magic

Hardcover. US, Piggy Toes Press, 1st, 2008, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Clean, tight copy. In this technical tour de force, father and daughter combine origami-style figures and intricate pop-up effects into six spreads and a double gatefold of paper magic. The art evokes common materials, from a whirl of newspaper doves or passport pages made into sailboats to legal-pad-paper ducks swimming in a desktop "pond" of spilled coffee and, for a spectacular finish, an array of Chinese take-out menus and cartons falling prey to a hungry dragon's attack. The figures are mostly made of precut and glued pieces, but many of the beaks and noses, at least, are actually folded.

Hardcover. US, Piggy Toes Press, 1st, 2008, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Clean, tight copy. In this technical tour de force, father and daughter combine origami-style figures and intricate pop-up effects into six spreads and a double gatefold of paper magic. The art evokes common materials, from a whirl of newspaper doves or passport pages made into sailboats to legal-pad-paper ducks swimming in a desktop "pond" of spilled coffee and, for a spectacular finish, an array of Chinese take-out menus and cartons falling prey to a hungry dragon's attack. The figures are mostly made of precut and glued pieces, but many of the beaks and noses, at least, are actually folded.

Softcover. NY, Barnes & Noble, 1st, 2003, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 128 pages, profusely illustrated in b&w. More than simply an escape from New York's sweltering summer streets, the strip of Brooklyn's south shore known as Coney Island embodied a new American attitude toward entertainment. Here, you'll experience the decadent delights of this magical land of ritzy hotels and penny arcades, where dance pavilions and freak shows shared space with sizzling burlesque and cooling ocean breezes. You'll meet George Tilyou, whose Steeplechase Park featured the Blowhole Theater, the Insanitarium and the Human Pool Table, and Nathan Handwerker, whose Nathan's Famous hot dogs became synonymous with summertime food. You'll ride the legendary Cyclone roller coaster and stroll through Dreamland and Luna Park, where generations of New Yorkers met and mingled in a place that came to define American fun. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Seattle, Fantagraphics, 1st, 2013, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 120 pages in color. You might think that birth of Prince Valiant's son Arn at the end of the previous volume would have slowed down Val's adventuring, but you would be wrong. In Prince Valiant Vol. 7, after the baby has been christened, Valiant and Gawain are dispatched to investigate reports of black magic in Wales, ending up in pitched battle at the aptly named Castle Illwynde. Then it's off to Scotland to battle the Picts, and then home yet again for Val to visit his growing boy. Valiant now enters the 1950s: The Thule winter is hard and bleak, and a prince who has designs on Aleta must be dealt with. Then it's another epic-length story, "The Missionaries," in which Val and several of his fellow knights and crew travel to Rome on a quest for teachers who might bring Christianity to Thule. The story also features an escape through the Alps, far too many red-headed girls, and a tragic, life-changing event for the young squire Geoffrey (a.k.a. "Arf "). And Foster charmingly ends the book with "The Prince Arn Story," a three-week sequence narrated by the toddler.

Hardcover. NY, Grove Press, 1st, 1996, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 240 pages. Light shelf-wear to dust jacket, else a clean, tight copy. This classic work of world literature by the 1994 Japanese Nobel laureate is a devastating and moving blend of memoir and fiction. An uncanny blend of the real with the imagined, of memoir with fiction, A Quiet Life is narrated by Ma-chan, a twenty-year-old woman. Her father is a famous and fascinating novelist; her older brother, though severely brain-damaged, possesses an almost magical gift for musical composition; and her mother's life is devoted to the care of them both. Ma-chan and her younger brother find themselves emotionally on the outside of this oddly constructed nuclear family. But when her father accepts a visiting professorship from an American university, Ma-chan finds herself suddenly the head of the household and at the center of family relationships that "are movingly illuminated" (The New York Times) through Oe's unique and unpredictable genius.

Hardcover. Chicago, Johnny Gruelle Co., reprint, 1939, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Unpaginated, color illustrated by Gruelle's son, Worth Gruelle. Large chunk gone from top inside of title page. Cardboard covers with edgewear, light marking to one page in rear of book. Previous owner's sticker on front end page otherwise clean.

Hardcover. Chicago, Johnny Gruelle Co., reprint, 1939, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Unpaginated, illustrated in color and b&w by Gruelle's son, Worth Gruelle. Color illustrated cardboard covers with blue cloth spine, light edgewear, back panel with rubbing and white spotting to blue color. Inside front cover has some wrinkles to pastedown. Internally clean, very good.

