Used & Unique – Nine-Banded Books

CHAOS: The Broadsheets of Ontological Anarchism

Richard Smith — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 17:26:40 +0000

As indicated by the "Providence" address on the colophon, I gather this is the second printing (or reissue) of the 1985 Grim Reaper Books first edition of Hakim Bey's profoundly influential prose-poetic manifesto, CHAOS, which has since been republished numerous times, usually under the title T.A.Z. (Temporary Autonomous Zone) in subsequent editions that incorporate supplemental texts. The Grim Reaper Books printings were privately bound in wraps, and this one is signed by Hakim Bey (aka Peter Lamborn Wilson), who died in 2022. The cover image is securely pasted on, and it should be noted that the cover wraps are slightly warped and discolored along the binding, which may be due to environmental wear or improper storage by the previous owner. The interior is clean and free of markings. The text is, of course, easy to find online and in print, but signed copies of the original GRB printings are now extraordinarily scarce. I don't know how many of these were originally printed, but they don't come up often at auction or otherwise. $500 is my price, regardless. Additional photos will be provided to prospective buyers upon request.

The Shadow-Eater

Richard Smith — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 16:39:17 +0000

I think this is the third printing of De Casseres' first poetry collection, The Shadow-Eater, which was originally published in 1915 under Albert & Charles Boni's semi-legendary Greenwich Village-based imprint. This copy is ostensibly one of 125 that were produced on hand-made paper and published by the American Library Service in 1923. A bookplate autographed by Benjamin De Casseres is securely affixed to the endpaper on the front board verso, but it is not numbered. A reproduction of Marius De Zayas' 1910 hand-pulled photogravure (entitled "Benjamin De Casseres") is included as a pasted frontispiece. This edition also features an introduction by Don Marquis, and Wallace Smith's glossy centerpiece illustration, "The Dead Who Live," is beautifully preserved with the frosted interior red-letter title page undamaged. Some outer page signatures remain intact and I'm not inclined to break them (you might feel differently). If you are interested in the work of De Casseres and the urbane freethinking milieu he inhabited, you probably know more about this volume than I do. I do think $150 is a fair price, though I'm aware there are copies listed for less. Additional photos will be provided to prospective buyers upon request.

Attributes: 1923 American Library Service limited ed. reprint; Signed by author; Includes pasted frontispiece by Marius De Zayas and centerpiece illustration by Wallace Smith.
Condition: The binding is sound and in good condition. The dust jacket is fair: intact, but with chipping and tears at edges & spine hinges. No interior markings. Some page signatures remain unsplit.
US Shipping: Free First Class shipping and insurance to US customers.
International Shipping: Shipping rates for international customers will have to be determined

The Beginning Was the End

Richard Smith — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 17:13:32 +0000

This is the first American hardcover edition (Praeger, 1973; translated by Judith Hayward) of Maerth's crackpot/cult classic -- significantly, the one made famous by the band DEVO, who, per Wikipedia, "...incorporated several elements of the book into their concept of 'de-evolution' and even adopted the book's title for their short film, In the Beginning was the End: The Truth About De-evolution." Of course, you already know that, since you've done your homework and have seen the cover image appropriated in the design for DEVO's 1989 album, Now It Can Be Told. Anyway, this edition is really hard to find now. Apart from the legendary DEVO connection, Maerth's peculiar thesis is generally dismissed as racist pseudoscience, but I think there is value in approaching it as a sub-species of "insight porn," maybe a few clicks downstream of such "outsider" evolutionary theories that have been exposited by Julian Jaynes and Elaine Morgan. The dust jacket has some crimps and chipping (the worst of which are visible in the image), but the binding is tight and the interior is clean (except for a small stamp on the flyleaf). Additional photos will be provided to prospective buyers upon request.

Attributes: First American ("Devo") edition; Hardcover; Rare
Condition: Good. Some chipping of dust jacket, no interior markings; prior owner's stamp imprinted on flyleaf.
US Shipping: Free First Class shipping and insurance to US customers.
International Shipping: Shipping rates for international customers will have to be determined

The Indiana Torture Slaying: Sylvia Lykens’ Ordeal and Death!

