Trifecta in Beverly Hills
- by Bruce E. McKinney
Historical Manuscripts and Autographs
Lot 30285
Edgar Rice Burroughs. Thuvia, Maid of Mars. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1920. First edition ("Published October, 1920" and Donohue imprint on copyright page). Inscribed and signed by Burroughs on the front free endpaper.
Lot 30512
Stanley Weinbaum. Dawn of Flame and Other Stories. [Jamaica, NY: Ruppert Printing Service, 1936]. First edition, Currey priority A, with a very warm inscription signed from Forrest J Ackerman to Jerry Weist on the colophon page, reading: "My 'Palmer Copy' / With me from / 1936 till 2000 / happily put into / the appreciative / preserving hands / of / my dear friend / Jerry Weist / Forrest J / Ackerman." With two photographs of Forry signing the book laid in. Also laid in at the end of the introduction is a calling card signed by Raymond Palmer, the uncredited author of the introduction later removed by Mrs. Weinbaum for being "too personal."
Lot 30360
Thea von Harbou. Metropolis. Berlin: August Scherl, 1926. First edition. In German. Octavo. 274 pages. Five pages of ads. Original green cloth over boards, titles to spine gilt on red, ruling and titles to upper board gilt, yellow top-stain.
Lot 30224
Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine Books, Inc. [1953]. First edition. One of 50 privately bound copies in red cloth, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper.
Lot 30328
Philip K. Dick. Confessions of a Crap Artist. New York: Entwhistle Books, 1975. First edition, first state. Signed by Dick on the front pastedown, with his hands outlined in red ink on the front endpapers. Interestingly, Dick was the only author to question Jerry Weist's habit of asking authors to sign books with their handprints. True to form, Dick thought it was a government conspiracy.
Lot 30077
Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster. Science Fiction. The Advance Guard of Future Civilization. Complete Set, Issues 1-5. [Cleveland: 1932-1933]. First editions. First two issues: approximately 12 x 9 inches; issues three through five measure 8.5 x 11 inches. Staple-bound or string-bound in illustrated paper wrappers. Issue number three contains the legendary Siegel & Shuster story, "The Reign of the Superman," with Shuster's first drawing of Superman, published five years before the Cleveland duo unveiled their more famous incarnation of the name in Action Comics #1. Further, issue #4 contains the first printed image of King Kong, and issue #5 features bios and pictures of Siegel and Shuster.
Lot 30085
All-Story October 1912 - The First Appearance of Tarzan (Munsey, 1912) Apparent GD/VG.A milestone in American literature, the importance of this issue of All-Story cannot be overstated, as it represents the first ever appearance of Tarzan in any medium. The story was prolific writer Edgar Rice Burroughs' second published work (the first under his own name). This issue is currently the single most valuable pulp magazine, and is considered very rare with probably fewer than 20 copies in existence.