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Robert Fulman
08-29-2011, 06:49 PM
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/5792/009fx.jpg

I probably discovered Lawrence Block 10 years ago, completely by accident. I found one of his Burglar books in a used bookstore and fell in love. I've read all of the Burglar books, and a handful of others. His "Small Town" is probably the smuttiest mainstream book I've ever read, but back in the sixties he wrote quite a few scandalous books using pen names. I started collecting LB sometime in the last year, and I have found that even though he is big time writer (a "Grand Master" of the mystery genre, no less), it is relatively cheap to collect some very nice limiteds. He also offers books for sale on his website (http://www.lawrenceblock.com) and signs his name to anything he can get his hands on, so signed firsts are no problem as well. Anyway, here is a list of his books I borrowed from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Block). I don't have collectible copies of all of the books, but I will provide details on the ones I do have, and I will pursue the ones I don't.

All images posted by me in this thread are pictures or scans of books I personally own.

Matthew Scudder novels
The Sins of the Fathers (1976) (Dark Harvest S/L (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=637214&viewfull=0#post637214))
In the Midst of Death (1976) (Lawrence Block Library S/L (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=654037&viewfull=1#post654037))
Time to Murder and Create (1977)
A Stab in the Dark (1981)
Eight Million Ways to Die (1982)
When the Sacred Ginmill Closes (1986) (Arbor House ARC (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=648321&viewfull=1#post648321))
Out on the Cutting Edge (1989)
A Ticket to the Boneyard (1990) (First Morrow Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=642318&viewfull=1#post642318))
A Dance at the Slaughterhouse (1991) (First Morrow Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=638591&viewfull=1#post638591))
A Walk Among the Tombstones (1992) (First Morrow Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=638593&viewfull=1#post638593))
The Devil Knows You're Dead (1993) (First Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=648212&viewfull=1#post648212))
A Long Line of Dead Men (1994) (First Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=648214&viewfull=1#post648214))
Even the Wicked (1997) (First Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=648215&viewfull=1#post648215))
Everybody Dies (1998) (First Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=648216&viewfull=1#post648216))
Hope to Die (2001)
All the Flowers Are Dying (2005) (First Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=654036&viewfull=1#post654036))
A Drop of the Hard Stuff (2011)
Bernie Rhodenbarr novels
Burglars Can't Be Choosers (1977) (First Random House Edition S/L (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=638588&viewfull=1#post638588); Uncorrected Dutton Proof (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=637325&viewfull=1#post637325))
The Burglar in the Closet (1978) (Random House First Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=652904&viewfull=1#post652904))
The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling (1979) (Random House First Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=646077&viewfull=1#post646077), Mystery Guild 1999 (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=640896&viewfull=1#post640896))
The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza (1980) (First Random House Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=637359&viewfull=1#post637359))
The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian (1983) (First Arbor House Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=637366&viewfull=1#post637366))
The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams (1994) (Dutton S/L Advanced Reading Copy (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=642316&viewfull=1#post642316), First Dutton Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=648224&viewfull=1#post648224))
The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart (1995) (Dutton S/L Advanced Reading Copy (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=652902&viewfull=1#post652902), First Dutton Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=648226&viewfull=1#post648226))
The Burglar in the Library (1997) (Scorpion Press Signed/Limited (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=638585&viewfull=1#post638585))
The Burglar in the Rye (1999) (First Dutton Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=648229&viewfull=1#post648229))
The Burglar on the Prowl (2004) (First Morrow Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=648221&viewfull=1#post648221))
"The Burglar Who Dropped In On Elvis" (Some Days You Get the Bear First Trade (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=648231&viewfull=1#post648231))
"The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke" (Short Story (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=637324&viewfull=1#post637324))
Evan Tanner novels
The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep (1966) (1966 Fawcett Gold Medal Paperback Original (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=651377&viewfull=1#post651377))
The Canceled Czech (1966)
Tanner's Twelve Swingers (1967)
The Scoreless Thai (a.k.a. Two for Tanner) (1968) (Subterranean Press S/L (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=637358&viewfull=1#post637358))
Tanner's Tiger (1968)
Here Comes a Hero (a.k.a. Tanner's Virgin) (1968)(1968 Fawcett Gold Medal Paperback Original (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=652899&viewfull=1#post652899))
Me Tanner, You Jane (1970)
Tanner on Ice (1998) (First Dutton Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=648219&viewfull=1#post648219))
Chip Harrison novels/stories (as Chip Harrison)
No Score (1970)
Chip Harrison Scores Again (1971)
Make Out With Murder (a.k.a. The Five Little Rich Girls) (1974)
The Topless Tulip Caper (1975)
"As Dark As Christmas Gets" (1997), a Chip Harrison short story written specifically for customers of the Otto Penzler-owned Mysterious Bookshop, printed in booklet format for the 1997 holiday season.
Keller novels
Hit Man (1998) (Philatelic Paperback Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=637747&viewfull=1#post637747))
Hit List (2000) (First Trade Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=648217&viewfull=1#post648217), Philatelic Paperback Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=637748&viewfull=1#post637748))
Hit Parade (2006) (Philatelic Paperback Edition (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=637749&viewfull=1#post637749))
Hit and Run (June 2008)