Hardcover. San Francisco, Chronicle Books, 1st, 2010, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 186 pages. A 21st century retelling of a 2500-year-old story: Artist and veteran Pixar animator Sanjay Patel lends a lush, whimsical illustration style and lighthearted voice to one of Hindu mythology's best-loved and most enduring tales. Teeming with powerful deities, love-struck monsters, flying monkey gods, magic weapons, demon armies, and divine love, Ramayana: Divine Loophole tells the story of Rama, a god-turned-prince, and his quest to rescue his wife Sita after she is kidnapped by a demon king. Clean copy

Hardcover. Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, 1st, 1990, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 238 pages, b&w photography by Alex Harris. New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo mountains are a place where two cultures ? Hispanic and Anglo ? meet. They're also the place where three men meet: William deBuys, a young writer; Alex Harris, a young photographer; and Jacobo Romero, an old farmer. When Harris and deBuys move to New Mexico in the 1970s, Romero is the neighbor who befriends them and becomes their teacher. With the tools of simple labor ? shovel and axe, irony and humor ? he shows them how to survive, even flourish, in their isolated village. A remarkable look at modern life in the mountains, River of Traps also magically evokes the now-vanished world in which Romero tended flocks on frontier ranges and absorbed the values of a society untouched by cash or Anglo America. His memories and wisdom, shared without sentimentality, permeate this absorbing story of three men and the place that forever shaped their lives. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Viking, 1st, 1991, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 402 pages. Biography of American poet Sylvia Plath, author of the autobiographical "The Bell Jar" (1932-1963). Illustrated with black and white photographs. Clean, bright copy.

Hardcover. North Pomfret VT, Sancho Srorybooks, 2nd pr, 2006, Hardcover, pictorial boards. When Sancho receives a magical snowboard for Christmas, he finds a message from Santa Claus along with it. With the help of some magic powder and his flying snowboard, Sancho must locate two very important elves that are lost in New York City. He soars through the air, landing in some famous landmarks, including the City Zoo, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, and the Empire State Building, and learns a few tricks along the way. Written in rhyme and charmingly illustrated, this whimsical adventure is the perfect snow lover's Christmas story.

Hardcover. New Haven CT, Yale University Press, 1st, 2007, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, firm and clean; Binding tight; Pages bright, internally clean, no ownership markings or annotations, illustrated with color and b&w plates, 9.1 X 6.1 X 0.8 inches; 287 pages. Best known for his barbed and brilliant art for The New Yorker, Saul Steinberg (1914-1999) did much more. He executed public murals, designed fabrics and stage sets, was an inventive collagist and printmaker, and turned his magic touch to the fields of painting, sculpture, advertising, and even wartime propaganda. This is the first comprehensive look at Steinberg's extraordinary contribution to 20th-Century art, which was that of a modern-day illuminator, putting word and image in play to create art that spoke to the eyes, and minds, of readers. Previously unseen sketches, documents, and printed matter from the artist's papers illustrate the essay, career chronology, and entries for 120 objects featured in this important book. DOMESTIC SHIPPING ONLY.

Softcover. New Haven CT, Yale University Press, 1st, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, stiff card wrappers firm and clean; Binding tight; Pages bright, internally clean, no ownership markings or annotations, illustrated with color and b&w plates, 9.1 X 6.1 X 0.8 inches; 287 pages. Best known for his barbed and brilliant art for The New Yorker, Saul Steinberg (1914-1999) did much more. He executed public murals, designed fabrics and stage sets, was an inventive collagist and printmaker, and turned his magic touch to the fields of painting, sculpture, advertising, and even wartime propaganda. This is the first comprehensive look at Steinberg's extraordinary contribution to 20th-century art, which was that of a modern-day illuminator, putting word and image in play to create art that spoke to the eyes, and minds, of readers. Previously unseen sketches, documents, and printed matter from the artist's papers illustrate the essay, career chronology, and entries for 120 objects featured in this important book.

Softcover. Princeton NJ, Princeton University Press, reprint, 1996, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, pictorial wraps, 490 pages. By explaining how to sire multicolored horses, produce nuts without shells, and create an egg the size of a human head, Giambattista Della Porta's Natural Magic (1559) conveys a fascination with tricks and illusions that makes it a work difficult for historians of science to take seriously. Yet, according to William Eamon, it is in the "how-to" books written by medieval alchemists, magicians, and artisans that modern science has its roots. These compilations of recipes on everything from parlor tricks through medical remedies to wool-dyeing fascinated medieval intellectuals because they promised access to esoteric "secrets of nature." In closely examining this rich but little-known source of literature, Eamon reveals that printing technology and popular culture had as great, if not stronger, an impact on early modern science as did the traditional academic disciplines. Clean copy.

Hardcover. New York, Viking Press, 1st, 1937, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover. Pretty soft green covers stamped center front with an unnoticeable flower design. Gilt lettering on spine. Spine is sunned at both ends. A wonderful story of seven brothers who each use their special magic powers to win the hand of Helena of Boozan Island for their King. Beautifully and elegantly illustrated.

Hardcover. New York, Congreve Publishing Co., 1st, 1979, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. 144 pages. Cloth boards. Illustrated with works by Jones in full color. Clean, tight copy.

Hardcover. New York, Dutton , 1st, 1998, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 32 pages. Color illustrations by Brown. A stubborn little angel who refuses Gabriel's strict order to visit the newborn baby in the manger turns out to be a frightened little girl who has stage fright, in a magical holiday story that combines the gospel with traditional children's pageant fare.

