Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First Edition with First state jacket. Ex-Library. Small section of material lifted on bottom edge of back board, and both top and bottom edges of front board. Small lines of black on top and bottom edges of boards. "Withdrawn" stamped on front paste down and half-title page. A date is stamped on half-title page. Lacks first free end page. Material lifted on last free end page. Some material lifted from front and back paste down pages. Black markings on copyright page. Red dot and pencil marks on dedication page. Jacket has black mark on spine. Light residue at tail of spine. Otherwise very good and in mylar jacket cover.
Seller: The Dawn Treader Book Shop, Ann Arbor, MI, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures. Harper & Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$117.27 + shipping
Description: Clean and tight; I have 14 of these and all are in identical condition: they were owned by a former rep for Harper. Stated First Edition. He got a box of them and put them on his shelf, where they have been sitting for probably 25 or 35 years. So there is mild shelfwear on the jacket, very mild. There is a small shiny gold sticker on the flap with a price of $3.00 with $2.75 underneath this sticker. Minor wear to the extremities. First issue dust jacket ("with a wife and two small children" on rear flap). BEVFR
Seller: RogerCoyBooks, Chagrin Falls, OH, U.S.A.
John Updike. The Carpentered Hen and other tame creatures. Harper, 1958.
Price: US$125.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 1st edition, stated, in first issue jacket with "a wife and two children" on rear flap. VG with fresh binding. Owner's name and date on endpaper. Plus, a handwritten note on reverse of endpaper as to this title's value in 1981. Crisp, unfaded jacket is priceclipped with new (publisher's?) price of $3.00 stamped just below clip.
Seller: Susan Davis Bookseller, Memphis, TN, U.S.A.
UPDIKE, JOHN. The Carpentered Hen and other tame creatures. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$125.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 8vo, publisher's ¼ cloth, spine foot bumped; dust jacket, folds rubbed, shallow chipping to head and foot of spine panel; faded inked inscription on front flyleaf. Updike's first book. Signed by him on the title page.
Seller: Sanctuary Books, A.B.A.A., New York, NY, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen. Harper And Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$135.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: 82 Pp. Black Cloth Over Grey Paper-Covered Boards. First Edition Stated, With Code B-H. One Of 2000 Copies Only. Dj First State, , "With A Wife And Two Small Children" On Rear Flap, Printed Price Covered By Small Gold $3.00 Price Label. Updike's First Book, Poetry Mostly First Published In The New Yorker. Very Near Fine In Very Ear Fine Dust Jacket, Just A Trace Of Rubbing On Spine And Corners, No Fading.
Seller: Arroyo Seco Books, Pasadena, Member IOBA, Pasadena, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 12mo. 82 pp. Grey paper-covered boards backed in black cloth w/ blue and white dust jacket. Soiling to DJ, heaviest at rear panel. Light soiling to boards and hinges. POs inscription to frep, "Gerald Wyndham Humphry, November 19th, 1958. Beacon." First edition, first state of Updike's first books of Poems. Two children listed in bio info.
Seller: Small Volume Books, Providence, RI, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures: Poems. Harper & Brothers, 1958.
Price: US$175.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, first issue of the author's first book in original jacket. Stated first with 'B-H' code, and 'two small children' on rear flap. A very good copy (price-clipped jacket has some wear to edges and spotting to rear penel; book has light wear and browning to text edges).
Seller: Arundel Books, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition. Slightly cocked spine, wear on the board edges, and toning on the endpapers else very good in a near fine dust jacket with faint foxing. Author's first book.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Price: US$225.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Owner book plate on front paste down else near fine in lovely near fine dust jacket. Updike's first book.
Seller: Courtside Books, Medford, NJ, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures. Harper & Brothers, 1958.
Price: US$245.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Stated First Edition. Tiny bump to bottom of rear board. Near fine jacket with $2.75 price.
Seller: Jay W. Nelson, Bookseller, IOBA, Austin, MN, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures. Harper & Brothers, 1958.
