201. Two pagan monologues. Iowa City, Iowa: Roger McCain, 1964.
$50
Edition limited to 150 copies (this, no. 33) signed by Duncan; 12mo, pp. [4]; woodcut on title page by Richard Palan; original tan wrappers, printed label on upper cover. Fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Emery, Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Washington University in OCLC.
202. Tarantula. New York: Macmillan, [1971].
$100
First edition, first printing, 8vo, pp. viii, [2], 136, [2]; covers a bit spotted, unclipped dust jacket with a short crease at the top of the front panel and some rubbing at the lower left corner; all else near fine.
Dylan contracted with Macmillan to write Tarantula in 1964, but for various reasons, the book never made it to the press and numerous piracies appeared in its place. Tarantula was not commercially published until 1971.
203. Tarantula. Hibbing, Minnesota [i.e. San Francisco]: Wimp Press, [1970].
$500
4to, pp. [2], 54; mimeographed piracy side-stapled; light toning, else near fine; contained in a red cloth clamshell box.
On the cover: "Author's royalties for the sale of this book are being donated to the Caladan Free School. Publisher's profit will contribute to the furtherance of Woodstock Nation."
Dylan (or rather his agent at the time, Al Grossman) contracted with Macmillan to write Tarantula in 1964, but for various reasons, not the least of which was his motorcycle accident in July 1966, the book never made it to the press. Tarantula was not commercially published until 1971.
"Though not being the easiest book to read from cover to cover, TARANTULA was through the years translated into Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish... (so far)." See the excellent website "Come Writers and Critics - The Bob Dylan Paper Site" for a summary of the various pirated editions.
204. Twenty-five Dartmouth poems [with] Seventy Dartmouth poems. Hanover: Dartmouth Publications, 1966 &, 1970.
$75
2 volumes, 8vo, original printed wrappers; each volume is signed by Eberhart on the title-p. and each is limited to 200 copies printed at the Stinehour Press. Poems by Dartmouth undergraduates, "selected, with notes on poetry, a postscript and an essay on war poetry by Richard Eberhart."
205. Two poems. [West Chester, Pennsylvania]: Aralia Press, 1975.
$85
Edition limited to 26 lettered copies signed by Eberhart (this, the letter 'Y') designed by Michael Peich, plus 300 copies, numbered and signed; 8vo, pp. [8]; original printed yellow wrappers; fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
206. Two poems. [West Chester, Pennsylvania]: Aralia Press, 1975.
$175
Edition limited to 26 lettered copies plus 300 copies numbered and signed by Eberhard (this, no.78) designed by Michael Peich; 8vo, pp. [8]; original printed yellow wrappers; fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
This copy inscribed on the front cover: "For Kim, This example of typographical excellence is given in humble appreciation of your talents. May this chapbook rot somewhere with a foul cheese! Michael Peich." The inscription, apparently, in reference to the yellow cheese-like wrappers.
207. The eye of heaven: a narrative poem. Wood engravings by Michael McCurdy. Omaha: Abattoir Editions, University of Nebraska, 1982.
$75
Edition limited to 150 copies (this, no. 44), 4to, pp. 38, [2]; text in double column; 2 wood engravings by McCurdy; original brown paper wrappers, wrap-around label on spine and upper cover; fine. Printed by Harry Duncan on Japanese etching paper. From the library of Kim Merker.
208. Fever & chills. Iowa City: Stone Wall Press, [1961].
$100
Edition limited to 220 numbered copies (this, no. 169); narrow 8vo, pp. 34, [4]; text printed in red and black; fine in original black calf-backed paper-covered boards, gilt lettering on spine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker, 10: "220 numbered copies (and a few unnumbered copies) ... Fever & Chills is a longish poem about an adulterous relationship. It's by George P. Elliott, the novelist, and I looked at him almost as a father figure. He was kind and moral and honest. I felt his work never got the respect it deserved ... This was the first book I did totally by myself."
209. Fever & chills. A long poem. Iowa City: Stone Wall Press, [1961].
$100
Edition limited to 220 numbered copies (this, a Reviewer's Proof); narrow 8vo, pp. 34, [4]; text printed in red and black; near fine in original gray wrappers with a printed paper label on the front wrapper giving details on price, edition size, types used, and binding. From the library of Kim Merker.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker, 10: "220 numbered copies (and a few unnumbered copies) ... Fever & Chills is a longish poem about an adulterous relationship. It's by George P. Elliott, the novelist, and I looked at him almost as a father figure. He was kind and moral and honest. I felt his work never got the respect it deserved ... This was the first book I did totally by myself."
210. From the Berkeley Hills. New York, [et al.]: Harper & Row, [1969].
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. ix, [1], 1213, [5]; a fine copy in publisher's gray cloth, in a near fine, unclipped dust jacket. From the library of Kim Merker.
This is Elliott's third collection of poetry, the first commercially published. This copy inscribed by Elliott: "For Kim Merker with deepest gratitude (and apologies for this title page), George, December 1968."
In 1960, Elliott moved to the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa, where he taught alongside Philip Roth, R. V. Cassill, and W. D. Snodgrass, and where he undoubtedly met Kim Merker.
211. Reaching ... Illustrated by Irving Block. Northridge: Santa Susana Press, California State University, 1979.
$125
Edition limited to 300 copies signed by the author and illustrator (this, no. 271); 8vo, pp. [38]; 8 line drawings by Block; original cream linen-backed brown paper-covered boards; the linen a bit spotted and the spine rubbed; all else very good and sound. From the library of Kim Merker.
Laid in is a one-page A.L.s. from Elliott dated 22 Dec. 1978 on personalized stationery to Kim Merker: "Don told us of Con's death a couple of days after it happened. Mary Emma and I mourned for her, for you, for the girls ... George."
212. A song and a diary for A. [New York]: Adventures in Poetry, [1973].
$200
First trade edition (there were 26 which were signed by the author), 4to, [30] leaves printed from typescript; original pictorial front wrapper by Edward Gorey, back wrapper unadorned; side-stapled; near fine.
