Products
Andy Gump, His Life Story
Chicago: The Reilly & Lee Co., 1924. 183 pp. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2". Blue cloth boards with sun fading to covers and spine, small tear to upper spine, no dust jacket except for a small flap section that was pasted down on the front paste-down endpaper along with a label "From the Library of Harold Lloyd", in very good condition.
Robert Sidney Smith (1877 - 1935) was a cartoonist best known for his characters, The Gumps, who had a 42-year run in newspapers. Harold Lloyd (1893-1971) was a well-known American actor, comedian, film director and producer and stunt performer who was best known for his silent comedy films, particulary the scene in "Safety Last" where he is hanging from a clock tower. He was a contemporary of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
Animal Heroes
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1905. 363 pp. Approximately 5 3/4 x 8". Green cloth over boards with blind stamped wreath and title in gilt, many black and white illustrations, sun faded on spine, no dust jacket, some foxing within, otherwise in very good + condition.
Ernest Thompson Seton (1860 - 1946) was an author, wildlife artist and one of the founding pioneers of the Boy Scouts of America. This book is about animal heroes with a hero being defined by the author as "an individual of unusual gifts and achievements...whether it be man or animal." These stories are based on the actual life of a veritable animal hero. For instance, the story of "Little Warhorse" is loosely based on the story of Warhorse, brought to film fame in 2011 by Steven Spielberg, about a thoroughbred in World War I. The other tales include The Slum Cat, Arnaux: The Chronical of a Homing Pigeon, Badland Bills: The Wolf that Won, The Boy and the Lynx, Little Warhorse: The History of a Jack-Rabbit, Snap: The Story of a Bull-terrier, The Winnipeg Wolf, and The Legend of the White Reindeer.
Arthur C. Clarke: The Authorized Biography
Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1992. 430 pp. 6 x 9 1/4"; Pictorial dustjacket in fine condition; Black paper over boards with gilt lettering on spine, signed Arthur C. Clarke bookplate on front paste-down endpaper, many black and white photographs, in fine condition.
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (1917 - 2008) was the author or more than sixty books and has received many awards for both his science fiction and his scientific non-fiction writing. This biography explores his career and personal vision though candid interviews with Clarke, his friends, family members, and colleagues. The numerous black and white photographs enhance the biography in a delightful way. Bookplate printed "Ex Libris, Arthur C. Clarke" with illustrations of the monolith from his 2001 Space Odyssey series and dolphins from his novel, Dolphin Island.
Assorted Stories: Prose Words
Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 1987. [20] pp. Approximately 7 1/2 x 7 1/2". LIMITED EDITION of 400 copies, this being #253. Grey handmade Canterbury cover stock with title and illustration on front, paper sewn inside, handset in Ehrhardt type, illustrated by Peter Bailey, signed and numbered on the colophon by the author and artist, in fine conditon.
Travers Rafe Lee Harwood (1939 - 2015), was an English poet, often associatiod with the British Poetry Revival. Except for a brief time in Greece and the United States, he mostly lived in Brighton. He had an involvement with the New York School of poets and was a member of the Poetry Society in Britain. He was a union official and was involved with the Labour Party in its radical years and his political leaning were evident in his poetry in the early 1980s. There is a Rowan Tree planted in his honor in New York City's Central Park as well as a paving stone along the park's Literary Walk. This is an interesting collection of short stories with various titles, such as: Hommage a Beatrix Potter, A Rangoon Creeper, Purple Sheets, Dream Bed, Woolly Rhinoceros, Mosquito Nets, Nautical Business, and Booth's Bird Museum.
Árpádok : I. Andrástól I. Gézáig (1046-1077)
Budapest: Pátria Nyomda, 1988. 433 pp. Approximately 1 1/2 x 1 3/4". LIMITED EDITION of 400-600 copies, this being #179. Brown leather with beautifully designed and colorful enamelled metal plaque edged in gilt decoration on front cover, title in gilt on spine, gilt decoration on back cover, decorative endpapers, 7 full-color illustrations and 4 tinted one with two folding diagrams, text in Hungarian, in fine condition.
