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William Heath On Womens Hats and Fashion Madness, Part II
by Stephen J. GertzGanging to the Kirk.In William Heath on Womens Hats and Fashion Madness Part I we discussed Heath's career. Now we continue our survey of Heath's prints for the album compilation, A...
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Poetry In Larvae: The Love Songs of Walter Garstang
by Stephen J. GertzAfter dinner and drinks you've charmed your prospective lover to come up to your place for "a cup of coffee."You dim the lights, ignite the fireplace, cue Miles Davis' Kind of Blue....
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My Kingdom for a Hoax
by Alastair JohnstonShakespeare's Richard the Third left us a few memorable phrases that have been delivered by everyone from Larry Olivier in a wig and mascara to Al Pacino in a backward baseball cap...
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Great Literary Faces 1938-1939
by Stephen J. Gertz "For a writer, his portrait is the only link he can establish with his readers. When we read a book whose content moves us, we are interested to look at the author's face, which is...
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From Buckingham Palace to History's Dustbin
by Alastair JohnstonI am often surprised how some people, well-known in their lifetime, disappear so thoroughly from history. Even in the bibliophilic world I inhabit, where astonishing work has been...
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Louisa May Alcott On "The Girl Question," Etc.
by Stephen J. GertzA two-page, four-sided autograph letter signed by Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) recently came into the marketplace and immediately left after $4,500 changed hands.Dated December 30th...
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Exciting Event with Black Man and Blue Paint
by Alastair JohnstonBill Traylor, Drawings from the Collections of the High Museum of Art and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (Delmonico Books / Prestel, 2012, 112 pp., cloth in d.j.)A new book...
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"Read, And Be Wise - Come, Read and Learn"
by Stephen J. GertzA scarce, early American abecedaire (ABC book) in battledore format has come into the marketplace. The Uncle's Present, A New Battledore, featuring "Cries" - street vendors who...
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Marlon Brando Plays Mister Roberts, With Annotations And Bookplate
by Stephen J. GertzIn 1955, while Henry Fonda prepared to reprise his role as Mister Roberts, the title character in director John Ford's film adaptation of Thomas Heggen and Joshua Logan's 1948 hit...
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Jack Kerouac, Painter
by Stephen J. GertzAn original, untitled drawing of Jesus' crucifixion executed in colored crayons by Beat novelist Jack Kerouac recently came to market, went on the road and onto a collector's wall,...
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A Thrilling Dust Jacket By Paul Davis
by Stephen J. GertzFirst edition, 1963.In 1963, after publishing seven James Bond novels, Ian Fleming wrote something entirely different after being offered a writer's dream assignment. At the behest...
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Draw Me a Story: Collecting Children's Book Illustrations
by Alastair Johnston Draw Me a Story: A Century of Children’s Book Illustration San Francisco Public Library, Skylight Gallery, through December 2nd 2012.Like most kids I had a loving mother who read...
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The Binding Paintings of Helen R. Haywood
by Stephen J. GertzDuring the mid-1920s, Riviere & Son, the highly esteemed British bindery, produced a handful of bindings featuring watercolor paintings on calf to their covers or doublures. Some...
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Booktryst Hits 1,000,000 and Plans For The Future
by Stephen J. GertzThis week, Booktryst, established in May, 2010 to cover the world of rare books and cross-over to a general audience, exceeded 1,000,000 page-views. This stat, representing...
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Menacing Bookplates (Don't Mess With This Book!)
by Stephen J. GertzFor Lloyd Douglas, artist ("UD") unknown.It is unknown whether this is the bookplateof novelist Lloyd Douglas, author ofMagnificent Obsession (1929), The Robe (1942), The Big...
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Jim Tully, Forgotten Hobo Novelist, Finally Gets His Due
by Stephen J. GertzThis week, Jim Tully (1886-1947), the hobo novelist who wrote hard-boiled before hard-boiled became Hard-Boiled and a distinctly American and unique prose style, is the subject of a...
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Typographical Dingbats Explored: Raising a Glass to the Sixteenth Century
by Alastair Johnston Hendrik D. L. Vervliet, Vine Leaf Ornaments in Renaissance Typography. A Survey. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press and Houten, NL: Hes & De Graaf, 2012. 416 pp., hardback. In my...
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An Automaton ala Lothar Meggendorfer
by Stephen J. Gertz An exceedingly scarce Schoenhut automaton, c. 1890-1900, in full working, unrestored and fine condition - with its original key, yet - featuring illustrated figures in a comic...
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A-Bombs In the Kitchen (Emeril Says, "Bam!")
by Stephen J. Gertz"I am become Death, the destroyer of appetites" (J. Robert Oppenheimer, Krishna in the Kitchen, p. 48).Wondering what to serve for that special dinner with family and friends? Bored...
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Napoleon Rides Bareback On Erotic Steed (May Be NSFW)
by Stephen J. GertzThis astonishing and keenly amusing original watercolor of a bare-bottomed Napoleon with membre viril exposed riding a horse composed of nude women is being offered at...
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