213. Z Z Z Z Z Z. [No. 6]. [Calais, Vermont: Z Press, 1977].
$45
8vo, pp. [4], 155, [1]; cover by Alex Katz; 24-page illustrated insert, "Hotel Firbank Archive" by Max Blagg and Ken Tisa (outside of the pagination); original pictorial wrappers; small mark from sticker adhesion at top orner of the front wrapper, else near fine.
Contributors include Ted Berrigan, Joe Brainard, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Michael Lally, Alice Notely, Frank O'Hara, Bob Perelman, and Terence Winch, among others.
214. Album ... Cover and drawings by Joe Brainard. [New York]: Kulchur Press, [1969].
$125
First edition, small 4to, pp. 176; illustrated throughout, pictorial endpapers; original wrappers; spine faded and creased, else a very good copy.
This copy inscribed to Allan Kornblum, founder and proprietor of both the Toothpaste Press and the Coffee House Press: "222,222,222.00 For Allan, 'move to Silhouette City,' Love, Kenward 4/25/79 Minneapolis." With Kornblum's ownership signature at the top, and another signature of Kenward Elmslie on the title page.
215. Girl machine. New York & Bolinas: Angel Hair Books, 1971.
$135
First edition limited to 464 copies; there were also 26 lettered copies and 10 hors commerce; squarish 12mo (6" x 6½"), pp. [8]; fine in original pictorial wrappers. From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded Coffee House Press.
This copy inscribed "For Allan (swell teeth), love Kenward, Minneapolis 4/25/99." "Swell Teeth," likely a reference to Kornblum's Toothpaste Press, is written over Elmslie's colored drawing of parted lips. He has additionally signed the title page.
"A single poem inspired by the visual choreography of Busby Berkeley" (Curtis Faville).
216. The 1967 game calender [sic]. Drawings by Joe Brainard / Words by Kenward Elmslie. [New York?: publisher not identified, ca. 1966-67.]
$375
4to, [12] leaves printed on rectos only; 12 full-page illustrations plus the cover art by Joe Brainard, each illustration matched with a 4-line poem; saddle-stitched; some toning along the fore-edge of the front wrap, all else near fine.
Robert Duncan's copy, with his bookplate inside the front wrapper.
217. The technology of love. Fourteen poems. Omaha: Abattoir Editions, 1988.
$75
Edition limited to 265 copies, this one of 65 on handmade Kochi paper signed by the author (this, no. 125); 8vo, pp. 23, [1]; printed in blue and black; frontispiece by Bonnie O'Connell; fine in original pictorial black Moriki wrappers. From the library of Kim Merker.
218. Homage to Baudelaire on the centennial of Les Fleurs du Mal from poets at the State University of Iowa. Iowa City: The Cummington Press, 1957.
$350
Edition limited to 475 copies, large 8vo, pp. [2], 25, [1]; original black paper wrappers, printed paper label on upper cover; small breaks in the fore-edge of the wrappers; near fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Includes poems by Paul Engle, Harry Duncan, Donald Justice, Philip Levine, Robert Dana, Henri Coulette, Paulène Aspel, among others. The preface is in French by Alexander Aspel.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker, 2: "Printed on a Kluge clamshell press with Harry Duncan at the Typography Laboratory in the State University of Iowa School of Journalism for the Cummington Press ... This is Harry Duncan's piece. He started this and he and Raeburn [Miller] and I set the type. Harry did most of the printing ... I was learning how to run that press, but Harry did most of the work on this himself ... I had started taking Harry's course in the spring semester, so I didn't know all that much by the time this was done. But I set the type and helped in the proofing and printing."
Pascoe 2; Richmond 64.
219. Poems from the Iowa Poetry Workshop. With a foreword by Paul Engle. Iowa City, Iowa: Prairie Press, 1951.
$45
First edition (450 copies printed), 8vo, pp. 33, [1]; slight dampstain at the bottom on the spine, else a very good in original wrappers printed in red and black. From the library of Kim Merker.
This copy with the ownership signature inside the front cover of "Raeburn Miller / 2-60." Raeburn Miller was an early collaborator with Kim Merker at the Stone Wall Press before heading off into academia.
Includes contribution by James B. Hall, William Stafford, and W. D. Snodgrass, among others.
Cheever 93.
220. The ballad of a Piccadilly poet. Iowa City, Iowa: privately printed at the Secret Agents Press, 1965.
$150
Edition limited to 25 copies printed by the author at the Typographic Laboratory at the University of Iowa School of Journalism. Twenty-three are on Honsho [as here] and two are on Harry." 8vo, pp. [12]; 5 illustrations presumably by the author; generally fine in original plain green wrappers. From the library of Kim Merker.
This copy inscribed inside the front cover: "For Kim Merker, Glen Miller Epstein."
Not found in OCLC.
221. Alternate entries. [Iowa City]: The Seamark Press, 1975.
$45
Printed in a limited edition of an unspecified number; square 8vo, pp. [8], 17, [3]; original black wrappers, printed paper label on upper cover; fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Printed by Kay Amert (1947-2008), Director of the Typography Laboratory at the University of Iowa, and Howard Zimmon of the Seamark Press.
Kay established her own imprint, the Seamark Press, in 1967, while she was still an undergraduate at Iowa. It published its first, somewhat tentative, book in 1969. In all she printed 14 books over a space of 16 years.
Kay’s colophons (where they are present at all) are laconic, and the size of the edition is often unstated. Where a number is given, it is usually between 200 and 300 copies. It appears, however, that the number of copies bound was often much smaller than the number printed. In some instances, part of the edition was cased by hand and part was sewn into soft covers – a fact never mentioned in the colophons.
222. [Everson, William.] Californians. [California]: Cayucos Books, 1971.
$150
Edition limited to 500 copies, this being one of 50 specially bound copies numbered and signed by William Everson (this, copy no. 7); 8vo, pp. xxvi, 163, [3]; quarter orange cloth in peach paper boards, title on upper cover printed in red, gilt lettering on spine, soiling to top edge, small stain on lower cover, very good overall.
With a twenty page critical introduction by Everson.
