The first edition of The Joy of Cooking,1931 It is the most popular and best-selling cookbook in American history, with nearly 18 million copies sold.It is the only cookbook to be included in the New York Public Library’s list of 150 Influential Books of the Century.The original edition was privately published by the author in an edition of 3000 copies and was illustrated by the author’s daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker, who also designed the spectacular dust jacket featuring St. Martha of Bethany, the patron saint of cooking, taking up a mop to fend off the dragon Tarasque.The author marketed the book herself, selling...
An Illiterate Bookseller Thrives
Her name is Mary and she has been selling books for over 30 years. She is known as the bookseller who cannot read!She runs a bookshop in Chennai, the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The bookshop does not have an address.Even though she "doesn’t know how to read, she digs out all the books her customers need – from 5th standard texts to engineering guides, law to Chartered Accountancy, test banks to crack IIT’s entrance exam, the GMAT and GRE to comics and classics."And like many of old time booksellers she can be a little grumpy:I am telling...
The Gotham City Library
Gotham City Library. From “The Penguin’s Apprentice!” by Don Cameron, Jack Burnley, and Jerry Robinson (Batman #27, 1945)."It takes all of the Batman's fistic artfulness..." to get "The Penguins's Apprentice!"via Books in the Comic Books
‘Paper Has a Great Future’
In this battle of electronic vs. paper paper wins easy :-)h/t Metafilter
Partying to Pay the Rent: Langston Hughes’ collection of rent party cards
"Hop Mr. Bunny, Skip Mr. BearIf you don't dig this party you ain't no where!"The place was Harlem in the 1940s and 1950s. Rents were high and wages were low for many African Americans and one way they came together to fight the injustice and to raise the rent money was to hold rent parties.Refreshments and music were provided and they printed up these neat cards to promote the evenings.When Langston Hughes moved to Harlem he was already familiar with the rent party scene from his days writing for the Chicago Defender. He would eventually put together "quite a collection"...