James M. Dourgarian, Bookman
1595-B Third Avenue
Walnut Creek, CA 94597
(925) 935-5033
Established 1980
Member ABAA
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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, 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.
[John Steinbeck] Steinbeck, John. Lachez Les Bombes! NY, Overseas Editions, n.d. (c.1944), first edition, wrappers. Softcover. Although published in the U. S., this is the first edition of Bombs Away in French, the Overseas Editions series was a cousin to the Armed Services Editions issued to soldiers during and shortly after World War II, it includes Steinbeck’s previously unpublished preface (in also in French) written especially for this book, scarce, cited by Goldstone & Payne as D156 and D183, Morrow 458. Aged World War II paper, cover crease, else near fine. JD6411
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John Steinbeck] Steinbeck, John. Nothing So Monstrous. NY, Pynson Printers, December 1936, first edition.
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Issued without dust jacket, this hardcover with marbled boards and orange cloth spine is the first separate printing of the Junius Maltby story from Steinbeck's second book, The Pastures of Heaven, Goldstone & Payne A2f, see Morrow 16, issued here with a new title and an epilogue written especially for this book by Steinbeck, it is one of only 370 copies for presentation by a number of subscribers to be used as a Christmas gift, it includes pen and ink drawings by Donald McKay, this particular colpy is even more special in that it is one of just six copies purchased by Steinbeck himself, his name is printed in the colophon as having requested the book which he then presented and inscribed to his older sister, Elizabeth, and her husband, Gene ("Beth and Gene/with love/John Steinbeck"), this is probably the last of the close family copies to come to the marketplace, the rest are already in institutions. Fine. JD6519
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Lowther, George. The Adventures of Superman. NY, Armed Services Editions, n.d. (1945), first edition thus, wrappers. Softcover. No. 656 in this important series, this is perhaps the most desired of all the Armed Services Editions and, perhaps, the rarest title, the story is based on the cartoon character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, issued by the Council on Books in Wartime, designed to fit the pocket of a World War II American GI. Very good. JD27318
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Steinbeck, John. The Pastures of Heaven. NY, Brewer, Warren & Putnam, 1932, first edition, dust jacket. Hardcover. His second book, this is the first edition, first issue book in a first edition, second issue dust jacket that is 2 mm shorter than the first issue jacket, see Goldstone & Payne A2a and G&P A2b, see Morrow 14, this first edition is one of only 1,650 copies actually bound (from a print-run of 2,500 sets of sheets), only a paltry 650 copies were actually sold, this was his first book with what could be called the Steinbeck "sound," the book is comprised of inter-related stories set in a valley that came to represent Steinbeck Country, in these stories something is not quite right with the inhabitants of this otherwise peaceful valley, according to Harry Thornton Moore in his first critical study of Steinbeck's works, The Pastures of Heaven "is the most popular of Steinbeck's three early books. It points the way to most of his subsequent writing," this copy was auctioned in 2003, the auction house speculated that pencil codes in the gutter of the dedication page indicated that this was possibly a file copy, this was the Jacob J. Foster copy. A pleasing, very good plus copy in a superior, wrinkle-free silver foil dust jacket that is the best jacket I have ever seen. JD29441 |
| Steinbeck, John. Un Americain A New York Et A Paris. Paris, Rene Julliard, 1956, first edition, wrappers. Softcover. Limited issue, Not only is this one of only 30 numbered copies printed on Corvol with printed buff wrappers, but this is copy No. 1 (can there be a more desirable copy?), translated from Steinbeck's English by Jean-Francois Rozan, one of the rarest of Steinbeck's "A" items, it seldom comes on the market, there is no British or American equivalent of this book, although there was a "trade" edition with an illustrated cover, Goldstone & Payne A35a, Morrow 238, now housed in a beautiful custom clamshell case. A fine copy, uncut. JD29426
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Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. London, Heinemann, 1937, first British edition, dust jacket. Hardcover. Blue pictorial jacket designed and illustrated by Michael Rothenstein printed in pink and black and with pink endpapers and top edge stained pink.
