Rare books from The Book Prowler

San Francisco: Arion Press, 1992. Hard Cover. Fine. American Buffalo won or was nominated for several awards and is considered one of the finest American plays written. It's returning to Broadway this April, 2022, starring Laurence Fishburne, Sam Rockwell, and Darren Criss. David Mamet wrote a new foreword for this edition, which divulges his inspiration for the play as a long-running poker game in a junk shop in Chicago. Michael McCurdy was the founder of Penmaen Press (1968-1985) as well as a prolific book illustrator, known for his skill as a wood engraver (Arion Press). 11 x 8¼". 117 pp. Limited Edition of 400 copies, this being No. 16. Illustrated with five wood engravings by Michael McCurdy. Original teal textured cloth, paper title labels, real buffalo nickel inset on front cover encircled by silver title. Designed, printed, and bound under the direction of Andrew Hoyem. Fine, SIGNED BY DAVID MAMET AND MICHAEL McCURDY.

Boston: Beacon Press, 2007. SIGNED by Mary Oliver on title page in the presence of this bookseller. Oliver's poetry has won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and a Lannan Literary Award for lifetime achievement. New and Selected Poems, Volume Two, an anthology of forty-two new poems-an entire volume in itself-and sixty-nine poems hand-picked by Oliver from six of her last eight books, is a major addition to a career in poetry that has spanned nearly six decades. Now recognized as an unparalleled poet of the natural world, Oliver writes with unmatched dexterity and a profound appreciation for the divergence and convergence of all living things. She is always searching for the soul of things. And all the while, during her quest, she is constantly surprised and fortified by joy. 9 x 6". 178 pp. 9780807068878. First printing per number line. Pictorial paper covers. Tiny bump to top of spine, tea stains to bottom edge at spine and corner, an inch or less at corner, not… Read More

Oxford and London: B.H. Blackwell and Simpkin, Marshall & Co, 1891. First Edition. Possibly the earliest work by the noted literary critic and Shakespearean authority; Was awarded The Chancellor's prize while Chambers was still a student at Oxford. Forgeries provides a scholarly, yet lively and interesting look at the forgery of books, documents and manuscripts throughout history. 8½ x 5½". 37. Original printed tan wrappers with side stitched thread binding. 40 pp. Wraps soiled, one inch closed tear and "C" inked to front wrap. Pages toned with neat penciled annotations of a critical and academic tone throughout. Quite scarce first printing in good or better condition, none in orig. binding found in commerce at this time. OCLC suggests this edition held in European libraries, but none in North America.

New York: Farrar, Straus & Company, Inc, 1948. First English Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Near Fine. First English Edition (published in Spanish as La Amortajada), "In the same delicately haunting style she used in House of Mist, Maria-Luisa Bombal tells the story of a beautiful and violent woman, who sees clearly, only after death, the intricate pattern which her passions made in the lives of those who were close to her" (from the dustjacket). 8 x 5". Original navy cloth boards with silver lettering to spine. Letters rubbed, spine and tips of boards lightly bumped, prev. owner's name/date to front pastedown. Tiny pinpoint hole to half-title page. Endpapers and top edge toned. Pictorial dustjacket has very small chips, in protective cover. A very good copy in a very good dustjacket of this elusive title.

New York: The MacMillan Company, 1951. First American printing. This was awarded the Bollingen, Pulitzer and National Book Award. SIGNED and inscribed on front free endpaper to "David Bouverie / who lends its value by caring to have it. / from Marianne Moore / December 6, 1952", as well as correcting by hand "The Jerboa" on p. 20 to read "undulated 'out' by speed". Title page identical to British publication, corrections as called for by errata slip, with two additional changes not called for. Notes and Index. 8 x 5". 180 [1] pp. Original blue cloth boards with gold gilt lettering and ornament to spine. Mild rub to boards, fraying at corners, small dent at bottom tail and rear board. Extra-illustrated with a copy of Moore w/ elephant (from visit to Bronx zoo) tipped into paste-down endpaper, approx. 4x1 in. glue residue to ffep, else a very good copy of this obviously treasured award-winning book.

