them anonymous amateur photographers. Text by Mia Fineman. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper to the highest standards. In pictorial DJ with titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Presents Thomas Walther's "Other Pictures". A wide-ranging selection of the best photographs from the legendary Thomas Walther Collection. "An avid collector of photographs finds himself compelled to look past another vintage print by Walker Evans or Edward Weston. He discovers compelling, magically composed snapshots of a couple, a family, a street scene, or a naked woman. He finds these pictures in family albums, shoe boxes, and at flea markets. With dedication and intensity, Thomas Walther, a visionary collector of photography, has been sorting through the seemingly superfluous vernacular photography of this century. 'Other Pictures' is his selection of found images" (Publisher's blurb). Thomas Walther was a pioneer, significantly preceding such professional photographer/collectors as Tacita Dean ("Floh", 2001), Erik Kessels ("In Almost Every Picture", an ongoing Series), Gilles Peress ("Here Is New York: A Democracy of Photographs", 2002), and the New Yorker Magazine photography critic Vince Aletti ("Male", 2008), among legion other collectors of vernacular photographs, that is, some of the most beautiful photographs ever taken by great unknowns. The best vintage album "finds" now fetch auction-house prices from galleries, rare book dealers, and leading auction houses. They are a testament to photography's status as THE democratic art, resulting in the collecting frenzy that has spilled over into and gripped photography's technological successors in film, video, digital online as well as what "Other Pictures" is, the humble photobook. They confirm what collecting is, finally, all about: Discovering who one is by realizing what one loves. An absolute "must-have" title for Thomas Walther and photography collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed, dated (in the year of publication), and inscribed in black ink-pen on the title page by the author/collector/curator: "For Paul Berlanga: Enjoy! Thomas Walther 27 Oct. 2000". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. The recipient, who is named, is the Chicago-based artist and photography expert. This title is a contemporary photography book classic. As far as we know, this is the only such signed, publication-year dated, and inscribed copy of the Limited Edition available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws because they have been pored over. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. 150 plates. Some of the best photographs ever collected and gathered together in our time by a great collector. A fine copy. . ISBN 0944092829.

Stock number: 20239. ISBN: 0944092829

$US 100.00

Ward, Jane
Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men

Imprint: New York City, NY, New York University Press, 2015
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback

First Edition / First Printing. As New in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 240 pages. Book-length account on subject. The single best book on one of the most revealing "open secrets" of mainstream American culture. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with the regular trade Softcover Edition. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original for public libraries and academic institutions, and as part of NYU's "Sexual Cultures" Series. The First Edition is now scarce. It is elegantly produced, with gray cloth boards, metallic-silver titles on the spine, and printed on pristine-white, archival stock paper in the United States to the highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Presents Jane Ward's "Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men". A seminal study on the "real score". "Can straight white guys experience sexual fluidity or would kissing a guy just mean that they are really gay? 'Not Gay' thrusts deep into a world where straight guy-on-guy action is not a myth but a reality: There's fraternity and military hazing rituals, where new recruits are made to grab each other's penises and stick fingers up their fellow members' anuses; online personal ads, where straight men seek other straight men to masturbate with; and last but not least, the long and clandestine history of straight white men frequenting public restrooms for sexual encounters with other men. These sexual practices reveal a unique social space, where straight white men can and do have sex with other straight white men. To do so reaffirms - rather than challenges - their gender and racial identity" (Publisher's blurb). Ward's intricately argued book represents a ground-breaking way to think about heterosexuality not as the opposite or absence of (and disgust about) homosexuality, but as a unique mode of engaging in homosexual sex without ever being implicated as gay. Because one isn't, very few men are gay. Gay is a cultural construct, not natural law, and despite what gay militants say, behavior does NOT define identity. Nevertheless, Gay is probably the ultimate Other, more so than Bi or Trans, because Gay is The Other that is too close for comfort. This explains why homosexual sex can only be experienced by straight men indirectly, as a strictly defined behavioral mode, characterized, among other things, by "top-versus-bottom" role play (only gay men willingly "bottom"). The greatest fear straights, who are necessarily "top", have about sex with gay men is sodomy rather than what it might say about their gender or sexual identity. Indirect-ness is also why full-fledged gay novels, films, and art will never be patronized by straight men. "Not Gay" captures the complexity of human sexuality in a way that the binary modes of "hetero"/straight and "homo"/gay cannot. An absolute "must-have" title for Jane Ward collectors. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: should NOT be confused with the regular trade edition, which is a softcover original only. A scarce copy thus. One of the most brilliant American social theorists of our time. A fine copy. . ISBN 1479860689.