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Goldstone & Payne state that the top edge is stained blue with the jacket printed in black only, noting a variant in a white jacket printed in pink and black with the top edge stained pink and with pink endpapers - G&P A7c, Morrow 60. This copy with the rare and unrecorded wrap-around band noting that 137,000 copies were sold in America with translations appearing in France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, with an excerpt from James Agate writing for the "Daily Express," this copy is Inscribed by the author ("For Guy G. B. Reedy/John Steinbeck"), Steinbeck has also drawn a small duck on the wrap-around band and noted "what beauty" on the front pastedown, and where the front jacket flap notes that the book is "Decorated by Michael Rothenstein" Steinbeck has amended it to "& J.S.," Reedy and Steinbeck became friends during his very early years in New York where they both worked as construction workers when the old Madison Square Garden was being built, they remained friends for decades, and Steinbeck would inscribed all his first editions for Reedy, now housed in a custom cloth folder and case with leather spine with raised bands with author, title, etc. in gilt. Fine copy, especially scarce in this condition. JD29425 |
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Steinbeck, John. Their Blood Is Strong. San Francisco, Simon J. Lubin Society of California, April 1938, first edition, wrappers. Softcover. This true first edition, sold originally at 25 cents, is one of the most elusive of Steinbeck's first editions, with the famous front cover photo by Dorthea Lange of the mother suckling her child, the book was a precursor to Steineck's publishing his masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath, Goldstone & Payne A10a, Morrow 86. A very good copy. JD5963
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Steinbeck, John. Grozd'ja Gneva (The Grapes of Wrath). Moscow, Gosudarstvennoye Izdatel'stov, 1940, first edition thus. 
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This is the unrecorded first Russian edition of The Grapes of Wrath, this hardcover was translated by N. Volzhina, with an afterword by I. Anisimov, pen and ink drawing illustrations on front cover, plus several full-page and chapter beginnings illustrations by L. Brodati, the colophon records that the work was sent to the typesetter on June 16, 1940 and was published Oct. 2, 1940 in an edition of 25,000 copies, Goldstone & Payne D475 records a 1941 edition while Morrow 515 states (erroneously) that its 1957 publication is the first Russian edition, the Reuben Cat. 33, item 489a also records a 1941 edition, the transliteration from the Cyrillic and translation of the bibliographic information in this case by Alexander Tentser, this unique copy further high-lighted by being an Author Association/Presentation Copy being Inscribed by Steinbeck to Lewis Milestone, it reads, "For Lewis Milestone Nov smoz ka palp! John Steinbeck," his inscription appears to be a mock Russian, Milestone produced and directed both the original 1939 film version of Of Mice and Men and the 1949 film version of The Red Pony. This rather cheaply produced book has expected age and appropriate wear, else very good plus in a fine custom clam-shell case with gilt titles on the spine. JD6030
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Steinbeck, John. The Pearl. RKO, 1948, first edition. A complete set of eight 11X14-inch color lobby card posters for this film based on John Steinbeck's classic novella, the film starred Pedro Armendariz and Maria Elena Marques, good use of Steinbeck's name on the title card and all the scene cards, Steinbeck is credited on the title card with writing the screenplay (along with director Emilio Fernandez and Jack Wagner), none of these posters were in the Goldstone collection, but see Goldstone & Payne E15, not recorded by Morrow, any of these posters are scarce, but a complete set is extremely scarce as well as desirable. Minor use. JD3041
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Brautigan, Richard. The Tokyo-Montana Express. NY, Delacorte/Seymour Lawrence, 1980, first edition, dust jacket. Hardcover. Author Presentation Copy of the highest association level, Inscribed to his own publisher, "This Copy is for Sam Lawrence/"Montana!"/Richard Brautigan/New York/November 16, 1980". Wear at jacket extremities, else fine. JD121
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