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James M. Dourgarian, Bookman
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2341 Hickory Drive
Concord, CA 94520
925-349-4400
Established1980 - Member ABAA
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New Arrivals -Recent Books Aquired
James M.Dourgarian, Bookman, was established in 1980. We are members of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA). Like all ABAA members, we answer to a higher authority and follow a higher standard of ethics that guarantees a successful transaction for all our customers.
We buy and sell old books, vintage books, collectible books, rare books, first edition books, and related ephemera. We maintain several specialties. Among them are American fiction first editions from c.1900 to the present. Within that general field, we have heavy emphasis in John Steinbeck and Steinbeckiana. Thus, we buy and sell Steinbeck primary first editions in dust jackets, signed/limited editions, his appearances in anthologies, his periodical appearances, books and periodicals about Steinbeck, film and theatre memorabilia, bibliographies, and miscellaneous items.
We also specialize in these same categories for these authors -- Jack London, Wallace Stegner, and Stephen King. Other specialties include Western Americana, books on California and the West, Photography books, books on Japan, China, and the Orient, and Armed Services Editions. The latter are vintage paperbacks issued to American GIs from 1943 to 1947. They are comprised of mysteries, Westerns, science fiction and fantasy, mainstream fiction, historical novels, science, poetry, adventure stories, and more.
Within our field of modern first editions, we also sell related film memorabilia Thus, we sell film posters, lobby card sets, pressbooks, stills, scripts, etc. for films made from the works of authors we carry such as John Steinbeck, Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Raymond Chandler, Zane Grey, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Stephen King, Edward Abbey, Anne Rice, and many others.
Browse Books Listed by Author's Name Browse Armed Services Editions Books Listed by Issue Numbers | |
| [Steinbeckiana] Benson, Jackson J. The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer. NY, Viking, 1984, first edition, first printing, dust jacket . Hardcover. This is The Bible of all John Steinbeck biographies, it was 12 years in the research and writing, followed by another three years in getting it published, there are several suites of photo illustrations, a great accomplishment, this is an Association Copy copy Inscribed by Benson in the year of publication to David Heyler ("1/20/84/For Dave Heyler,/a book man and friend/of Stanford Library/Jackson J. Benson"), Heyler is mentioned in the book on pages 656, 803, 806-807, he was married to Steinbeck's sister Mary's daughter, Joan. Slight foxing to text block, tear to top of rear jacket panel, else fine, a brilliant copy without the usual fading to spine. JD36951 |  $200.00 |
| [John Steinbeck] Steinbeck, John. Autograph Postcard Signed. Pacific Grove, John Steinbeck, September 1948, first edition. Steinbeck writes 18 lines of his tiny scrawl to long-time friend Alice Cohee, in 1933 she urged him to try one more time to place Tortilla Flat, at that time he had three books published, none of which were successful, he did try again after following her advice, Covici Freide took the book which then launched his Nobel Prize-winning career, he then gifted her a specially bound copy of Tortilla Flat, one of only two copies, he writes from the 11th Street address apparently about that house while licking his wounds after the break up with his second wife, "Finally made it and it is a very pleasant house, but very much to do -- painting, trimming" plus work in the garden, "Nothing has been done to it in 15 years. But it is going to be a lot of fun doing it and it is a kind of smiling house," adding, "As for the break up - I didn't leave - I was pushed. The fog smells so good it makes it makes me a little crazy. It's going to be my seat for some time to come even though I have to go away quite a bit," he asks her to write him, signed as John, this postcard was not recorded in Steinbeck: A Life in Letters. Very good. JD36967 | $2,000.00 |
| [Wallace Stegner] Stegner, Wallace. The Spectator Bird. Franklin Center, Franklin Library, 1976, first edition. Issued without jacket, full leather, AEG, moire endpapers, ribbon marker, illustrated by John Collier, winner of the National Book Award, this unsigned limited edition precedes the Doubleday trade edition by one week, it includes Stegner's "special message" to subscribers as well as the separately-printed "Notes from the Editors" about Stegner and the book, Colberg A25.1.a, although not called for, this copy Signed by Stegner, Stegner has also signed the Notes from the editors laid loosely into the book. Fine. JD36969 | $300.00 |
| [Steinbeckiana] (Steinbeck, John). The Red Pony. n.p. (NY), Bantam Books, n.d. (1948), first edition. A color poster that measures about 22X28 inches, it advertises Bantam's publication of The Red Pony, a photoplay edition that featured front and rear cover photos of Robert Mitchum and Myrna Loy from the film version, that book is featured in the middle of the poster, Mitchum, Loy, and Louis Calhern are also featured in their film roles elsewhere in the poster, Steinbeck wrote the screenplay for this Republic film, not recorded by Goldstone & Payne, Morrow, or Holmes. Rolled, never folded, a few edge nicks, short tears, and small chips. JD36982 | $350.00 |
| [Tony Hillerman] Hieb, Louis A. Tony Hillerman: From The Blessing Way to Talking God A Bibliography. Tucson, Press of the Gigantic Hound, 1990, first edition. Issued without dust jacket, this is the second of Hieb's HillermanĘbibliographies, but it is the first hardcover, limited to 1,000 copies, but this is one of 20 copies, so noted on the limitation page Signed by Hieb, it covers his fiction, short fiction, nonfiction, contribution to books, contribution to periodicals, books about Hillerman, audio recordings, and notes. Fine. JD36986 | $65.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Hungerford, Mark C. The Quiet Bower. Vashon, The Quiet Bower, 2003, first edition, wrappers. Softcover. Published in the manner of the Armed Services Editions (books issued to American GIs during World War II), a novel, this is a complimentary copy, with slip, inscribed by Hungerford to this bookseller in 2017, laid in loosely is a one-page fact sheet about the book with a note to this bookseller at the bottom from Hungerford, published at $15. Fine. JD36992 | $25.00 |
| [John Steinbeck] Steinbeck, John and Ricketts, Edward F. Sea of Cortez. NY, Viking, December 5, 1941, first edition, wrappers. Softcover. Advance copy, an uncorrected proof, plain brown wrappers with publisher's information label affixed to front cover, this is Part I only, meaning the log of the trip written (mostly) by Steinbeck, but not Part II which is the scientific appendix by Ricketts and its color plates, the book was offered at $5, the label states that these are unrevised proofs, confidential, and not to be quoted for publication until verified with the finished book, Goldstone & Payne A15a, although, curiously, G&P doesn't refer to the book as a proof, that's probably because there was a galley proof in Goldstone's collection that preceded even this advance copy, Morrow 139, Harmon 45a, Holmes A16a. Spine rolled, some cover spotting, marks to top edge, else very good. JD36996 | $3,500.00 |