Hardcover. NY, Ungar Publishing, 1st US, 1988, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. The early years of film, followed by a year by year account from 1920-29, 208 pages with many b&w photos. Foreword by Kevin Brownlow. Clean copy.

Hardcover. US, 5 Continents, 1st, 2006, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 144 pages. Like new in publisher's shrink-wrap. French photographer Olivier Mriel (b. 1955) has practiced photography for over 26 years. His work focuses on landscapes with a taste for the obscure. The son of a chemist, he lives and works in France in the small seaside town of Saint Aubin-sur-Mer, just as his ancestors did before him. His photographs perfectly capture the feeling of history this region is steeped in. Mriel's landscapes, while dark and moody, ultimately document his search for light. This light is reflected off the land and as surfaces act as mirrors, they exude a subtle glow that seeps into even the darkest corners. A human presence that is felt but not seen subtly leads us to explore and to contemplate the secrets of these magical places and the profound meaning of existence.

Hardcover. NY, Atheneum, 1st, 1977, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in an edgeworn dust jacket, 121 pages. Black & white drawings by Alan Tiegreen. Dust jacket price clipped. Black cloth binding with edgewear. Dust jacket with closed tears, chips. A Cinderella story with a magical feeling, but no actual unreality. Thursey works for her wicked stepmother and stepsisters and dreams of going to the ball and meeting the prince.

Softcover. London, Vision On, 1st, 2002, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 208 pages of b&w and color photos. Willoughby became one of the very few photographers to capture not only the charm, charisma and dangerous cool of Sinatra the untouchable "Chairman of the Board", but also the tenderness and fragility of Frankie the father, the friend and human being. Beginning on the set of his Oscar-winning portrayal of Maggio in From Here To Eternity, through to the heady, hard-drinking razzmatazz of the Rat Pack's Las Vegas residency to film the original Ocean's 11, Tilloughby's beautifully collated portfolio includes stolen moments between Sinatra and a host of his friends and costars, including Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, Shirley MacLaine and Judy Garland. Elsewhere in the book we see Sinatra negotiating with film producers, hanging with fellow Rats, giving it the irresistible "Old Blue-Eyes" whammy to Kim Novak and Juliet Prowse, turning on the magic on stage and enjoying quiet moments at home with his daughter Nancy. And while many of the images have become classics and will be familiar to even the most casual admirers, more still previously unpublished glimpses of Sinatra's turbulent life. Put together, they represent the most illuminating insights into the heydey of the Hoboken player ever printed. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Knopf, 1st, 1992, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 192 pages. By "the most original, tactile, luminous voice in Russian prose today" (Joseph Brodsky), Sleepwalker in a Fog is a collection of seven stories and a novella set in contemporary Russia. Here is Denisov, who fears his greatest accomplishment in life will be the treatise he wrote and tore up. He is betrothed to Lora, an incessant talker who dreams of having a fluffy tail. We also read of Natasha, who searches Leningrad and her memory for her lost love; of Dmitry Ilich's elaborate seduction of Olga Mikhailovna; and more. In the tradition of such writers as Gogol and Chekhov, Tatyana Tolstaya transforms ordinary lives into something magical and strange. Like new.

Hardcover. NY, Disney Hyperion, 1st, 2022, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 190 pages plus appendix. Ever since Solimar was a little girl, she has gone to the ouamel forest bordering her kingdom to observe the monarch butterflies during their migration, but always from a safe distance. Now, on the brink of her quinceanera and her official coronation, Solimar crosses the dangerous creek to sit among the butterflies. There, a mysterious event gives her a gift and a burden--the responsibility to protect the young and weak butterflies with her magical rebozo, or silk shawl. "Award-winning author Ryan has masterfully crafted a story using cultural elements from Mexico with a generous sprinkling of magic. In this story of courage, determination, and ingenuity, readers will cheer on Solimar in her arduous journey to save what is near and dear to her heart." Clean copy.

Hardcover. New Haven CT, Yale University Press, 1st, 2013, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 430 pages. SIGNED BY MONOD on the tile page, also INSCRIBED on the half-title page. The late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are known as the Age of Enlightenment, a time of science and reason. But in this illuminating book, Paul Monod reveals the surprising extent to which Newton, Boyle, Locke, and other giants of rational thought and empiricism also embraced the spiritual, the magical, and the occult. Although public acceptance of occult and magical practices waxed and waned during this period they survived underground, experiencing a considerable revival in the mid-eighteenth century with the rise of new antiestablishment religious denominations. The occult spilled over into politics with the radicalism of the French Revolution and into literature in early Romanticism. Even when official disapproval was at its strongest, the evidence points to a growing audience for occult publications as well as to subversive popular enthusiasm. Ultimately, finds Monod, the occult was not discarded in favor of "reason" but was incorporated into new forms of learning. In that sense, the occult is part of the modern world, not simply a relic of an unenlightened past, and is still with us today. Clean copy.