Paul Kavanagh (Pen Name) novels
Such Men Are Dangerous (1969)
The Triumph of Evil (1971)
Not Comin' Home to You (1974)


Other fiction
$20 Lust (1961) (reissued as Cinderella Sims)
Death Pulls a Doublecross (1961) (reissued as Coward's Kiss)
Mona (1961) (reissued as Sweet Slow Death and Grifter's Game)
Markham (1961) (reissued as You Could Call It Murder)
Pads Are for Passion (1961, as Sheldon Lord) (reissued as A Diet of Treacle)
Fidel Castro Assassinated (1961, as Lee Duncan) (reissued as Killing Castro)
The Girl with the Long Green Heart (1965)
Deadly Honeymoon (1967)
After the First Death (1969)
The Specialists (1969) (1996 Hardcover Release (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=637357&viewfull=1#post637357))
Ronald Rabbit Is a Dirty Old Man (1971)
Ariel (1980) (1980 Arbor House S/L (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=639519&viewfull=1#post639519); 1996 Lawrence Block Library S/L (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=637327&viewfull=1#post637327))
Random Walk (1988) (1988 TOR First (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=642317&viewfull=1#post642317); PS Publishing Slipcased S/L and Trade Hardcover S/L, 2008 (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?13205-The-Collectible-Lawrence-Block&p=638151&viewfull=1#post638151))
Enough Rope: Collected Stories (2002)
Small Town (2003)
My Blueberry Nights (2007)
Lucky at Cards (2007)
Getting off, A novel of Sex and Violence (2011)
Books for writers
Writing the Novel From Plot to Print (1979)
Telling Lies for Fun & Profit (1981)
Write For Your Life (1986)
Spider, Spin Me a Web (1987)
The Liar's Bible (2011)
Memoirs
Step by Step: A Pedestrian Memoir (2009)

Bev Vincent
08-30-2011, 02:19 AM
He's releasing a lot of his backlist on Kindle these days. My friend RJ Sevin at Creeping Hemlock Press reissued one of his early books recently, too. Campus Tramp (http://www.creepinghemlock.com/ctclassic.html).

Robert Fulman
08-30-2011, 04:27 AM
Sins of the Fathers is the first book in the Matthew Scudder series. It was originally released in 1976, but was re-released in a limited hardcover by Dark Harvest in 1992. The book features an introduction/appreciation by Stephen King, and there was a Signed/Limited edition of 400 numbered copies signed by both Block and King. We have a catalog entry for this book (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showwiki.php?title=Sins+of+the+Father+The+-+S+L) (incorrectly titled "Sins of the Father"), but I am including a photo of my copy's limitation page, because mine is signed by King in PURPLE and I think that's kind of neat:

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/6972/035swy.jpg

Randall Flagg
08-30-2011, 05:34 AM
We have a catalog entry for this book (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showwiki.php?title=Sins+of+the+Father+The+-+S+L) (incorrectly titled "Sins of the Father"), ......
Spelling corrected. Thanks.

