Willson, Meredith
New York, (c.1955)
New York: Henry Holt and Company. Very Good+ in Good dj. (c.1955). First Edition. Hardcover. [modest shelfwear to lower extremities, a touch of dust-soiling to top of text block; jacket moderately soiled, minor paper loss at spine ends, very small chip at lower right corner of front panel, partial splitting along front flap fold]. INSCRIBED to composer/disc jockey Ira Cook and SIGNED by the author on the half-title page. Willson's second book of reminiscences, published two years before "The Music Man" debuted on Broadway (although the jacket blurb refers to it as " the new Feuer and Martin musical"). This book "moves swiftly from the radio and television world of Hollywood, to New York, London, Paris, and back again with Tallulah [Bankhead], Fred Allen, [Ezio] Pinza, and other world-famous people. Yet Mason City, Iowa, is never forgotten, and it all adds up to delightful entertainment." (Jacket illustrator T. [Thornton] Hee was also a Disney artist.) Of Willson's three memoirs, this one has unaccountably become the hardest to find. Signed by Author .
Judy, Will
Chicago, 1933
Chicago: Judy Publishing Company. Good in Good dj. 1933. First Edition. Hardcover. [the book is shelfworn and the covers a bit grubby, but is internally clean except for the one-time owner's name plus date & place of purchase in ink on front endpaper, and some charming dog geneaology on the following pages (see notes); the jacket is worn and soiled, and has been internally (and excessively) tape-reinforced along all edges and seams]. (pen and ink drawings, B&W photographs) Blurbed as "the only American work on this beautiful aristocratic Chinese breed of dog, which has become exceedingly popular in America," the book covers the "origin, history of the breed in various countries, the official standard and its detailed interpretation, care, training, feeding, kenneling, showing, and selling of the chow chow, along with numerous other subjects." The book is INSCRIBED on the "This Book" page (immediately preceding the title page) as follows: "To / Chang Wu Lei / from / Sow Toy"; additionally on the facing page is written (in pencil) this information: "Chang Wu Lei / first puppies born / January 18th 1935 Toy Lung / father Son To Wu Lei || Chang Wu Lei / Died July 11th 1938." .
Bulgakov, Mikhail (translated from the Russian by Michael Glenny)
New York, (c.1967)
New York: Simon and Schuster. Very Good+ in Very Good dj. (c.1967). First American Edition. Hardcover. [light shelfwear only, spine very slightly turned, thin black line (remainder mark) on bottom edge of text block; the jacket has a few small edge-tears and nicks, and is lightly sun-tanned along the spine]. A late satirical novel by Bulgakov, written in 1936 but first published in Russia in 1965 (a quarter-century after the author's death), telling "in fictional form what might well have happened when he set out, at the start of his writing career, to dramatize one of his own novels for the two outstanding geniuses and tyrants of the Moscow theater -- Konstantin Stanislavski and V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, the men who created and ran the famous Moscow Art Theater, [and who] became legends before they died, alternately worshiped and feared by actors, playwrights, playgoers." In particular, the novel "is aimed squarely at debunking the great Stanislavski," and grew out of Bulgakov's own (frustrating and distinctly non-fictional) experience with Stanislavski, related to the staging of his plays "The Days of the Turbins" and "The Cabal of Hypocrites." .
Ball, Eustace Hale; novelized from the screen play by Elton Thomas and the short story by Lotta Woods
London, [1928]
London: The Readers Library Publishing Company Ltd.. Very Good in Very Good+ dj. [1928]. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. [modest shelfwear, some wear to extremities, binding intact; the jacket shows a bit of wear along the edges and spine, with some very slight paper loss at a couple of corners and a tiny closed tear at the top of the front panel]. (Readers Library, no. 212) Series (8 sepia-toned film stills) Small-format British photoplay edition (about the size of a modern-day mass-market paperback), a "Readers Library Film Edition" novelization of the 1927 silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Lupe Velez, set in Argentina. Like all the Readers Library titles, these books were ultra-cheaply produced, so finding copies in decent condition (as this one is) is not always easy; this was has the additional virtue (which not all RL movie tie-ins did) of having a photo section bound in the middle of the book, containing eight full-page sepia-toned scenes from the film; it also includes a 4-page "Editor's Note" at the front of the book, extolling the virtues of Mr. Fairbanks and his Hollywood production set-up (shared of course with his then-wife Mary Pickford). This copy (especially the jacket) is in much nicer condition than books in the cheaply-produced Readers Library series are usually in. (NOTE that this has been tagged as no. 212 in the series, but that this number does not appear anywhere on the book or jacket; it was obtained from the Arnie Davis bibliography of photoplay editions, which also notes that the stills are different from those used in the corresponding American (Grosset & Dunlap) edition, although the text is apparently the same.) .
