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Clarence Darrow Writes About A Publisher And Prohibition
by Stephen J. GertzOn October 24, 1931, legendary American lawyer and social reformer Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) wrote to American attorney, civil rights pioneer and president of the National...
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Two Great Typewriter Posters From 1909
by Stephen J. GertzPaul Scheurich, 1909.A copy of Paul Scheurich's 1909 poster for Oliver typewriters is being offered by Swann Auction Galleries in its Modernist Posters sale, April 24, 2014. It is...
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The Shocking Hard-Boiled World Of Librarians!
by Stephen J. GertzThey take no guff from deadbeats.Original cover art by Casey Jones for Crackers in Bedby Vic Fredericks. Pocket Books 1053 (1955).Books and snacks in the boudoir are their...
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First Printed Edition Of The Torah In Hebrew $1,400,000 - $2,000,000 At...
by Stephen J. Gertz"The educated man knows, indeed, from his knowledge of history that the art of Gutenberg saw its inception with a Latin Bible in the middle of the XVth century. Yet what layman knows...
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Dime Novels Led To Boy's Death By Lynching
by Stephen J. Gertz"Kansas city, Jan. 24 - The Times' Wichita, Kansas, special says: Reports are received here to the effect that Sheriff Shenneman was shot while arresting Charles Cobb, alias Smith, a...
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Primo Copy Of Piranese's Imaginary Prisons $270,000-$400,000 At Christie's
by Stephen J. Gertz"I need to produce great ideas, and I believe that if I were commissioned to design a new universe, I would be mad enough to undertake it" (Piranese).A magnificent copy of the scarce...
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An "Excessively Rare" Thomas Rowlandson Suite Of Caricatures
by Stephen J. GertzIn 1800, Rudolph Ackermann, the great print publisher, issued Masqueronians, a suite of six hand-colored emblematic etched plates by the great caricaturist, Thomas Rowlandson, each...
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A Superlative Original Kate Greenaway Watercolor
by Stephen J. Gertz A scarce and significant Kate Greenaway painting, this beautiful gouache, an important early example of her evolution as an artist, appeared as "Disdain," opposite p. 84 in The...
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Spectacular Simone de Beauvoir Archive $380,000-$470,000 At Christie's
by Stephen J. GertzAn outstanding trove of over 350 original and unpublished signed autograph letters and postcards written by French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political...
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The Awful Visitation Of Four Dreadful Monsters To Four Young Women
by Stephen J. GertzThe awful Visitation of Four Dreadful Monsters, To four Young Women, at one of their Houses in this Town, where they had met for the Purpose of seeing their intended Husbands.On the...
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Stories By Great Danes Are Not Dogs
by Stephen J. GertzThe literature of mid-nineteenth century Denmark is the subject this anthology of tales and verse selected and translated by Mrs. Anne Bushby (b. ? - d. 1875). “Most of the following...
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Mark Twain, Collector Of Compliments
by Stephen J. GertzLittle Montana Girl's Compliment"She was gazing thoughtfully at a photograph of Mark Twain on a neighbor's mantelpiece. Presently she said, reverently, 'We've got a Jesus like that...
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1st Edition Of Emancipation Proclamation & Final Edition Of Lincoln's Hair
by Stephen J. GertzA copy of the first edition in book form of the Emancipation Proclamation, the document that freed the slaves in the Southern states during the American Civil War, will be offered by...
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Sartain's Original Engraved Steel Plate Of Charlotte Brontë Portrait Comes To...
by Stephen J. GertzThe plate. (Image surrounding engraved oval is a reflection off the plate while photographed).The original steel plate of the mezzotint portrait of Charlotte Brontë engraved by John...
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A Legend in the Hollywood Book Trade
by Stephen J. GertzThe following appears as the Preface to this just published collaboration of Poltroon Press and Booktryst. There are legends in the Los Angeles rare and used book trade. In 1905,...
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A Rare & Used Book Shop Owner's Lament
Illustration by Arnold M. Herr ©2016Poor Mickey Tsimmis, his innocence lost in cruel Hollywood, the burg without mercy, the hamlet of vulgarity, the citywithout a soul. It's Despairsville, man, a drag...
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A Book Shop Owner As Stuntman
Illustration by Arnold M. Herr ©2016At the Megalopolis Book Shop, Mickey Tsimmis was all about customer service. No matter how potentially catastrophic the request (i.e. pulling a book from the...
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New Book: The Remarkable Martin Stone
by Stephen J. GertzBooktryst is pleased to announce the publication of its newest book and first fine press edition, The Remarkable Martin Stone: Remembering the Celebrated Rare Book Dealer and Blues...
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Booktryst Returns With Booktryst Anew
by Stephen J. GertzHaving recently emerged from a secret lair within British Columbia where I'd been hibernating with a sloth of grizzly bears that had adopted me, I bring news of Booktryst. Booktryst...
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Booktryst At Rare Books - LA
by Stephen J. GertzBooktryst makes its book fair debut at Rare Books Los Angeles, at the Pasadena Convention Center February 1-2, 2019.With many scarcities not seen in decades if not longer, and a...
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Catalogue 1: Rara Eros 16th-20th centuries
by Stephen J. GertzBooktryst is pleased to announce Catalogue 1: Rara Eros 16th-20th centuries.Featuring 60 items, including books and prints, it is illustrated with over 82 images, the majority in...
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John R. Payne Reviews Catalogue 1: Rara Eros
by John R. PayneJohn Payne’s most recent book is Great Catalogues by Master Booksellers, published in 2018. He is also the bibliographer of the English ornithologist and novelist, W. H. Hudson. John...
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A Bodhisattva of the Book: William Dailey
by Stephen J. GertzWith a note of sadness, Booktryst is otherwise pleased to announce its latest publication, A Bodhisattva of the Book: William Dailey, a memorial to the Southern California bookman...
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Christopher Isherwood and Me at the Gym
by Stephen J. Gertz(Written five years ago, the following has the honor of being rejected by every literary journal in California secondary to length (and perhaps certain content). Time to get it out,...
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Is This The Worst 19th C. British Novel?
by Stephen J. GertzIt’s rarely a good idea to begin a novel with a Preface. It’s never a good idea to write a Preface as apology for what is to come. And what writer in their right mind would trust...
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