Price: US$256.50 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition in first state jacket with 'two small children' on rear flap (this was later corrected to 'four children'). Edges and jacket flaps/reverse lightly foxed. 1958 Hard Cover. viii, 82 pp. Author's first book. "Updike remarked in an interview collected by the Poetry Foundation that "I began as a writer of light verse, and have tried to carry over into my serious or lyric verse something of the strictness and liveliness of the lesser form." The poet Thomas M. Disch noted that because Updike was such a well-known novelist, his poetry "could be mistaken as a hobby or a foible"; Disch saw Updike's light verse instead as a poetry of "epigrammatical lucidity." His poetry has been praised for its engagement with "a variety of forms and topics," its "wit and precision," and for its depiction of topics familiar to American readers.
Seller: Yesterday's Muse, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA, Webster, NY, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures. Harper & Brothers, 1958.
Price: US$256.50 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition in first state jacket with 'two small children' on rear flap (this was later corrected to 'four children'). Last gathering of pages slightly foxed on fore edge, rear jacket panel faintly soiled. 1958 Hard Cover. viii, 82 pp. Author's first book. "Updike remarked in an interview collected by the Poetry Foundation that "I began as a writer of light verse, and have tried to carry over into my serious or lyric verse something of the strictness and liveliness of the lesser form." The poet Thomas M. Disch noted that because Updike was such a well-known novelist, his poetry "could be mistaken as a hobby or a foible"; Disch saw Updike's light verse instead as a poetry of "epigrammatical lucidity." His poetry has been praised for its engagement with "a variety of forms and topics," its "wit and precision," and for its depiction of topics familiar to American readers.
Seller: Yesterday's Muse, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA, Webster, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$274.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition (so stated) of the author's first book, a collection of light verse. 8vo: viii,[4],82pp. Publisher's quarter-bound black cloth, spine lettered in gilt; off-white paper-covered boards stamped in gold; first issue price-clipped dust jacket, with "two small children" (later corrected to "four") on rear flap. About Fine (faint offsetting to end papers); about Fine jacket (touch of soiling to back panel; spine ends and corners very lightly rubbed). Roberts A1a. In the mid-Fifties, after work as a "Talk of the Town" reporter at the New Yorker, Updike composed these remarkable poemsâ"intellectual, witty pieces on the absurdities of modern life. The collection's seventh poem, "Why the Telephone Wires Dip and the Poles Are Cracked and Crooked," is carved in full on the reverse of the writer's gravestone. "The old men say / young men in gray / hung this thread across our plains / acres and acres ago. / But we, the enlightened, know / in point of fact it's what remains / of the flight of a marvellous crow / no one saw: / Each pole, a caw." N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).
Seller: Fine Editions Ltd, Lancaster, PA, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures.. Harpers & Brothers, NY, 1958.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Top and bottom of grey board edges have some fading. Dust jacket is first state with $2.75 price and mention of "a wife and two small children" in the biographical note on the rear flap. Jacket is bright all around. Jacket spine is vertically creased. Front jacket flap has the date "FEB 14, 1958" rubberstamped on it with the number 2 (circled) in pencil). Possibly a reveiw copy.
Seller: Eliot Books, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures. Harper & Brothers, 1958.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Description: Signed on front free endpaper by Updike. Very faint darkening to edges, fine in near fine dust jacket in. mylar cover.
Seller: THE HERMITAGE BOOKSHOP, Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Price: US$360.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Updike's first book, poems most of which originally appeared in the New Yorker magazine. xii, 82 pages. First edition (stated, with code B-H). Very minor wear at the base of the spine in a very near fine, first issue dust jacket, with "two small children" on the rear flap.
Seller: Downtown Brown Books, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Description: viii + 82 pp. Tiny spot of discoloration to fore-edge, else very near fine in very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket. ".a wife and two children" concludes the text on the rear jacket flap, indicating that this is the first issue.
Seller: Jeff Maser, Bookseller - ABAA, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Craetures. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First edition of the author's first book, a collection of poems. 82 pp. First issue dustwrapper. A handsome near fine copy in bright unclipped and unfaded dustwrapper. Very nice example of this important literary debut.
Seller: Derringer Books, Member ABAA, Avon, CT, U.S.A.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First edition. Small spot on front board, a little rubbing at the spine ends, very good lacking the dust jacket. Signed by Updike on the titlepage. Author's first book.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Author's first book. A book of poetry. Former owner's name in ink on upper front fly-leaf. Priced at $2.75. Jacket blurb states "with a wife and two small children". These points denote first printing of first edition.