Stock number: 19946. ISBN: 1479860689

$US 50.00

Ware, Chris
Building Stories: The Hardboard Boxed Set Edition

Imprint: New York City, NY, Pantheon Books, 2012
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. As New in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 260 pages. Retrospective collection of stories in graphic-novel form. Now considered a contemporary classic. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Presented as a Hardboard Boxed Set, which weighs 7 pounds and whose contents amount cumulatively to "Building Stories". Published in a small and limited first print run that sold out shortly after publication. The First Edition is now rare. Presents Chris Ware's "Building Stories". A classic on the day it was released. The publisher's blurb sounds very much like Chris Ware himself (it's written in his inimitable voice if he did not actually write it himself) and as such, cannot be improved upon: "14 distinctively discrete Books, Booklets, Magazines, Newspapers, and Pamphlets. With the increasing electronic incorporeality of existence, sometimes it's reassuring, perhaps even necessary, to have something to hold on to. Thus, within this colorful keepsake box, the purchaser will find a fully-apportioned variety of reading material ready to address virtually any imaginable artistic or poetic taste, from the corrosive sarcasm of youth to the sickening earnestness of maturity while discovering a protagonist wondering if she'll ever move from the rented close quarters of lonely young adulthood to the mortgaged expanse of love and marriage". An absolute "must-have" title for Chris Ware collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in pencil on the box cover by the artist: "C. Ware". It is signed directly on the cover itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Be Ware! : Copies available online have serious flaws, are in multiple subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. Winner of The London Guardian Fiction Award in 2001 for "Jimmy Corrigan, Or the Smartest Kid On Earth", the very first graphic novelist to win the award. One of the most brilliant writer/graphic artists of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER CHRIS WARE AND MCSWEENEY'S TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0375424334.