Tokyo and New York: Kodansha International, 1989. First U.S. Edition, First printing. Translated from the original Japanese publication of "Hitsuji o meguru boken" by Alfred Birnbaum. A marvelous hybrid of mythology and mystery, A Wild Sheep Chase is the extraordinary literary thriller that launched Haruki Murakami's international reputation. It begins simply enough: A twenty-something advertising executive receives a postcard from a friend, and casually appropriates the image for an insurance company's advertisement. What he doesn't realize is that included in the pastoral scene is a mutant sheep with a star on its back, and in using this photo he has unwittingly captured the attention of a man in black who offers a menacing ultimatum: find the sheep or face dire consequences. Thus begins a surreal and elaborate quest that takes our hero from the urban haunts of Tokyo to the remote and snowy mountains of northern Japan, where he confronts not only the mythological sheep, but the confines of… Read More

Boston: Beacon Press, 2006. SIGNED by Oliver on the title page in the presence of this bookseller after a reading. Pictorial cover of Van Gogh's Blue Iris, courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art. First softcover printing. In Blue Iris, Mary Oliver collects ten new poems, two dozen of her poems written over the last two decades, and two previously unpublished essays on the beauty and wonder of plants. The poet considers roses, of course, as well as poppies and peonies; lilies and morning glories; the thick-bodied black oak and the fragrant white pine; the tall sunflower and the slender bean. 8½ x 6¼". 75 pp. 0807068837. Tiny dent to bottom edge, else Fine in softwrappers.

Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1991. First American Edition, SIGNED on the title page by Ms. Ferré (1938-2016). Translated from original Spanish "Papeles de Pandora" by author. Ferré's fiction focuses on the inferior status of women in Puerto Rico and their dual role as nurturer (wife and mother) and temptress (like Pandora, the dangerous female from mythical Greece who tempted a man into opening a box that released the world's troubles). Jean Franco wrote the in-depth analysis of these short stories in the foreword. 9¼ x 5¾". 169 pp. 9780803219830. Black boards with silver letters to spine with faint rub marks on boards and some wear to dust jacket. Lavender pictorial dust jacket shows a woman with closed mouth on back, mechanically opened mouth on front. Near Fine in a very good dust jacket in protective cover.

London: William Collins Sons and Co Ltd, 1985. First UK Edition, SIGNED by Mulisch (1927-2010) in blue ink on title page. Translated from the original Dutch De Aanslag by Claire Nicolas White. Adapted into a film which won the 1986 Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Adapted into a graphic novel by Milan Hulsing in 2015. "A brilliant novel, overflowing with dramatic tension."-La Croix; "A beautiful and powerful work [that] takes its place among the finest European fiction of our time."-Elizabeth Hardwick. 8½ x 5½". 9780002710114. Original black cloth boards, gilt letters to spine. 204 pp. Very slight toning to top & bottom edges, dust jacket has small creases and toning to edges. A scarce SIGNED Near Fine copy in Near Fine Dust Jacket.

Possibly the earliest work by the noted literary critic and Shakespearean authority; Was awarded The Chancellor's prize while Chambers was still a student at Oxford. Forgeries provides a scholarly, yet lively and interesting look at the forgery of books, documents and manuscripts throughout history Original printed tan wrappers with side stitched thread binding. Wraps soiled, one inch closed tear and "C" inked to front wrap. Pages toned with neat penciled annotations of a critical and academic tone throughout. Quite scarce first printing in good or better condition, none in orig. binding found in commerce at this time. OCLC suggests this edition held in European libraries, but none in North America.