Seller: Eyrie House Books, Tyngsboro, MA, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Description: First edition. First state of the dust jacket. First book. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket not price clipped.
Seller: Bartleby's Books, ABAA, Chevy Chase, MD, U.S.A.
Price: US$403.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 82 p. Author's first book. In price clipped, 1st state d.j.
Seller: J. Lawton, Booksellers, Readville, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$412.50 + shipping
Description: First Printing. Octavo (20.75cm); pale gray paper-covered boards and black cloth backstrip, with titling and publisher's logo stamped in gilt on spine and front cover; dustjacket; xii,82,[2]pp. Bookplate signed by the author loosely laid in. Light wear to spine ends, tiny stain to lower edge of textblock, with a tiny tear to upper front corner, and signatures starting to sag slightly (common with this title); Very Good+. In the first state dustjacket, price-clipped, but with "a wife and two small children" printed on rear flap; light wear to extremities, some mild dustiness to rear panel, and a short tear to upper front panel (tape-mended on verso); Very Good+. The National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning author's first book. DE BELLIS & BROOMFIELD A1.a.
Seller: Lorne Bair Rare Books, ABAA, Winchester, VA, U.S.A.
John Updike. The Carpentered Hen and other Tame Creatures. Harper & Brothers, 1958.
Price: US$495.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Fine Copy In Like Priced Clipped Jacket First Issue "Two Children Back ''Flap. First Edition Stated Beautiful Copy of The Author's First Book.
Seller: Jeff Bergman Books ABAA, ILAB, Flemington, NJ, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures. Harper & Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: A very nice copy of Updike's first book. This is a first edtion as stated on copyright page. B-H appears under FIRST EDITION. Dust jacket is first state as it mentions "two small children." Book has light shelf wear, light yellowing of pages, a few small yellow spots on boards and yellowing at top. Prior owner's name at top of front flyleaf. Binding is tight and there are no other marks. DJ is in very nice shape. It is clost to Near Fine, but we will be conservative here. Light edge wear, mostly at top and bottom spine. Light rubbing.
Seller: Time Tested Books, Sacramento, CA, U.S.A.
Updike John.. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures.. NY. Harper & Brothers. 1958., 1958.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition (Stated) with B-H underneath. Updike's first book: a collection of witty and urbane poetry. With a bookplate signed by John Updike laid in. Only 2,000 copies printed. In first issue dustjacket with ".a wife and two small children" on the rear inside flap. VG+/VG- in black cloth spine stamped brightly in gold; in gray paper-covered boards stamped in gold. With a slight indentation from being bumped to the fore-edge boards. In a p/c, edge-rubbed dustjacket which is lightly soiled on the rear panel. First Edition (Stated) with B-H underneath.
Seller: Brainerd Phillipson Rare Books, Holliston, MA, U.S.A.
Updike John.. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures.. NY. Harper & Brothers. 1958., 1958.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. Updike's first book: a collection of witty and urbane poetry. With a signed bookplate laid in.Only 2,000 copies printed. In first issue dustjacket with ".a wife and two small children" on the rear inside flap. VG/VG- in black cloth spine stamped in gold and gray paper-covered boards. In worn and p/c dustjacket which is lightly soiled and browned on the rear panel. With rubbing to the top and bottom of the spine. First Edition.
Seller: Brainerd Phillipson Rare Books, Holliston, MA, U.S.A.
John Updike. The Carpentered Hen 2 copies, 1 SIGNED. Harper, 1958.
Price: US$550.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: A Signed, Very Good+ copy in a Very Good+ jacket. A previous critic has written comments in two locations in the book, and on the lower back cover of the jacket, else would be Near Fine. Additionally included is a Near Fine copy in a Near Fine jacket. Both are first edition, first print in first print jackets. Author's first book.
Seller: D & L Fine Books, Richboro, PA, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and other Tame Creatures. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$559.00 + shipping
Description: SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR on a decorative bookplate. A VERY CLEAN, NICE COPY WITH A BRIGHT, ATTRACTIVE DUSTJACKET IN NEW, GLOSSY BRODART. NO PREVIOUS OWNER MARKINGS. First issue of author's first book. First Edition (Stated) with B-H underneath. First state dustjacket. 185 pages. A handsome, collectible copy!