Stock number: 20213. ISBN: 0375424334

$US 200.00

Warhol, Andy (Subject/Artist) & Polsky, Richard (Author)
I Bought Andy Warhol

Imprint: New York City, NY, Harry N. Abrams, 2003
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback , With Dust Jacket
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 256 pages. The author's breakthrough account. One of the best books on collecting and art. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. Presents Richard Polsky's "I Bought Andy Warhol". The contemporary "icon of global desire". The title is an allusion to the cult film, "I Shot Andy Warhol" (1996). Richard Polsky has been an art dealer all his adult life. His book is about two things: His quest to own a Warhol and the impact the artist himself has had on the art market. Polsky set aside $100, 000 to acquire a decent Warhol, but over the years, the price kept going up, up, up, way beyond his means. The story of how he finally nabbed his Warhol (it's the one shown on the book's cover), which became the obsessive focus of his life, is self-deprecating and moving. Polsky also shares with the reader the secrets he learned along the way, the principal one being seemingly obvious: That the longer a collector holds on to a good piece, the more he will come out on top. If he is lucky, he will become rich beyond his wildest dreams. The highest price a Warhol has fetched at auction has long since surpassed $100 Million, an unbelievable sum for a still-debated artist. The smart collectors have been those who, despite facing personal setbacks, major cash flow problems, and irresistible offers, nevertheless hold on to their pieces when most reasonable people think they are crazy to do so. Collectors have always had one decisive advantage over dealers: Their goal is to hold on to (and enjoy) their art. Every dealer, no matter how huge, needs to sell in order to stay in business. Dealing is about buying and selling. Collecting is about finding and timing. Polsky cites many examples to prove his point (which, ironically, collectors themselves often forget). Warhol himself stands out as a classic case study. When he gave up his successful career as an advertising "creative", Warhol struggled at first to get his work as an artist accepted, and ended up taking whatever money was offered for his major pieces in order to survive. He sold his "Campbell's Soup Can" silkscreen multiples (there are 32 in all) in 1962 to a prescient (and nasty) collector for $1000. Adding insult to injury, it was paid to him in monthly installments of less than $100 over two years, resulting in lifetime enmity between artist and collector. The collector, banned permanently, held on to the set for thirty-four years before selling it to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in 1996 for $15 Million, a remarkable profit on his $1000 investment. But what would "Campbell's Soup Can" fetch today in the event that it ever became available in the art market? $150 Million. An absolute "must-have" title for Andy Warhol and Richard Polsky collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black pen on the title page by Richard Polsky. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have very serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. One of the greatest artists of the 20th century. A fine copy. . ISBN 0810942712.

Stock number: 22441. ISBN: 0810942712

$US 50.00

Warhol, Andy (Artist) & The Trustees of The Andy Warhol Foundation
The Andy Warhol Foundation For The Visual Arts 1987-2007: The Commemorative Three-volume Report

Imprint: New York City, NY, The Andy Warhol Foundation For The Visual Arts, 2007
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 270 pages. Scarce Andy Warhol collectible item. The Andy Warhol Foundation For The Visual Arts Commemorative Report on its first twenty years. The first and only edition. Published in a small and limited print run as softcover originals in a Slipcased Edition only. None of the copies was commercially sold to the public. The Slipcased Edition is now scarce. Ostensibly an accounting of the Foundation's achievements, the Reports have actually been turned, brilliantly, into full-fledged books on the art of Andy Warhol itself, with essays and illustrations that are meticulously and beautifully produced. There are three volumes: "20-Year Report 1987-2007" (Volume One); "Grants And Exhibitions" (Volume Two); and "The Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program" (Volume Three). The volumes are enclosed in an elegant glossy hard board pictorial slipcase. For those who have everything else by Andy Warhol, here is one that memorializes, first and foremost, his art from the unique vantage point of the Foundation to which he bequeathed his estimated $450 million estate, and what that bequest has achieved for artists within twenty years. An absolute "must-have" title for Andy Warhol collectors. This title is now collectible. This is one of few copies of the Slipcased Edition (all three volumes) still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. A scarce copy thus. Lavishly illustrated with color plates. One of the greatest artists of the 20th century. A fine copy. . ISBN B00115VB2Y.

Stock number: 19380. ISBN: B00115VB2Y

$US 70.00

Warren, Jaimie (Photographer) & Kine, Starlee (Contributor)
Don't You Feel Better: Photographs By Jaimie Warren