Lady Dunbar of Mochrum
London, [1922]
London: The Field Press Ltd.. Very Good+. [1922]. Second Edition. Hardcover. (dark green cloth with decorative gilt embossing on front cover; no dust jacket) [nice-looking book, despite a very faint dampstain on the front cover, with gilt lettering on spine and front cover bright and unrubbed, ditto the gilt illustration of a dog on the front cover; internally it's quite clean except for some offsetting to both endpapers and a previous owner's initials plus date & place of purchase written lightly in ink at the top of the front endpaper]. (B&W photographic plates) A compact little tome (just 78 pages), discussing the history, general management, ailments, breeding, etc. of this much-beloved breed of dog. From the Preface to the First Edition: "A long illness debarring me for some years from all social and literary pursuits, added to my great fondness for dogs, led me to undertake the scientific breeding of Chow-Chows, making a specialty of the blue variety" -- and subsequently to write this book, "to offer my experience to lovers of the breed, not so much to those who can afford to run large kennels, but to those who desire to keep and breed the best at the lowest cost consistent with the well-doing of the Chow." The Preface to the Second Edition (this one) notes the "favourable reception" accorded the First Edition, and states that she has here "included some fresh material, the result of a more extended experience." (No date appears on this edition, by the way, but from a copy of the Third Edition I have learned that the first edition was published in January 1914 and this (2nd) in June 1922.) I was going to call the book "charming," but then I took a look at the final ("Miscellaneous") chapter, which starts out with a rather grim and graphic discussion of various methodologies the author (or her servant!) had employed for doing away with "undesirable" dogs; as she puts it, "the most merciful manner of putting away a dog when for some reason or other it is necessary to do so." (And if you're wondering what "some reason or other" might amount to, here's an example: "One of my Chows has had an obstinate fancy for selecting her own mate, and will prefer a village mongrel to the most perfect specimen of her own breed; and it has been far from easy to force her into a superior alliance. More than once she has contrived to evade every precaution, and each time all offspring of the mésalliance has by some means had to be put away." Well, sorry, Lady, but the horror of your puppy-execution can't be papered over by using a fancy word like "mésalliance"; I hope the village mongrels have been peeing on your grave for the last century. .
Rosten, Leo C.
New York, 1942 (c.1941)
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company. Very Good-. 1942 (c.1941). First Edition. Hardcover. (no dust jacket) [solid copy, front cover slightly bowed, moderate shelfwear to bottom edges, bumping and very slight split/fraying to upper right corner of front cover, white lettering on spine and front cover partially rubbed away, a couple of small scuff marks on front cover, discoloration on pp.164-165 where a newspaper clipping had once been laid, otherwise internally clean]. Based on "over three years of research, observation and work in Hollywood [by] the author and a staff of social scientists which included two sociologists, an economist, a personnel expert, a statistician, a translator, and others," this was the first serious attempt to conduct an examination of Hollywood as a social system rather than an industry. The first section (on "the Movie Colony") analyzes such topics as sex, politics, nightlife, and superstitions, which the "Movie Makers" section focuses on the subcultures of producers, directors, writers, and actors. There are numerous appendices on topics ranging from the statistically sober ("Annual Earnings, Weekly Salaries, and Spending Patterns") to the somewhat offbeat ("Dogs, Yachts, Resorts" and "Fan Mail"). The book is engagingly written by Rosten (this was his first book to appear under his own name, and he would go on to a successful career as a novelist, screenwriter and humorist), but its publishers unfortunately took the enterprise a little too seriously in one particular way, that being their inclusion of a subjects-only index -- so even though there's a wealth of anecdotal information about numerous Hollywood denizens contained in the book, without a name index there's no easy way of getting at the various tidbits about, say, Mr. and Mrs. Basil Rathbone's parties or Hugh Herbert's parlor trick involving inserting a half-dollar into a pop bottle. ****NOTE that additional postage charges will be assessed for international shipping of this moderately heavy book; if this concerns you, please contact us for a shipping quote before placing your order.**** .
Slobodkin, Louis
Cleveland/New York, (c.1949)
Cleveland/New York: The World Publishing Company. Near Fine in Very Good dj. (c.1949). Hardcover. (price-clipped) [minimal wear to book, just a slight bumping/softening at lower right corner of the front cover; the jacket shows some wear at the corners and edges and slight color-shifting along the spine, with tiny bits of paper loss at both ends of the spine and a couple of corners, and small closed tears at the top and bottom of the front flap; there are also several old internal tape-repairs at the top of the front panel]. (B&W photographs, line drawings) "This is a book for people who want to work at sculpture. It is an authoritative, practical guide that tells you exactly how to go about making sculpture, from the first step in ordering your material to the final unveiling of your work." The author (1903-1975) was not only a noted sculptor, but also a prolific writer and illustrator of books for children, ****NOTE that additional postage charges will be assessed for international shipping of this heavy book; if this concerns you, please contact us for a shipping quote before placing your order.**** .