This is volume 14 of the Kings of Hungary series. Only 3 Worldcat Holdings at this time.
Bathtub
[Oakland, CA]: Rebis Press, 1975. Approximately 7 x 7". LIMITED EDITION of 1,000 copies. Illustrated stiff paper covers, stitched binding, illustrated by John Wehrle, offset printing, published on an N.E.A. grant, very slight discoloration, minor crease to back cover, in near fine conditon.
Rebis Press was an influential small press in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was a joint venture of Betsy Davids and Jim Petrillo, who were colleagues at California College of the Arts and Crafts (CCAC). They were collaborators and teachers whose content is highly personal. Bathtub is a treasure -- a wonderful story about a flying bathtub that travels the world. Clever illustrations by John Wehrle place Bathtub in familiar famous art scenes.
Belladonna
Aurora, CO: Ravenpress, 2005. Approximately 1 3/8 x 1 3/8". LIMITED EDITION of 25 copies, this being #9. Cosmetics case, with printed foil label, slightly worn with small bits of foil missing, in very good condition; Three accordion miniature books have polymer clay covers with laser print transfer, illustrated, numbered and signed on the colophon on the back of the case by the publisher, in fine condition.
Created as part of a series using cosmetic tools and containers as structure, this piece contributes to an ongoing commentary on the harms of the cosmetic industry. Three accordion books detail various aspects of the Belladonna plant (Deadly Nightshade). This plant, although toxic, has been used medicinally and as an aid to beauty as its ingestion enlarges the pupils of the eye (a look that indicates sexual arousal and is known as 'bedroom eyes'). Alicia Bailey began publishing under the Ravenpress imprint in 1996. Ravenpress publications are held in private, public and special collections worldwide. Bailey thinks of the artists' book works she creates as interactive sculptures realized in the form of the book. She works in a wide variety of materials, including those not often associated with the book form, thus necessitating structural redesign and innovations.
Benjamin Franklin, September 17, 1787
Salisbury, CT: Lime Rock Press, 1981. 25 pp. Approx. 1 x 1". Printed with two bindings: one suede and the other cowhide. Brown leather with Franklin's signature in gilt on the cover, marbled endpapers, housed in clear plastic case, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Lime Rock 10)
From the Great American Speeches series, this little book relays the speech Franklin gave, urging his fellow delegates to join ranks in signing the new United States constitution. His speech was given a standing ovation. Lime Rock Press is the private press of Whitney North Seymour, Jr. and is run also by his wife and daughters who contribute photography, art, printing and binding.
Bernhardt Wall in Miniature
Worcester, MA: Robert C. Bradbury, 2007. 31 pp. Approximately 2 1/2 x 3". LIMITED EDITION of 45 copies. Blue cloth over boards with pictorial paper label on upper cover, marbled endpapers, letterpress, three mounted illustrations, in fine condition.
Bernhardt Wall (1872 - 1956) was an American historian and lithographic illustrator. He was known as the "Postcard King" as he designed more than 5,000 comic cards. He worked with a variety of publishers over his career and specialized in famous people and historical events. Each copy of the regular edition is illustrated with three original miniature etchings by Bernhardt Wall, at least one of which is an illustration. Special copies have thematically related illustrations and deluxe copies have additional etchings mounted in matching volumes. This little book includes bibliography/listing of miniature illustrations by Wall. Only 2 library holdings and not in the trade at the moment (5/22). Somewhat scarce.
Blood Sport
London: Michael Joseph, 1967. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8". Illustrated dust jacket in near fine condition, designed by Broom Lynne, very little edge wear and slight creases as the top of the spine, original price of 25s intact. Blue cloth over boards with crisp gilt titles on spine, clean and tight, in fine condition.
Born Richard Stanley Francis (1920 - 2010), Dick Francis was a British crime writer whose novels were mostly centered on horse racing in England (he was a former steeplechase jockey himself). This book is Dick Francis' 7th book, with Gene Hawkins appearing for the first time as a government security agent. Edgar Award nominee. Adapted into TV film in 1989 with Ian McShane in the protagonist role of David Cleveland.