Wanted: Signed Books

"John Pelan" <jpelan.RemoveThis@cnw.com> wrote in message
news:sovshvoqc0te0po256crhps51mpfrrmek4@4ax.com...

 > Heh-heh. Actually, in all seriousness, his signature is one of the
 > easiest to come by among the great ghostly authors. Many of his books
 > were issued as limited editions with signature and he was seemingly
 > pretty generous with handing out presentation copies. Machen,
 > Dunsany, Blackwood, de la Mare, all easy... Now find me an inscribed
 > Wakefield Arkham...

I did handle one once, an inscribed Wakefield Arkham House: it was a copy of
STRAYERS FROM SHEOL inscribed to either his sister or his niece (can't
remember without looking), and it was signed 'Erb'. This volume also had
annotations in it in the margins, where 'Erb' had corrected the (numerous)
misspellings which Derleth and Wandrei managed to import into the text. Now,
from the story MSS we've seen Erb's handwriting wasn't the greatest, but it
wasn't MRJ-style illegible either; so when you see some six or seven dozen
typos in a book you have to shake your head. I know Derleth and Wandrei were
busy men running AH pretty much on their own, but that's no excuse for that
degree of error (in my opinion).

Barbara<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 05:38:58 -0700, John Pelan <jpelan.RemoveThis@cnw.com> wrote:


 >While I think of it, has anyone ever seen Margery Lawrence's #7 (in
 >the Mycroft Moran/Arkham edition) signed? That's on my list of Arkham
 >titles that could possibly exist signed, but have never been reported
 >thus.
 >

Talking of #7, I'm thoroughly enjoying working on the complete
CASEBOOK OF MILES PENNOYER, which we'll be publishing in a couple of
months' time. Pennoyer seems, to me, to be one of the better psychic
detectives: it's probably the lack of Saaamaa Rituals, and fallings
into funk, and the usual, often somewhat trite, trappings of the
psychic detective story, that improve things in the case of Pennoyer.
In any event, I think I'd place him high, if not at the top, of any of
the psychic sleuths with whom I'm familiar; and certainly of more
interest than the some of the better knowns, such as Flaxman Low, and
Morris Klaw; yes, possibly even John Silence and Carnacki.

Lawrence certainly didn't write short with her Pennoyer stories. The
twelve total out at something just short of 235,000 words. However,
the stories are none the worse for their length. At times the build-up
is a little slow, but generally there's a good pace to the writing
throughout, and the resolutions seem less contrived than can be the
case with psyhic detective stories generally. There's also a more
consistent quality to this series, than to Lawrence's other
collections of short supernatural fiction - whilst there is much good
stuff there, I find that her work tends to be something of a mixed bag

As far as a signed #7 is concerned, if anyone has one, it will be
Richard Dalby (Lawrence was a distant relative of Richard's) and then,
it would possibly more likely be the Robert Hale edition (1945), than
the Mycroft & Moran (1969). In fact, I'd suggest that a signed Mycroft
& Moran edition might be somewhat unlikely in any case. Jaffery
(HORRORS & UNPLEASANTNESS) nor Joshi (SIXTY YEARS OF ARKHAM HOUSE) nor
Derleth (FORTY YEARS OF AH) give an actual day and month of
publication, so we know no more than it was 1969, and likely no more
than a few months prior to Margery Lawrence's death on 13 November.
Typically, the M & M colophon, as with Arkham colophons generally,
fails to provide any information other than the printer and the cloth.

Christopher<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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John Pelan <jpelan.DeleteThis@cnw.com> wrote in message news:<sovshvoqc0te0po256crhps51mpfrrmek4.DeleteThis@4ax.com>...
 > On 23 Jul 2003 01:22:19 -0700, nbooksca.DeleteThis@yahoo.com (David Anderson)
 > wrote:
 >
   > >> I found a nice picture of a Walter da le Mare signature on another
   > >> group, Horrabin Hall. Do signed copies of his books turn up often?
  > >
  > >Only in Norfolk... ;^)
  > >
  > >DJA
 >
 >
 > Heh-heh. Actually, in all seriousness, his signature is one of the
 > easiest to come by among the great ghostly authors. Many of his books
 > were issued as limited editions with signature and he was seemingly
 > pretty generous with handing out presentation copies. Machen,
 > Dunsany, Blackwood, de la Mare, all easy... Now find me an inscribed
 > Wakefield Arkham...
 >
 > While I think of it, has anyone ever seen Margery Lawrence's #7 (in
 > the Mycroft Moran/Arkham edition) signed? That's on my list of Arkham
 > titles that could possibly exist signed, but have never been reported
 > thus.
 >
 > Cheers,
 >
 > John

I have one signed de la Mare book: The Riddle (it's one of those
limited editions John mentioned). I also have a 'signed' first UK
edition of Wakefield's They Return at Evening - inscribed by Thomas
Ligotti, not HRW!

