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The Gaucho

Ball, Eustace Hale; novelized from the screen play by Elton Thomas and the short story by Lotta Woods 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.) .
  • $30
book (2)

The Chow-Chow

Lady Dunbar of Mochrum 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. .
  • $50
Hollywood: The Movie Colony

Hollywood: The Movie Colony, the Movie Makers

Rosten, Leo C. 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.**** .
  • $65
Film Comment (Winter 1970-71) ["The Hollywood Screenwriter"]

Film Comment (Winter 1970-71) ["The Hollywood Screenwriter"]

Corliss, Richard, ed. 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. .
  • $25
book (2)

Kyoto: A Contemplative Guide

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. .
  • $35