Robert Fulman
08-30-2011, 03:44 PM
This Bernie Rhodenbarr short story, by Lynne Wood Block and Lawrence Block, was written for the anthology Till Death Do Us Part, and first published in Mary Higgins Clark's Mystery Magazine, where it appeared as a special pamphlet bound into the magazine. The editors were kind enough to send us the overrun of the pamphlets, and we are now making them available to collectors, signed by both of the co-authors. "Unique" is an overused and often misused word, but it might actually apply here

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/3173/burglarsmoke.jpg

Robert Fulman
08-30-2011, 03:48 PM
Burglars Can't Be Choosers was the first Bernie Rhodenbarr book, originally published by Random House in 1977. When Dutton gained the rights to new books written in the 1990s, they also reissued the older ones. This is an uncorrected proof:

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/3953/burglarschoosersproof.jpg

Robert Fulman
08-30-2011, 03:51 PM
Set in Charleston, South Carolina, this novel about a spooky adopted child was first published in 1980 by Arbor House. In 1996, G&G Books brought out a limited edition under the imprint of The Lawrence Block Library. The total press run ran to 500 signed and numbered copies, 26 lettered copies, and a dozen A/P author's copies. While it's not the first hardcover edition (the Arbor House book was hardcover) it's nicely printed and bound, and includes an author's afterword written especially for this edition.

As of August 30, 2011, this S/L is available from lawrenceblock.com for only $10.

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/3642/arielcover.jpg
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/600/arielsig.jpg

Robert Fulman
08-30-2011, 05:38 PM
Originally published as a Gold Medal pb in 1969, this book was very deliberately designed to be the first in an action-adventure series. The heroes are five former Green Berets who pull military-style capers in aid of Truth, Justice, and the American Way. I wrote the one book and found out that, though this is a kind of book I like to read, it wasn't one I liked to write. So I pulled the plug on the enterprise, much to the surprise of my agent, who kept saying he thought this was going to be the first of a series. (I finally told him I didn't see any reason why he and I couldn't think of it as a one-book series. I don't know that that made him happy, but it kept him quiet.) The book had a couple of paperback editions, but never appeared in hardcover in the US until 1996, when James Cahill brought it out with art by Phil Parks, along with a new afterword. He had distribution problems, however, and wound up paying me off in copies. I thought I'd own the little darlings forever, but they got such a warm reception on tour that I sold out all I had and wound up buying the publisher's entire remaining stock. The books are in mint condition. The original retail price is $25, and I've seen the book on E-bay for twice that, but we're able to offer them for the original price of $25. And for that price you're not merely getting an autographed copy of a hardcover first edition---you're getting a complete series!

Cahill Press published this non-series title, and we bought out the publisher's stock and have been selling it here ever since for $25. It's a popular item for us. Cahill also published a signed boxed Limited Edition, and we've got copies of that as well, but never got around to offering them. The book is boxed and numbered, with a nice black leather-like library binding, and is a pretty scarce item. These won't be around long at only $50 each!
As shown, the S/L comes in a lovely green slipcase. Cover price on the trade was $25, S/L was $75. I love the story about the distribution problems, and the fact that S/L was never actually available for sale from the publisher.

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1028/specialistscover.jpg
http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/1788/specialistssig.jpg

Robert Fulman
08-30-2011, 05:44 PM
From Subterranean Press, this is the fourth Evan Tanner novel, it's original title restored at last. Never before published in hardcover, and fitted out with Phil Parks cover art and an afterward by the author.

As shown, S/L comes in a black slipcase. List price on trade hardcover was $30, S/L was $75.

