Tag: books

Attack of the Beast People, aka The Social-Animals’ Parade

In 1829, the beasts within humanity were exposed and let loose upon an unsuspecting Paris. The onslaught was merciless; no one was spared, not even the clergy. It was a slasher-movie in print - don’t turn that page; somebody is getting ripped to shreds. The book was a killer. The horror was greeted with laughter, though the Church and State experienced sharp pains not associated with split-sides or knee-slaps.Garçon, I’ll have the Metamorphosis du Jour, please, well-seasoned with satire.Les Metamorphoses du Jour by J.J. Grandville (1803-1847), one of the most celebrated caricaturists of his era, is amongst the rarest of...

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17th c. Scandal: 14 Yr Old Girl Falls for Baron, Writes Rare Tell-All

The modern world's embarrassing, cringe-worthy, candid memoir-as-novel that dumps upon an ex-lover/spouse is nothing new. In 1931, Jack Kahane, a writer of novels that nobody read, launched Obelisk Press. In a few years the imprint  would gain international notoriety for publishing Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer. In the interim, it stayed afloat with  racy fluff such as Daffodil by Cecil Barr (Kahane’s pseudonym), one of the imprint’s best-selling titles.But before Kahane got Obelisk Press off the ground he had to get Henri Babou off his back.He had entered into an agreement with Babou, “a short, well-groomed Frenchman with a goatee...

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First Edition of Jane Austen’s “Emma” Sells For $489,747

A first edition of Jane Austen’s classic novel Emma has fetched £325,000 ($489,747) in a private transaction between Jonkers Rare Books of Henley-on-Thames, U.K., and a British collector.Why the high price? It is the most spectacular presentation copy of the book known to exist. There are presentation copies (a copy of a book given to someone by the author or publisher) and then there are presentation copies. This copy is a double-whammy jaw-dropper: a presentation and an association copy - a copy owned by someone with a relationship of some nature to the author. Here, the association is about as...

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Winds Of War Stir Nation’s Libraries

Illustrator and theatrical designer Charles Buckles Falls created this lithograph to promote the American Library Association's First World War book drives for soldiers. Donated books were seen as a key to keeping up morale, and stocked temporary wartime libraries, as well as being given directly to soldiers. The most popular books on the frontlines were adventure and detective fiction, biographies, military histories, and travel journals. As the war wound down, soldiers began to request titles on farming, business, engineering, construction and other trades in preparation for the return to civilian life.It was the first, but sadly not the last, modern...

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First Auction Exclusively Devoted to British Spy Novels Coming Soon

Journey into Fear (1940). Estimate: $2K-$3K.On Thursday, April 8, auction house Swann Galleries in New York will offer The Otto Penzler Collection of British Espionage and Thriller Fiction. The sale represents a select portion of the private library of the well-known mystery fiction specialist and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City who amassed his collection of rare spy and suspense books over 40 years. In that time, Penzler befriended many noted authors including Eric Ambler, Ken Follett, John Gardner and others, who inscribed copies of their works.“British spy novels are among the greatest of all works in...

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