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#1
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Still More on the Book Auction
On 3/15/2013 12:08 AM, Francis A. Miniter wrote:
One of the lots I put together and managed to win at the auction had in the group of books a thick trade paperback entitled _3 by Eastlake_ , a compilation of three early novels by Eastlake (Simon & Schuster 1970), who, aside from his marvelous _Castle Keep_ , about which I have posted before, was a western writer and these three novels are set in Western New Mexico. Eastlake's works are near impossible to find, and the only hardcover of Castle Keep that I have found in the Hartford area is going for $60. So I was pleased enough to find this book. But when I examined it this evening I found it carried an inscription "for Mitch from Abbey - Tucson" on the front free end paper, and again "Abbey - 72" on the title page. Now were it not for very particular circumstances of the auction, I would not have paid this any mind. But, there was a lot in the first round that contained a first edition of _At Play in the Fields of the Lord_ by Peter Matthiessen that I wanted to bid on. I noticed that the rest of the lot were books by Edward Abbey, a writer that I was unfamiliar with. When the lot was reached, the bidding quickly moved beyond my limit before I had a chance to bid and ended up at $350. I decided to learn about Edward Abbey. Abbey was born in Pennsylvania in 1927 but became a southwesterner in the late 1940s. He took a BA and MA in philosophy from the University of New Mexico in 1951 and 1956, respectively, and went to work as a ranger for the US National Park Service. An environmentalist, his writings caused Larry McMurtry to describe him as the "Thoreau of the American West". He bought a home outside Tucson in 1968. He died in Tucson in 1989. It turns out that he probably knew Eastlake. At least in 1983 he published an article on Eastlake "William Eastlake: Para mi Amigo" in The Review of Contemporary Fiction 3:1 (Spring 1983) pp. 18 - 20. The title would certainly indicate they knew each other. That association would explain why Edward Abbey might be the Abbey who signed this Eastlake book, along with the facts that (1) that Abbey lived in Tuscon in 1972, and (2) Edward Abbey books seemed to be bound up in this auction with the Eastlake book. So I started to look up signature exemplars for Abbey and for the words and letters used in the inscription. While I am not 100% sure, it seems that I have found several that match those in the book. By the way, the only "Mitch" I came across that might be the addressee of the inscription was John G. Mitchell, an environmentalist and editor of National Geographic with whom Abbey corresponded (I checked out his papers which are archived with the University of Arizona.) Francis A. Miniter Today I spoke with the woman who won the auction on the Edward Abbey lot. She confirmed that he inscribed other books to "Mitch" and that this was John G. Mitchell, so my analysis was correct. Francis A. Miniter |
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#2
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Still More on the Book Auction
On 3/16/2013 8:19 PM, Francis A. Miniter wrote:
On 3/15/2013 12:08 AM, Francis A. Miniter wrote: One of the lots I put together and managed to win at the auction had in the group of books a thick trade paperback entitled _3 by Eastlake_ , a compilation of three early novels by Eastlake (Simon & Schuster 1970), who, aside from his marvelous _Castle Keep_ , about which I have posted before, was a western writer and these three novels are set in Western New Mexico. Eastlake's works are near impossible to find, and the only hardcover of Castle Keep that I have found in the Hartford area is going for $60. So I was pleased enough to find this book. But when I examined it this evening I found it carried an inscription "for Mitch from Abbey - Tucson" on the front free end paper, and again "Abbey - 72" on the title page. Now were it not for very particular circumstances of the auction, I would not have paid this any mind. But, there was a lot in the first round that contained a first edition of _At Play in the Fields of the Lord_ by Peter Matthiessen that I wanted to bid on. I noticed that the rest of the lot were books by Edward Abbey, a writer that I was unfamiliar with. When the lot was reached, the bidding quickly moved beyond my limit before I had a chance to bid and ended up at $350. I decided to learn about Edward Abbey. Abbey was born in Pennsylvania in 1927 but became a southwesterner in the late 1940s. He took a BA and MA in philosophy from the University of New Mexico in 1951 and 1956, respectively, and went to work as a ranger for the US National Park