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/4972/scorelessthaicover.jpg
http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/9846/scorelessthaisig.jpg

Robert Fulman
08-30-2011, 05:49 PM
Hardcover Random House first edition of the fourth "Burglar" book from 1980. Cover price is $8.95. Number line of "98765432" represents a first printing (I believe; I have seen pictures of an uncorrected proof with the same number line).

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/6066/spinoza.jpg

Robert Fulman
08-30-2011, 05:56 PM
Hardcover Arbor House first edition of the fifth "Burglar" book from 1983. Cover price is $14.50 (quite a jump from the prior title). In case you can't tell, in each book the item Bernie has to steal is themed. In this case, it is a piece of modern art.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/4295/mondrian.jpg

Robert Fulman
08-30-2011, 06:00 PM
That's it for now, but I have a handful of titles coming in the mail. I'm particularly excited for a leather quarter-bound S/L of "The Burglar in the Library". I mention above that LB signs anything and everything. The last two Burglar books I have posted are each signed on the title page. I often wonder why, given his thoughts on collectors, Stephen King doesn't also just sign everything he can find. That would be one way of making the collectors go away, I suppose...

jhanic
08-30-2011, 06:17 PM
Hardcover Random House first edition of the fourth "Burglar" book from 1980. Cover price is $8.95. Number line of "98765432" represents a first printing (I believe; I have seen pictures of an uncorrected proof with the same number line).


It looks like that number line must be Random House's standard for first printings. King and Straub's Black House was also published by Random House and has the same number line for the first printing.

John

Patrick
08-31-2011, 09:05 PM
Impressive collection!

Robert Fulman
09-01-2011, 02:02 PM
Thanks! Starting with Stephen King made me think that book collecting has to be an expensive pursuit. I've definitely noticed that I can pick up Lawrence Block (and I imagine that other authors are similar) at or near opening bids on ebay, so I just need to be patient. More to come!

Robert Fulman
09-01-2011, 02:06 PM
Both Lawrence Block and his "Hit Man" Keller collect stamps. So here we have some paperback copies of the first three books in the Hit Man series, signed and stamped. There's nothing special about the books themselves (this first book appears to be a fifteenth printing), but they are neat and they were cheap ($30 for all three). There is a stamped first edition hardcover of the fourth in the series, but I don't have that (yet).


A set of the first three Keller novels to complement the philatelic edition of Hit and Run. These are signed, and will include a philatelic enhancement; each book will bear the appropriate stamp (1¢, 2¢, or 3¢) from the 1938 Presidential series, each canceled by a special Keller cancellation. Keller had these stamps in his boyhood collection; that's how he learned to name the presidents in order.

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/6629/top1p.png

Robert Fulman
09-01-2011, 02:07 PM
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/6816/topxj.png

Robert Fulman
09-01-2011, 02:07 PM
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9707/top2bp.png

Robert Fulman
09-03-2011, 11:32 AM
PS Publishing Signed Limited Slipcased Edition of Random Walk (ISBN 978-1-905834-58-7). Cover price 50 pounds/$100. Book comes with brown slipcase (shown in first picture), is signed by Lawrence Block and Spider Robinson (who wrote the introduction), and is limited/numbered up to 200 copies:
http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/5982/topht.png
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/3956/top1mh.png

Interestingly, PS also issued a Signed Limited Trade Hardcover Edition of Random Walk (ISBN 978-1-905834-57-0), with a cover price of 20 pounds/$50. The book is fundamentally the same as the slipcased edition, except:


There is no slipcase
There is no dust jacket, the boards are printed to look exactly like the dust jacket of the slipcased edition
There is no ribbon page marker
Signed only by Block on the limitation page, and numbered/limited to 500 copies


Here are the two versions next to each other (with a special guest):
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/7910/006zuz.jpg

And here is the limitation page:
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/3886/004gsu.jpg

Robert Fulman
09-04-2011, 06:26 PM
I continue to be surprised at how little action there is on Lawrence Block books. I just picked up a 1979 Arbor House S/L (#382 out of 500) for $15, and I was the only bidder. I also have some Burglar and Scudder firsts coming soon, as well as a faux leather Mystery Guild edition of "Burglar in the Library" which sounds ultra-cheesy. I can't wait.