Imprint: New York City, NY, Aperture Foundation, 2008
Edition: First Edition
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 55 pages. Retrospective collection of color photographs. Limited Edition of 1000 copies. Published as a softcover original only. The collection was selected by the Aperture Foundation as one of five outstanding projects on the TinyVices website, an online gallery and image archive, which showcases hundreds of artist/photographers' portfolios, all of them as yet unpublished in book form. The Limited Edition is now scarce. A brilliant production by Tim Barber: Regular-sized volume format. Photographs by Jaimie Warren. Essay by Starlee Kine. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper in Singapore to the highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Presents, in its Limited Edition format, Jaimie Warren's "Don't You Feel Better". One of only five Artist Portfolios selected by the Aperture Foundation from the rapidly growing online archive of serious photographic work, the Instagram for aspiring and brilliant artists, if you will. Probably the best and also, the most challenging, in the Series thus far, Jaimie Warren's self-portraits show her face covered in theatrically-inspired make-up of all kinds. Her point being that if our faces really showed how we feel deep inside, they would change color dramatically. As such, her photographs can be very disorienting at first, even appear to be too attention-grabbing for one's taste. But Warren also shows herself normally in many images, sans make-up, and yet somehow, the strange effect she uncannily conveys remains: Ordinary, routine life forces us to conform and act as though everything is OK, forces us to smile for the camera, and pretend that everything will be all right (even if, more often than not, things do not turn out that way). Warren's Cover Image of her face covered in red makeup clearly says, "No, I do not feel better! In fact, if my face could show how I really feel right now, my face would be red". Yet, in a twist of irony worthy of Martin Parr, she is still all-smiles for the camera. TinyVices is for real: "Offers a range of styles and approaches to photography: Kenneth Cappello's casual snapshots of the skate scene of his youth; Allan MacIntyre's rigorous investigations of geological activity; Jason Nocito's playful groupings of disparate images; Robin Schwartz's disquieting portraits of her daughter; and Jaimie Warren's theatrical self-portraits. Since its inception in 2005, tinyvices has become an influential platform for emerging talent, featuring the work of hundreds of photographers and artists, including Ryan McGinley and Dash Snow" (The Aperture Foundation). An absolute "must-have" title for Jaimie Warren collectors. This is a copy of the Limited Edition, indicated as such on the Back Copyright Page. It is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black pen on the title page by Jaimie Warren. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary art photography classic. As far as we know, this is the only such signed copy of the Limited Edition available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Warren did NOT sign most copies of the Limited Edition. A rare signed copy thus. Lavishly illustrated with color plates. One of the most brilliant American photographers of our time. A fine copy. . ISBN 159711085X.

Stock number: 21250. ISBN: 159711085X

$US 50.00

Waters, Sarah
The Night Watch

Imprint: London, England, Virago Press, 2006
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. As New in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 473 pages. The author's fourth novel. One of the most important literary events of our time. Limited Slipcased Edition of 1000 numbered and signed copies. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. The Limited Edition is now scarce. An austerely elegant production by Virago Press: Regular-sized volume format. Pale blue cloth boards with titles on cover and spine, as issued. Text by Sarah Waters. Matching pale blue slipcase with white titles embossed on both sides. In publisher's original shrinkwrap. Without DJ, as issued. Presents, in its Limited Edition format, Sarah Waters' "The Night Watch". Mesmerizing. "In the fall of 1947, an androgynous woman walks aimlessly through the scarred streets of London, adjusting her cufflinks. An ambulance driver during the Blitz, she now does nothing more dramatic than go to the cinema, arriving midway through a film and watching the second half first: 'People's pasts, you know, being so much more interesting than their futures'. Likewise, this historical novel begins at the end and moves backward, tracing the lives of its characters from peacetime Britain to the early years of the War. The centerpiece of the book is set in 1944, when the characters come fully alive, creeping through blackout London, an apocalyptic landscape of rubble and ash, searchlights and fires. Waters, acclaimed for her Victorian-era romps, has done meticulous research, and renders wartime scenes with unnerving authenticity" (The New Yorker Magazine). An absolute "must-have" title for Sarah Waters collectors. This copy is one of the Limited Slipcased Edition of 1000 numbered and signed copies, indicated/numbered as such on the Front Limitation Page. It is very prominently and beautifully signed in blue ink-pen by Sarah Waters. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few copies of the Limited Slipcased Edition still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies of the regular trade edition available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce signed copy thus. Finalist for the Booker Prize in 2006 for "The Night Watch". One of the finest British writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER SARAH WATERS TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0708809588.