| [Modern Literature] Werfel, Franz. The Forty Days of Musa Dagh. NY, Viking, 1934, first edition. One of 750 advance copies privately distributed and not for sale, this novel tells the story of a group of Armenians who resisted their slaughter by the Turks on a mountain called Musa Dagh (Moses's Mountain), this systematic slaughter, the first holocaust of the 20th Century, was perpetrated by the Turkish government which ordered the killings and mass, forced deportations, 1.5 million of the 3 million Armenians living in Turkey were killed on these orders of the Turkish government in 1915, Inscribed by Werfel to O. J. Kadlec in New York in 1935, very scarce thus. Rear hinge starting, bookplate, soiling to cloth, spine aged, rear pastedown with some pencil notes. JD36999 | $750.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Wylie, Philip. Fish and Tin Fish. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1944), first edition thus, wrappers. Softcover. No. L-19 in this important series, fishing stories featuring Crunch Adams and his mate, Desperate, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI. Very good plus. JD36957 | $45.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Mann, Thomas. Selected Short Stories of Thomas Mann. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1944), first edition, wrappers. Softcover. No. L-28 in this important series, a paperback original, translated from the German by H. T. Lowe-Porter, with a note about the author at the end, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI. Very good minus. JD36990 | $25.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Freuchen, Peter. Arctic Adventure. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1943), first edition thus, wrappers. Softcover. No. B-60 in this important series, first issue, reprinted later within this series as ASE No. T-38, "my life in the Frozen North," with a note about the author at the end, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI. Very good. JD36960 | $45.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Wason, Betty. Miracle In Hellas. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1944), first edition thus, wrappers. Softcover. No. C-78 in this important series, "the Greeks fight on" in World War II, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI, this is one of the very important and scarce D-Day ASEs. Very good. JD36954 | $40.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Hergesheimer, Joseph. Java Head. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1944), first edition thus, wrappers. Softcover. No. D-102 in this important series, a novel of Salem, MA, with a note about the author at the end, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI, this is one of the important and scarce D-Day ASE issues. Very good minus. JD36964 | $35.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Douglas, Lloyd C. The Robe. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1944), first edition thus, wrappers. Softcover. No. D-118 in this important series, first issue, reprinted later in the series as No. K-27, "the story of a soldier who tossed for Christ's robe and won," condensed for wartime reading, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI, this is one of the important and scarce D-Day ASE issues. Very good. JD36962 | $45.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Byrne, Donn. Messer Marco Polo. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1944), first edition thus, wrappers. Softcover. No. F-151 in this important series, a historical novel, with a note about the author at the end, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI. Very good. JD36956 | $15.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Lamb, Charles. The Essays of Charles Lamb. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1944), first edition, wrappers. Softcover. No. F-175 in this important series, a paperback original, essays selected and with an introduction by Saxe Commins, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI. Very good minus. JD36991 | $10.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Steinbeck, John. The Long Valley. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1945), first edition thus, wrappers. Softcover. No. 794 in this important series, it includes such classic Steinbeck short stories as The Chrysanthemums, The Snake, Johnny Bear, Flight, The Raid, The Harness, The Vigilante, The Murder, and all portions of The Red Pony, with a note about the author at the end, Goldstone & Payne A11c, Morrow 93, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI. Good. JD36988 | $20.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Bodmer, Frederick. The Loom of Language. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1945), first edition thus, wrappers. Softcover. No. 893 in this important series, edited by Lancelot Hogben who also provides the foreword, "condensed for wartime reading," illustrated, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI. Very good minus. JD36989 | $10.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Shelley, Mary W. Frankenstein (Or, the Modern Prometheus). NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1946), first edition thus, wrappers. Softcover. No. 909 in this important series, a classic in horror literature and film source, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI. Very good. JD37000 | $225.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Marsh, Ngaio. Final Curtain. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1947), first edition thus, wrappers. Softcover. No. 1269 in this important series, a mystery novel with a theatrical setting by this woman writer from New Zealand, with a list of characters at the end, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI, this is in the very scarce upright/vertical format. Very good minus. JD36994 | $55.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Sandburg, Carl. Storm Over the Land. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1943), first edition thus, wrappers. Softcover. No. A-27, just the 27th title issued in this important series, "a profile of the Civil War, taken mainly from his Abraham Lincoln: The War Years, preface by Sandburg, illustrated with maps, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI, a very scarce book. Very good. JD36961 | $50.00 |
| [Armed Services Editions] Carse, Robert. There Go The Ships. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1943), first edition thus, wrappers. Softcover. No. A-5, just the fifth book in this important series, "the story of a convoy to Murmansk," issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI. Very good plus. JD36963 | $50.00 |
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Browse Books Listed by Author's Name Browse Armed Services Editions Books Listed by Issue Numbers | |