View allAll Photos Tagged FirstEditions,
John D. MacDonald - A Man of Affairs
Dell Books B112, 1957
Cover Artist: Victor Kalin
"On the surface – a last week-end in the Bahamas sun. Underneath – a stark struggle for corporate power."
The department is on the third floor of the main branch of the Philadelphia Free Library. There are several rooms such as these each with case after case of rare and unusual books. The cases down the centers of the galleries are used to display items from the collection, The displays are changed monthly and allow one to get up close to some really wonderful pieces. There are several old tall case clocks as well, all in working order. It's a swell place to visit.
This is a scene from a wonderful 1950s children's book about Johnny, who is leaving the farm because of hard times. When his Journey Cake leads him on a merry chase that results in a farm yard full of animals, the family is all together again.
Journey Cake Ho
by Ruth Sawyer
Robert McClosky illustrations
Published by Viking Press, NY, 1953
Doughty’s short-lived magazine “The Cabinet of Natural History and American Rural Sports” is an important imprint in the history of American printing. It contained the first colored sporting prints made in America. Issued in monthly parts and published from the end of 1830 until the spring of 1834, “The Cabinet” featured articles on hunting, detailed descriptions of newly discovered flora and fauna, and some of the finest examples of early American hand-colored lithography. It was originally the work of the Doughty brothers, Thomas and John, with virtually all of the plates being the work of Thomas, who also founded the Hudson River School. But, by the spring of 1832, the partnership had broken up and Thomas had moved to Boston. An abbreviated third volume (not included here) lacked Thomas’ touch.
A smiling opossum. Or weasel?
Illustration from:
Never Tease a Weasel.
By Jean Conder Soule.
Illustrated by Denman Hampson.
Published by Parents' Magazine Press; 1st edition (1964)
Published by William Heinemann in 1955. In his dedication, Graham Greene writes: "This tale has not been written for the purposes of encouranging adultery, the use of pyjama tops, or registry office [sic] marriages. Nor is it meant to discourage gambling."
This British edition contains 220 Illustrations by Dan Beard.and preceded the American edition by a few days. It is Mark Twain’s time travel novel. In it, Yankee engineer Hank Morgan from Connecticut is accidentally transported back in time to medieval England and the court of King Arthur. Hank fools the inhabitants of that time into thinking he is a magician—and soon uses his Yankee ingenuity and knowledge of modern technology to become a "magician" in earnest, stunning the English with such feats as demolition and fireworks. He attempts to modernize the society, but in the end he is unable to prevent the death of Arthur and a censure against him by the Catholic Church, which grows fearful of his power.
Twain wrote the book as a satire of romantic notions of chivalry after being inspired by a dream in which he was a knight himself, and severely inconvenienced by the weight and cumbersome nature of his armor. [Source: Wikipedia]
Hollywood put its own spin on the story with a 1949 musical comedy starring Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, William Bendix and Sir Cedric Hardwicke.
“The Whispering Gorilla” by David V. Reed
“The whole of the dark continent is terrorized by a gigantic gorilla, a gorilla who is not a gorilla, but a man.”
This rare British paperback combines two stories from the pulp magazine Fantastic Adventures – “The Whispering Gorilla” by Don Wilcox first published in May 1940 and “Return of the Whispering Gorilla” by David V. Reed first published in February 1943.
He's just a man in a rubber suit but very convincing for his day. The Gill-Man is an ingenious and complicated costume created after eight-and-a-half months' research by Universal-International makeup chief Bud Westmore and his staff. And the creature who lumbered around the lot dressed in the foam-rubber suit is an ex-Marine named Ben Chapman who played the part of the Gill-Man in the 1954 film. Costume designer Milicent Patrick had to change his shape 76 times before her sketches were finally approved. It was then up to Bud Westmore and Jack Kevan to actually create the costume which had to be completely waterproof because much of the action takes place underwater. Then, too, it had to be light and flexible enough so that Chapman could move easily and with realism in his part.
Doughty’s short-lived magazine “The Cabinet of Natural History and American Rural Sports” is an important imprint in the history of American printing. It contained the first colored sporting prints made in America. Issued in monthly parts and published from the end of 1830 until the spring of 1834, “The Cabinet” featured articles on hunting, detailed descriptions of newly discovered flora and fauna, and some of the finest examples of early American hand-colored lithography. It was originally the work of the Doughty brothers, Thomas and John, with virtually all of the plates being the work of Thomas, who also founded the Hudson River School. But, by the spring of 1832, the partnership had broken up and Thomas had moved to Boston. An abbreviated third volume (not included here) lacked Thomas’ touch.