Service. An environmentalist, his writings caused Larry McMurtry to describe him as the "Thoreau of the American West". He bought a home outside Tucson in 1968. He died in Tucson in 1989. It turns out that he probably knew Eastlake. At least in 1983 he published an article on Eastlake "William Eastlake: Para mi Amigo" in The Review of Contemporary Fiction 3:1 (Spring 1983) pp. 18 - 20. The title would certainly indicate they knew each other. That association would explain why Edward Abbey might be the Abbey who signed this Eastlake book, along with the facts that (1) that Abbey lived in Tuscon in 1972, and (2) Edward Abbey books seemed to be bound up in this auction with the Eastlake book. So I started to look up signature exemplars for Abbey and for the words and letters used in the inscription. While I am not 100% sure, it seems that I have found several that match those in the book. By the way, the only "Mitch" I came across that might be the addressee of the inscription was John G. Mitchell, an environmentalist and editor of National Geographic with whom Abbey corresponded (I checked out his papers which are archived with the University of Arizona.) Francis A. Miniter Today I spoke with the woman who won the auction on the Edward Abbey lot. She confirmed that he inscribed other books to "Mitch" and that this was John G. Mitchell, so my analysis was correct. Francis A. Miniter Cool - the finds may end up covering the bill |
#3
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Still More on the Book Auction
On 3/21/2013 10:21 PM, IanG wrote:
On 3/16/2013 8:19 PM, Francis A. Miniter wrote: On 3/15/2013 12:08 AM, Francis A. Miniter wrote: One of the lots I put together and managed to win at the auction had in the group of books a thick trade paperback entitled _3 by Eastlake_ , a compilation of three early novels by Eastlake (Simon & Schuster 1970), who, aside from his marvelous _Castle Keep_ , about which I have posted before, was a western writer and these three novels are set in Western New Mexico. Eastlake's works are near impossible to find, and the only hardcover of Castle Keep that I have found in the Hartford area is going for $60. So I was pleased enough to find this book. But when I examined it this evening I found it carried an inscription "for Mitch from Abbey - Tucson" on the front free end paper, and again "Abbey - 72" on the title page. Now were it not for very particular circumstances of the auction, I would not have paid this any mind. But, there was a lot in the first round that contained a first edition of _At Play in the Fields of the Lord_ by Peter Matthiessen that I wanted to bid on. I noticed that the rest of the lot were books by Edward Abbey, a writer that I was unfamiliar with. When the lot was reached, the bidding quickly moved beyond my limit before I had a chance to bid and ended up at $350. I decided to learn about Edward Abbey. Abbey was born in Pennsylvania in 1927 but became a southwesterner in the late 1940s. He took a BA and MA in philosophy from the University of New Mexico in 1951 and 1956, respectively, and went to work as a ranger for the US National Park Service. An environmentalist, his writings caused Larry McMurtry to describe him as the "Thoreau of the American West". He bought a home outside Tucson in 1968. He died in Tucson in 1989. It turns out that he probably knew Eastlake. At least in 1983 he published an article on Eastlake "William Eastlake: Para mi Amigo" in The Review of Contemporary Fiction 3:1 (Spring 1983) pp. 18 - 20. The title would certainly indicate they knew each other. That association would explain why Edward Abbey might be the Abbey who signed this Eastlake book, along with the facts that (1) that Abbey lived in Tuscon in 1972, and (2) Edward Abbey books seemed to be bound up in this auction with the Eastlake book. So I started to look up signature exemplars for Abbey and for the words and letters used in the inscription. While I am not 100% sure, it seems that I have found several that match those in the book. By the way, the only "Mitch" I came across that might be the addressee of the inscription was John G. Mitchell, an environmentalist and editor of National Geographic with whom Abbey corresponded (I checked out his papers which are archived with the University of Arizona.) Francis A. Miniter Today I spoke with the woman who won the auction on the Edward Abbey lot. She confirmed that he inscribed other books to "Mitch" and that this was John G. Mitchell, so my analysis was correct. Francis A. Miniter Cool - the finds may end up covering the bill I hope so! Last night I found a signed Ursula Le Guin in the boxes. Francis A. Miniter |
#4
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Still More on the Book Auction
Glad you're having fun!
