Sale: RAH’s 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land owned by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Dragon’s Head Books of Portland, Oregon has an interesting copy of Robert A. Heinlein’s Hugo Award-winning science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) for sale over at AbeBooks. It’s a first edition signed by fantasy author Marion Zimmer Bradley (“from her former husband Walter Breen’s estate -- probably her personal reading copy”). $950

Happy 90th Birthday, Ray Bradbury!

Ray Bradbury, the timeless guy of Fantasy & Science Fiction, turns 90-years-old today, August 22, 2010. In honor of the man and this milestone, here are a few links:

• It’s Ray Bradbury Week in Los Angeles, August 22 to 28.

• Flickr has some handsome photos from a recent birthday party for Mr. Bradbury held at Mystery & Imagination Bookshop in Glendale, California.

• UCLA has put together a short but fascinating online tribute, including the title page of The Martian Chronicles (1950) when it was first mocked up by a layout artist.

• AbeBooks has a neat webpage commemorating some of Mr. Bradbury’s greatest achievements.

• Some young lady stars in a hilarious, if juvenile, music video titled “Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury” (2010).

Pictured: President George W. Bush and Laura Bush present the National Medal of Arts award to Ray Bradbury (2004).

For Sale: Archive of manuscripts, typescripts, letters by Fredric Brown

The Fine Books Company, a rare, fine and collectible book dealer in Michigan, has an intriguing listing on AbeBooks: Large archive of manuscripts, typescripts and letters by science fiction, fantasy and mystery author Fredric Brown (1906-1972), “being mostly fiction with a bit of poetry & essay, ranging from 1932 through 1972 with many unpublished. The only such archive in existence.” Price: $31,000.

1952 copy of The Sands of Mars has limerick penned by Arthur C. Clarke

Between the Covers, a rare book dealer located in New Jersey, has an interesting early copy of Arthur C. Clarke’s novel The Sands of Mars (New York: Gnome Press, 1952) for sale over at AbeBooks:

"Inscribed by Arthur C. Clarke to his protege, one-time secretary and longtime friend Ian Macauley [...]: To Ian, looking forward to our next meeting. Arthur C. Clarke, Indian Lake, May 1952. Additionally, on the rear free endpaper Clarke has penned a limerick: There was a young girl of Devizes / Who was haled up before the assizes / For teaching young boys / Matrimonial joys / and offering French letters as prizes. -- Written under protest because Ian wouldn't pay for the book otherwise. Art."

For Sale: Copy of The Martian Chronicles owned by PKD’s lover Joan Simpson

James Pepper Rare Books, Inc., of Santa Barbara, California, has an interesting copy of The Martian Chronicles for sale over at AbeBooks. It’s the 1951 Bantam paperback edition, “from the library of Joan Simpson, the woman with whom science fiction author Philip K. Dick shared his last serious romantic relationship. Laid in is a documentation book mark stating that this book is from the Simpson library with photographs of Philip and Joan and with the text of a letter, dated April 27, 1977, which Philip wrote to his friend, noted book dealer Ray Torrence, lovingly and eloquently expressing his deep feelings for Joan.” $45

Even Panama Jack had access to ERB's classic novel A Princess of Mars

According to the December 18, 1918 (Vol. XII, No. 18) issue of The Panama Canal Record, the official publication of the Panama Canal that was published weekly by the United States government in Balboa Heights, Canal Zone, even Panama Jack had access to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic novel A Princess of Mars (1917):

The sale of books by the Commissary Division continues to meet with favor on the part of patrons, and sales have been uniformly good. With the approach of Christmas, and the appropriateness of books as gifts, it is believed that many will wish to take advantage of the large stock on hand, some of which has just been received. The following titles, while by no means representing a complete list of those on hand, present a good variety from which selections may be made for gifts [...]

In this connection, a requisition has recently been placed with the commissary purchasing agent for a further supply of books, embracing all that is new in fiction, humor, etc. The following are among the titles ordered:

The Red One, and Other Stories.................... Jack London
A Princess of Mars.......................... Edgar Rice Burroughs
The God of Mars............................. Edgar Rice Burroughs
A Daughter of the Land.................... Gene Stratum Porter
The Laughing Girl............................. Robert W. Chambers
Shavings....................................................... Jos. C. Lincoln
Ashton-Kirk, Criminologist.................... John T. Mclntyre
Josselyn's Wife........................................... Kathleen Norris
Firebrand Trevison.......................................... C. A. Seltzer
Treat'em Rough............................................. Ring Lardner
My Four Weeks in France............................ Ring Lardner
From Baseball to Bodies................................ H. C. Witwer
The Island Mystery.............................. G. A. Birmingham
The Clutch of Circumstance.......... Majorie Benton Cooke
The Money Maker...................................... Irving R. Allen
Gaslight Sonatas............................................ Fannie Hurst
The Cross of Fire................................ Robert G. Anderson
Virtuous Wives........................................... Owen Johnson
Dere Mable......................................................... E. Streeter
The House of Torchy....................................... Sewell Ford
The Valley of the Giants............................... Peter B. Kyne

Notice will be given through the columns of The Panama Canal Record when the above books are received, together with a short review which will serve as a guide to purchasers in making selections.