223. Mexican Standoff. [Emeryville, California]: Lapis Press, 1989.
$200
First edition limited to 100 copies signed by Everson (this, no. 60); 8vo, pp. [10]; frontispiece by Robert Eschner also signed and numbered; fine copy in original orange cloth, glassine dust jacket. From the library of Kim Merker.
224. Poems MCMXLII. Waldport, Oregon: Untide Press, 1944-45.
$400
First edition limited to 500 copies printed by Everson himself, 8vo, pp. [34]; erratum slip tipped in at p. [15]; printed in black and red throughout; original printed wrappers a bit toned along the edges; very good.
Signed by Everson on the title page and with a presentation inscription by him on the flyleaf: "For Peter Bartlett, All the other Untide Press items were team-made, commercial products. This one I did on my own. Bill Everson, New Years Day, 1974."
225. Poems MCMXLII. Waldport, Oregon: Untide Press, 1944-45.
$200
First edition limited to 500 copies printed by Everson himself, 8vo, pp. [34]; erratum slip tipped in at p. [15]; printed in black and red throughout; original printed wrappers a bit toned along the edges, corners worn; very good.
Printed while Everson was at the Conscientious Objector's Camp in Oregon.
226. Keeping the night ... Illustration by John Thein. Lisbon, Iowa: Penumbra Press, [1977].
$50
Edition limited to "approximately" 230 copies, (this, no. 214) signed by the poet and printed by Bonnie P. O'Connell on Frankfurt White from Spectrum types, with the title in Garamond; 8vo, pp. [10], 7-57, [3]; original blue cloth, printed paper label on spine; spine sunned, else a fine copy. From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded Coffee House Press.
227. Speaking of accidents ... with woodcuts by Gary Young. Winona: Sutton Hoo Press, 2003.
$125
Edition limited to 200 copies signed by the poet and the illustrator (this, no. 93); small, narrow folio, pp. [30]; 8 abstract woodcuts by Young; top of front cover with one-inch of fading, else fine in original gray cloth, printed paper label on upper cover and spine. From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded Coffee House Press.
228. Adventures in Poetry. Number 6. [New York]: Adventures in Poetry, June, 1970.
$50
4to, 11" x 8½", pp. [120]; printed from typescript on rectos only; original pictorial front wrapper by Jim Dine, back wrapper unadorned; side-stitched; tear at the bottom of the front wrapper with partial loss of two letters (the 'r' and the 'y' in "poetry"); all else near fine. Contributors include Scott Cohen, Tom Clark, Tom Veitch, and others. From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded Coffee House Press.
229. Brain damage. [Paris: Sand Project Press, 1970].
$50
First edition printed in a limited but unspecified number; 4to, 11" x 8½", [12] leaves printed from typescript on rectos only; covers lightly spotted and toned, else near fine in original pictorial wrappers by Joe Brainard, side-stapled. Issued as Blue Pig #12. From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded Coffee House Press.
230. Abaddon, the spirit of destruction; and other poems. New York: Sleight and Robinson, 1830.
$65
8vo, pp. 157, [3]; original green paper covered boards backed in tan cloth; boards and endpapers waterstained, spine worn with paper label partial perished, good and sound.
231. Elodie, being a sketch of the life of Elodie Farnum as set forth in a letter by John Russell. Providence: privately printed for Elodie's mother by the Livermore & Knight Company, 1917.
$150
Small 4to, pp. 32; mounted photographic frontispiece portrait, 11 illustrations on rectos and versos of 3 plates; original brown cloth stamped in gilt on the upper cover; newspaper shadow on title page, else very good and sound.
Elodie was the daughter of Herbert Cyrus Farnum the landscape painter known for his paintings of Africa where he spent much time with his wife and Elodie. She was a talented violinist, some say a musical genius, and her untimely death in 1914 was a devastating loss to him and precipitated also the loss of his wife a few years later. Included here are 7 poems by her.
232. Poems. Boston: Richard G. Badger, The Gorham Press, 1905.
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. 218; publisher's device on title-page; a fine, as new copy in original deep green cloth stamped and lettered in gilt on spine and front cover.
Page 217-218 are "Notes," which explicate several of the literary references in the Poems. This is apparently Farquhar's (1843-1905) second published work. Libyssa, the first (1898) was also a self-published gathering of poems utilizing themes and characters from antiquity.
233. Ballad of the silver ring. Muscatine: The Prairie Press, 1935.
$150
Edition limited to 190 copies (this, no. 183); 12mo, pp. [6], 32, [2]; printed in red and black; original terracotta cloth, printed paper label on spine; spine a touch sunned, else a fine copy. From the library of Kim Merker.
This copy inscribed: "For Dr. Wright with my appreciation, Don Farran. N.Y. City, 1936." With the bookplate of Dr. Arthur M. Wright. Also, signed by Farran on the half-title.
Cheever 2.
234. Le rameau vert. Traduit de l' américain par R.N. Raimbault. Paris: Gallimard, 1955.
$250
Edition limited to 86 numbered copies (this, no. 48), 8vo, pp. 220, [4]; printed on velin pur filLafuma-Navarre; original wrappers printed in red and black; original glassine (slightly chipped); light toning of the text block, else fine.
This is the first French translation of The Green Bough, issued in the publisher's Du Monde Entier series.
Petersen A.15.5.
235. Mississippi poems. Introduction by Joseph Blotner. Afterword by Louis Daniel Brodsky. Oxford, Mississippi: Yoknapatawpha Press, 1979.
$150
Number 75 of a limited run of 500, 4to, pp. [4], 53, [3]; brown cloth with gilt title on cover. Near fine in very good cloth slipcase.
Signed by Joseph Blotner and Louis Daniel Brodsky on title page. The first publication of a number of poems Faulker gave to Myrtle Ramey, here printed in facsimile.
236. An imitation of Robert Herrick. n.p., n.d. [New York: privately printed, 1925].
$50
Edition limited to 75 numbered copies (this copy out of series); 12mo, pp. [12]; self wrappers; some separation along spine, else very good.
