Biography

Hardcover. Mendota IL, The Wayside Press, 1st, 1964, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket with light edgewear, chipping. A superb, anecdotal and personal (Gardner was a great Alger collector) biography of Alger and history of the Alger juveniles, with superb color plates of rare Alger items and a descriptive bibliography. Clean copy.

Hardcover. New York, Harry N. Abrams, 1st, 2015, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 56 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Clean, unmarked copy with only minor wear to dust jacket. Color and Black and white pictures throughout. Shocking pink--hot pink, as it is called today--was the signature color of Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973) and perhaps her greatest contribution to the fashion world. Schiaparelli was one of the most innovative designers in the early 20th century. Many design elements that are taken for granted today she created and brought to the forefront of fashion. She is credited with many firsts: trompe l'oeil sweaters with collars and bows knitted in; wedge heels; shoulder bags; and even the concept of a runway show for presenting collections. Hot Pink explores Schiaparelli's childhood in Rome, her introduction to high fashion in Paris, and her swift rise to success collaborating with surrealist and cubist artists like Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau. The book includes an author's note, a list of museums and websites where you can find Schiaparelli's fashions, endnotes, a bibliography, and an index.

Hardcover. NY, Blue Ribbon Books, 1st, 1930, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, green cloth covers stamped in black, 316 pages, b&w illustrations. Provide the most complete description available of Houdini's feats and how he performed them. In effect, this is the work that Houdini himself would have written, if only he had lived long enough. Here are the details of the spectacular Walking Through a Brick Wall, The Spanish Maiden Escape, The Milk Can Challenge, and many more such marvelous feats. Prepared from Houdini's Private Notebooks and Memoranda with the Assistance of Beatrice Houdini, Widow of Houdini, and Bernard M. L. Ernst, President of the Parent Assembly of the Society of American Magicians. Name on inside front cover, mild shelf wear.

Hardcover. NY, Farrar Straus and Giroux, 1st, 2017, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 530 pages. A captivating exploration of A. E. Housman and the influence of his particular brand of Englishness. A. E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad made little impression when it was first published in 1896 but has since become one of the best-loved volumes of poetry in the English language. Its evocation of the English countryside, thwarted love, and a yearning for things lost is as potent today as it was more than a century ago, and the book has never been out of print. In Housman Country, Peter Parker explores the lives of A. E. Housman and his most famous book, and in doing so shows how A Shropshire Lad has permeated English life and culture since its publication. Clean copy.

Softcover. NY, Grove Press, reprint, 1997, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 239 pages. Hettie Jones presents an intimate memoir of her life--from her middle-class Jewish family in Queens to her marriage to the controversial black poet LeRoi Jones and her search for her own artistic voice. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Clarkson Potter, 1st, 1975, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Definitive study of the pioneer American illustrator. 39 color, 165 black & white illustrations. 248 pages. Faint fade to edge, spine of orange dust jacket,

Hardcover. New Castle DE, Oak Knoll Press, 1st, 2004, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Two volumes, hardcovers with dust jacket, 872 pages. Burgundy cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spines. Each is a quarto of 12 by 9 inches. At the dawn of the 20th century, Howard Pyle was America's most famous and influential illustrator. Through the illustrated pages of Harper's, Scribner's and Century magazines, the American public first became acquainted with the illustrator that they would come to love. Both by example and through his teaching, Pyle molded and influenced generations of young artists who have continued his unique vision of illustration far beyond his own lifetime. Published 93 years after the death of Howard Pyle, this book celebrates the enduring and far-reaching achievements of America's foremost illustrator. Illustrated with over 3300 images, this important research tool represents the complete record of all known Howard Pyle illustrations, hundreds of which have not been reproduced since their original publication over 100 years ago. DUE TO WEIGHT, This is a heavy and oversized book and will require extra shipping. International customers please ask for a shipping quote before purchasing.

Hardcover. NY, Harcourt, 1st, 2008, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 288 pages. From the late 1950s until her death in 1971, renowned photographer Diane Arbus took pictures of oddball performers at the now-forgotten Hubert's Museum, a typical freak show in New York City's seedy Times Square. One frequent subject was Charlie Lucas, first a freak himself, later an inside talker. In 2003, Bob Langmuir, an anxiety-ridden, pill-popping, obsessive antiquarian book dealer from Philadelphia, unearthed a collection of photographs and memorabilia, including Lucas's journals and what he thought were Arbus's photos. This trove of genuine American kookiness came to dominate his life. Following Langmuir's quest--from the slums of Philadelphia to the halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art--as he gathered, priced and ultimately came to understand this collection, author Gibson (Gone Boy: A Walkabout), himself an antiquarian book dealer, effortlessly twists these strands together with an emotional wallop. His toil in Hubert's vineyard, Gibson writes of Langmuir, amounted to no more or less than the continuing archaeology of the old, weird America. Gibson's laser focus on Langmuir's shifting state of mind as he struggles to master his personal demons and navigate the pitfalls of his own obsession gives this story its heart and opens a window onto a lost part of the American soul. 21 b&w photos.

