New Arrivals
A Tourist In Spite of Himself
Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1930. 252 pp. Approximately 6 x 9". Limited Edition of 525 copies, this being #71. Signed by the author. Cardboard slip case is in good condition with some splitting to edges, past repairs, paper label on spine indicating title and limited edition number; Blue cloth quarter bound over decorative boards with torn label pasted down to spine, many black and white illustrations by Gluyas Williams throughout, in near fine condition.
A delightful book about a book collector's travels around the world, particularly Scandinavia, London, Paris, Egypt, Jerusalem and Rome, all told from a very humorous perspective. Newton also authored The Amenities of Book-Collecting.
Secrets of the Conjurer's Craft
London: Abbey Library, n.d. 144 pp. Approximately 6 1/2 x 9". Dust jacket is in very good condition with some tears with loss in a few spaces, price clipped, slightly dirty rear cover, but still a bright and colorful cover; Black cloth over boards with gilt lettering to spine, many black and white illustrations, slight page tanning, otherwise in near fine condition.
A delightful book revealing how many magician's tricks are performed, along with a "condense history of the Art of Conjuring" from the dust wrapper flap. Some tricks that are revealed include how to saw a woman in half, the Indian Rope Trik, and the Vanishing Lady, among others.
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.
Burning Bright
New York: The Viking Press, 1950. 159 pp. Approximately 5 x 7 1/2". First edition, first printing. Dust jacket is very good with minor chips and wear and does have the $2.50 price on flap, small closed tear on front top edge of cover. Original tan cloth over boards, red lettering on cover and spine, orange dye on top edges, bookseller's ticket on rear paste-down endpaper, very minor foxing to edges, otherwise in near fine condition. (Goldstone & Payne, A29a)
The form of this book is a "play-novelette", which is a play that is easy to read or a short novel that can be played. Steinbeck used this method experimentally in "Of Mice and Men" and "The Moon is Down" but this book is a more complete attempt at this form. While this book was not critically acclaimed, Steinbeck, as always, is a very vivid writer and bring his four characters to life in this play concerned with the timeless themes of love, jealousy, friendship, and the desire to have a child.
Portsmouth Plaza. The Cradle of San Francisco.
San Francisco: John Henry Nash, 1932. 464 pp. Approximately 7 1/2 x 10 3/4". First Edition. One of 1,000 unnumbered copies. Slipcase in fair condition with case cracked, tape repairs, original paper lable on spine; Vellum-backed marbled boards, some wear to board edges, gilt lettering on vellum, which is slightly dirty and peeling in a few places, interior is bright with no foxing, errata slip tipped in at rear, in very good+ condition.
A beautiful, privately printed book about the history of San Francisco with profuse illustrations by William Wilke (1879-1958), a San Francisco native. The author, Catherine Coffin Phillips (1874-1942) was an author as well as a printer, book collector and historian.
12 Correspondence Notes by Edward Gorey for New York City Ballet
New York: New York City Ballet, (ca 1975). Boxed set of 12 correspondence note cards illustrated by Edward Gorey. Four designs and three cards of each design, along with 12 blank envelopes. Enclosed in red cardboard box which has been creased on one side, a clear plastic cover with a small tear, lid taped shut with what appears to be the original tape when it was sold, so never opened, very good condition. Cards are in fine condition. (Toledano p. 159).
Gorey was a huge fan of the George Ballanchine New York City Ballet. He had an almost perfect attendance for the years 1956 - 1983. He would give back to the ballet by designing items that they could sell, including cards and buttons.
Dogear Wryde Postcards: Alms for Oblivion
n.p.: n.p., 1978. Sixteen postcards in near fine condition, enclosed in a white envelope with black pictorial stamping, creased with slight tears, in very good condition. (Toledano A68).
The recto of the postcards is a black and white Gorey illustration. The verso of each postcard has the title of the series and the description of each illustration. "Dogear Wryde" is an anagram for Edward Gorey.
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 Ingoldsby Legends, or Mirth & Marvels
London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1955. 638 pp.. Approximately 5 x 7 1/4". Dust jacket has slight sunning to spine and minor chipping to the top edge of spine, price clipped, otherwise very good. Green cloth over boards with gilt-decorated illustration and lettering on spine, colour frontispiece, green tint to top edge, previous owner's name on ffep. A near fine copy.
Beautifully illustrated by Arthur Rackham throughout, this book is a collection of legends, myths, poetry and ghost stories written by an English clergyman naned Richard Harris Barham under the penname of Thomas Igoldsby. First printed in this edition 1898; this is a later printing. The best-known poem of the collection is the Jackdaw of Rheims about a jackdaw who steals a cardinal's ring and is made a saint.
Cowpokes
New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1999. Unpaginated. Approximately 10 x 10". First Limited Edition of 26 lettered copies, this being "P". SIGNED by both author and illustrator. Pictorial boards with full color illustrations throughout. Extra illustration for limited edition only, not in trade copies. Fine in fine dust jacket.
From the front flap, "They don their boots & hats & chaps, down their flapjacks, then it's up into the saddle & off they go." Beautifully done book that will charm both children and adults alike.