Seller: Books Plus, LLC, Lexington, SC, U.S.A.
UPDIKE, JOHN.. The Carpentered Hen. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958, 1958.
Price: US$600.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition of the author's first book. Offsetting on the front endpapers; very good in an unclipped dust jacket. Inscribed by Updike. All books described as first editions are first printings unless otherwise noted.
Seller: Peter L. Stern & Co., Inc, Newton, MA, U.S.A.
UPDIKE, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$700.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First edition. Fine in fine, first issue dustwrapper with very slight smudge on the front wrap. Author's first book, a collection of poems.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
John Updike. the CARPENTERED HEN and other tame creatures. Harper & Brothers, 1958.
Price: US$700.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Harper & Brothers, New York, 1958, stated first edition. John Updike was considered to be one of Americas greatest writers in the second half of the twentieth century, as evidenced by the fact that he was only one of three writers that have ever won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice. A prolific writer Updike published works of poetry, short stories and dozens of Novels, including the well known Rabbit series. The CARPENTERED HEN was both his first poetry collection and his first published book. This book, 185 pages, is in near fine condition in a near fine, price clipped first issue dust jacket, now in a protective mylar wrapper. The only flaws on the dust jacket is very light wrinkling at the top and bottom of the spine, some 8mm in each case, and a small 2mm wrinkle by the front bottom corner and a light red 10mm mark on the back. Thus, an almost flawless copy. Beautiful, bright, square it would be an indispensable item in any Updike collection.
Seller: Raven & Gryphon Fine Books, Hackett's Cove, NS, Canada
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen. HARPER, 1958.
Price: US$750.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: a fine first in dj. price clipped signed on bookplate
Seller: Vagabond Books, A.B.A.A., PASADENA, CA, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and other tame creatures. Harper & Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$750.00 + shipping
Description: First edition. viii, [iv], 82 pp. 1 vols. 8vo. AUTHOR'S FIRST BOOK. Black cloth and grey boards. Blue unclipped (priced $2.75) dustjacket and with with "two small children." on the rear flap
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$850.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing with the words "First Edition" printed on the copyright page. This copy is SIGNED by John Updike on the title page. This ORIGINAL First Issue dustjacket with "A Wife and two small children" in the biographical information on back flap of dustjacket has some light staining and wear to the panels. The book is in excellent condition. The binding is tight, with minor wear to the boards. The pages are clean with NO marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a lovely copy of this TRUE FIRST EDITION SIGNED by the author.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
UPDIKE, John.. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures.. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$1000.00 + shipping
Description: 82 pp. 8vo, publisher's cloth-backed boards in dust jacket. First edition; first state of the dust jacket with "two small children." on the rear flap. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket. Author's first book.
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
John Updike. the CARPENTERED HEN and other tame creatures. Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1958.
Price: US$1000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: John Updike's first book, a very nice copy, inscribed by the author to his child's Sunday school teacher. The book is near fine in a dust jacket that has a small ½ inch sized scrape on the spine, and some very minor signs of wear at the edges of the spine where you can see the teal jacket cover is a rubbed whitish. Inside the dust jacket is price clipped on the front flap upper right corner and possesses a faded black ink stamp "300" on the bottom. Inside back flap of the dust jacket is clean. Dust jacket protected in mylar cover. Pages all clean with signs of having been read, but otherwise in great condition with no marks, and no foxing.
Seller: Bedlam Book Cafe, Worcester, MA, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen, and Other Tame Creatures. Harper, NY, 1958.
Price: US$1093.00 + shipping
Description: First edition. First issue of dust wrapper, which carries the statement in the biographical blurb that Updike had "two small children." Updike's first book, a collection of lean and sly poems, among which one, titled "Ex-Basketball Player," almost seems a rough character sketch for Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom. Very faint spotting to fore edge, spine ends lightly rubbed, else fine in cloth-backed grey boards and dust wrapper.
Seller: Bromer Booksellers, Inc., ABAA, Boston, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: 82p octavo. A very fine copy in a very fine dust jacket signed by Updike on the title page
Seller: Old New York Book Shop, ABAA, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.