Illustrated with 17 posed B&W photos.
SEX WAS HER WEAPON!
From the Introduction:
When a girl from a street like Margrove Street determines to travel with Park Avenue's elite, nothing can stop her. Especially if the girl is fiery, seductive Hazel Appleby. Men and women alike were but stepping stones to her success, an upward path that wound up with Hazel as the superbly kept mistress of the town's influential publisher, Ralph Hegel. And what happened to Ralph didn't happen to Don, the only man who failed to fall under the spell of the glamorous and completely heartless vixen!
"For A Few Dollars More" stars Clint Eastwood as bounty hunter Manco, the Man From Nowhere, portrayed on the book cover.
"The Man From Nowhere blazes a vicious new trail of violence and action as he rides out after the biggest prize of all . . . matching wits and bullets with the most desperate gang in the West."
Photo cover with Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach.
"They formed an alliance of hate to steal a fortune in dead man's gold."
From the back cover:
THE MAN WITH NO NAME
His partner is the desperado, Tuco, who turns vengeance into a sadistic contest of endurance . . .
His adversary is the ruthless Sentenza, a killer who long ago lost count of the lives he has cut down . . .
His goal is a $200,000 treasure in stolen Army gold for which many have died and more will be killed . . .
His secret is a dead man's final breath. More than once it has saved his life, and it will lead him to the treasure -- if he can keep alive long enough to reach it . . .
His trail is a path of blood cutting across the hell that the Civil War had brought to the southwest . . .
His reward -- death, probably, from any one of a hundred enemies; betrayal, possibly, from the unpredictable Tuco; defeat, perhaps, blazing from Sentenza's custom-made pistol . . . or the gold that two armies and a legion of dead men have failed to reclaim!
TO THE MAN WITH NO NAME, THE ODDS SEEMED ALMOST FAVORABLE!
In the Spotlight : Volkswagen Milestones
29/01/2021 - 28/03/2021
Autoworld
Brussels - Belgium
February 2021
From "The Rhinegold & The Valkyrie" by Richard Wagner. New York: Doubleday Page & Co., 1910. First American Edition
Another charming book illustration featuring Anatole, our favorite French mouse.
from
Anatole and the Cat.
Written by Eve Titus
Illustrated by Paul Galdone
Published by Doubleday and Co. 1957
From the blurb on the dust jacket:
“The Goddess of Ganymede” is a swashbuckling, fantastic adventure novel in the Edgar Rice Burroughs tradition. The action involves an American soldier of fortune, Adam Thane, whose spaceflight terminates on the moon of the planet Jupiter – a world made to order for the adventurer.
If you seek escape reading, there is action and swordplay to be encountered as fast as the pages of this book can be turned. Ganymede is a moon of winged men, strange and ferocious creatures, and an evil, deathless race.
“The Goddess of Ganymede” is the first science-fantasy novel from the pen of young Illinois writer, Michael D. Resnick. The six illustrations and dust wrapper are the work of Neal MacDonald, Jr. Both of these men are widely known and acclaimed in Burroughs fan circles.
--------------------------------------------------------------
In the 1960s and early 1970s, Michael Resnick (1942-2020) wrote over 200 erotic adult novels under various pseudonyms and edited three men's magazines and seven tabloid newspapers. For over a decade he wrote a weekly column about horse racing and a monthly column about purebred collies, which he and his wife bred and showed. His wife was an uncredited collaborator on much of his science fiction and a co-author on two movie scripts they sold, based on his novels "Santiago" and "The Widowmaker.." His daughter Laura Resnick is a science fiction and fantasy author.
-- Wikipedia
"Cleopatra's Nights: The Life and Loves of the Queen of Egypt" edited by Allan Bernard:
A collection of tales by E. Barrington, Talbot Mundy, Emil Ludwig, Henry Thomas, Claude Ferval, and Theophile Gautier who tell the fascinating story -- part fact, part fiction -- of one of history's most famous women -- Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt.
From the back cover:
Larry had started happily on his shipboard honeymoon . . . his bride a ravishing, exotic girl.
But now, ashore in the tropics, he found a devil in the woman.
Why had her guardian tried to stop them -- for "his" sake?
What strange language did she mutter in her sleep?
What savage rites enslaved her?
Cornell Woolrich has fashioned a masterpiece of suspense about a woman who lived twice.
"Never minstrel, or by whatever more suitable name David should be known, drew upon his talents in the presence of more insensible auditors."