Stock number: 10790. ISBN: 0708809588

$US 100.00

Webb, Alex & Webb, Rebecca, Norris (Photographers)
Memory City: Photographs By Alex Webb And Rebecca Norris Webb

Imprint: New York City, NY, Radius Books, 2014
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. As New in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 172 pages. Retrospective collection of black-and-white and color photographs. One of the most beautiful art photography books of our time. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. A brilliant production by Alex Webb and David Chickey: Oversize-volume format. Pictorial hard boards with titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Photographs by Alex Webb and Victoria Norris Webb. There are several foldouts within the book and a stunning multi-panel photographic timeline appended at the back. Text by various authors. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper in Hong Kong to the highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Presents Alex Webb's and Victoria Norris Webb's "Memory City". Their nostalgic and affecting homage to Rochester, New York, the home of Eastman Kodak. As such, it is nothing less than an homage to photography itself. Eastman Kodak was "one of the world's leading manufacturers of photographic film for 125 years. Following the company's declaration of bankruptcy in 2012, photographers Alex Webb (born 1952) and Rebecca Norris Webb (born 1956) traveled to Rochester to capture images of the city during the twilight of Kodak's existence. 'Memory City' responds to the uncertain future of Kodak film as a medium by presenting a view of Rochester that reflects the city's prosperous past and current troubles. Usually known for his color work, for this project Alex Webb used his final rolls of Kodachrome, a color film now only able to be processed in black-and-white, in order to capture Rochester's fading grandeur. He also photographed the city's streets in digital color. Rebecca's photographs consist of color portraits and still lifes of Rochester's women, both young and old, taken using Portra, one of Kodak's last films. The artists have also created a timeline of Rochester's cultural history, tracing the evolution of the complex, vibrant city. Contains quotations from many of the famous writers and thinkers who have been connected to Rochester and its environs, including women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony, abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and poets John Ashbery and Ilya Kaminsky" (Publisher's blurb). As a serious photographer who works in color, Alex Webb has few peers. His unerring eye for color, compositional brilliance, and admirable composure in the face of his often harrowing subject, the chaos called modern life, are regarded by many commentators and admirers as being on the same level of achievement as Miguel Rio Branco, one of the greatest Latin-American photographers of our time. An absolute "must-have" title for Alex Webb and Victoria Norris Webb collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the half-title page by Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary art photography classic. As far as we know, this is the only such double-signed copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. A rare signed copy thus. Lavishly illustrated with black-and-white and color plates, foldouts, and a multi-panel photographic timeline. Winner of the Overseas Press Club Award in 1980. Recipient of the Leica Medal of Excellence in 2000 and the Premio Internacional de Fotografia Alcobendas in 2009. One of the greatest photographers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER ALEX WEBB AND MIGUEL RIO BRANCO TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 1934435767.

Stock number: 19535. ISBN: 1934435767

$US 100.00

Webb, Alex (Photographer) & Dyer, Geoff (Contributor)
The Suffering Of Light: Thirty Years Of Photographs By Alex Webb