See BAL III, p. 128 for a discussion of four printings of this piece, "accepted as Field's by some." This is BAL's printing B (no sequence determined)
237. Cradle lullabies ... with an introduction by Edwin Osgood-Grover. Chicago: Canterbury Co., [1909].
$250
First edition, square 8vo, pp. 27, [1]; printed in red and black and on rectos only; frontispiece portrait; dust jacket printed in red and green; very mild waterstain to the jacket, else generally fine throughout.
Dutch, Japanese, Norse, Corsican, Armenian, Jewish, Cornish, and Orkney lullabies. The book and jacket designed by W. A. Dwiggins, according to Emerson Wulling.
BAL 5872
238. The gentle art of equanimity. The making of character. Enthusiasm - essential to greatness. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Oriole Press, [1963].
$45
Edition limited to 75 copies (this, no. 34); 8vo, pp. [12]; printed in green, red and black; original wrappers printed in green and black; fine.
239. The beauties of religion. A poem. Addressed to youth. In five books. Providence: printed by John Carter, 1789.
$375
8vo, pp. 129, [1]; full contemporary calf, red morocco label on gilt-paneled spine; wear to spine extremities, newspaper clippings pasted to front endpapers, scattered foxing.
Dedicated to Ezra Stiles, and published posthumously.
Alden 1146; Evans 21826; Stoddard-Whitesell 394; Wegelin 138.
240. Pages from The Iliad [wrapper title]. Book III. Dueling for a haunted lady. Iowa City: Windhover Press / University of Iowa, 1976.
$75
Edition limited to 300 copies, of which 200 have been reserved as a keepsake "for presentation by Doyce B. Nunis, Jr. to the Roxburgh and Zamarano Clubs at their biennial joint meeting," 8vo, pp. [12]; printed in red and black; original gray printed wrappers; fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker, A12.
241. Branches of Adam. London: Faber and Gwyer, 1926.
$80
Edition limited to 81 copies signed by Fletcher, 8vo, pp. 81; blue cloth; partially unopened, crack between gatherings B and C, spine faded. Very good.
242. Selected poems. New York & Toronto: Farrar and Rinehart, [1938].
$50
First edition, 8vo, pp. xii, 237; original brown cloth, silver-lettered spine.
This copy with a presentation from the author on the front free endpaper: "To Isaac L. Myers in friendship frrom John Gould Fletcher." Small waterstain on endpaper touching the "T" in "To" in the presentation; otherwise very good.
This book won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
243. The tree of life. London: Chatto & Windus, 1918.
$65
First edition, 8vo, pp. 127, [1]; unopened; original blue cloth with gilt lettering on spine and upper cover, t.e.g.; near fine.
Inscribed by Fletcher on front free endpaper.
244. The way of smiles. Verses by.... Bismarck, ND: Press of the Tribune, 1913.
$65
First edition, 16mo, pp. [8], 7-83; original limp red morocco lettered in gilt on upper cover and spine, t.e.g., and preserving the original printed glassine dust jacket, darkened and chipped at spine ends. About fine.
245. Tales of the trail. A book of western sketches in verse. New York: E. P. Dutton, [1914].
$75
8vo, pp. [12], 170; vignette title-p., frontispiece and 15 plates by John Wolcott Adams; original red cloth gilt stamped on upper cover and spine, t.e.g., preserving the original printed dust-jacket with a fingernail-size chip out at the top of the spine causing loss to the word "Tales." All else very good and sound.
246. Somata...Illustrations by Gaylord Schanilec. Saint Paul: Bieler Press, 1982.
$125
Edition limited to 150 copies (this, no. 144) signed by the poet and the illustrator; small 4to, pp. [30]; title-page drawing and 6 full-page drawings by Schanilec; Mexican handmade paper wrappers, printed wraparound chemise; fine.
Quarter to Midnight A.45; Smith, Bieler 19.
247. [Fourth of July.] Hymn for the Fourth of July 1823. N.p.: 1823.
$100
Broadside approx. 9" x 7", seven numbered stanzas in double column beneath a running head; typographical border; previous folds and several short splits; good.
Ownership signature at the bottom, "L. Kinsman."
Not in American Imprints but 4 in OCLC.
248. O-jin-san from Rain Among the Bamboos. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Oriole Press, 1958.
$45
Edition limited to 63 copies (this, no. 31); thin 8vo, pp. [8]; printed in green, red and black; frontispiece from a Japanese painting by Hosoda Eishi; original wrappers and glassine (chipped); all else near fine.
249. West of Boston. Poems from the State University of Iowa Poetry Workshop in honor of the visit of Robert Frost. [Edited by Donald Justice]. Iowa City: The Qara Press, privately printed, [1959].
$350
Edition limited to 400 copies "of which 20 are in handmade Japanese Omi wrappers, and of these, 10 are signed by members of the Poetry Workshop." 8vo, pp. [16]; title page printed in red and black; a very good copy. From the library of Kim Merker.
While the wrappers are decidedly not Japanese Omi, this copy is signed by 8 (of the 13 poets) under their contributions, viz: Carol Johnson, Martha Grimes, Robert Mezey, Stephen Berg, Vern Rutsala, John Taylor, Henri Coulette, and William M. Murray. Other contributors include Raeburn Miller, Paul Engle, Edmund Skellings, Yoshie Osada, and Gene Lundahl.
250. VIsual poems. Bennett Ernst Gallo Helmes Kamin Kostelanetz [cover title]. Minneapolis: Stamp Pad Press / Hermetic Press, 2003.
$425
Edition limited to 75, folio, consisting of 4 bifolia (each approx. 13" x 10") with letterpress wrappers and contents, and a total of 6 visual poems printed in color, as below:
1) Preface to an Autobiography, by Richard Kostelanetz;
2) A Naive Topognomy of Loopules on a Fabric-Manifold of the All-Angel, by Franz Kamin;
3) Dialogue with Anna Blume, by Scott Helmes;
4) High-Heeled, by K. S. Ernst;
5) Untitled. John M. Bennett;
6) Nuclear Child, by Philip Gallo.
Fine, and contained in the original Zip-Loc bag, as issued.