"The Last of the Mohicans" is set in 1757, during the French and Indian War, when France and Great Britain battled for control of North America. During this war, both the French and the British used Native American allies, but the French were particularly dependent, as they were outnumbered in the Northeast frontier areas by the more numerous British colonists.
The novel is primarily set in the upper New York wilderness, detailing the transport of the two daughters of Colonel Munro, Alice and Cora, to a safe destination at Fort William Henry. Among the caravan guarding the women are the frontiersman Natty Bumppo (known as Hawkeye), Major Duncan Heyward, and the Indians Chingachgook and his son Uncas. These characters are sometimes seen as a microcosm of the budding American society, particularly with regards to their racial composition.
[Source: Wikipedia]
A fantastical city as seen in "Siegfried the Mighty Warrior."
by Maria De Vivanco.
Illustrated by Lazlo Gal
Published by Golden Press; First Edition (1968)
Want Rollicking, Ribald Adventure? Then Meet TOFFEE by Charles F. Myers. The devastating H-bomb redhead fused to explode – men! (Brother, that’s you!)
Get set for the zaniest time of your life! You’ve never before met a girl quite like – TOFFEE
A complete book-length novel.
Originally published as “The Shades of Toffee,” copyright 1950 by Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., for Fantastic Adventures.
"101 Best Magic Tricks", published in 1956, is a book by Guy Frederick that will keep any budding Houdini occupied for hours.
From the blurb on the dustjacket:
Had Northwest Smith, the famous outlaw of the spaceways, been able to foresee the future, he would not have shielded the frightened, scarlet-clad girl from the wild mob pursuing her through the narrow streets of Lakkdarol, Earth’s latest colony on Mars. “Shambleau! Shambleau!” the crowd cried with loathing and disgust, but Smith drove them off with his blaster and took the exhausted girl to his quarters. There was no hair upon her face – neither brows nor lashes; but what lay hidden beneath the tight scarlet turban bound around her head?
So begins one of the strangest, and possibly the most famous, of stories by C. L. Moore. When it first appeared “Shambleau” was acclaimed by readers, authors, and editors as the debut of a truly gifted talent in the field of fiction writing. It introduced the very popular character Northwest Smith, hardbitten roamer of the spaceways. Miss Moore was to live up to expectation when she followed “Shambleau” with other stirring and beautiful tales about Smith, such as “The Tree of Life” and the haunting “Scarlet Dream,” both of which are included in this volume.
As though the creation of Northwest Smith were not enough for one gifted author, Miss Moore next offered her readers Jirel of Joiry whose fiery personality was a refreshingly sharp contrast to the icy calm of Northwest Smith. Joiry’s lady first appeared in the memorable “Black God’s Kiss,” a unique tale which describes her strange adventures in another dimension, a nightmarish land that lies far below the dungeons of her defeated castle. In quest of a weapon to wipe away the taunting smile from the face of her conqueror, Guillaume, Joiry’s lady comes upon the shore of a black lake filled with fallen stars; she passes over an invisible bridge into a forbidding temple where her quest ends in a dramatic fashion.
The publication of “Shambleau and Others” is an event that readers have been demanding for many years. It is a rich, colorful collection which offers the early writing of a genuine literary talent which was to develop its craftsmanship until today, as the wife and collaborator of Henry Kuttner, it has yielded such memorable books as “The Fairy Chessmen,” “Judgment Night,” “Robots Have No Tails,” and “Mutant.”
A second collection of Northwest Smith and Jirel of Joiry stories, as yet untitled, is scheduled for publication sometime next year.
Misery is a psychological horror novel by US author Stephen King, first published by Viking Press on June 8, 1987. The novel hinges on the relationship between its two main characters – novelist Paul Sheldon and his self-proclaimed number one fan Annie Wilkes. When Sheldon is seriously injured following a car accident, former nurse Annie rescues him and keeps him prisoner in her isolated farmhouse. Misery, which took fourth place in the 1987 bestseller list, was adapted into an Academy Award–winning film directed by Rob Reiner, in 1990, and into a theatrical production starring Laurie Metcalf and Bruce Willis in 2015.
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them suspense, crime, science-fiction, fantasy, and mystery. Though known primarily for his novels, he has written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in collections. His debut, Carrie (1974), established him in horror. Different Seasons (1982), a collection of four novellas, was his first major departure from the genre. Among the films adapted from King's fiction are Carrie (1976), The Shining (1980), The Dead Zone and Christine (both 1983), Stand by Me (1986), Misery (1990), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Dolores Claiborne (1995), The Green Mile (1999), The Mist (2007), and It (2017). He has published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman and has co-written works with other authors, notably his friend Peter Straub and sons Joe Hill and Owen King. He has also written nonfiction, notably Danse Macabre (1981) and On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000).