Hardcover. NY, Knopf, 2nd pr., 1969, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 884 pages, b&w photos, index. No dust jacket. Clean, tight copy in blue cloth covers. Biography of the controversial Huey Pierce "The Kingfish" Long(1893-1935), Louisiana's 40th governor(1928-1932) and American Senator from 1932 until his assassination in 1935 as he aspired to run for president in alliance with the far-right radio commentator Father Charles Coughlin. Long's Share Our Wealth plan was established on February 23, 1934 with the motto "Every Man a King."

Hardcover. London, A.& C. Black, 1st, 1931, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 12 color plates, many black & white illustrations, 269 pages. Scarce in dust jacket.

Hardcover. Gotham Books, 1st, 2004, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 358 pages. Retracing the 1799-1804 odyssey of von Humboldt through South and Central America, Helferich synthesizes the many biographies written about the explorer into a concise appreciation of his personality and scientific significance. The author also appropriately digresses about the history of the places visited by von Humboldt, who was a perceptive reporter of conditions in the Spanish empire immediately before its colonies revolted. Despite almost three centuries of rule by 1799, the Spanish domains still had unexplored territory, tempting von Humboldt, then 30, to seek there the scientific glory he aimed for since his youth in Prussia. Supported by an inheritance and buddy Aime Bonpland, von Humboldt set forth initially to investigate a geographical controversy (Did the Orinoco River connect with the Amazon?) but wowed the world largely with his discoveries in botany, zoology, and geology. Helferich recounts the journey's risks, from piranhas to volcanoes, and his presentation is sure to satisfy reader curiosity about the explorer who had so many places named for him. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Boston, Little, Brown & Co., 1st, 1975, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, black boards stamped with gilt title, black cloth spine. INSCRIBED BY BENCHLEY on a blank prelim page. 242 pages with b&w photos. The author, a close friend of Humphrey Bogart, and the full cooperation of Bogart's wife, Lauren Bacall writes this dynamic story of Bogie, one of the greatest actors ever. Illustrated with one hundred photographs, many never before published, garnered from friend's private albums. Clean copy, lacks dust jacket.

Softcover. Huron OH, Bottom Dog Press, 1st, 2007, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 130 pages. INSCRIBED BY JACOBSON on the title page. The author tells her story of growing up Jewish in Evanston, Illinois.

Hardcover. Bloomington IN, Indiana University Press, 1st, 1993, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. 263 pages,16 BW illus., 16 color plates. Takes us into the mind of American abstract painter Ethel Schwabacher (1903-1984). "Comparable to such important literary journals as those of Virginia Woolf and Anais Nin, Schwabacher's record will become a valuable resource for research into the creative process as well as the art history and theory of our time." Clean copy.

Hardcover. New York, Scribner's, 1st, 1989, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket.

Hardcover. NY, Villard Books, 1st, 1990, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 306 pages. The author of "Adventures in the Screen Trade" provides an inside look at the Cannes Film Festivals and the Miss America Pageant from his unique perspective as a judge, offering anecdotes about the judging process. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Chiselbury, 1st, 2024, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover in glossy pictorial boards, 356 pages. An amazing real-life story of espionage, of courage and resistance, and of friendship and love. It pulls back the veil on the hidden history of the struggle for the identity of the Resistance in France. The life of 'André' Joseph Scheinmann is more intriguing and compelling than any work of fiction. His true-life story of derring-do starts as a Jewish youth in Munich, whose family moves to France in 1933 to escape the Nazi tide. He joins the French army at the outbreak of WW2 and escapes from a prisoner-of war camp after the bitterly brief fight for France in the summer of 1940. André becomes a spy and saboteur for the British and Free French whilst working undercover as translator and liaison with the German high command at the Brittany headquarters of the French National Railroads. Summoned by the British, he clandestinely crosses the Channel for initiation and training as an MI6 agent in England. His network betrayed during his absence, he is arrested on his return to France. André then begins an even more perilous journey with interrogation in Gestapo prisons and the little-known Natzweiler concentration camp in Alsace, before being transferred to Dachau and Allach, ahead of the advancing Allies. Illustrated with over 120 vintage and color photographs and letters. Clean copy.