One of my favourite signed books is my copy of the Neville Spearman
edition of Night's Black Agents. The inscription reads: "I saw these
through smoked Chicago windows and other dark glasses - Fritz Leiber."
Whenever I pick up this book to reread Smoke Ghost, or The Hill and
the Hole, or any of the other great stories included, I linger on that
inscription for a few moments, thinking of how perfectly it seems for
this particular volume.

Now, if only I could get my grubby paws on that elusive (impossible?)
E.T.A. Hoffmann or Lafcadio Hearn signature, my life would be
complete!

Cheers,
Huw<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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On 23 Jul 2003 14:00:04 -0700, ubug.DeleteThis@ms8.hinet.net (Huw Lines) wrote:

 >
 >One of my favourite signed books is my copy of the Neville Spearman
 >edition of Night's Black Agents. The inscription reads: "I saw these
 >through smoked Chicago windows and other dark glasses - Fritz Leiber."
 >Whenever I pick up this book to reread Smoke Ghost, or The Hill and
 >the Hole, or any of the other great stories included, I linger on that
 >inscription for a few moments, thinking of how perfectly it seems for
 >this particular volume.

I think one of my favourites is a copy of the Arkham Manly Wade
Wellman WHO FEARS THE DEVIL, which I picked up for Barbara a few years
back. The inscription is:
'There's real music in these mountains, for anyone who can listen'.

Sing away, balladeer!

Christopher<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 12:46:42 -0700, Christopher Roden
<ashtree.TakeThisOut@ash-tree.bc.ca> wrote:

 >On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 05:38:58 -0700, John Pelan <jpelan.TakeThisOut@cnw.com> wrote:
 >
 >
  >>While I think of it, has anyone ever seen Margery Lawrence's #7 (in
  >>the Mycroft Moran/Arkham edition) signed? That's on my list of Arkham
  >>titles that could possibly exist signed, but have never been reported
  >>thus.
  >>
 >
 >Talking of #7, I'm thoroughly enjoying working on the complete
 >CASEBOOK OF MILES PENNOYER, which we'll be publishing in a couple of
 >months' time. Pennoyer seems, to me, to be one of the better psychic
 >detectives: it's probably the lack of Saaamaa Rituals, and fallings
 >into funk, and the usual, often somewhat trite, trappings of the
 >psychic detective story, that improve things in the case of Pennoyer.
 >In any event, I think I'd place him high, if not at the top, of any of
 >the psychic sleuths with whom I'm familiar; and certainly of more
 >interest than the some of the better knowns, such as Flaxman Low, and
 >Morris Klaw; yes, possibly even John Silence and Carnacki.
 >
 >Lawrence certainly didn't write short with her Pennoyer stories. The
 >twelve total out at something just short of 235,000 words. However,
 >the stories are none the worse for their length. At times the build-up
 >is a little slow, but generally there's a good pace to the writing
 >throughout, and the resolutions seem less contrived than can be the
 >case with psyhic detective stories generally. There's also a more
 >consistent quality to this series, than to Lawrence's other
 >collections of short supernatural fiction - whilst there is much good
 >stuff there, I find that her work tends to be something of a mixed bag
 >
 >As far as a signed #7 is concerned, if anyone has one, it will be
 >Richard Dalby (Lawrence was a distant relative of Richard's) and then,
 >it would possibly more likely be the Robert Hale edition (1945), than
 >the Mycroft & Moran (1969). In fact, I'd suggest that a signed Mycroft
 >& Moran edition might be somewhat unlikely in any case. Jaffery
 >(HORRORS & UNPLEASANTNESS) nor Joshi (SIXTY YEARS OF ARKHAM HOUSE) nor
 >Derleth (FORTY YEARS OF AH) give an actual day and month of
 >publication, so we know no more than it was 1969, and likely no more
 >than a few months prior to Margery Lawrence's death on 13 November.
 >Typically, the M & M colophon, as with Arkham colophons generally,
 >fails to provide any information other than the printer and the cloth.
 >
 >Christopher