Among other awards, King has won the O. Henry Award for "The Man in the Black Suit" (1994) and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller for 11/22/63 (2011). He has also won honors for his overall contributions to literature, including the 2003 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2007 Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the 2014 National Medal of Arts. Joyce Carol Oates called King "a brilliantly rooted, psychologically 'realistic' writer for whom the American scene has been a continuous source of inspiration, and American popular culture a vast cornucopia of possibilities.
LINK to video - MISERY | Best of - www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES1WqhzpbNI
LINK to video - Rob Reiner & Kathy Bates Discuss Misery (1990) with Dave Karger | TCMFF 2025 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_H0hgJPFD8
LINK to video - 10 Things You Didn't Know About Stephen King's Misery - www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiIGiHxE7NA
LINK to video - Stephen King interview (1993) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDyN8d3xM0U
From the blurb on the dustjacket:
The stories in STARDRIFT represent the finest that Emil Petaja has written in the genre over a period of thirty years. They were selected by the author, after three years of meticulous consideration as prime examples of his lifetime of studying, absorbing and digesting all the great fantastic literature of the world. Emil Petaja is an ardent student of world mythology. Those who enjoyed his KALEVALA novels, based on the Finnish epic, LAND OF HEROES, will be pleased to find on Otava story herein.
There is a touch of Saki or John Collier in such stories as FOUND OBJECTS and DARK BALCONY. ONLY GONE BEFORE (the title was taken right off an old Welsh tombstone) and DARK HOLLOW are pure Lovecraftian horror. A DOG’S BEST FRIEND makes a grim social comment. MOON FEVER and PEACEMONGER are science-fiction with a twist. DODECAGON GARDEN examines what a hip planet might be, if . . .
We are proud to present his mixed grill of wolfbane and wonder by Emil Petaja in this fine limited hardcover edition, illustrated with newly discovered drawings by the master fantasy artist, Hannes Bok. Forest J. Ackerman’s penetrating introduction adds the final touch. . .
Hannes Bok was perhaps the most truly original and imaginative illustrator of his time. His superb technique and his boundless magical flights put his work far beyond the purely commercial. Bok died in 1964, yet occasionally unpublished wonders turn up, as those presented here by arrangement with BOKANALIA MEMORIAL FOUNDATION.
“Young housewives, made vulnerable by boredom and neglect, forgetting marital vows and morality in a desperate search for excitement and fulfillment.”
Drink: Coffee
Food: Raspberry melting moment biscuits
Book: Brand X by Christianna Brand (my copy is the 1974 first UK edition hardcover with dust jacket, Michael Joseph Ltd; found for $AUD3.00 at a book fair)
Harry Houdini (1874-1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magician, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician Robert-Houdin.
He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as “Harry ‘Handcuff’ Houdini” on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets underwater, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it.
In 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London’s “Daily Mirror,” keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists. As President of the Society of American Magicians, he was keen to uphold professional standards and expose fraudulent artists. He was also quick to sue anyone who imitated his escape stunts. [Source: Wikipedia]
Mystery! Women! Murder! An Oriental Puzzle for Special Agent, Gil Denby
“. . . I got in through the French window. It was a place of satin and Louis Quintz. The sound of a shower told me where Lady Claire was. I sat on a silly little chair and lit a cigarette. I was half-finished with it when she walked in. She was stark naked. If I lost some of my savoir faire, she lost none of hers. Quite calmly, she walked to the bed, picked up a flimsy negligee and wrapped it about herself.
“ ‘And now,’ she said sweetly, ‘will you kindly get the hell out of here before I ring for the bouncer.’ “ -- from The Persian Cat
A majestic embroidered feline as featured on the end papers of a 1960s cat book.
Tell Me, Cat.
Written by Ellen Fisher
Illustrated by Virginia Tiffany
Golden Press; first edition (1965)
“How often will the Laws of Chance make a wish come true? Suppose you could overcome the Laws of Chance and make every wish happen the way you want it to?
“In a bombed-out U.S.A., overrun by a horde of unseen enemies operating from space ships, a lone scientist finds himself designated as the protector of the few remaining men, women and children. How he saves these people and himself by overcoming the Laws of Chance and through the use of radioactive material, makes one of the most fascinating science fiction novels, written by one of the most popular of pseudo-science writers.” [From the Introduction]
Back illustrations of a first edition of "Rascal," an American classic tale about a mischievous racoon written by Sterling North.