251. A printer's dozen. Poems by Philip Gallo. Engraving by Gaylord Schanilec. Los Angeles: Bieler Press, 1992.
$200
First edition limited to 200 numbered copies signed by the poet and the illustrator, 8vo, pp. [22]; title page with 4-color plexiglass engraving; original charcoal printed wrappers, bound by Robin Price; fine.
Designed and printed by Gerald Lange. This is the first color engraving made by Schanilec in about 1980 but not published until here.
Quarter to Midnight A.113; Smith, Bieler, 40.
252. Allo / tropes. An alchemy thru a glass darkly - with lines expropriated from Tennyson & Wordsworth. [Saint Paul]: The Hermetic Press, 2019.
$1,500
Edition limited to 31 copies, this being one of 26 lettered copies on 125 gsm Stardream paper (there are also 5 on 110 gsm Plike paper), 8vo (approx. 9¾" x 5½"); [22] leaves; printed in color throughout, handset foundry type used includes Eurostyle Normal & Extended; Aurora Condensed & Bold Condensed; Permanent; Headline & Headline Open; Impact Open; Anzeigen & Inserat Grotesk; Folio Extra Bold; Huxley Vertical; Bauer Bodoni Italic & Bold Roman; Libra; Sapphire; Prisma; Boulevard and Fry's Ornamented, card covers in an orange chemise of RFID/NFC Faraday fabric. The covers are suseptible to soiling and this copy shows evidence of that.
Quite a book, pushing the limits of color, type, design, and poetry, found or otherwise, "like a slurry full of swarth."
253. The country's way with rain. St. Paul: Kutenai Press, 1994.
$45
Edition limited to 150 copies signed by the author (this, no. 27); 8vo, pp. [40]; 15 vernacular photographic illustrations reproduced from a photograph album purchased by the author at a South Dakota flea market; original brown paper wrappers with a photographic reproduction mounted on the upper cover; fine.
Original prospectus laid in. Designed and printed by Emily Strayer at the Kutenai Press.
254. Prevailing wind. [Iowa City?]: Spurwink Press, [2002].
$65
Edition limited to 80 copies (this, no. 29) printed by Emily Wilson; 8vo, pp. [12]; digital art on title page by Leah Gauthier; original gray cotton/abaca paper-covered boards lettered in black; fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Emily Wilson is the author of The Keep, Micrographia, and The Great Medieval Yellows (Canarium Books, 2015). She is the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and designs and prints letterpress books under the imprint Spurwink Press.
Delaware, Colorado-Ft. Collins, Colorado College, California-Riverside and Chicago in OCLC.
255. The song of Stradella and other songs. Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1899.
$75
12mo, pp. 85, [1]; original paper-covered boards, upper cover and spine gilt, silk place ribbon; binding somewhat discolored, fore-edges a bit darkened and creased, otherwise near fine.
256. [Garfield, James A.] The poets' tributes to Garfield. The collection of poems written for the Boston Daily Globe, and many selections. With portrait and biography. Cambridge, Mass.: Published by Moses King, 1881.
$100
First edition, 8vo, pp. [6], 7-80; engraved frontispiece of Garfield; original pictorial wrappers; staple-bound; spine extremities lightly chipped; lower corner of front wrapper chipped, along with the first three leaves; otherwise very good.
A collection of 43 poems dedicated to the late President Garfield. Submissions were received from applicants throughout the United States. Among the contributors were Oliver Wendell Holmes, Julia Ward Howe, Joaquin Miller, and Walt Whitman.
257. A quarterly of poetry 9 [cover title] . [Sandia Park, NM: Coronado Press], March, 1962.
$75
8vo, pp. 61; illustrations throughout; original pictorial self-wrappers (a bit soiled), unbound as usual; near fine.
Includes poems by Luigi Bartolini and Phil E. Weidman.
258. Light. Omaha: Abattoir Editions / University of Nebraska, 1978.
$45
Edition limited to 170 copies (this, no. 138) on unnamed paper from India; large 8vo, pp. 32; original decorative paper wrappers over card; fine copy. From the library of Kim Merker.
259. [Gift Book.] Scenes in the life of the apostles. Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, n.d., [ca. 1846].
$125
First edition, 8vo, pp. [13], 14-239, [1]; steel-engraved frontispiece and title page, 8 steel-engraved plates by John Sartain; publisher's full black roan with blind-tooled borders on covers enclosing an elaborate and large architectural gilt stamp, elaborate gilt-decorated spine, a.e.g.; very good, bright and sound copy.
Thompson, American Literary Annuals and Gift Books, p. 154; see also BAL VI, p. 84, etc. for Bryant, Longfellow, Lowell, Pierpont, and Sigourney contributions.
260. Dentelle / Indented. Colorado Springs: The Press at Colorado College, [1982].
$125
Edition limited to 140 copies (this, unnumbered), 8vo, pp. [54]; original cream cloth stamped in blind on upper cover; fine copy. From the library of Kim Merker.
Includes poems in translation by Roland Giguere, Gaston Miron, Ralph Gustafson, and D. H. Jones.
261. The Dooley poems. Los Angeles: Robin Price, 1991.
$75
Edition limited to 150 copies signed by Gilgun and Price; slim folio, pp. [25]; as new in orig. printed paper-covered boards, green shelf-back. Gilgun's poetry celebrates his friends and their lives in northwest Missouri. The cover is illustrated with a hand-inked, multi-colored monoprint by Price who also designed, printed and bound the book.
262. A benefit for Naropa Institute. A full reading of Howl by Allen Ginsberg. New York: publisher not identified [likely Columbia University], 1981.
$400
Folio broadside (approx.16½" x 9¾"), printed in red and black; minor edge wear; near fine.
Signed by Ginsberg beneath his image. A reading in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the publication of his most famous poem, given at Columbia University, November 14, 1981.
Not found in OCLC.
263. Airplane dreams: compositions from journals.. Toronto: The House of Anansi, 1968.
$150
First edition, wrapper issue; 8vo, pp. [8], 38; blue and white pictorial wrappers, stained, dampstain through top corner of last few pages, not affecting text. This copy inscribed by Ginsberg to Israel "Izzy" Young, former owner of the Folklore Center in Greenwich Village, New York, and first promoter of Bob Dylan in New York City: "For Izzy Young, Stockholm, January 29, 1983. Corrections enclosed." The corrections mentioned in the inscription are not present.