Certainly looking forward to the Ash-Tree edition! As you point out,
Lawrence died not long after the book was published. Those of us that
collect signed Arkhams have conjectured that this is a book that COULD
exist in signed state, but have never been able to ascertain whether
or not one exists. Arkham's practice was to send a couple of boxes of
contributor copies, and one may assume that the author would pass out
at least a few of these.

I've seen very few Metcalfe's (though I can avow that it exists
signed, as I have one) , only a couple of The Doll... The ones that
are real puzzlers are Dunsany and Denys Val Baker. I've never seen a
signed Fourth Book of Jorkens, though Dunsany did a lecture tour of
the States after the book was published. Can it be that no one
bothered to ask him to sign that particular book? Baker is a real
mystery, he was active in the field up until his death, nearly a
decade after FACE IN THE MIRROR was published, but I've never seen a
signed copy anywhere. Could he have passed all his copies out to the
neighbors?

Cheers,

John<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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"David Anderson" <nbooksca.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:d12da66d.0307230020.39bd1a43@posting.google.com...
  > > I found a nice picture of a Walter da le Mare signature on another
  > > group, Horrabin Hall. Do signed copies of his books turn up often?
 >
 > Only in Norfolk... ;^)
 >
 > DJA

This is a public discussion forum for the consideration of GHOST FICTION.
You are posting off-topic.

Ghost fiction Stalker Alert at:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.users.waitrose.com/~hauntedriver/ghostlychat.htm" target="_blank">http://www.users.waitrose.com/~hauntedriver/ghostlychat.htm</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Wanted: Signed Books 

"Chris Barker" <hauntedriver RemoveThis @waitrose.com> wrote in message news:<SpKdnVgDDtiNLIOiU-KYvw RemoveThis @brightview.com>...
 > "David Anderson" <nbooksca RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
 > news:d12da66d.0307230020.39bd1a43@posting.google.com...
   > > > I found a nice picture of a Walter da le Mare signature on another
   > > > group, Horrabin Hall. Do signed copies of his books turn up often?
  > >
  > > Only in Norfolk... ;^)
  > >
  > > DJA
 >
 > This is a public discussion forum for the consideration of GHOST FICTION.
 > You are posting off-topic.
 >
 > Ghost fiction Stalker Alert at:
 >
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.users.waitrose.com/~hauntedriver/ghostlychat.htm</font" target="_blank">http://www.users.waitrose.com/~hauntedriver/ghostlychat.htm</font</a>>


ARRRRR!!!!

Avast, ye lubbers! 'Tis I, Cap'n Barker, scourge of t' Sevens Seas!
Man the presses, ye scurvy swabs! 'Tis a notch-bound volume we be's
pressin' on this journey 'round the publishin' Cape!

Sail ho! Strike the Jolly Roger, me hearties! I spy yonder Brigadeer
Roden of H.M.S. Ash-Tree! We'll have that algae-bound tar dance a jig
w' old Jack Ketch! We'll have that bilge-ridden sea urchin sleepin' w.
th' barn'cles down in old Davy Jones' locker, we shall! Auld Roden
shall walk e'er inch of yon plank, he shall!

ARRRRRR!!!!

Where's me parrot? What mean ye buckos that we roasted 'im for dinner
evening last? I'll keelhaul the lot of ye sea-dogs fer that
transgression of the laws of the Brethren of ye Coast!

ARRRRR!!!

Fire all cannon to starboard! Starboard, I say, ye bilge rats! Mind
the mast, ye salty reef skimmers! Mind yer Cap'n, me buckos, as I
already have two wood'n legs and me brass left arm!

ARRRRRRRRRR!!!!<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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ROFLMAO!!! Very good.