This cute vignette is from the 1960s first edition of "Three to Get Ready," lovingly illustrated by Mary Chalmers.
Three to Get Ready.
Written by Betty Boegehold
Illustrated by Mary Chalmers
Harper and Row; first edition (1965)
1930s children's book cover: "Homes and Habits of Wild Animals" by Karl Patterson Schmidt, illustrated by Walter Alois Weber, 1934.
Early pop-up book from the Disney studios featuring Mickey and the gang with the circus animals. The text Includes three color pop-ups and black & white illustrations throughout.
Quoting from the back cover:
"That was a nice job, Mary. Real nice."
She smiled. "They always are, when
I do them."
The fat man shrugged. "This wasn't an
easy one. He was a smart cop."
"Not so smart," she said. "He's dead."
Mary Lister would do anything for a price. Kill a man, love him, whatever paid the most money. She didn't know the meaning of fear -- or passion. And then she met Mal Waters . . .
Page from: "The Family of Woman." Editor: Jerry Mason
Published Grosset and Dunlap and the Ridge Press; 1979
Printed in Italy
Doughty’s short-lived magazine “The Cabinet of Natural History and American Rural Sports” is an important imprint in the history of American printing. It contained the first colored sporting prints made in America. Issued in monthly parts and published from the end of 1830 until the spring of 1834, “The Cabinet” featured articles on hunting, detailed descriptions of newly discovered flora and fauna, and some of the finest examples of early American hand-colored lithography. It was originally the work of the Doughty brothers, Thomas and John, with virtually all of the plates being the work of Thomas, who also founded the Hudson River School. But, by the spring of 1832, the partnership had broken up and Thomas had moved to Boston. An abbreviated third volume (not included here) lacked Thomas’ touch.
I hope your Monday is as lovely as this.
"The Zabajaba Jungle."
Written & Illustrated by William Steig, First Edition 1987
From the back cover:
She Grew Up Too Fast . . . She was young, blonde and beautiful -- a smoldering package of feminine dynamite in a body too mature for her years . . . She was one of the crowd who grew up too fast, who defy death for the casual "thrill" of it, who are out for "kicks" at any price . . .
Disturbing and boldly realistic, "Hot Rod Gang Rumble" is an incisive portrait of a "hot rod club" -- and the slick chick who stirred it to violence and destruction!
See "Hot Rod Rumble," an Allied Artists release starring Leigh Snowden, Richard Hartunian and Wright King.
This makes me smile.
Puss in Boots.
Written by Kathryn Jackson.
Illustrated by J. P. Miller
Published by Simon and Schuster (1952 First Edition)
In this book, Professor Wormbog, who has collected all manner of fantastical creatures from A to Y, keeps looking for the Zipperump-a-Zoo. He looks everywhere and discovers how hard it is to find one — unless the Zipperump-a-Zoo wants to find you!
Professor Wormbog in Search of the Zipperump-a-Zoo.
By Mercer Mayer
Published Golden Press 1976 First Edition
From the Introduction on the first page:
SCIENCE-FICTION WITH A DIFFERENCE
Have you ever wished your life were more serene? More tranquil? And if you were granted the one proverbial wish, would absolute peace be your request? Better not commit yourself until you've had a look at the completely tranquil world of "The Haunted Future!"
Or maybe you might have wished for eternal life, a chance to escape into the fourth dimension. Sounds good, doesn't it? Until you read "Damnation Morning" -- and then you can scratch that one off your list too.
But perhaps your wants are simpler. Maybe just a chance to solve the unsolvable? You've got it in "The Number of the Beast." In fact, whatever it is you want in the way of a surprising imagination-tingling short story -- a dash of fantasy, a drop of horror, a glimpse of the unknown -- you'll find it in Fritz Leiber's new collection THE MIND SPIDER AND OTHER STORIES.
"The Man in the High Castle" takes a glimpse into an alternate history and what life may have been like had the Allied Powers lost WWII. As noted in the comments section below, the book has been adapted by Amazon into an original series that is scheduled for release on November 20, 2015. Here are links to the TV trailers:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzayf9GpXCI
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjs8xVaAC98
In addition to 44 published novels, Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) wrote approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime. Although Dick spent most of his career as a writer in near-poverty, eleven popular films based on his works have been produced, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, Paycheck, Next, Screamers, The Adjustment Bureau and Impostor. In 2005, Time magazine named Ubik one of the hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923. In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series.