Price: US$1288.26 + shipping
Description: First edition, first printing, of the author's first book, signed by him on the title page. The dust jacket is the first issue; printed on the rear flap is the phrase "a wife and two small children", which was removed from later issues of the jacket. This humorous poetry collection is characterized by its liberal use of wordplay, reflecting John Updike's early career as a writer of short stories and light verses for the New Yorker. Octavo. Original black cloth-backed grey paper-covered sides, spine lettered in gilt, publisher's device to front cover gilt. With dust jacket. Light offsetting at endpapers, contents fresh. A near-fine copy, in like dust jacket, unclipped, a little soiling, small scuff to rear panel, overall sharp and bright.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Price: US$1500.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing. This copy is SIGNED by John Updike on a laid in letter. A wonderful copy. This ORIGINAL dustjacket is rich in color with NO chips or tears. The book is in great shape. The binding is tight with minor wear to the boards. A sharp copy of this TRUE FIRST EDITION.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
Price: US$1549.50 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: A square solid tight clean carefully read copy. This copy has some light board edge wear, two board edge bumps, sewn binding not quite as tight when it was new I am sure. The 2.75 jacket has some light edge wear, light soil, light rubbing. This copy is housed in a custom slipcase. THIS COPY IS IN MY POSSESSION AND WILL NORMALLY SHIP NEXT DAY. This copy has been signed John Updike on the title page. Points: .wife and two small children, stated First Edition, B-H on CP page. One of a rumored 2000 copies that were published of John's first book.
Seller: Pat Cramer, Bookseller, Lewisville, TX, U.S.A.
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. Octavo. Updike's first book, INSCRIBED by him to front endpaper: "For Anthony Bamball / Best Wishes / John Updike." Some rubbing to cloth-backed boards, and slight pulling to signatures, else near fine. In price-clipped illustrated jacket, with minor rubbing, else also near fine.
Seller: Harper's Books, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Updike, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures. Harper & Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$2250.00 + shipping
Condition: As New
Description: 82 pages. First edition, first printing with "B-H" on the copyright page. His first book, poems written in Oxford just before returning to the US to start working for The New Yorker. Signed by Updike on the first sheet. As new book in an equally like new dust jacket. A beautiful copy!
Seller: Fireproof Books, MINNETONKA, MN, U.S.A.
Price: US$2250.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing SIGNED by John Updike on a handwritten postcard. This is the TRUE FIRST EDITION with the words "First Edition" printed on the copyright page. A beautiful copy. This First Issue dustjacket is vibrant in color with NO chips or tears. The book is in excellent condition. The binding is tight with NO cocking or leaning and the boards are crisp. A spectacular copy SIGNED by the author in collector's condition.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
UPDIKE, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First edition. A little age-toning on the boards, near fine in near fine, first issue dustwrapper with two short tears. Inscribed (but not signed) by Updike on the front endpaper to Janet Pott: "For dearest J. in grateful memory of her many kindnesses to two very young Americans in Oxford, 1955." Laid in is an index card, evidently from the recipient's daughter, stating: "This should be in the Updike section. The inscription is from John U. & wife to Janet. And see p. 30. Genetics sometimes plays tricks." The poem on page 30, "Time's Fool," is about Janet's husband, Frederick Alexander Pott. Updike had been befriended by the Potts while in England and the poem and the book express his thanks. Updike's first book, a volume of poems written in Oxford while on a Knox Fellowship, just before returning to the United States to join the staff of *The New Yorker*. A wonderful early association copy of the author's first book.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
UPDIKE, John. The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1958.
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First edition. One signature fallen slightly forward as usual else fine in fine, first issue dustwrapper with a later (probably publisher's) price sticker over the original price. Inscribed by Updike to Herb Yellin: "for Herb Yellin, John Updike." Herb Yellin was the founder and publisher of Lord John Press and the most frequent of Updike's fine press collaborators. He named his press after noting that the list of authors he wanted to publish all shared the same first name, chief among them John Updike, his favorite. *Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu* became the press's first book in 1977 with 10 more to follow over the next 23 years. Yellin's friendship with Updike grew with each new limited edition benefitting his already enormous Updike collection, with Updike himself contributing copies of new editions of his books - often inscribed. In a 2010 interview with Yellin he noted that Updike ".liked that if anything ever happened to his own collection, he had my collection on the opposite side of the country." A notable association in the author's first book, a collection of poems.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.