Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$123.86 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Printer Wrapper. First Edition. Limited to 1,000 copies printed by the Lincoln Press. Drawing on cover by John Edward Heliker. Williford's first book. Copyight 1948 by Sgt. Charles Willeford U.S. Army. The Alicat Chapbooks Number XII. Printed Wraps; unpaginated. Usual browning to paper, and just the tip of the front bottom corner is missing ( a miniscule chip.) Else a near fine copy.
Seller: Tornbooks, Austin, TX, U.S.A.
Willeford, Charles. PROLETARIAN LAUGHTER. Alicat Bookshop Press, Yonkers, NY, 1948.
Price: US$125.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Limited to 1,000 copies printed by the Lincoln Press. Drawing on cover by John Edward Heliker. The author's first book (as "Sgt. Charles Willeford, U.S. Army". Alicat Chapbooks Number XII. Typical browning to the cheap paper stock, The paper and wraps are very fragile, and the top left corner of the cover and three pages are chipped.
Seller: Bibliolio Books, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Willeford, Charles. Proletarian Laughter. Alicat Bookshop, Yonkers, NY, 1948.
Price: US$128.75 + shipping
Description: Octavo. 40 unnumbered pages. During World War II, Willeford served as a tank commander with the 10th Armored Division of George S. Patton's Third Army. He earned the Bronze Star, Silver Star and the Purple Heart as well as the Luxenbourg Croix de Guerre. After recovering from wounds to the face and leg, he attended several colleges but since he had not graduated from high school, he was rejected by the colleges he applied to. His most brutal war experiences are found in this work in both poetry and introductions to poems. His writing was called dark, gruesome, and a cynicism about war and the treatment of civilians. He points to a line of eighty soldiers and says: "See that line.there are two whores in that house. Nice girls who came up from Paris to pick up a piece of change. That's democracy." The cold, sharply observational, morbidly humorous pieces set the tone for much of his future writing. Only a thousand copies were printed, issued in pictorial wraps as an Alicat Chapbook.page edges toned, rear lower corner creased, closed tears to spine, tiny tear to upper corner of first leaf.
Seller: Alcuin Books, ABAA/ILAB, Scottsdale, AZ, U.S.A.
Willeford, Charles. PROLETARIAN LAUGHTER Poems. The Alicat Bookshop Press, Yonkers, NY, 1948.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Square. Author's first book preceded only by a small four paged collection of poems published in The Outcast Poets, #8. Number 12 of the series, no pagination, printed on varied color paper, bound in pictorial wraps; fine.
Seller: Charles Parkhurst Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Surprise, AZ, U.S.A.
Willeford, Charles. Proletarian Laughter. The Alicat Bookshop Press, Yonkers, New York, 1948.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: The Alicat Chapbooks Number XII, Outcast Series. Stapled wraps. Basically Fine with pages toned and very slightly chipped at edges, as is common. The Miami Blues author's first separate book, a collection of poetry that often focuses on his experiences in WWII, which he never really examined again in print.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Willeford, Charles. Proletarian Laughter. The Alicat Bookshop Press, 1948.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, first priting. Alicat Chapbooks No. XII. One of 1000 copies. Side stapled. Some light toning. SMall corner chips. No DJ. In archival sleeve.
Seller: J. Mercurio Books, Maps, & Prints IOBA, Garrison, NY, U.S.A.
Willeford, Charles. Proletarian Laughter. Poems. The Alicat Bookshop Press, Yonkers, N.Y., 1948.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition of the author's first book. 1 vols. 8vo. Willeford was a tank commander during World War II and author of four best-selling and extremely dark crime novels during the 1980s, beginning with Miami Blues. His first book, Number 12 in the Alicat Bookshop "Outcasts" Series is consciously modelled upon Hemingway's in our time, and consists of short poems and seven prose "Schematics". Herron 1 Original pictorial stapled wrappers, somewhat age-darkened and brittle as customary with this book, small closed tear at center of spine Very Good First Edition of the author's first book.
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
WILLEFORD, CHARLES.. PROLETARIAN LAUGHTER.. The Alicat Bookshop Press, 1948., Yonkers, 1948.
Price: US$375.00 + shipping
Description: First edition. Author's first book. Edition limited to 1000 copies. This copy inscribed by the book's publisher, Oscar Baradinsky. Fine in pictorial wrappers. Poems by Charles Willeford inspired by his World War II experiences. Number 12 in the Alicat Outcast Poets Series of Chapbooks. Contains a preface by the author and seven prose "Schematics" interlaced with the poetry. Scarce.
Seller: BUCKINGHAM BOOKS, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA, GREENCASTLE, PA, U.S.A.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Description: One of 1,000 copies. Slim quarto (20cm); original pictorial card wrappers; [40]pp. While not called for, this copy has been signed by Willeford on the preliminary leaf. Subtle toning to text edges, else very Near Fine. A sharp copy of the author's first book, a collection of poems published by Oscar Baradinsky while Willeford was still a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. Uncommon signed. Herron 1.
Seller: Captain Ahab's Rare Books, ABAA, Stephenson, VA, U.S.A.
Willeford, Charles. Proletarian Laughter. The Alicat Bookshop Press, Yonlers, NY, 1948.
Price: US$495.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: 38 pages. First edition, first priting. Alicat Chapbooks No. XII. One of 1000 copies. Willeford's first book of prose and poetry describing his World War II experiences as a tank commander. Signed by Willeford on the first sheet. Fine book in wrappers with only very slight acidic paper browning. A beautiful copy!
Seller: Fireproof Books, MINNETONKA, MN, U.S.A.