"The Manufacturing Clause of the American copyright laws is an interesting piece of legislation. Among other things, it provides that the copyright of an American author's work published outside the U.S. can be pirated if more than three thousand copies of that work are imported into the States. In protest of this infringing piece of legislation, and with Allen Ginsberg's permission, we are sending five thousand copies of Airplane Dreams...to the United States." A note in the subsequent 1969 City Lights Edition (with accompanies this offering), notes that "the shipment was subsequently seized & confiscated by U. S. Customs and has never been recovered."
264. Coffee House Press and the University of Saint Thomas present Allen Ginsberg. [Minneapolis]: Coffee House Press, 1994.
$500
23" x 18", large event poster, two color, featuring wood engravings by Dean Bornstein, signed and dated by Ginsberg.
265. Collected poems. New York: Harper & Row, [1984].
$250
First edition, 8vo, pp. xxi, [1], 836, [1]; fine in original black cloth stamped in gilt, dust-wrapper.
Inscribed by Ginsberg on the title page, "For Mark Mutchler Allen Ginsberg May 24, 1986 AH New Orleans."
266. Collected poems. 1947-1980. New York: Harper & Row, [1988].
$500
First Perennial Library edition, thick 8vo, pp. xxi, [1], 837, [3]; original red wrappers printed in black and gilt; gnerally fine.
This copy with an inscription by Ginsberg on the title page "Allen Ginsberg / St. Paul / 3/20/94 / for Terence Williams & Pat Hampl with thanks for hospitality, & sympathetic ears" with a full-page drawing by Ginsberg on the preceeding page of a terrorized face surrounded by stars, and Ginsberg's customary "AH" within a mishapen sun.
Laid in a postcard invitation to a concert at the Continental Divide in New York featuring the Climax Band (Larry Rivers, Howard Brofsky and friends, imncluding Ginsberg), addressed to Hampl & Williams, signed by Ginsberg and asking "Have you heard yet from Jane [?] at Naropa. I've been talking with them a lot about the summer - hoping you can visit. Sorry to miss you."
Terry Williams and Allen Ginsberg go way back. Terry was early proponent of xerox and mimeograph during his days in Lawrence, Kansas where he was employed in the Special Collections department at the University of Kansas in the early sixties. At the vanguard of the mimeograph revolution, Terry published nearly two dozen poetry broadsides and chapbooks, including those of Robert Creeley, Kirby Congdon, Ken Irby, Edward Dorn, and Allen Ginsberg. (He also published the first edition in English, and the first appearance in print of Tomas Transtromer in the Western Hemisphere, as translated by Robert Bly.)
Ginsberg was introduced to Terry by Ed Sanders of the Peace Eye Book Store in Manhattan from whom Terry had been purchasing mimeos for Kansas. When Sanders and the rest of the Fugs traveled cross-country in their VW microbus, Terry and his wife gave them a place to stay for what turned out to be almost a week. Ginsberg was part of that scene, as was Robert Frank, the photographer, who was traveling with the Fugs. Ginsberg and Williams remained close for the rest of their lives.
267. Empty mirror. Early poems. Introduction by William Carlos Williams. New York: Totem Press in association with Corinth Books, [1961].
$500
First edition, 8vo, pp. 47, [1]; original printed wrappers, soiled and spotted.
This copy inscribed by Ginsberg "Allen Ginsberg for Israel Young, January 29, 1983 Stockholm Sweden." Also with Ginsberg's Buddhist syllable mark "AH" in a circle. From the library of Israel "Izzy" Young, former owner of the Folklore Center in Greenwich Village, New York.
268. [Ginsberg, Allen.] Cottonwood review, Vol. 1, no. 2. [Lawrence]: University of Kansas, 1966.
$50
Square 8vo, unpaged; original white printed wrappers (some soiling); edges quite toned, else very good.
Contents include an interview with Ginsberg.
269. White shroud. Poems 1980-1985. New York: Harper & Row, n.d., [ca. 1994].
$350
Fifth printing, 8vo, pp. xi, [3], 89, [1]; original wrappers printed in red and gilt; gnerally fine.
This copy with an inscription by Ginsberg on the title page "For Patricia Hampl & Terence Williams / Allen Ginsberg / 3/20/94 / Minneapolis" with a full-page drawing by Ginsberg on the preceeding page of a Buddha figure surrounded by stars, a moon, a mishapen skull, and Ginsberg's customary "AH" within a not-so-mishapen sun.
Laid in a bifoliate invitation to a Ginsberg reading at Coffee House Press in Minneapolis, also signed and dated by Ginsberg.
Terry Williams and Allen Ginsberg go way back. Terry was early proponent of xerox and mimeograph and during his days in Lawrence, Kansas where he was employed in the Special Collections department at the University of Kansas. At the vanguard of the mimeograph revolution, Terry published nearly two dozen poetry broadsides and chapbooks, including those of Robert Creeley, Kirby Congdon, Ken Irby, Edward Dorn, and Allen Ginsberg. (He also published the first edition in English, and the first appearance in print of Tomas Transtromer in the Western Hemisphere, as translated by Robert Bly.) Ginsberg was introduced to Terry by Ed Sanders of the Peace Eye Book Store in Manhattan from whom Terry had been purchasing mimeos for Kansas. When Sanders and the rest of the Fugs traveled cross-country in their VW microbus, Terry and his wife gave them a place to stay for what turned out to be almost a week. Ginsberg was part of that scene, as was Robert Frank, the photographer, who was traveling with the Fugs. Ginsberg and Williams remained close for the rest of their lives.
270. White shroud: poems 1980 - 1985. New York [et al.]: Harper & Row Publishers, 1987.
$350
First edition thus, 8vo, pp. xiv 89; perfect bound in white paper wrappers; damp to top edge, stain to last few pages of foredge.
