May 2018 E-List
No. 11: Miscellany from the Sonoran Desert
Andrea fled for the desert again this year, and as usual came back with a load of books. Highlights from the trunk of her car include a true first of Christopher Paolini's Eragon, William Morris' publication of John Ruskin's The Nature of Gothic, plus a little comic relief from Jay Cantor's re-imagining of the adventures of Krazy Kat.
If you're interested in making a purchase, you may click on the link at the end of each entry, which will take you to our website, call us at (406) 333-2330, email info@elkriverbooks.com, or just stop by the store and we can help you in person.
Postage additional, insurance available. Standard trade courtesies apply (dealers please enter the code TRADE during checkout).
Andrea & Marc
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William Morris and John Ruskin
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The Nature of Gothic: A Chapter of the Stones of Venice
London: George Allen, 1892
Vellum. Octavo (20 cm), pp. iv, 127, (1). Stiff white vellum boards with gilt-stamped titling and date on spine. Silk ties, pages untrimmed. One of 500 copies printed by William Morris at Kelmscott Press, Hammersmith. Woodcut border on p. 1, with woodcut letters throughout, and printer's device on p. iv and colophon page. Morris wrote the preface to what was originally published as part of Ruskin's 1853 Stones of Venice series.
Boards are warped and stained, one silk tie has come off (though is still present, laid in). Moisture exposure has stained lower board and marked upper edge of about half the leaves; also brown stain at bottom of colophon page and lower board. Pages are nonethless clean and bright, binding is tight.
Ruskin authority Peter Anthony writes that "'The nature of gothic’ represents the fusion of Ruskin's aesthetic and social concern; just as neither element is separable from the other throughout his work, both are present in this chapter. Ruskin came to describe it as the most important in the whole book, as ‘the creed, if it be not the origin, of a new industrial school of thought’. .... Its most famous and influential separate publication was by William Morris with his own introduction at the Kelmscott Press in 1892." (From John Ruskin's Labour (pp. 45-71), Cambridge University Press). Cook and Wedderburn, Vol 10: LXIX-LXX.
Good. $1,200. Order here.
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McCarthy, Cormac
Outer Dark
New York: Random House, 1968
First Edition. Hardcover. Octavo (20.5 cm), pp. 242. Gray boards with blue quarter cloth, publisher's ink on top edge, deckle edge. Jacket with author photo and original $4.95 price. Corners bumped and spine is cocked, jacket with scratches and closed tears. Upper board has thin line of moisture damage along bottom edge that does not affect jacket or pages. Red D stamped on free front endpaper indicates this was one of the 815 copies originally remaindered by the publisher. "Outer Dark is an amazingly good second novel, rich in its implications and certainly one of the great short novels of all time in any language," (Ford & Pastore, 47, 53).
Very good in very good jacket. $875. Order here.
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Cantor, Jay
Krazy Kat: A Novel in Five Panels
New York: Alfred Knopf, 1988
First Edition. Hardcover. Presentation copy: Signed with a personal insciption by author to Dee Cox, the granddaughter of Krazy Kat artist George Herriman: "For Dee Cox- with greatest 'admirroration' for her grandfather's genuis, and with very best wishes to all his family. Jay Cantor, Cambridge, Mass. - March 28, 1988."
Octavo (21 cm), pp. 245 plus index. Black paper over cream boards, pictorial jacket. Scuff mark on lower board, with bump at top edge, else fine.
A re-imagining of the Krazy Kat comic and characters, set in the 1945 southwestern U.S. desert. Includes five panels from the original comic strip, which provide the organizing structure. Herriman was a mulatto man who was able to pass for white, and subtly infused his strip with themes that reflected the challenges of his dual and secret life.
Near fine in fine jacket. $250. Order here.
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Paolini, Christopher
Eragon
Livingston, Montana: Paolini International, 2002
First Edition. Paperback. Octavo (21.5 cm), pp. 468. Signed by author on title page with his usual inscription: "May your swords stay sharp. Christopher Paolini." Include's Paolini's handdrawn map of Alagaesia. Front cover is creased, light edge wear.
This is the scarce self-published, true first edition of Paolini's wildly popular fantasy novel, which became a four-part series called the Inheritance Cycle, published by Knopf, and then made into a movie starring Jeremy Irons. The book and its success was particularly notable because Paolini wrote it as a homeschooled teenager.
Very good. $400. Order here.
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Allen, Arthur N.
Border Collies in America
McLeansboro, IL: Arthur N. Allen, 1965
First Edition. Octavo (23.5 cm), pp. 56. Staplebound paper wrappers, black and white photos throughout. Wrappers have slight dinginess.
