This American artist became quite popular in the 1920s for his celebrity caricatures published in "The New Yorker," "Vanity Fair," "Harper's Bazaar," "Collier's" and "Judge" as well as book illustrations, but mental illness led to his suicide at age 39. Good content TNS, 1p, 8½" X 11", New York, NY... More
Chicago: J.V. Mortenson, 1913. Hardcover. 12mo. Burgundy blind-embossed cloth with gilt lettering. 138pp, (2pp). Frontispiece, illustrations. Near fine. Wonderfully tight and bright first edition of this slim account of the murder of Christian missionaries in Sian Fu, China in October 1911. A handsome, gleaming copy. This edition is also seen... More
New York: Boni & Liveright, 1925. Hardcover. Translation by John Payne. Illustrations by Clara Tice. Complete 2-volume set. Half burgundy calf gilt lettering and compartments and pale red paper over boards. xxix, 374pp; xi, 355pp. Top edges gilt. Tissue-guarded frontispiece, numerous illustrations. Very good. Faint edgewear, with mild soiling to... More
This interesting literary character founded the R.R. Bowker Company (which still exists) in 1872, co-founded "Library Journal" (which also still exists) in 1876, and acquired "Publishers' Weekly" (you guessed it) in 1879 -- among other lasting bookish and bibliographic endeavors. TLS, 1p, 5½" X 8½", New York, NY, 1923 January... More
Stuttgart: Loewes Verlag Ferdinand Carl, n.y. Hardcover. Wide small 4to. Burgundy cloth spine and pictorial paper over boards, pictorial dust jacket. (16pp rectos only). 16 color illustrations and decorative borders, pictorial endpapers. Very good/good plus. Jacket age toned and edgeworn with a few small edge chips, but complete and fairly..... More
Renowned Swiss-French composer and pianist famed as an interpreter of Wagner and the Romantics. ALS in French, 2pp (single leaf), 5¼" X 8¼", n.p., 25 November 1947. Addressed to "cher Monsieur" (American pianist and music school founder John G. Leiser). Very good. Faintly visible triangular 3½" X 3" stain (tea?)... More
Philadelphia: John E. Potter, [1865]. Hardcover. Small 8vo. Brown cloth with gilt spine lettering and black decorative stamping. 476pp, 4pp ads. Tissue-guarded frontispiece. Very good. ½" chip at head of spine, else just faint edgewear. Tight, attractive and internally fine early (not first) printing of this cradle-to-grave biography rushed to... More
He was the versatile American leading man of the '50s remembered both the comedies ("Some Like It Hot," 1959) and dramas ("Sweet Smell of Success" 1957, "The Defiant Ones" 1958, "The Boston Strangler" 1968); his wife (1951-62) appeared in numerous films over several decades, but is best remembered for her... More
Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1930. Hardcover. Small 8vo. Blue cloth with green lettering and decoration, pictorial price-clipped dust jacket. xiii, 243pp. Pictorial endpapers. Near fine/good plus. Jacket edgeworn and rubbed, with tiny chips at corners. A tight and lovely first edition of this memoir by the popular action/adventure..... More
This newspaper journalist turned novelist and magazine writer authored "Almanzar" (1918), "The Chinese Label" (1920) and "The Road to San Jacinto" (1936) before becoming director of the Texas Writer's Project of the federal Works Project Administration during the Depression, in which capacity he largely authored the 1940 "Texas: A Guide... More
New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [1942]. Hardcover. Illustrations by Paul Laune. Small 8vo. Tan pebble-grain cloth with brown lettering and decoration, pictorial dust jacket. vi, 218pp. Frontispiece, orange pictorial Gretta endpapers. Near fine/very good. Faintest jacket edgewear only, else superbly bright and lovely, with graphics bold. An outstanding, tight first... More
She of the million-dollar insured legs, hero of G.I.s everywhere for her famed pinup, ex- of Jackie "The Kid" Coogan and bandleader Harry James, appeared in numerous films. Choice IPS, 8" X 10", n.p., n.d. [ca. 1965]. Fine. Still scene depicting Grable descending an elaborate staircase in an "Auntie Mame"..... More