Corliss, Richard, ed.
New York, 1970
New York: Film Comment Publishing Corp.. Good. 1970. (Vol. 6, No. 4). Magazine. [considerable scuffing and edgewear to covers, short diagonal crease at bottom corner of rear cover, slight bend/dog-earing to upper right corner (affecting the entire magazine)] (B&W photographs) A special issue devoted to screenwriters, this was essentially the editor's opening salvo in his crusade to provide a corrective to the so-called "auteur theory," which exalted the director as the primary filmic creator and which had gained a strong foothold in American film criticism during the 1960s, thanks largely to the writings of Andrew Sarris. Corliss takes on Sarris and the auteurists directly in his introductory essay, while at the same time tweaking their noses a bit by categorizing and ranking numerous noted screenwriters within his personal "Acropolis" (an unsubtle dig at the structure of Sarris's influential book "The American Cinema: Directors and Directions"). Writers highlighted in this issue include: George Axelrod (an article on his work, with special emphasis on THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE); Borden Chase (interview); Carl Foreman (an article by him, "Confessions of a Frustrated Screenwriter"); Jules Furthman (article with filmography); Ben Hecht (ditto); Howard Koch (his personal reminiscence of Max Ophuls); Ring Lardner Jr. (article with filmography); Anita Loos (ditto); Dudley Nichols (ditto); James Poe (interview with filmography); Donald Ogden Stewart (article with filmography); "Preston Sturges in the Thirties" (article by Andrew Sarris, with filmography); and a "Screenwriters Symposium" (answers provided in response to a questionnaire by sixteen screenwriters); and finally, filmographies for fifty additional writers. Much of this material was subsequently incorporated into Corliss's book, "The Hollywood Screenwriters." ***NOTE that we have many more issues of this title (and other film magazines) in stock, and welcome your inquiries. .
Mosher, Gouverneur
Rutland VT/Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company. Very Good+ in Very Good dj. First Edition. Hardcover. [minor bump to top front corner, slight fading to cloth at base of spine; the jacket is modestly edgeworn and lightly soiled, with a small scrape mark near the bottom of the front panel, a small ragged chip at the bottom right corner of the rear panel, a couple of tiny tears at the base of the spine]. (B&W photographs, figures, maps) "A narrative and guide to sixteen representative sights which, in addition to being outstanding in themselves, combine to give the visitor a broad understanding of Kyoto's political, religious, and cultural history. The book falls into three parts. Part I is a narrative which devotes a chapter to each location and discusses its background, its place in history, and its noteworthy aspects, offering insights into its essence and bringing it alive for the reader. Taken as a whole, the narrative tells the story of Kyoto. Part II is a comprehensive guide to each of the sixteen sights, plus associated establishments. Part III, 'Getting There and Back,' provides complete information on the practical aspects of visiting each place, including public transportation routes. The book is generously illustrated with photographs, maps, route plans, and building plans, as well as a selection of reproductions from old prints and picture scrolls. Three appendices -- a chart of Japanese art periods, a glossary, and a list of useful Japanese phrases -- further enhance its value." The author spent two years in Kyoto as a U.S. Naval officer, had married a Japanese woman, and was a professional ski instructor -- although his "main interest in life and occupation" was "to write a decent novel," an ambition that, alas, appears to have remained unfulfilled. .
Varney, Ronald (text)
New York, (c.1996)
New York: Sotheby's Books. Near Fine. (c.1996). First Edition. Softcover. [faint handling wear, slight bumping to upper corner of rear cover]. (B&W photographs) NOT the catalogue of the Sotheby's auction, which was held April 23-26, 1996 (and was preceded by a public exhibition that opened on April 19), but rather a post-facto album about the auction itself, "one of the most sucessful single-owner collection sales in history": how it came about, the extraordinary preparations for it, the announcement and the ensuing media and public attention, and the bidding frenzy at the event itself, which brought forth "successive waves of astonishing results." Laid in is the printed card that was sent out with all complimentary copies of this publication. .
Brelis, Nancy
New York, (c.1966)
New York: Harper & Row. Very Good+ in Very Good dj. (c.1966). First Edition. Hardcover. [light shelfwear, a bit of foxing/soiling to edges of text block (mostly the top); the jacket is age-toned at the edges and along the spine, with a light dampstain at the base of the spine, and some soiling and light staining on the rear panel]. (pen and ink drawings) A quasi-fantasy children's novel, about three siblings, apparently orphans -- or at least they don't seem to have parents, and live with a housekeeper, who they call The Gloom and find most unsatisfactory. Their dissatisfaction with the sistuation leads them to visit a somewhat mysterious elderly friend, Mrs. _______, who tells them about "a wonderful market where children can find new mothers. [The children] like the idea of replacing The Gloom with a real mother, but discover that choosing a mother they really want is harder than they thought." An uncommon book, even in its later paperback issue (under the title "The Mother Market"), it was adapted -- by the author's daughter -- into what by most accounts was a pretty awful 1994 movie called TRADING MOM, starring Sissy Spacek. .