Imprint: New York City, NY, Aperture Foundation, 2011
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 180 pages. Retrospective Monograph. One of the most beautiful art photography books of our time. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now rare. A brilliant production by Alex Webb and David Chickey: Oversize-volume format. Glossy pictorial hard boards with orange cloth overboards and titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Photographs by Alex Webb. Essay by Geoff Dyer, the great British novelist and critic. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper to the highest standards. The reproduction quality is exemplary in every respect. Without DJ, as issued. Presents "The Suffering of Light: Thirty Years of Photographs by Alex Webb". Some of his finest and most representative images, culled from a brilliant career, and enhanced with photographs that appear in published form for the very first time. "His most iconic images, many of which were taken in the far corners of the earth, this exquisite book brings a fresh perspective to his extensive catalog. Recognized as a pioneer of color photography since the 1970's, Webb has consistently created photographs characterized by intense color and light. His work, with its richly layered and complex composition, touches on multiple genres, including street photography, photojournalism, and fine art. Webb's ability to distill gesture, color, and contrasting cultural tensions into single, beguiling frames results in evocative images that convey a sense of enigma, irony, and humor" (Aperture Foundation). As a serious photographer who works in color, Alex Webb has few peers. His unerring eye for color, compositional brilliance, and admirable composure in the face of his often harrowing subject, the chaos called modern life, are regarded by commentators and admirers as being on the same level of achievement as Miguel Rio Branco, one of the greatest Latin-American photographers of our time. An absolute "must-have" title for Alex Webb collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the half-title page by Alex Webb. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary art photography classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (Aperture Foundation) still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a beauty. Please note: Precedes and should NOT be confused with multiple subsequent printings, that is, copies of the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Printings (as of 2019) that proliferate online and have no collectible value. A rare signed copy thus. Winner of the Overseas Press Club Award in 1980. Recipient of the Leica Medal of Excellence in 2000 and the Premio Internacional de Fotografia Alcobendas in 2009. One of the greatest photographers of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER ALEX WEBB AND MIGUEL RIO BRANCO TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0500543976.

Stock number: 22003. ISBN: 0500543976

$US 300.00

Webb, Alex
Under A Grudging Sun: Photographs From Haiti Libere 1986-1988

Imprint: London, England, Thames And Hudson, 1989
Edition: First Edition
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 86 pages. Landmark collection of color photographs. One of the most important photography books of the 20th century. The First Edition. Published in a small and limited first print run simultaneously in the United States and United Kingdom as a softcover original only. The First Edition is now rare. A brilliant production by Alex Webb: Oversize-volume format. Glossy red pictorial softcovers with titles on the cover and spine and very large flaps, as issued. Photographs and text by Alex Webb. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper in the United Kingdom to the highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Presents Alex Webb's "Under A Grudging Sun: Photographs From Haiti Libere 1986-1988". Unforgettable images of Haiti following the chaotic collapse of the Duvalier dictatorship. All of the photographs are in Caribbean sun-drenched, insufferable light. "Webb had made several trips to Haiti before Duvalier left, but when he first returned during 'Haiti Libere', he was struck by a new sense of freedom, an openness among the people. Here in photographs is the story of that period, when some of the poorest, most oppressed people in the Western Hemisphere had hope for democratic reforms. And here is the tragic dashing of that hope and the horrifying and violent chaos that enveloped Haiti. Webb's masterful photojournalism does not so much bring us 'the news' as it brings us into the news: Into the streets, markets, and harbors, and into the lives of the people" (Publisher's blurb). The definitive book on the Haitian Revolution is said to be Danny Lyon's "Merci Gonaives", a collection of stark black-and-white photographs named after the town where the rebellion against the Duvalier dictatorship began. Other books on Haiti (such as Bruce Gilden's) have also become landmarks in the history of photojournalism. Alex Webb's deeply personal account is, in many ways, the most intimate, complex, sympathetic, and visually, the most arresting of them all. As a serious photographer who works in color, Alex Webb has few peers. His unerring eye for color, compositional brilliance, and admirable composure in the face of his often harrowing subject, the chaos called modern life, are regarded by many commentators and admirers as being on the same level of achievement as Miguel Rio Branco, one of the greatest Latin-American photographers of our time. An absolute "must-have" title for Alex Webb collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the half-title page by Alex Webb. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a great photography book. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. A rare signed copy thus. 59 color plates. Winner of the Overseas Press Club Award in 1980. Recipient of the Leica Medal of Excellence in 2000 and the Premio Internacional de Fotografia Alcobendas in 2009. One of the greatest photographers of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER ALEX WEBB AND MIGUEL RIO BRANCO TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0500275440.