Washington, DC: Congressional Globe Office, 1861. Paperback. 8vo. Wrappers. 28pp. Good plus. Mild age toning; moderate foxing throughout; binding traces. First edition. The future president's lengthy discourse on the then-turbulent state of affairs. More
Chicago: R.R. Donnelly & Sons Company, 1922. Hardcover. Edited by Milo Milton Quaife. 16mo. Dark green cloth with gilt lettering, rules and medallion. xxx, 238pp. Top edge gilt. Foldout frontispiece map, illustration. Near fine. Faintest of edgewear. A tight and handsome copy of this early "Lakeside Classic," the annual keepsake... More
The guy who put the "p" in philanthropy, considered the "father of modern philanthropy," was this American merchant and financier; after success in dry goods in Baltimore, he moved to London in 1837 and became a high-level banker and broker; a large number of educational and other causes bear his... More
Oskaloosa, IA: The Globe Presses, 1897. Hardcover. Small 8vo. Pebble-grained blind-ruled black cloth with gilt spine lettering. 196pp. Frontispiece. Very good. Tight, clean, attractive first edition of this slim war memoir by this soldier with the 101st Illinois Volunteers, in later years a pastor with the Methodist Episcopal Church in... More
South Carolina's first and long-time poet laureate (1934-73) published dozens of titles of verse as well as nonfiction, often concerning life at the Hampton Plantation of McClellanville in books such as "Old Plantation Days" and "Plantation Game Trails." ALS, 1p (lettersheet), 5½" X 8½", "Hampton," McClellanville, SC, 4 November n.y.... More
Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co., 1822. Hardcover. Complete three-volume set. 12mo. Half calf and marbled paper over boards. vii, 322pp; 332pp; 346pp. Overall very good. Lacks half-title pages; ½" chip at head of spine of Volume I. A tight and attractive set of the first edition, later state (with "Co."... More
Pasadena: By the Author, [1936]. Hardcover. 12mo. Burgundy cloth with gilt spine lettering and black front board lettering, dust jacket. 140pp. Near fine/very good. Jacket rather age toned, with bit of edgewear and couple of edge chips along flap folds. Tight and attractive first edition of this spiritual memoir by... More
Utica: Curtiss & White, Printers, 1855. Hardcover. 12mo. Original brown pebble-grain blind-embossed cloth with gilt spine lettering. 419pp, (1p). Frontispiece, 8 small engravings. Very good. Faint edgewear, with spine lightly sunned but gilstamping bright and fresh; front and inner flyleaves bear some 1859 pencilled notes about various Smiths born in... More
Denver: World Press, Inc., [1961]. Hardcover. 8vo. Yellow cloth with red lettering, dust jacket. viii, 200pp. Illustrations. Near fine/very good. Jacket spine slightly sunned, as usual; outer page edges a bit spotted. A lovely first edition of the only biography written about one of Billy the Kid's partners in crime... More
Pampa, TX: Pampa Print Shop, [1961]. Hardcover. 8vo. Yellow cloth with red lettering, dust jacket. v, 224pp. Near fine/very good. Jacket lightly edgeworn, with spine lightly sunned as usual. A tight and attractive first edition of this account of the short-lived New Mexico fort established in 1863 and abandoned in... More
New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [1913]. Hardcover. Small 8vo. Red cloth with black lettering and black and green decoration, pictorial dust jacket. 344pp, (8pp ads). Color frontispiece, 3 full-page color plates. Near fine/very good. Jacket a bit edgeworn, with chips at tail of spine. A tight and handsome apparent first... More
Harlan Stone's successor as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1946-53) was known as a strong liberal and a civil rights champion; previously, he served as a Kentucky representative and as treasury secretary under Truman. TNS, 1p, 8" X 10½", Washington, DC, 1924 February 18. Addressed to A.N. Marquis... More