Allen imported border collies from Britain to such an extent that he had an impact on the American breed. He was a charter member of the North American Sheep Dog Society (and later its president), and his dog Rock appeared in two Walt Disney movies. Scarce.
Near fine. $75. Order here.
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Clement, J.H. and F.D. Clement
The Working Border Collie: A Handbook for Trainers and Handlers
McLeansboro, IL: North American Sheep Dog Society, 1959
Quarto (29 cm), pp. 1a, 1b, 2-32, 7, [1]. In blue pastic binder, one-sided typewritten pages. Includes chapters on choosing a dog, basic obedience, herding sheep, cattle and poultry, and advance training. Front plastic cover is dog-eared.
Frequently referred to in lists of border collie literature, but only four copies in OCLC.
Very good. $75. Order here.
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Price, Con
Memories of Old Montana
Hollywood, CA: Highland Press, 1945
Hardcover. First trade edition. Octavo (23 cm), pp. 154. Red cloth with gilt stamped titling. Signed, inscribed and dated by author on copyright page. Illustrated with three black and white plates. No jacket, boards have light edge wear and sunning.
Con Price was a Montana cattleman and good friend of artist Charlie Russell (who considered Price "one of the greatest bronc riders of his time," according to the publisher's preface). Six-Guns 1764, Yost & Renner 46.
Very good. $150. Order here.
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Van Burgh, Lillian
The Bozeman Trail
Commercial Printers, 1927
Octavo (22 cm), 12 leaves, printed on one side. Signed by author on first leaf. Staplebound brown paper wrappers, includes four black and white photos. Newspaper clipping regarding origins of pamphlet tipped in. Pages are toned, wrappers are worn and frail but intact. Final leaf is wrinkled.
Van Burgh's long-form poem commemorates the 236-mile ride of John Phillips through a blizzard from Fort Kearny to Fort Laramie to get reinforcements after the 1866 "Fetterman Massacre" in which Red Cloud's band of Lakota (a group that included a young Crazy Horse) killed all 81 soldiers under Captain William Fetterman's command. Note: OCLC lists 13 pages, but none seem to be missing from this volume. Scarce in the trade.
Good. $80. Order here.
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Coburn, Walt
Pioneer Cattlemen in Montana: The Story of the Circle C Ranch
Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968
First Edition. Hardcover. Octavo (23 cm), pp. xii, 338. Brown cloth with gilt titling, pictorial jacket. Signed bookplate laid in, also signed and inscribed by author's wife Pat on front free endpaper.
Includes fold-out color reproduction of Charlie Russell painting, "Roping a Cow," which was based on a scene at the Circle C with the Coburn sons (also used on the cover). Black and white photos throughout, appendices, index. Jacket has light edge wear and a few small closed tears, else fine.
"This excellent book gives a fine picture of one of the famous ranches in Montana..." (Six-Guns, 2479).
Fine in very good jacket. $150. Order here.
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The Modern Mexican Charro
Pemex Travel Club, 1965.
Staplebound pamphlet (11x22 cm), pp. 24. Pink paper wrappers, black and white photos throughout. Binding is frail, with large closed tear along spine.
Extensive information about the horsemen of Mexico, including costumes, lassoing, scoring, and "the perfect mount."
Fair. $30. Order here.
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De Lamartine, Alphonse and William Ware
Pictures of the First French Revolution Being Episodes from the History of the Girondists with a Summary of the Intermediate Events; and Zenobia, or The Fall of Palmyra
London: Simms and McIntyre, 1850
Hardcover. Two volumes in one binding. 12mo (15.5 cm), pp.288, 283. Contemporary half-leather over marbled boards with marbled endpapers. Decorative gilt spine text. Boards are scuffed and worn, scattered foxing, and what appears to be residue from a book plate (now removed).
These two books were published as part of Simms and McIntyre's Parlour Library series, originally bound in stiff green paper boards. Called "yellow-backs," these reprints were made and sold cheaply, so as to be accessible to the average person.
Good. $150. Order here.
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Gage, William
A Modern Historical Atlas
New York: D. Appleton, 1869
First Edition. Hardcover. Octavo (22 cm). Half-leather, with gilt titling on upper board and spine, marbled endpapers and edges. Includes 15 hardboard, colored maps from "the great States of modern history during their most marked epochs" (preface). Boards are scuffed and stained, with minor material loss at corners, head and tail of spine. Former owner's bookplate and stamp, corner torn from front free endpaper. Binding is sound, maps are bright.
Very good. $175. Order here.
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