Richard Smith — Sat, 25 Feb 2023 03:31:21 +0000

Bee-Line Books, a low-rung publisher of mostly nonfiction smut pulps, released courtroom journalist John Dean's studious account of the Sylvia Lykens/Gertrude Baniszewski criminal case in 1966, well before "true crime" came to be an established mass-market paperback genre. I believe this is the first book-length study of the case, which remains resonantly disturbing in its details and implications. The events surrounding Lykens' "Ordeal and Death!" would later be the focus of Kate Millet's 1979 narrative nonfiction study, The Basement: Meditations on a Human Sacrifice, and the case also would provide the core inspiration for Jack Ketchum's best novel, The Girl Next Door. This copy is in shockingly good condition for a nearly 60-year-old pocket paperback, and I'm inclined to think it may never have been read (I read the Borf Books facsimile reprint that was released in the late '90s). It is priced accordingly. Additional photos will be provided to prospective buyers upon request.

Attributes: Presumed first printing of 1966 Bee-Line Books pocket paperback edition; Rare
Condition: Very good, maybe near-fine. Clean cover, tight spine, no markings. Other than some mild paper discoloration due to age, it appears never to have been read.
US Shipping: Free First Class shipping and insurance to US customers.
International Shipping: Shipping rates for international customers will have to be determined

Mad

Richard Smith — Sat, 25 Feb 2023 03:15:39 +0000

This a true first edition/printing of Jonathan Bowden's first book, Mad. It was published in 1989 as the premiere release under Bowden's short-lived vanity publishing concern, Egotist Press. This was long before Bowden gained cult notoriety as an orator and "house intellectual" in alt-right circles, and it may be of interest that this specific copy was used, with utmost care, as a transcription source for the 9BB reissue that was published in 2009. Another fun fact is that the descriptive hyperbole on the back cover was appropriated (presumably with a wink) from promotional copy appearing in various Grove Press editions of works by the Marquis de Sade! My price might or might not be high; it's difficult to gauge the prevailing market value for an item that is so seldom listed by online booksellers or at auction, especially since I don't know how many copies were published in the initial press run (500, I seem to recall?). I'm not particularly enthusiastic about parting with it, regardless, so consider the price "firm." Additional photos will be provided to prospective buyers upon request.

Attributes: First printing of 1989 Egotist Press edition; Rare
Condition: Good. Solid spine; no interior marks; back cover has a spot stain and shows mild discoloration.
US Shipping: Free First Class shipping and insurance to US customers.
International Shipping: Shipping rates for international customers will have to be determined.

S.C.U.M. Manifesto

Richard Smith — Sat, 25 Feb 2023 02:57:06 +0000

This is the "red cover" first printing of the original 1968 Olympia Press pocket paperback edition, featuring an introduction by Maurice Girodias and commentary by Paul Krassner. It was notoriously published after Solanas shot Andy Warhol. There exists an earlier "true" first edition that was self-published by Solanas in 1967, but that one might as well be a museum relic. Here we have a pretty good copy of a scarce edition of a fascinating polemic that has since assumed a curious stature in contemporary feminist discourse. My price is high but lower than you're likely to find elsewhere. Additional photos will be provided to prospective buyers upon request.

Attributes: First printing of Olympia Press edition; Rare
Condition: Good. Solid spine; no interior marks; minor scuffing and corner-creasing of cover, typical interior discoloration.
US Shipping: Free First Class shipping and insurance to US customers.
International Shipping: Shipping rates for international customers will have to be determined.

9BB Caveat Lector T-Shirt

Richard Smith — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 16:24:01 +0000

This is Nine Banded Books first official t-shirt. Released to celebrate our website's re-launch this t-shirt is available to all readers.

Details: 100% Cotton; Light grey Sizes: Medium, Large, Extra Large It's a shirt! It's a T-shirt! It's a Nine-Banded Books T-shirt! If you have a torso of average human proportions, you can wear this 100% cotton garment as you lounge and loiter and go "to and fro in the earth." Designed to be legible in viral security camera footage, it also functions as a conversation stopper.