Robert Fulman
09-06-2011, 03:13 PM
"This limited edition is bound from the sheets of the first edition and published by arrangement with No Exit Press Limited"
ISBN 1-873567 29 4
Published by Scorpion Press in 1997
Quarter bound in leather with marbled boards and blue top-stain.

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/7131/librarycover.jpg
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/5205/librarysig.jpg

Robert Fulman
09-06-2011, 03:21 PM
So, this is a funny one. It is a Random House First Edition of the first "Burglar" book, "Burglars Can't be Choosers" (1977). The cover price is $6.95, and because it's RH, the number line is "98765432". First thing to note is that the title is spelled wrong on the dust jacket, due to an errant apostrophe. Also interesting, though is that this is also a Signed/Limited edition. A thick piece of paper has been glued in (Tipped in? I thought that happened before binding, but I could be wrong), and to that page a sticker/bookplate has been affixed stating:

"Burglars Can't Be Choosers
a Novel
by Lawrence Block

Being the literary debut
of Bernard Rhodenbarr, Burglar

One of one thousand copies
of the First Edition
serially numbered
&
signed by the Author
of which this volume is
No. ___"

My understanding is that Lawrence Block bought up the copies and issued this on his own, but I could be wrong.
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/4232/chooserscover.jpg
http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/4454/chooserssig.jpg

Robert Fulman
09-06-2011, 03:27 PM
First Trade edition of the ninth Scudder novel, "A Dance at the Slaughterhouse", published by Morrow in 1991. Cover price $19.00. Lovely embossed stream of blood on the cover.
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/3825/slaughterhouse.jpg

Robert Fulman
09-06-2011, 03:32 PM
First Trade edition of the tenth Scudder novel, "A Walk Among the Tombstones", published by Morrow in 1992. Cover price is only $17.00. Embossed blood must be expensive.
http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/6694/tombstones.jpg

Robert Fulman
09-07-2011, 04:25 AM
I also had unsigned firsts of "Random Walk" and "The Devil Knows You're Dead", but the got pretty much destroyed in the mail. They were pretty cheap, and the seller is a reasonable fellow, so hopefully I'll find replacements soon. I have most of the firsts of the Burglar series coming in the mail, and then I'm going to take a break.

Robert Fulman
09-12-2011, 03:05 PM
ISBN 0-87795-234-5
Cover Price: $9.25

Just like the "Burglars Can't Be Choosers" S/L above, this is a first edition of "Ariel" (Arbor House, 1980) with a limitation sheet pasted in. The text on the sheet reads:

"Ariel
a novel
by Lawrence Block

Being the curious story
of Ms. Ariel Jardell

One of five hundred copies
of the First Edition
serial numbered
&
signed by the Author
of which this Volume is
No. ___"

Yes, if you are paying attention, this is the second S/L I've listed for this book.

This is my first book to ever come with a COA from flatsigned.com. Given that the COA is simply a photocopied sheet of paper, I was unimpressed.

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/3642/arielcover.jpg
http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/600/arielsig.jpg

Robert Fulman
09-22-2011, 03:37 PM
"Mystery Guild Gold Presents the Fifty Greatest Crime Writers of the Twentieth Century"
Printed in 1999, this has a faux leather cover and a blue riboon page marker. Kind of a little oddity. Nice and cheap, just like a like it.
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/1798/kiplingmysteryguild.jpg

Robert Fulman
10-02-2011, 05:25 AM
This is an advance reading copy for "The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams". It is a 6x9 trade paperback size, although the final book was a hardcover. What makes this one interesting, I think, is that is also a signed and limited to 650 copies. This is number 99:

Front:
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/4593/topyj.png

Back:
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/2810/top2z.png

Limitation page:
http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/7321/top1px.png

Robert Fulman
10-02-2011, 05:30 AM
TOR first edition of "Random Walk". Copyright page states "First Edition: October 1988 0987654321"; Cover price $18.95.