With an inscription and illustration by Ginsburg to Israel "Izzy" Young, former owner of the Folklore Center in Greenwich Village, New York. The text is annotated in Izzy's hand throughout, and holograph corrections and additions by Ginsberg on p. 41.
271. Daily horoscope. [Iowa City]: Windhover Press, University of Iowa, [1982].
$125
Edition limited to 225 copies, 8vo, pp. [20]; printed in red and black; linoleum cut by Thomas Kovacs on title page; fine copy in original gray printed wrappers, title printed on spine. Acknowledgement slip laid in, as issued. From the library of Kim Merker.
This is Gioia's first collection of poetry.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker, 78.
272. Summer. [West Chester, Pennsylvania]: Aralia Press, [1983].
$75
Edition limited to 200 copies handset in Spectrum types by Michael Peich (this, unnumbered and marked 'printer's proof'), signed by Gioia; 12mo, pp. [10]; fine copy in original brown wrappers. From the library of Kim Merker.
The second Aralia imprint.
Merker printed Gioia's first collection of poetry, Daily Horoscope, at the Windhover Press in 1982.
273. Summer. [West Chester, Pennsylvania]: Aralia Press, [1983].
$45
Edition limited to 200 copies handset in Spectrum types by Michael Peich (this, no. 144 and one of 185 in printed wrappers), signed by Gioia; 12mo, pp. [10]; fine copy in original gray wrappers.
The second Aralia imprint.
Gioia's first collection of poetry, Daily Horoscope, was printed at the Windhover Press in 1982.
274. Ancient song ... Illustrated by Janet Morgan. New York: Red Ozier Press, [1980].
$45
Edition limited to 100 copies, small folio, pp. [4]; folding frontispiece; fine in original printed gray wrappers. From the library of Kim Merker.
Laid in is a Red Ozier bifolium prospectus for Robert Bly's Mirabai Versions.
Peich 18.
275. A rhyme of the North Countrie. Cincinnati: J. A. & U. P. James, 1847.
$125
12mo, pp. 143, [1]; uncut and unopened; original paper covered boards; spine perished, corners bumped, ex-Pottsville Public Library with their pressure stamp on title page (and a few internal leaves) and with residue from pocket removal on lower pastedown; all else good and sound.
276. Godsmark's poems. An experimental treatise on the facts and theories of life. New York: Russell Bros., 1871.
$85
First edition, 12mo, pp. [3]-104; original blue cloth lettered in gilt on upper cover, a.e.g.; top of spine barely chipped, some light rubbing, else very good.
This copy inscribed "Benj. Collins Esq. from his affectionate nephew the author."
277. Albert's horoscope almanac. Minneapolis: Bieler Press, 1986.
$45
Edition limited to 200 copies signed by the author and the printer, Gerald Lange; small 8vo, pp. [20]; printed in blue and black; original blue printed wrappers; fine.
278. Collected poems. With four linocuts by Ruth Fine. Omaha: Abattoir Editions, University of Nebraska, 1980.
$45
Edition limited to 252 copies (this, no. 79); 8vo, pp. 75, [1]; original stiff drab wrappers, printed paper label on spine; spine lightly sunned, else fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Printed by Harry Duncan, Richard Brown, and Mark Watson from Romulus and Walbaum types on thick Apta paper.
279. Poems 1943-1949. [Cummington, Mass.]: Cummington Press, [1949].
$175
Edition limited to 250 copies handprinted by Harry Duncan and Wightman Williams, small 12mo, pp. 42, [2]; fine in original gray paper wrappers, printed paper label on spine. From the library of Kim Merker.
280. Here's luck to Lora and other poems. New York: Benj. R. Tucker, 1906.
$200
First edition, 8vo, pp. 62; original pictorial stiff cream wrappers; front free endpaper removed, all else fine.
A curious collection of verse. Save for one piece on the French Revolution, Gordak's subject matter seems oddly subdued and sentimental given the Tucker imprint. Possibly Tucker, like Arena before him, may have taken on subsidized publishing to help fund his less profitable interests.
281. The dream of the unified field: selected poems 1974-1994. Hopewell, N.J.: Ecco Press, [1995].
$375
First edition, 8vo, pp. [8], 199, [1]; fine copy in a fine, unclipped dust jacket with the Pulitzer winner seal on the front. From the library of Kim Merker.
This copy inscribed by Graham to Merker: "For the only true bookmaker Jorie Graham with all my love (& our years together!)."
The poet's Pulitzer Prize winning collection of verse. The Poetry Foundation called Graham "one of the most celebrated poets of the American post-war generation." She was chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 1997 to 2003, and received a Master of Fine Arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa where she held a long-time faculty position, and where she no doubt met and knew Merker.
282. The Inheritance. [West Branch, Iowa]: Toothpaste Press, 1981.
$125
Letterpress broadside, edition limited to 85 numbered copies (this, marked 'os' - ?), approx. 13" x 9½", printed in black and blue; printed on the occasion of the author's reading at the Walker Art Center, March 19, 1981. This copy boldly signed by Grahn.
Denver, Indiana, and Saint Clair University only in only in OCLC. Also included in the Bookslinger Twenty Broadsides portfolio, 1981-82.
"Judy Grahn is an American poet and author. Inspired by her experiences of disenfranchisement as a butch lesbian, she became a feminist poet, highly-regarded in underground circles before achieving public fame" (Wikipedia).
283. Wreck o'lections. Collaborations between Darrell Gray & Alastair Johnston with guessed appearances by Anselm Hollo & Allan Kornblum. Berkeley: Transitional Face [i.e., Poltroon Press], [1987].
$175
Edition limited to 150 copies printed on Labor Day; 5 unbound bifolia (= 20 pages), each approx. 17" x 6", the first printed in brown and green, and all contained in a multi-colored portfolio with a carrot and milk label theme; fine.
From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded Coffee House Press.
284. He stopped at the pond neighboring the abbey... [West Branch, Iowa]: Toothpaste Press for Bookslinger Editions, 1981.
$100
Letterpress broadside, edition limited to 70 numbered copies (this, marked 'os' - ?), approx. 14½" x 10½", printed in brown and black; printed on the occasion of the author's reading at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, December 4, 1981. This copy signed by Gray.