Stock number: 21464. ISBN: 0500275440

$US 150.00

Weber, Bruce
O Rio De Janeiro: A Photographic Journal

Imprint: New York City, NY, Alfred A. Knopf, 1986
Edition: First Edition

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. Unpaginated. Retrospective collection of photographs, presented as an Artist Book. One of the most beautiful photography books of the 20th century. The first and only edition. Published in a small and limited print run as a tall softcover original only. The First Edition is now rare. A brilliant production by Bruce Weber and Sam Shahid: Oversize-volume format. The book weighs 4 pounds. Pictorial softcovers with titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Photographs and text by Bruce Weber. Drawings by Richard Giglio. Printed in multi-toned palette on pristine-white, thick uncoated stock paper in the United States to the highest standards. The reproduction quality is exemplary in every respect. Without DJ, as issued. Presents Bruce Weber's "O Rio de Janeiro: A Photographic Journal". A scrapbook-cum-travel-diary of Weber's visit to Rio. It was love at first sight for Weber. Rio's sensuality and exuberance, physicality and musicality, the laid-back lifestyle, the culture, the music, the food, the street, the beach, the natural landscape, and most of all, the Brazilian men and women - who are the most beautiful people in the world, according to the late great Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace - all conspired to inspire and liberate the American photographer. Arranged in "free-form" sequences, like an impassioned and extended piece of samba/bossa nova-cum-jazz music, "O Rio de Janeiro" seduces and dazzles. In his previous books, Weber succeeded in perfecting an idealized image of the All-American male, partly by assimilating styles as diverse as Andre de Dienes, Roger Corbeau, George Platt Lynes, Herbert List, and Wilhelm Von Gloeden. With his new-found subject, he seems to have found his true voice. Its only precursor (and likely influence) is Kishin Shinoyama's "Olele Olala Jelmi in Rio" (1971), a great photography book, now rare in collectible condition. An absolute "must-have" title for Bruce Weber collectors. This title is a photography book classic. This is one of few copies of the First Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. It is the single most beautiful copy we have ever seen. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws or are remainder-marked yet command as much as $2000. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare copy thus. Lavishly illustrated with black-and-white and toned photographs. "O Rio de Janeiro", perhaps the sexiest photography book ever published, was selected as one of the "Seminal Photography Books of The 20th Century" in the "Book of 101 Books". One of the finest American photographers of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER BRUCE WEBER TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 039455938X.

Stock number: 21673. ISBN: 039455938X

$US 800.00

Weber, Bruce (Photographer); Klein, Calvin (Fashion Designer) & Editors of Vanity Fair Magazine
Vanity Fair Magazine Issue: With Bruce Weber/calvin Klein Jeans Magazine Supplement