Apparently, regular shipments of books were distributed among commissaries at Ancon, Balboa, Cristobal, Pedro Miguel, and Gatun, and titles were priced at about a dollar.

Original contract between ERB and his publisher for first edition of The Chessmen of Mars (1922)

Barry R. Levin, a rare and collectible book dealer in Santa Monica, California, who specializes in science fiction and fantasy literature, has an intriguing listing on AbeBooks: The original two-page contract between pulp author Edgar Rice Burroughs and his publisher, A. C. McClurg & Co. of Chicago, for the publication of the first edition of The Chessmen of Mars (1922). The contract, signed by ERB, is dated September 6, 1922. Price: $6,500.

Book, newspaper and magazine stock watch

Here’s an update to the list of book, magazine, newspaper and publishing stocks I’m watching, ranked by performance since January 1, 2009:

1. Books-A-Million (+ 149%)

Book, newspaper and magazine stock watch

Here’s an update to the list of book, magazine, newspaper and publishing stocks I’m watching, ranked by performance since January 1, 2009:

1. Borders Group (+ 195%)

Book, newspaper and magazine stock watch

Here’s an update to the list of 14 book, newspaper, magazine and publishing stocks I’m watching, ranked by year-to-date performance:

1. Borders Group (+ 250%)

Sale: Archive of 34 letters and notes written by Edgar Rice Burroughs to his daughter

L. W. Currey, Inc., a rare, fine and collectible book dealer in New York State that specializes in science fiction and fantasy literature, has an interesting listing on AbeBooks: An archive of 34 letters and notes written by pulp author Edgar Rice Burroughs to his daughter, Joan Burroughs Pierce, covering a twelve-year period from 1927 to 1939. Plus 16 black-and-white photographs of Hawaii taken by ERB, with his typewritten captions on the backsides. Price: $18,500.

Pictured: A financial statement from 1909. Apparently, a “Girl” cost only $5.

Book, newspaper and magazine stock watch

As someone who is interested in the history and future of books, newspapers, magazines and publishing, I have been watching the year-to-date share price performance of a selected group of publicly-held companies whose business activities include the publication, sale, and/or distribution of books, newspapers, and/or magazines (and/or their electronic equivalents). Here’s the list of 14 stocks I am watching, ranked by YTD performance:

SF sleaze sale: Complete set of 11 Beacon Galaxy novels from ca. 1960

A bookseller from Ontario is selling a complete set of Beacon Galaxy Science Fiction Novels from the late 1950s and early 1960s for $725 on AbeBooks, the used and rare book site. A subset of the larger 46-novel set published by Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, these eleven novels were published under the Beacon Books imprint from 1959 to 1961. All of the novels have lurid cover art and, in some cases, racy passages were inserted in the text. Among the titles: Sin in Space: An Expose of the Scarlet Planet (1961; formerly Outpost Mars, 1952), written by Cyril Judd, a joint pseudonym used by Cyril M. Kornbluth and Judith Merril.

[via AbeBooks’ Reading Copy Book Blog]

Book, newspaper and magazine stock watch

As someone who is interested in the history and future of books, newspapers, magazines and publishing, I have been watching the year-to-date share price performance of a selected group of publicly-held companies whose business activities include the publication, sale, and/or distribution of books, newspapers, and/or magazines (and/or their electronic equivalents). Here’s the list of 14 stocks I am watching, ranked by YTD performance:

Book, newspaper and magazine stock watch

As someone who is interested in the history and future of books, newspapers, magazines, publishing and technology, I have been watching the year-to-date share price performance of a selected group of publicly-held companies whose business activities include the publication, sale, and/or distribution of books, newspapers, and/or magazines (and/or their electronic equivalents). Here’s the list of 14 stocks I am watching, ranked by YTD performance:

1. Borders Group + 718%

2. Books-A-Million + 389%

3. Apple Inc. + 105%

4. Amazon.com + 63%

5. Google Inc. + 55%

6. News Corp. + 47%

7. Barnes & Noble + 46%

8. Pearson PLC (ADR) + 30%

9. McGraw-Hill Companies + 17%

10. The New York Times Co. + 8%

11. Thomson Reuters + 6%

12. John Wiley & Sons – 2%

13. Courier Corp. – 15%

14. Bertelsmann AG – 22%

The data, derived from Google Finance, is as of the close of business on September 15, 2009. Note that I’ve rounded up or down to the nearest whole percentage. I’ll be updating the list at the end of every month. And, yes, I'm well aware that I'm comparing apples to oranges to bananas.