Softcover. NY, Ten Speed Graphic, 1st, 2023, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 201 pages. Everyone knows Stan Lee: His work at the creative helm of Marvel Comics resulted in the creation of many of the superheroes we know and love today, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and more. During his decades-long career at Marvel, Lee turned the comic book publisher into a cultural juggernaut that shaped and defined the burgeoning industry. In I Am Stan, critically acclaimed artist Tom Scioli reveals the man behind the comics and cameos using the same medium Stan Lee revolutionized. This stunning graphic novel takes readers from his early days in the comics industry through his rise at Marvel (then Timely Comics), where his career was touched by other iconic creatives including Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. Their collaboration would lead to the creation of the most iconic superheroes of today, and bring about the Marvel Age of the 60's and 70's that introduced new industry stars like Steve Ditko, and John Buscema. Readers will follow Lee's trajectory from his daily life at Marvel to his later years as a spokesperson for the company and for comics as a whole, and finally to his last years away from the spotlight. Scioli provides a clear-eyed view of Lee's triumphs at Marvel as well as the controversies that surrounded the creator at the end of his life. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Guilford CT, Applause, 1st, 2021, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. 200 pages, b&w illustrations. Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, and . . . Dorothy Fields. These are the giants of the golden age of musical theater. Although she may not be as well known as her male counterparts, Dorothy Fields was America's most brilliant and successful female lyricist, who for five decades kept up with the greats. As the only woman among the boys' club of popular song, Fields was welcomed by her fellow male artists, who considered her as both an equal and a beloved colleague. Working with thirteen different composers, Fields wrote the lyrics and/or librettos for unforgettable masterpieces, such as Annie Get Your Gun, Redhead, and Sweet Charity. Her more than four hundred songs include the standards "On the Sunny Side of the Street," "Pick Yourself Up," and "The Way You Look Tonight," among other classic tunes.

Hardcover. Madison WI, University of Wisconsin Press/Terrace Books, 1st, 2007, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 164 pages. Jean Feraca's road to self-fulfillment has been as quirky and demanding as the characters in her memoir. A twenty-five-year veteran of public radio broadcasting, Feraca is also a writer and a poet. She is a talk show host beloved for her unique mixture of the humanities, poetry, and journalism, and is the creator of the pioneering international cultural affairs radio program Here on Earth: Radio without Borders. In this searing memoir, Feraca traces her own emergence. She pulls back the curtain on her private life, revealing unforgettable portraits of the characters in her brawling Italian American family: Jenny, the grandmother, the devil woman who threw Casey Stengel down an excavation pit; Dolly, the mother, a cross between Long John Silver and the Wife of Bath who in battling mental illness becomes the scourge of a Lutheran nursing home; and Stephen, the brilliant but troubled older brother, an anthropologist who was adopted into a Sioux tribe. Unique, eccentric, and distinctive, I Hear Voices is a memoir that tells a universal story of a woman evolving to fully embrace her life and the world. INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR on title page. Handwritten letter also laid in.

Hardcover. NY, Scribner, 1st, 2013, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 364 pages, b&w illustrations. A fresh, meticulous, and entertaining account of Henry Ford, the Model-T, and the invention of the American car industry in the early twentieth century. Born the same year as the battle of Gettysburg, Ford died two years after the atomic bombs fell, and his life personified the tremendous technological changes achieved in that span. Clean copy.

Hardcover. New York, Funk and Wagnalls, 1st, 1971, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Eric Sloane presents a volume containing autobiographical notes and reproductions of his paintings. 184 pages, featuring 37 color plates of Sloane's oil paintings in addition to numerous other black-ink drawings. Excellent condition; book has no internal flaws but few very light marks on the cover. Dust jacket is in very good condition, very slight rubbing and wear, price-clipped.

Hardcover. New York, Doubleday, 1st, 1991, 604 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Light yellowing and wear to top edge of dust jacket. Minor foxing to top edge of textblock. An otherwise clean, unmarked copy. Recollections by fellow artists and collaborators elucidate the life of teacher and choreographer George Balanchine.

Hardcover. Boston, Little Brown and Co, 1st, 1996, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 219 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. SIGNED ON TITLE PAGE BY AUTHOR. Clean,tight copy.