Geraldo

"woolrich" <grand_guignol13.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2b4c9e85.0307232110.43d45ffe@posting.google.com...
 > "Chris Barker" <hauntedriver.DeleteThis@waitrose.com> wrote in message
news:<SpKdnVgDDtiNLIOiU-KYvw.DeleteThis@brightview.com>...
  > > "David Anderson" <nbooksca.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
  > > news:d12da66d.0307230020.39bd1a43@posting.google.com...
   > > > > I found a nice picture of a Walter da le Mare signature on another
   > > > > group, Horrabin Hall. Do signed copies of his books turn up often?
   > > >
   > > > Only in Norfolk... ;^)
   > > >
   > > > DJA
  > >
  > > This is a public discussion forum for the consideration of GHOST
FICTION.
  > > You are posting off-topic.
  > >
  > > Ghost fiction Stalker Alert at:
  > >
<font color=green>  > > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.users.waitrose.com/~hauntedriver/ghostlychat.htm</font" target="_blank">http://www.users.waitrose.com/~hauntedriver/ghostlychat.htm</font</a>>
 >
 >
 > ARRRRR!!!!
 >
 > Avast, ye lubbers! 'Tis I, Cap'n Barker, scourge of t' Sevens Seas!
 > Man the presses, ye scurvy swabs! 'Tis a notch-bound volume we be's
 > pressin' on this journey 'round the publishin' Cape!
 >
 > Sail ho! Strike the Jolly Roger, me hearties! I spy yonder Brigadeer
 > Roden of H.M.S. Ash-Tree! We'll have that algae-bound tar dance a jig
 > w' old Jack Ketch! We'll have that bilge-ridden sea urchin sleepin' w.
 > th' barn'cles down in old Davy Jones' locker, we shall! Auld Roden
 > shall walk e'er inch of yon plank, he shall!
 >
 > ARRRRRR!!!!
 >
 > Where's me parrot? What mean ye buckos that we roasted 'im for dinner
 > evening last? I'll keelhaul the lot of ye sea-dogs fer that
 > transgression of the laws of the Brethren of ye Coast!
 >
 > ARRRRR!!!
 >
 > Fire all cannon to starboard! Starboard, I say, ye bilge rats! Mind
 > the mast, ye salty reef skimmers! Mind yer Cap'n, me buckos, as I
 > already have two wood'n legs and me brass left arm!
 >
 > ARRRRRRRRRR!!!!<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Wanted: Signed Books 

Christopher Roden <ashtree DeleteThis @ash-tree.bc.ca> wrote in message news:<ibuthvgvm071sj1cibd7dnfp8cauojvfa6 DeleteThis @4ax.com>...
 > On 23 Jul 2003 14:00:04 -0700, ubug DeleteThis @ms8.hinet.net (Huw Lines) wrote:
 >
  > >
  > >One of my favourite signed books is my copy of the Neville Spearman
  > >edition of Night's Black Agents. The inscription reads: "I saw these
  > >through smoked Chicago windows and other dark glasses - Fritz Leiber."
  > >Whenever I pick up this book to reread Smoke Ghost, or The Hill and
  > >the Hole, or any of the other great stories included, I linger on that
  > >inscription for a few moments, thinking of how perfectly it seems for
  > >this particular volume.
 >
 > I think one of my favourites is a copy of the Arkham Manly Wade
 > Wellman WHO FEARS THE DEVIL, which I picked up for Barbara a few years
 > back. The inscription is:
 > 'There's real music in these mountains, for anyone who can listen'.
 >
 > Sing away, balladeer!
 >
 > Christopher


I have Manly Wade Wellman's signature in Lonely Vigils, but alas
nothing like this. What a wonderful inscription!

Huw<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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in article 2cd1056e.0307240628.3eba03ac.DeleteThis@posting.google.com, Huw Lines at
ubug.DeleteThis@ms8.hinet.net wrote on 7/24/03 6:10 PM:

 > Christopher Roden <ashtree.DeleteThis@ash-tree.bc.ca> wrote in message
 > news:<ibuthvgvm071sj1cibd7dnfp8cauojvfa6.DeleteThis@4ax.com>...
  >> On 23 Jul 2003 14:00:04 -0700, ubug.DeleteThis@ms8.hinet.net (Huw Lines) wrote:
  >>
   >>>
   >>> One of my favourite signed books is my copy of the Neville Spearman
   >>> edition of Night's Black Agents. The inscription reads: "I saw these
   >>> through smoked Chicago windows and other dark glasses - Fritz Leiber."
   >>> Whenever I pick up this book to reread Smoke Ghost, or The Hill and
   >>> the Hole, or any of the other great stories included, I linger on that
   >>> inscription for a few moments, thinking of how perfectly it seems for
   >>> this particular volume.
  >>
  >> I think one of my favourites is a copy of the Arkham Manly Wade
  >> Wellman WHO FEARS THE DEVIL, which I picked up for Barbara a few years
  >> back. The inscription is:
  >> 'There's real music in these mountains, for anyone who can listen'.
  >>
  >> Sing away, balladeer!
  >>
  >> Christopher
 >
 >
 > I have Manly Wade Wellman's signature in Lonely Vigils, but alas
 > nothing like this. What a wonderful inscription!
 >
 > Huw

A few cool signed Arkhams picked up recently...
A CURSE OF YIG with a full page inscription where Bishop quotes HPL without
attribution, an ABOMINATIONS OF YONDO inscribed to Ackerman's wife and an
EYE AND THE FINGER with a long inscription with Wandrei talking about his
experiences in Europe in WWII.
I don't remember ever seeing a CURSE OF YIG signed before.
Another cool inscribed book I picked up a year or so ago was a MURGUNSTRUMM
inscribed from Cave to Wellman. A pretty nice Carcosa association.
One guy who does killer nutty inscriptions is James Ellroy.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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On Fri, 25 Jul 2003 11:51:41 GMT, David Kurzman
<kurzman RemoveThis @earthlink.net> wrote:


>A few cool signed Arkhams picked up recently...
>A CURSE OF YIG with a full page inscription where Bishop quotes HPL without
>attribution, an ABOMINATIONS OF YONDO inscribed to Ackerman's wife and an
>EYE AND THE FINGER with a long inscription with Wandrei talking about his
>experiences in Europe in WWII.
>I don't remember ever seeing a CURSE OF YIG signed before.
>Another cool inscribed book I picked up a year or so ago was a MURGUNSTRUMM
>inscribed from Cave to Wellman. A pretty nice Carcosa association.
>One guy who does killer nutty inscriptions is James Ellroy.


Very cool, especially the Bishop. I've never personally seen a signed
Bishop, but have been assured that they exist,though probably in that
quantity dictated by two boxes of contributor copies.

You ever want to move that one, you know who to call...

See ya in Dayton...

Cheers,

John
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in article bi72ivk97o0hip3uh07l29r304kbi9e6o6 DeleteThis @4ax.com, John Pelan at
jpelan DeleteThis @cnw.com wrote on 7/25/03 8:15 AM:

> On Fri, 25 Jul 2003 11:51:41 GMT, David Kurzman
> <kurzman DeleteThis @earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>
>> A few cool signed Arkhams picked up recently...
>> A CURSE OF YIG with a full page inscription where Bishop quotes HPL without
>> attribution, an ABOMINATIONS OF YONDO inscribed to Ackerman's wife and an
>> EYE AND THE FINGER with a long inscription with Wandrei talking about his
>> experiences in Europe in WWII.
>> I don't remember ever seeing a CURSE OF YIG signed before.
>> Another cool inscribed book I picked up a year or so ago was a MURGUNSTRUMM
>> inscribed from Cave to Wellman. A pretty nice Carcosa association.
>> One guy who does killer nutty inscriptions is James Ellroy.
>
>
> Very cool, especially the Bishop. I've never personally seen a signed
> Bishop, but have been assured that they exist,though probably in that
> quantity dictated by two boxes of contributor copies.
>
> You ever want to move that one, you know who to call...
>
> See ya in Dayton...
>
> Cheers,
>
> John

I know there are some Wandrei fans here so I thought I'd copy the
inscription. I think it's a great one....

"For XXXXXX (big name fan)-
With mutual remembrance of service in World War II-
Camp Barkeley, Texas, 1942-
Camp Adair, Ore., 1942-1943-
Camp Shelby, Miss., 1943-1944-
65th Inf. Div. in the final drive of Patton's Third Army through
southeastern Germany into Austria, 1944-1945-
As fantastic as anything in these pages-
Donald Wandrei
New York,
June 11, 1949"
Pretty cool, huh.
On to Pulpcon! See ya, John.
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