New American Songbag.
New York: Broadcast Music, Inc., [1950]. Spiral Bound. 4to. Stiff color pictorial wrappers in white plastic comb binding with paper wraparound advertising band. viii, 107pp. Frontispiece, illustrations, Very good. Quite minor edgewear near comb binding, with front wrapper slightly sunned; else tight and internally fine. Item #51671
Attractive first softbound edition of this sequel to Sandburg's classic 1927 "American Songbag." The rarely-present pale blue paper wraparound advertising band screams: "BING CROSBY says: / '...This Here Songbag Is / Just loaded With Goodies" and features Bing's head. The frontispiece is a facsimile of a handwritten note on Crosby's Elko, Nevada letterhead in which he raves about Sandburg and this book. This special copy bears tipped to front flyleaf a good content letter from its publisher, Carl Haverlin: TLS, 1p, 7¼" X 10½", New York, NY, 17 April 1957. Addressed to Ralph G. Newman (1911-98, founder of Chicago's noted Abraham Lincoln Book Shop and close friend of Sandburg). Near fine. On "Broadcast Music, Inc." letterhead, one friend of Sandburg writes to another describing a cryptic Sandburg project: "I talked with Dore Schary today who leaves tomorrow for the continent. I explained our inability to get Sandburg to go along and suggested that if he wanted to, he should drop Sandburg a letter stating the facts. Schary got off the horse very rapidly, stating he had done this thing originally only to please me and he didn't feel it was proper for him to do anything more. In short, the next move should come from Sandburg. Schary says he is too busy to bother with anything what with plays, productions, etc...." Signed simply "Carl." What the project in question was is a mystery, though Sandburg and Schary worked together on a number of things -- including both contributing essays to a book Newman edited in 1960, "Lincoln for the Ages." CARL HAVERLIN (1899-1985) was a legendary radio pioneer and first president of music licensing service Broadcast Music, Inc., a respected Lincoln/Civil War scholar and founding member and officer of the New York Civil War Round Table. Laid in is a 6" X 10" promotional leaflet for this title. Quite an unusual copy.
Price: $100.00