Author Philip Roth On Trump

More on The Great Taos Bank Robbery States

Another example – an update in February 2017

Back in October of 2013 I did a post about the states of The Great Taos Bank Robbery, showing that collectors and dealers have mis-identified the first versus second states of this book for many years. Louis A. Hieb published a bibliography of Hillerman books and writing titled, Tony Hillerman: From The Blessing Way to Talking God A Bibliography (Press of the Gigantic Hound, Tucson, 1990). His book has become the definitive reference regarding Hillerman books published from 1970 through 1989. Hieb, however, described the two states of this particular book in reverse chronological order - the details of this inadvertent transposition are described in the 2013 post.

One of my customers, John Van Derhoof of Long Beach, California, is an avid Hillerman collector. He recently bought a copy of The Great Taos Bank Robbery that was apparently a Review Copy. He sent along some photos of this example and I show them below.

Although John’s copy is a bit worn, compared to Dan Stouffer's, shown in original post, it also indicates that the first state of the original first edition of this title was just as described in detail in the original post. The first edition, first state book and jacket were distinctly different than the later state, or perhaps a second printing after 1979, that has been mistakenly considered to be the first state for many years. Note that the first issue of this book has two photographs on the back panel of the dust jacket. Thanks to John for sending along this additional proof.

And Now From Little Golden Books

Orwell And Trump Administration

"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."-- George Orwell, "1984" 

Sales of Orwell's 1984 have taken off after only a few days of Trump's "Administration", which has been characterized by actions similar to those of Orwell's famous novel. "Alternative facts" (aka blatant, obvious lies) have undoubtedly played a role in sending readers off to take a new look at 1984.

Shown here is a U.S. first edition of 1984, in the red dust jacket variant. Some first editions had blue dust jackets - second below. Book was published in U.S. in 1949 by Harcourt and Brace. Copies in collectible condition can be found in the $300 to $500 price range.

Holiday Gift Certificates Available From Squid Ink

Holiday gift certificates are available this season - contact me via email or phone if you'd like to purchase one. Happy Holidays.

Our Catalogue 33 Up At Squid Ink Website

Our summer catalogue (Number 33) can now be viewed at our website.

Harper Lee and Opus

When Harper Lee, of ‘Mockingbird,’ Corresponded With Opus the Penguin’s Creator

The Letters From Harper Lee to Berkeley Breathed

The cartoonist Berkeley Breathed shared a correspondence with the author Harper Lee. After her death on Friday at the age of 89, Mr. Breathed wrote on Facebook of the letters they had exchanged over the years. Later, he shared with The New York Times four letters he had received from Ms. Lee over the span of 14 years, with the first coming in 1994 and the last arriving in 2008. FEB. 21, 2016 Related Article

The links above lead to interesting details regarding Harper Lee and her fondness for Opus the penguin - one of the creations of cartoonist Berk Breathed (Bloom County and Opus). the cartoon panel above appeared in 1995, while below is a letter Lee wrote regarding the impending demise of opus in 2008. Breathed was always one of my favorites and I miss Opus too.

However, Breathed says the letter below helped inspire him to bring back his cartoons anew as Bloom County 2015 - an online only return of his famous characters.