Steiner, Paul
New York, (c.1964)
New York: The Citadel Press. Near Fine. (c.1964). First Edition. Softcover. [nice clean copy with just a bit of wear along the spine, light surface wear to covers, small red adhesive dot affixed to upper corner of front cover]. Trade PB (B&W photographs on inside covers) Pretty much what its title states -- from the trivial ("He played bridge at Harvard, but was never very keen on cards") to the slightly more substantive ("He appointed more Rhodes Scholars (almost two dozen) to his administration than any other President"), all pretty much in a light personal vein. There's very little about his health issues, and nothing about his womanizing or marital stresses or other such scandalous topics; even the "Epilogue," presenting a few items about how people reacted to his assassination, generally strikes positive notes. After all, the country was still largely in shock in the Spring of 1964 when this little book appeared, and there would be decades ahead to get around to the demythologizing. .
Jay, Ricky
New York, (c.1977)
New York: Darien House. Near Fine in Very Good+ dj. (c.1977). First Edition. Hardcover. [a nice clean copy, with just a touch of wear to the lower extremities; the jacket spine is a bit color-shifted (with a little bleeding of same onto the edge of the rear panel), and there's a tiny closed tear and some associated creasing/wrinkling at the top of the rear panel]. (B&W photographs, drawings, facsimiles) A how-to book of amazing things to be done with playing cards: "A treatise on the art of throwing, scaling, juggling, boomeranging, and manipulating ordinary playing cards with particular emphasis on impressing one's friends and providing a deadly yet inexpensive means of self-defense" -- "an imperative for today's urban society." The first book by the renowned magician/actor/writer/collector/historian, connoisseur of the weird, and self-anointed "pasteboard projectilist" -- a hilarious work that manages to be both scholarly and largely tongue-in-cheek. Primarily issued as a trade paperback (and reprinted as such in 1988), with the hardcover first printing being quite uncommon. .
{Trumbo, Dalton} Manfull, Helen, ed.
New York, (c.1970)
New York: M. Evans and Company, Inc.. Near Fine in Very Good dj. (c.1970). First Edition. Hardcover. [good sound copy, minor soiling to bottom edge of text block; the jacket spine is somewhat color-shifted, and there is a shallow ragged chip at the top of the front panel and another at the upper front hinge, and a couple of tiny nicks and tears along the bottom edge]. Twenty years' worth of letters from the most famous of the blacklisted Hollywood writers to his family, fellow writers, business associates, friends and enemies. Whatever one's estimation of Trumbo -- politically, or as a screenwriter, or as a human being -- it's an undeniable fact that he was a terrific letter-writer, as this volume amply demonstrates. (And they are all his letters: no replies or exchanges of correspondence. It's all Trumbo, all the time.) ****NOTE that additional postage charges will be assessed for international shipping of this moderately heavy book; if this concerns you, please contact us for a shipping quote before placing your order.**** .
Shapiro, David
New York/London, (c.1965)
New York/London: Basic Books, Inc.. Near Fine in Very Good dj. (c.1965). First Edition. Hardcover. [minor shelfwear, very slight bumping to top front corner, light discoloration along left edge of front endpaper; the jacket shows light wear and a bit of sun-browning at the edges, and is worn and faded (but still readable) along the spine]. (The Austen Riggs Center Monograph Series, Number 5) Series INSCRIBED to friends and SIGNED by the author on the front endpaper, dated in the year of publication. "An original, clinical study of four kinds of neurosis -- obsessive-compulsive, paranoid, hysterical, and impulsive -- and of the special characteristics of each." In the words of one scholar, Craig Piers, the book "has influenced generations of psychologists, psychiatrists, and other students of the mind from diverse theoretical orientations." Signed by Author .
(Robin Little and Roy Frumkes, eds.)
New York, 1995
New York: National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. Near Fine. 1995. (Vol. XLVI, No. 5/6). Magazine. [very slight bump at top of spine, otherwise clean and flawless]. (B&W photographs, ads) The featured article in this issue is "Railroad Man: The Last Ride of Buster Keaton," an account by John C. Tibbetts of the production of THE RAILRODDER, produced by the National Film Board of Canada in 1964. Also notble in this issue: a career article on Virginia Mayo; a report from the 1995 Berlin Film Festival; an interview with Kim Hunter, talking about Michael Powell and his film STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN; an appreciation of Richard Brooks's THE LAST HUNT (1956), described as "surely one of the greatest Westerns," despite having been "neglected by the critics and ignored by the public." .
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