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/9215/top3zq.png

Robert Fulman
10-02-2011, 05:33 AM
A 1990 First Edition of "A Ticket to the boneyard", the Seventh Matther Scudder novel. DJ Flap says "FPT", which I assume indicated "First Print" and shows cover price of $18.95.

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/7963/top4t.png

Robert Fulman
10-21-2011, 04:12 PM
A first edition of the third Bernie Rhodenbarr book, "The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling", published by Random House in 1979:
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3631/019vmh.jpg

I'm significantly less picky than some, so I'm not (too) ashamed to show that my book has three glaring flaws:
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/6587/020dwd.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-02-2011, 10:54 AM
"The Devil Knows You're Dead", the 11th Scudder Novel. This is the Morrow first trade edition:

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/521/008llr.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-02-2011, 10:56 AM
"A Long Line of Dead Men", the 12th Scudder novel. This is the Morrow first trade edition:

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/7497/009xyc.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-02-2011, 10:57 AM
"Even the Wicked", the 13th Scudder novel. This is the Morrow first trade edition:

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3262/010lrd.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-02-2011, 10:59 AM
"Everybody Dies", the 14th Scudder novel. This is the Morrow first trade edition:

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/5035/011yka.jpg
http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/849/014iw.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-02-2011, 11:00 AM
"Hit List", the second Keller novel. This is the first trade edition:

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/6818/015gy.jpg
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/8316/016gd.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-02-2011, 11:02 AM
"Tanner on Ice", the eighth Tanner novel. This book was published in 1998 after an 18 year break in the series; there hasn't been another since:

http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/6384/017aby.jpg
http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/3322/018wi.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-02-2011, 11:06 AM
"The Burglar on the Prowl", the tenth and most recent book in the Bernie Rhodenbarr series. I hope the inspiration hits Mr. Block again soon, because I would love to read more about Bernie. However, I have found that the stories are so intentionally convoluted that re-reading them is a treat. Anyway, I bought this book without seeing pictures, and at first I was annoyed that the obvious condition issues were not disclosed. Now, however, I think it's neat that this signed book of a "former bestseller" sat on a remainder pile in some store (Barnes & Noble, most likely, based on the sticker):

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/7865/019tn.jpg
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/8638/020xy.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-02-2011, 11:09 AM
"The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams", the sixth Bernie book and the first to be published by Dutton.

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/1820/021jcb.jpg
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/2264/022te.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-02-2011, 11:11 AM
"The Burglar Who Thought He was Bogart", the seventh Bernie book. Here's looking at you, kid:

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/4491/023pc.jpg

The rare book (of mine, at least) that is signed in anything other than a blue pen:
http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/1710/024wyn.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-02-2011, 11:13 AM
"The Burglar in the Rye", the ninth Bernie book:

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/2222/026kyb.jpg
http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/357/027gvj.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-02-2011, 11:14 AM
"Some Days You Get the Bear", a collection of short stories, including the Bernie story, "The Burglar Who Dropped in on Elvis":

http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/3347/028oo.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-02-2011, 02:53 PM
Arbor House Advanced Reading Copy (made from Uncorrected Proofs) of "When the Sacred Ginmill Closes", the sixth Matt Scudder novel. The cover promises a $35,000 advertising campaign, which doesn't seem like all that much to me:

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3707/ginmillfront.jpg

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/554/ginmillback.jpg

Brice
11-02-2011, 03:12 PM
A $35, 000 ad campaign barely covers me telling one person this guy wrote a book. For another 35,000 i'll tell them the name of the book and who it is that actually wrote it.