University of Liverpool acquires rare first edition of 1905 Gullivar Jones of Mars novel

According to a press release issued by the University of Liverpool on August 18th, the institution's Science Fiction Foundation Collection has acquired a rare first edition of Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation (1905), an influential science fiction novel written by British author Edwin L. Arnold that tells the story of an American soldier’s journey to Mars. The novel was "poorly received upon publication in 1905, but has since earned a reputation as one of the most important works of 20th century science fiction." According to Andy Sawyer, the university's SF librarian, “Due to the lack of interest in the original publication of Gullivar Jones, however, the first edition of the book became rare and collectors have not seen a copy come up for sale for more than 20 years." The university acquired its copy through a bequest from the late British book dealer Ken Slater, who died in February 2008.

While first edition copies of Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation are "extremely rare and have been known to attract valuations of more than £1,000 at auction" ($1,109 on AbeBooks), you can read the novel online or download it as an e-book through Project Gutenberg or ManyBooks.net. Or, if you prefer, you can listen to a reading of the novel thanks to the folks at LibriVox.

Some SF scholars consider Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation to be the inspiration behind Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novel A Princess of Mars (1912, 1917).

Pictured: University of Liverpool Science Fiction Librarian Andy Sawyer holding first edition of Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation.

10 hip Martian SF items listed on AbeBooks

1) A Plunge into Space, by Robert Cromie, with an address by French science fiction author Jules Verne.
A second edition published in London in 1891, this 240-page novel is dedicated to Verne, who contributed a one-page address “To My English Readers.” Apparently, the 1890 first edition does not contain Verne's address. $850

2) Mars as the Abode of Life, by Percival Lowell, signed by Ray Bradbury. A 1910 edition of an influential nonfiction work and the first Mars book to mention canals. Signed by author Ray Bradbury: “This book influenced me, age 10! Ray Bradbury.” $945

3) Original two-page contract between author Edgar Rice Burroughs and his publisher, A. C. McClurg & Co., for the publication of the first edition of The Chessmen of Mars (1922). Signed by Burroughs and dated September 6, 1922. Framed with a photograph. $6,500

4) August and September 1929 issues of Amazing Stories magazine, which contain Part 1 and Part 2 of Leslie F. Stone’s little-known novella “Out of the Void.” The story was later expanded and published as a novel in 1967. $30 each.

5) March 1933 issue of Wonder Stories magazine, which contains
“The Dweller in Martian Depths,” a famous short story by Clark Ashton Smith. Apparently, Smith submitted the story under the title “The Dweller in the Gulf,” but magazine editor Hugo Gernsback changed the title to “The Dweller in Martian Depths” and altered the ending. $75

6) Quip, by Hugo Gernsback, with illustrations by artist Frank Paul. Printed in 1949 as a "Christmas card," this 48-page booklet contains “facts” about Mars and Martians. $250

7) Black Wing of Mars, by Vargo Statten (pseudonym of John Russell Fearn). A paperback original published in London by Scion Limited in 1953. $25

8) Blades of Mars; Warriors of Mars; and Barbarians of Mars, by Edward P. Bradbury (pseudonym of Michael Moorcock). Here we have Moorcock's Michael Kane trilogy, a pastiche of Edgar Rice Burrough's Barsoom novels. Three first editions, first printings, paperback originals, all published in 1965 and signed on the title pages by Moorcock. $350

9) March 1975 issue of Science Fiction Studies, which is devoted to "The Science Fiction of Philip K. Dick." A pamphlet published by Indiana State University, it contains articles by Brian Aldiss, Stanislaw Lem, and Ian Watson, among others. $60

10) Invaders from Mars, by Ray Garton. A paperback original published in 1986, this book is a novelization of the screenplay for the 1986 film Invaders from Mars. $25

Pictured: Cover of Black Wing of Mars (1953), by Vargo Statten.

Disclaimer: This list of items is for informational and educational purposes only. It should not be construed as an endorsement to purchase any of the items.

Amazon books one-third of all U.S. e-commerce

Here’s great news for fans and shareholders of Amazon. According to RBC Capital analyst Stephen Ju, Amazon (ticker symbol AMZN) could be responsible for close to
a third of all U.S. e-commerce transactions. Ju has an Outperform rating on the stock and raised his price target to $84, from $72. Read the short story at Barron’s Online.

Cover art: Leigh Brackett's The Sword of Rhiannon

Here’s some cool cover art that you don’t see too often: the 1955 first hardcover edition and first English edition of The Sword of Rhiannon (1953), a classic Martian SF novel written by Leigh Brackett. According to the October 1997 issue of Firsts: The Books Collector’s Magazine, this edition, published by Boardman in London in 1955, is "the most elusive, expensive and highly prized book in the Brackett cannon." There's a copy selling for more than $800 on the rare and used book site AbeBooks.

J. Allen St. John’s illustration of Thuvia, Maid of Mars sold at auction for more than $15,000

An illustration drawn in 1920 by American illustrator James Allen St. John (1872-1957) that served as the frontispiece of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novel Thuvia, Maid of Mars (A. C. McClurg and Co., 1920) sold for more than $15,000 at an auction last week conducted by Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas. The illustration, mixed-media on board, 26 x 16.5 inches, and signed, sold for $21,510, a figure which includes a 19.5% buyer’s premium. It was estimated to sell for $8,000 to $12,000.