[Poetry] [Inscribed] Moore, Marianne. 1967. Stated second printing February 1967 (1 of 3000 copies) and is considered one of her finest works. This is personalized by two things: an inscription and a correction. She wrote "To my Dragoman from Sonoma / Affectionately Marianne. / December 26, 1967" and also drew a line through "To" on pg. 54 so as to read (only) "Dr. Henry W. Noss". Original gray marbled paper and turquoise cloth with bright silver stamped lettering to spine, blindstamped "M M" initials to cover. Brilliant blue and black dust jacket with photo of Brooklyn Bridge designed by M.B. Glick. [ABBOTT A30.2] From the books of David Pleydell-Bouverie (1911—1994), descendant of Earl of Radnor, famed English architect, married to Ava Alice Muriel Astor, and owner of The Bouverie Preserve of Audubon Canyon Ranch. Mr. Pleydell-Bouverie often tipped in items pertaining to the author or book. This is one such example. Tiny chipping to top and bottom with some foxing to inner and top of dustjacket,… Read More

London: Souvenir Press, 1973. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Fine. Woodcuts by Antonio Frasconi. Cover image by Mike Hasted.. Stated First UK edition. First published in Spanish as El Hacedor (The Maker) as the 9th vol. in his Obras Completas. While a visiting professor at Univ. of Texas, he was persuaded by staff and students to publish it in English, followed by this publication by Souvenir Press. Mildred Boyer translated Part 1, Harold Moreland Part II. Several of Frasconi's woodcuts grace this edition, with a 2 page red & black tiger on title and at intro to each Part. "Borges is always the story teller...the magician we remember from our childhood, who stirs some primal urge that lies deep in our consciousness"-NY Times. Borges stated this was his favorite of all he has written. 8½ x 6.. 95 pp. Small erasure to ffep, else Fine in a Fine pictorial dust jacket.

Palma de Mallorca, Spain: Divers Press, 1955. Original Wrappers. Near Fine/Near Fine. Cover: Dan Rice (designer), Arthur Okamura (artist). First Edition of Blackburn's first collection of poetry. Fragile illustrated wrappers screenprinted over newsprint are rarely seen in this condition. Paul Blackburn was a poet, involved with Beat poets, as well as a translator of Latin American literature by Octavio Paz, Federico Garcia Loca, Julio Cortezar and Pablo Picasso. Blackburn was a strong and active supporter of poetry and poets, especially fledgling poets. His influence on the poetry world and Spanish/Latin American literature (from the 1950's to his death in 1971) is immeasurable. 8 x 6½". 24 pp. Very minor chipping to top and bottom tips of cover, some offset toning to end pages, else a Near Fine copy.

New York: Viking Press, 1967. Hard Cover. Very Good+/Very Good+. Stated second printing February 1967 (1 of 3000 copies) and is considered one of her finest works. This is personalized by two things: an inscription and a correction. She wrote "To my Dragoman from Sonoma / Affectionately Marianne. / December 26, 1967" and also drew a line through "To" on pg. 54 so as to read (only) "Dr. Henry W. Noss". Original gray marbled paper and turquoise cloth with bright silver stamped lettering to spine, blindstamped "M M" initials to cover. Brilliant blue and black dust jacket with photo of Brooklyn Bridge designed by M.B. Glick. 9 x 6". 57 pp. Tiny chipping to top and bottom with some foxing to inner and top of dustjacket, slight foxing to top text block, rub to bottom spine, else Very Good or better copy in like dustjacket-all in all, a bright signed copy.

Boston: Beacon Press, 2008. Hard Cover. As New/in dustjacket - as new. Ms. Oliver SIGNED above her name on title page in the presence of this bookseller. Multiple award-winning author Mary Oliver brings together ten new poems, thirty-five of her beloved classics, and two essays about creatures of all sorts and, of course, her beloved and disobedient little dog, Percy, who appears and even speaks in thirteen poems. 
From a poet who teaches us the beauty and magic of the natural world comes a reminder that this world includes "the creatures, with their / thick fur, their shy and wordless gaze. Their / infallible sense of what their lives / are meant to be." 
As Renee Loth observed in the Boston Globe, "Mary Oliver, who won the Pulitzer Prize in poetry, is my choice for her joyous, accessible, intimate observations of the natural world...She teaches us the profound act of paying attention." 8½ x 6¾.. 9780807068847. Fine original brown half cloth over red paper boards, silver lettering to spine in… Read More