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#5
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Still More on the Book Auction
On 3/22/2013 10:26 AM, Francis A. Miniter wrote:
On 3/21/2013 10:21 PM, IanG wrote: On 3/16/2013 8:19 PM, Francis A. Miniter wrote: On 3/15/2013 12:08 AM, Francis A. Miniter wrote: One of the lots I put together and managed to win at the auction had in the group of books a thick trade paperback entitled _3 by Eastlake_ , a compilation of three early novels by Eastlake (Simon & Schuster 1970), who, aside from his marvelous _Castle Keep_ , about which I have posted before, was a western writer and these three novels are set in Western New Mexico. Eastlake's works are near impossible to find, and the only hardcover of Castle Keep that I have found in the Hartford area is going for $60. So I was pleased enough to find this book. But when I examined it this evening I found it carried an inscription "for Mitch from Abbey - Tucson" on the front free end paper, and again "Abbey - 72" on the title page. Now were it not for very particular circumstances of the auction, I would not have paid this any mind. But, there was a lot in the first round that contained a first edition of _At Play in the Fields of the Lord_ by Peter Matthiessen that I wanted to bid on. I noticed that the rest of the lot were books by Edward Abbey, a writer that I was unfamiliar with. When the lot was reached, the bidding quickly moved beyond my limit before I had a chance to bid and ended up at $350. I decided to learn about Edward Abbey. Abbey was born in Pennsylvania in 1927 but became a southwesterner in the late 1940s. He took a BA and MA in philosophy from the University of New Mexico in 1951 and 1956, respectively, and went to work as a ranger for the US National Park Service. An environmentalist, his writings caused Larry McMurtry to describe him as the "Thoreau of the American West". He bought a home outside Tucson in 1968. He died in Tucson in 1989. It turns out that he probably knew Eastlake. At least in 1983 he published an article on Eastlake "William Eastlake: Para mi Amigo" in The Review of Contemporary Fiction 3:1 (Spring 1983) pp. 18 - 20. The title would certainly indicate they knew each other. That association would explain why Edward Abbey might be the Abbey who signed this Eastlake book, along with the facts that (1) that Abbey lived in Tuscon in 1972, and (2) Edward Abbey books seemed to be bound up in this auction with the Eastlake book. So I started to look up signature exemplars for Abbey and for the words and letters used in the inscription. While I am not 100% sure, it seems that I have found several that match those in the book. By the way, the only "Mitch" I came across that might be the addressee of the inscription was John G. Mitchell, an environmentalist and editor of National Geographic with whom Abbey corresponded (I checked out his papers which are archived with the University of Arizona.) Francis A. Miniter Today I spoke with the woman who won the auction on the Edward Abbey lot. She confirmed that he inscribed other books to "Mitch" and that this was John G. Mitchell, so my analysis was correct. Francis A. Miniter Cool - the finds may end up covering the bill I hope so! Last night I found a signed Ursula Le Guin in the boxes. Francis A. Miniter Ahh, the thrill of the chase. You can't do this with a Kindle Ian |
#6
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Still More on the Book Auction
On Mar 25, 9:33*pm, IanG wrote:
Ahh, the thrill of the chase. You can't do this with a Kindle There are fewer and fewer places you can do it, period. I went to the Greenwich Village bookfair recently, and found the pickings very sparse compared to even five years ago. The Long Island bookfair comes up in another weekend or two. There are so few dealers participating that the space is shared with antiques vendors (interesting to look at, but of course I would prefer more books). |
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