Hardcover
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.
Artificial Anaesthesia and Anaesthetics
New York: William Wood & Company, 1881. 338 pp. Approximately 6 x 9". Brown cloth over boards with stamped black and gilt decoration and lettering on spine and cover, worn at spine ends, slight corner bumping, foxing throughout, some engraved illustrations, many charts, helpful index, in very good + condition.
This is Volume 17 of Wood's Library of Standard Medical Authors. It gives the history of anaesthesia, what substances can comprise anaesthetics, and anaesthesia by rapid respiration with lots of case studies (both human and animal), some of which included numbness, vomiting, and death.
Baba Yaga
Riverside, CA: Bo Press Miniature Books, 2012. 18 pages. Approximately 1 1/4 x 2 1/2". LIMITED EDITION of 20 copies, this being #20. Decorated slipcase with printed Japanese paper, metallic design elements, and black tanned chicken leather. Printed Japanese paper with black chicken leather quarter-bound, 5 bands on spine, printed label on front cover, signed and numbered on the colophon by the author, black and white illustrations throughout, all contents in fine condition.
The joke in this book is that the slipcase and book use chicken leather and Baba Yaga's hut is perched on chicken legs. Both the book and case showcase Pat Sweet's blend of innovative design elements along with a classical bound style. Based on the Slavic folklore tales of Baba Yaga, these stories reflect her as an old woman who has a benevolent relationship with forest wildlife, as well as a scary witch-woman. No more copies of this edition are currently for sale on the market (as of 9/20).
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.
Bible Gallery
New York: Cassell & Company, [1883]. 10 x 13 1/2". Second printing of this titled edition. Brown pebble-grain cloth with gilt and black design on the cover, gilt title on spine, tissue guard for frontispiece is intact, minor edge wear rubbing, top edge of spine is sightly more worn, all edges gilt, binding is tight and illustrations are complete and beautiful, no inscriptions or owner marks, in very good + condition.
Gustave Dore (1832 - 1883) was a french artist, sculptor, illustrator and more who worked primarily with wood engraving. Dore was a very prolific artist and his illustrations are well-known. He had many titles published using his bible illustrations, including The Child's Bible, The Bible Gallery, Bible Stories and Scenes for Young People, etc. For this book, this is the first edition/second printing, derived using the reference book by Malan. This edition is a collection of 100 engravings illustrative of the bible but made for the American market in a smaller and less costly version as well as having a briefer analysis of each design. (Malan p. 243)
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.
Bones: A Nameless Detective Mystery
New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985. 5 3/4 x 8 1/4". 196 pp. Illustrated dust jacket with some creasing and wear at the edges, in very good + condition; Black cloth over boards with silver lettering on spine, in near fine condition.
Bill Pronzini, winner of the Best Novel of 1981, awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America for his novel "Hoodwink", Pronzini lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, as does his nameless detective. Bones is a mystery about a dead man's reasons for suicide and end up involving a figid wife, a ruthless lawyer, a bitter ex-wife, and a beligerant taxidermist turned landlord (according to the dust jacket flap). Full of deceit, intrigue and murder, it's an exciting mystery.