Products
The Private Practice of Michael Shayne
New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1940. 250 pp. 5 1/4 x 7 1/2"; First Edition. Illustrated dust jacket has original price of $2.00 on front jacket flap, some chipping and loss at spine extremities, minor chipping and tears, some spots and creases, some damp stain and previous tape repairs on the inside of the jacket, otherwise in good condition; Black cloth over boards with crisp white lettering on spine, top edge stained red, some tanning throughout, a few stains on foredge, a nice copy of this scarce edition in very good + condition.
Brett Halliday is the pseudonym of Davis Dresser (1904 - 1977), an American western and mystery writer who is best known for his Michael Shayne mystery series. The series was so popular that it spawned a radio series, twelve motion pictures, a TV series, and a Michael Shayne Mystery Magazine. Dresser was also a founding member of the Mystery Writers of America. This is the second book in the Michael Shayne series and is relatively scarce.
The Quality of Life
Philadelphia: Girard Bank, 1970. 85 pp. Approximately 5 3/4 x 8 1/4". First edition, first printing. Slip case is in fine condition; green paper over boards with black lettering to cover and spine, label paste-down on cover which has a tiny nick in it, insert from the Girard Company bank president laid in, in fine condition.
Per the laid in slip from Stephen S. Gardner, President of The Girard Company, this book was commissioned for James Michener to write in order to include it with the bank's 1969 Annual Report. Michener was given free artistic license to express his own views. Nine color reproductions of paintings by James B. Wyeth (son of Andrew Wyeth and grandson of N. C. Wyeth) were added to enrich the text.
The Reluctant Dragon
New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983. Approximately 8 1/4 x 10 1/2". LIMITED EDITION of 350 copies, this being #44. Green cloth over boards with brown cloth spine, brown slipcase, signed on the colophon by the illustrator, Michael Hague, includes a reproduction of a specially commissioned pen and ink drawing, all in fine condition.
Kenneth Grahame (1859 - 1932) was a British writer, best known for his novel, "The Wind in the Willows". This charmingly illustrated short story, is seen as an original idea that a dragon does not have to be seen as a threat, but can be a sympathetic character. This story was originally published in 1898 as a chapter in Grahame's book, "Dream Days".
The Rita and Tim Hildebrandt Fantasy Cookbook: Real Recipes You Can Cook in Your Own Home
New York: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1983. 195 pp. Approximately 8 x 10". First Edition, first printing. Wraparound dustjacket is beutifully illustrated on the front cover but is missing a small chunk on the top of the spine and a large section on the rear cover, good condition only. Green cloth binding with 8 illustrations in color and many black and white line drawings, maps and decorations, some punctures to cover (an overly friendly cat?), but text block is clean. Overall, very good condition.
Greg and Tim Hildebrandt (twin brothers born in 1939) began painting professionally in 1959 as the Brothers Hildebrandt. They are best known for their popular The Lord of the Rings calendar illustrations,painting the first bilingual Star Wars film poster, illustrating comics for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, original oil paintings for a limited edition of Terry Brooks's The Sword of Shannara, and their Magic: The Gathering and Harry Potter illustrations for Wizards of the Coast. Tim Hildebrandt illustrated children's books, two Dungeons & Dragons calendars, and the poster for the film The Secret of NIMH.
The Robber Bride
New York: Nan A. Talese / Doubleday, 1993. 6 1/2 x 9 1/2". 466pp. First American edition, first printing. Dust jacket in good condition only, with crease on the spine and minor wear, not price clipped. Grey cloth quarter-wrapped over boards, slightly cocked, minor wear, otherwise very good condition.
This is Atwood's 8th novel, and is full of her usual wit. The story centers on three women and the influence on them by the fourth classmate, Zenia, the evil maurader. This book comes with the publisher's "Book Group Companion".
The Second Magenta Frog
Vancouver, BC: Talonbooks, 1972. First Edition, limited print run of 4,000 copies. Illustrated stiff paper wrap with some browning to edges and spine, some foxing to inside front/back covers, minor edgewear, numerous illustrations, pictures, newsclips and short stories throughout, on newsprint paper, unmarked, in very good plus condition.
Great collection of the early works of Arnold Saba (now Katherine Collins), best known for the Neil the Horse comics and stories. From the front cover, this book contains, "Stories, Poems, Pictures, Songs, Comics, Jokes, Games, Tricks, Puzzles, Enigmas, Conundrums, Surprises, Marvels, Magic, Deceptions, Illusion, Disillusion, Fear, Horror, Despair, Death, Truth, Lies, Changes, Cycles, Love, Life." Only a few other copies on the market.
The Short Reign of Pippin IV
New York: Viking Press, 1957. 188 pp. Approximately 5 1/4 x 8". First Edition, first state of dust jacket. Illustrated dust jacket in very good condition with minor edge wear, some rubbing, publisher's price of $3.00 on the front flap; Strawberry cloth over boards with heraldic blind-stamping, yellow spine with red printing but discolored/darkened slightly, top stain red, pages clean and bright, in very good condition. (Goldstone & Payne A36a)
Generally considered as one of Steinbeck's lesser books, this book did become popular enough to be a book-of-the-month selection. This is Steinbeck's only work of political satire and tells the story of an amateur astronomer, Pippin, who is proclaimed King of France. He spends most of his time trying to avoid any responsibilities and deal with hangers-on with inherited money. Much of the satire is clearly relatable to today's people and politics as well.
The Stone Arbor
Boston/Toronto: Little, Brown & Co., 1960. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8". First edition appearance of all thirteen short stories, dust jacked illustrated by Edward Gorey, some edge wear rubbing and small nicks, darkening of spine and small insect holes, unclipped jacket with $4.00 price intact, bookstore sticker on rear cover, in very good condition. Book has paper over boards, cloth spine which is fading on ends, some edge wear, small amount of spotting to top edges, otherwise in very good condition. (Toledano D-Angell)
Roger Angell (1920 - 2022) was an American essayist and fiction writer. He was The New Yorker's first fiction editor. This is his first book which is a collection of short fiction pieces and personal narratives. Dust jacket is illustrated by Edward Gorey (1925 - 2000), an American artist and writer, best known for his eccentric imagery and stories, often set in Victorian and Edwardian settings.
The Story of Word Pictures
Santa Cruz, CA: The Good Book Press, 1984. 14 pp. Approximately 2 x 2 1/8". LIMITED EDITION of 200 copies, the first fifty are hand-painted and bound in leather, this being #197 of the regular printing. Pale green paper wrap with design and title on cover and spine in fine condition. Green boards with design on front cover, printed on a hand-operated printing press on Peter's handmade paper, one minor foxing spot on rear endpaper, numbered on the colophon, in near fine condition. (Bradbury, Peter and Donna Thomas 11).
Peter and Donna Thomas, well-known book artists, authors, and paper-makers, have been operating their private press since 1976. This is a lovely little book with elfin maidens and wizards and words by the author on how to gather pictures in your own head.
The Suppressed Portraits of Wm. Cheney
Charleston, SC: n.p., 1998. (8) pp. Approximately 2 1/4 x 2 7/8". Chocolate brown wrappers, stitched, five black and white photographs of William M. Cheney. A fine copy.
From the Colophon: In 1993 just before Wiliam M. Cheney gave up printing, we asked him to write and print an Autobiography in miniature. It turned out different than we expected. Modestly he omitted an account of his notable printing career. William chose to use only eight of the thirteen illustrations by George Kinney. Now in 1998 the missing portraits are issued as a keepsake for the Miniature Book Society 16th Grand Conclave.