Imprint: New York City, NY, Conde Nast & Company, 1991
Edition: First Edition

First Edition / First Printing. As New in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 100 pages. Rare Bruce Weber, Calvin Klein, and Vanity Fair Magazine collectible item. A pristine copy of the complete set: Vanity Fair Magazine's "Jessica In Love" October 1991 Issue with the Calvin Klein Magazine Supplement/Insert that accompanied it. Limited Edition of 10000 copies. Inserted randomly and distributed to subscriber copies in the United States only. There is no ISBN. The complete set is now rare. Pictorial softcovers with titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Photographs by Bruce Weber. The Supplement/Insert has no text. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper in the United States to the highest standards. Unlike most books being published today, American magazines are still being printed in America; many of them are not only superior in quality, they will last in terms of production values. In publisher's original shrinkwrap. Without DJ, as issued. Presents the complete Calvin Klein and Bruce Weber Magazine Issue-cum-Magazine Supplement/Insert. Weber's single best portfolio for Calvin Klein. It's the kind of inventive, mass-media merchandising Calvin Klein pioneered and became known for, generating tremendous press and consumer attention for himself and his eponymous brand, influencing, and revolutionizing the way the fashion industry does advertising even in our Social Media Age. The CK advertising campaign "had a seismic effect on America's social and cultural scene. Weber's photographs are part of the phenomenon they document. His advertising campaigns have come to stand for the acceptance of this imagery by the cultural mainstream. For those who can recall a time before it became acceptable for men to regard their underwear as fashion statements, Weber's images must count among the most revolutionary tools yet devised in the history of consumer manipulation" (The New York Times Magazine). Sexy photographs of the world's supermodels such as Christie Turlington and Marcus Schenkenberg, beauties who are now iconic figures of fashion. Showcases another look perfected by the photographer and much copied by others: Racier and sexier in a cosmopolitan, "metrosexual" way (long before the latter term gained mass currency), in contrast to the trademark "All-American" look that is identified with the Bruce Weber of "Bear Pond". An absolute "must-have" title for Bruce Weber and Calvin Klein collectors. This Calvin Klein/Bruce Weber Magazine Issue-cum-Magazine Supplement/Insert is a contemporary erotic photography classic. As far as we know, this is the only complete set available online, is still in the publisher's original shrinkwrap, and has no flaws, pristine beauties. Please note: "Loose" copies of just the Insert available online have serious flaws yet command hundreds of dollars. Since this was, after all, an ephemeral magazine issue, 99.9% of remaining copies of the Supplement/Insert are opened, the shrinkwrap removed, separated from the Magazine Issue itself, in heavily used, soiled condition. For those who have everything else by BW, this is it. A rare copy thus. Lavishly illustrated with duotone plates. Bruce Weber's "O Rio de Janeiro", perhaps the sexiest photography book ever published, was selected as one of the "Seminal Photography Books of The 20th Century" in the "Book of 101 Books". One of the finest American photographers of our time. A fine collectible set. (SEE ALSO OTHER BRUCE WEBER TITLES IN OUR CATALOG).

Stock number: 16260.

$US 300.00

Weil, Simone (Subject) & Gray, Francine Du Plessix (Author)
Simone Weil: Penguin Lives

Imprint: New York City, NY, Viking/Penguin Books, 2001
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardback , With Dust Jacket
Inscription: Signed, inscribed or annotated

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 246 pages. Book-length account on subject. One of Francine Du Plessix Gray's finest achievements. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Francine Du Plessix Gray's "Simone Weil". The philosopher as exemplary sufferer. "A virtuosic achievement, unique among popular treatments of Weil: A short, measured biography of a short but startlingly unmeasured and unmeasuring life" (Publishers Weekly). "Simone Weil (1909-43) displayed early the ferocious intellect that took this daughter of affluent, highly assimilated French Jews to the peak of her country's rigorous educational system, and made her an important modern philosopher. Weil remains a beacon to activists because of her passionate, intensely personal commitment to the world's oppressed and her need to directly share their suffering. This need had its neurotic aspects, and Gray's elegant biography does not gloss over Weil's lifelong anorexia, her distaste for physical contact, her peculiar brand of anti-Semitism, and the unyielding self-righteousness that led her to cut off friendships for minor offenses. The overall tone is one of sympathetic respect for an extraordinary human being unable to develop the willed blindness that enables most of us to live comfortably while others go without. An outstanding introduction to the influential thought and rivetingly conflicted life of a seminal figure in 20th-century history" (Wendy Smith). Vichy Police: "You little bitch, we'll have you thrown in jail with the whores". Simone Weil's cool and now-classic reply: "I've always wanted to know that milieu". Francine Du Plessix Gray died on January 13, 2019 at the age of 88, herself a cult "writer's writer" (rather than a mainstream one) to the very end. An absolute "must-have" title for Simone Weil and Francine Du Plessix Gray collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black pen-marker on the title page by Francine Du Plessix Gray. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. She signed on top of the page, making her signature even more prominent. This title is a contemporary classic. As far as we know, this is the only such signed copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. One of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER FRANCINE DU PLESSIX GRAY TITLE IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0297646273.

Stock number: 22192. ISBN: 0297646273

$US 100.00