Robert Fulman
11-13-2011, 07:26 AM
Tanner lost the ability to sleep when he was wounded in Korea. He’s been awake ever since—learning languages, writing term papers and theses for lazy scholars, and supporting political lost causes and national splinter groups and irridentist movements. I wrote seven books about him in the late sixties—and an eighth just in time for the millennium.
THE THIEF WHO COULDN'T SLEEP. Fawcett Gold Medal, 1966. Tanner goes to Balekesir, in Turkey, chasing a hoard of gold coins stashed at the time of the Armenian genocide.

There was a signed limited hardcover issued by Otto Penzler in the 1990s, which I don't have yet, so here is the Fawcett Gold Medal paperback orginal from 1966:
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/4412/thiefgm.jpg
http://img573.imageshack.us/img573/8958/003xn.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-17-2011, 07:10 PM
TANNER’S VIRGIN. Fawcett Gold Medal, 1968. (originally Here Comes a Hero.) Set in Afghanistan, with Tanner rescuing an old girlfriend who's been abducted by white slavers. Based, believe it or not, on an overheard converartion in a Lyons Corner House in London…This is the sixth book in the Evan Tanner series. Yes, the first book was published in 1966 and this one was published in 1968. Larry was a busy man, apparently. This is my favorite buy because the book is in excellent shape, and I only paid 29 cents for it:

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1252/herecomesahero.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-17-2011, 07:14 PM
Just like he did for his Dutton release of "The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams", LB also issued a S/L proof/ARC/galley for the seventh Burglar book. My copy has a belly band around it announcing it as signed and limited. I honestly don't know if this was on the book originally or was added after the fact by a bookseller.

Front, with belly band:
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6775/bogartarcfront.jpg

Back:
http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/2339/bogartarcback.jpg

Limitation Page:
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/5700/006bgp.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-17-2011, 07:18 PM
Here is my copy of the second Burglar book, "The Burglar in the Closet", published in 1978 by Random House. This copy is not technically a first printing, as it lacks the words "First Edition" on the front page (I'll deal). Also, I think this book might be my first example of a fake LB signature, but I could be wrong. This book was the basis of the Whoopi Goldberg movie "Burglar"...

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2066/closest.jpg

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/12/007lay.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-22-2011, 04:52 PM
"All the Flowers are Dying", the sixteenth Scudder novel. This is the Morrow first trade edition:

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/2010/003hbs.jpg

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/4474/004mzs.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-22-2011, 04:56 PM
"In the Midst of Death" is the third book in the Scudder series and was initially published as a paperback in 1976.


This is the third title in the Matthew Scudder series. Like the first two, it was originally published as a Dell paperback in 1976. In the early 90's, Dark Harvest published hardcover first editions of The Sins of the Fathers and Time to Murder and Create, but went belly-up before they could do the same for In the Midst of Death. In 1995, G&G did the honors, again under the Lawrence Block Library imprint. (This book, and Ariel, constitute the entire Lawrence Block Library. Make of that what you will.) As with Ariel, the book's nicely produced and the edition is small---500 signed and numbered copies, 26 lettered, and a dozen author's copies---but in this case the book is the first US hardcover edition.

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/8295/005omf.jpg

My copy is lacking the limitation page, and is numbered "P.C. 14". I don't know exactly where that puts it with respect to the 538 copies described on his website:

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2328/006qe.jpg

Robert Fulman
11-22-2011, 05:11 PM
A World War II intrigue/adventure novel, conceived and written by LB, then rewritten to an editor’s specifications by Harold King, and published with a joint byline.
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/84/008uhbuv.jpg

Patrick
11-26-2011, 11:04 PM
You have one hell of a collection of books by this guy. Congratulations!

By the way, HERE COMES A HERO sounds rather titillating.

Robert Fulman
11-27-2011, 07:42 PM
Thanks. I have some more proofs coming soon. At some point I need to sit back and figure out what I really want to focus on. I think I've picked most of the low-hanging fruit. Now I want to go after the 1960s paperbacks, but I don't think they are worth the asking prices; some of his 1950s smut seems to sell for big bucks, but I'm really not interested in that stuff. There are a few more limiteds I want, but they are also not worth the asking price in my opinion. We'll see what comes up next.