Not found in OCLC as an individual entry, but included in the Bookslinger Twenty Broadsides portfolio, 1981-82.
285. Scaling the walls. [Lexington, Kentucky]: Gnomon Press, [1974].
$45
Edition limited to 1,000 copies, this one of 125 bound by hand, signed and numbered by the author (this, no. 43); 8vo, pp. [60]; title page printed in red and black; fine copy in original black cloth-backed paper-covered boards, printed paper label on spine. From the library of Kim Merker.
286. Looks like I'm walking. [Salisbury, CT]: Case Books, [1991].
$75
First edition, 4to, [22] leaves printed on rectos only; original pictorial wrappers, side-stapled; fine.
287. Makes sense. [New York]: Angel Hair Books, [1975].
$125
Edition limited to 400 copies (26 more were numbered and signed), 4to, [56] leaves printed from typescript on rectos only; original pictorial wrappers by George Schneeman; side-stapled; fine.
288. Making a living. [New York]: Adventures in Poetry, [1973].
$275
First edition limited to 350 copies (there was also an issue of 26 lettered copies signed), 4to, [26] leaves printed from typescript on rectos only; original pictorial front wrapper by Gordon Matta-Clark, back wrapper unadorned; side-stapled; near fine.
289. You go through. [Salisbury, CT]: Case Books, [1992].
$75
First edition, 4to, [22] leaves printed on rectos only; original pictorial wrappers, side-stapled; fine.
290. Bathsheba on the third day. Poems ... with an intaglio by Priscilla Steele. Omaha: Cummington Press, 1986.
$45
First edition limited to 300 copies printed by Harry Duncan, 8vo, pp. 45, [3]; intaglio plate by Priscilla Steele, initialed and numbered by her in pencil; original gray cloth, printed red wrap-around label on upper cover and spine; fine copy. From the library of Kim Merker.
291. Movable islands. Princeton: Princeton University Press, [1980].
$65
First edition, wrapper issue of the poet's first commercially published book; 8vo, pp. xii, 63, [3]; fine copy in original pictorial wrappers. From the library of Kim Merker.
This copy inscribed by Greger to Merker: "For Kim, on that landlocked island that is Iowa. Best, Debora. "
292. Off-season at the edge of the world. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, [1994].
$50
First edition, wrapper issue, 8vo, pp. [10], 90, [4]; fine copy in original pictorial wrappers. From the library of Kim Merker.
This copy inscribed by Greger to Merker: "For Kim, at the edge of that fossil sea that is Coralville. Best, Debora. "
293. The 1002nd night. [Princeton]: Princeton University Press, [1990].
$50
First edition, wrapper issue; 8vo, pp. [12], 72; fine copy in original pictorial wrappers. From the library of Kim Merker.
This copy inscribed by Greger to Merker: "For Kim, a few strange stories to beguile a waking hour - Best, Debora." Also laid in an autograph card from Greger addressed to Merker: "Dear Kim, I thought you might like to see what I've been up to ever since I finished the final project in your class!"
294. The William Morris poem. Iowa City, Iowa: Volundhusar Press, [1973].
$250
8vo, pp. [7], 1-9; portrait frontispiece of William Morris; original tan wrappers fronted in red; fine copy. From the library of Kim Merker.
This is the poet's first book, made by her while getting her MFA from the University of Iowa, where as a student, she "once (unsuccessfully) tried to submit a quilt in lieu of an essay" (Poetry Foundation).
Chicago and Iowa only in OCLC.
295. Mid-Ohio elegies. With collotypes by Kurt Retter. [Columbus]: Logan Elm Press, 1985.
$50
Edition limited to 165 copies, 8vo, pp. [6], 2-32, [3]; 6 collotypes; original pictorial Fabriano Roma paper wrappers over boards, upper cover and spine printed in black; fine. Printed by Kurt Retter on Mohawk Letterpress.
296. L'homme qui se ferme / The man closing up. A translation and improvisation by Donald Justice. Iowa City: Stone Wall Press, 1973.
$100
Edition limited to 150 copies, 4to, pp. [18], the last leaf folding; original gray printed wrappers; fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Berger, Printing & the Mind of Merker, 52: "The last three pages are the improvisation, a new poem by Justice inspired by that of Guillevic, tipped in at the end of the pamphlet and folding out so that it can be read at the same time as the original poem and the translation."
297. The bright universe and other poems. Omaha: Abattoir Editions, University of Nebraska, 1983.
$125
Edition limited to 276 copies (this, no. xxxviii and one of 40 on Iyo paper) printed by Harry Duncan, 8vo, pp. 48; title printed in red and black; original red paper-covered boards, printed wrap-around label on spine and upper cover; fine copy with original glassine dust jacket intact. From the library of Kim Merker.
298. A continual interest in the sun and sea & inland missing the sea. [Minneapolis: Nodin Press, 1977].
$50
8vo, pp. [8], 155, [1]; illustrations by Pat Young throughout, blue paper wrappers rubbed and worn, textblock clean and sound.
With an inscription and illustration by Gunderson to fellow Poet John Rezmerski on half-title page. A Continual Interest was first published in 1971. Inland Missing the Sea is a continuation of the poetry series.
299. Good night Bynum. [Colorado Springs]: The Press at Colorado College, 2005.
$65
First edition limited to 125 copies signed by the author (this, no. 25), large 8vo, pp. [6], 35, [3]; starburst pictorial title page printed in yellow, blue, green and black, with three full-page multi-color headers; original black cloth, silver title on spine, fine.
300. The leopard. [West Branch, Iowa]: Toothpaste Press for Bookslinger Editions, 1983.
$100
Letterpress broadside, edition limited to 90 numbered copies (this, marked 'os' - out-of-series?), approx. 13" x 10¼", printed in red and black; printed on the occasion of the author's reading at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, April 20, 1983. This copy signed by Hagedorn.
Berkeley and Denver only in OCLC. Also included in the Bookslinger Twenty-one Broadsides portfolio, 1982-83.