London & New York: Ernest Nister / E. P. Dutton & Co., n.d. [1892.]. Hardcover first edition - A slim book of verses about children in many countries and at various occupations, notable for the twelve chromolithographs by Frances Brundage. Each depicts a child posed in an appropriate costume. Although Mrs Brundage was one of the most prolific women illustrators of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this is an uncommon and early example of her work as a book illustrator, including some of the ethnic children she was known for - little Japanese, French and German girls, a Highlander boy and more. Unpaginated, approximately 7 1/2 by 9 inches, bound in illustrated boards (the cover illustration is a composite taken from two plates inside) with a cloth spine. From the library of children's author and poet Myra Cohn Livingston (1926-1996), with her bookplate on the front pastedown. Underneath this is a previous owner's name - that of Peter Wilson Strader IV, who worked as a freelance director and scenic designer and was the guiding force behind the Players Theater of Sarasota, Florida for many years - dated in 1932 with the notation that this had been his father's book (the illustrated page preceding the title page includes a penciled gift inscription to this effect also.)

New York: Dodd, Mead, 1945. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - The fifth and final book in this popular series. Set in 1944-1945 during World War II, this includes a preface by the author in which she talks about the restrictions placed on women journalists and how often these were circumvented. In this book, the career of her fictional character, Peggy Foster is based on those of real women journalists - Mrs Elizabeth May Craig, Sonia Tamara and Lee Carson, the only American woman war correspondent who crossed the Remagan Bridge. In 1911, the author, Emma Bugbee, was the first woman hired by the New York Herald as a reporter, and she worked there for 55 years. Her assignment was to cover a weeks-long march of suffragists from New York City to Albany. She was also a founder of the Newspaper Women's Club of New York, and one of just a "few prominent female reporters who sought to expand the role of women in the male-dominated world of journalism that existed when she began her career. She was best known for her intimate coverage of Eleanor Roosevelt, beginning in 1933 amidst the early days of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's terms of office and ending with a reminiscence of the former First Lady, written on the day of her death in 1962." An association copy INSCRIBED by Bugbee to "Bess herself with love" ("Bess" was probably noted reporter Bess Furman Armstong who covered the White House during 5 administrations and was, like Bugbee, close to Eleanor Roosevelt) and SIGNED "Peggy May Emma" ("May" refers to Elizabeth May Craig, the journalist whose activities were paralleled by Peggy in this series) A book which is now quite hard to find, scarce in dustjacket and with an interesting and uncommon signature. xii, 276 pp. Map endpapers.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926 dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - Originally published in 1917 these poems were completely revised for this edition, with some omitted "to make room for new and perhaps better ones." Introduction by Edgar Lee Masters. INSCRIBED on the front endaper "For Harry Lewis, an old book from a new friend." An interesting association copy with the embossed seal of Harry's wife, Marilyn Lewis on the rear endpaper. While Harry was also an actor, he and Marilyn are best known for their influence on the restaurant scene in Hollywood. In 1950, they opened the first "Hamburger Hamlet" on Sunrise Boulevard to a crowd packed with Harry's actor friends, including Tony Curtis and Sammy Davis, Jr. In addition, Marilyn had a couture clothing line, and dressed such notables as Nancy Reagan, and produced the award winning Showtime film "The Passion of Ayn Rand." 307 pp.

Frankfurt, Germany: Verlag Moritz Diesterweg (1977). First edition - A short story by this Black Panther leader and activist which was originally published in 1969 in Playboy Magazine. The story of a gang leader in Southern California who steals a powerful flashlight from a car and relishes the sense of power it gives him - although he also feels it is the beginning of a new direction in his life. This separate publication is a small pamphlet with the text in English, a title in the Diesterwegs Neusprachliche Bibliothek. Includes an introduction and annotations. "File copy, Joan Daves" stamped on front cover and title page. An interesting association copy with "File copy, Joan Daves" stamped on front cover and title page. Joan Daves (1919-1997) who escaped from the Nazi regime in the 1930s, later became an editor at Harper and was perhaps best known as Martin Luther King's literary agent. 65 pp. Ê

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - A research team deep in the jungle disappears after a mysterious and grisly gorilla attack. A subsequent team, armed with the latest gifts of advanced technology (that is, 1980s technology) as well as a sign-language-speaking simian named Amy, follows the original team's tracks in search of the diamonds of the lost city of Zinj. An association copy, INSCRIBED by Crichton on the front endpaper "for Jim Coburn, with my affection and regards" and simply signed Michael. Actor James Coburn (1928-2002) starred in the 1981 science fiction thriller 'Looker' which Crichton wrote and directed (as well as in the 1972 medical thrller, The Carey Treatment, based on Crichton's first novel, A Case of Need, written under the Jeffrey Hudson pseudonym) 348 pp. ISBN: 0-394513924.

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899. SIGNED hardcover first edition - An account of life in the far northern Arctic regions of Scandinavia - Lapland, the Swedish and Norwegian Mountains, and the Arctic Ocean - where the sun is not seen for 67 days, creating a long night ruled by the moon, the stars and the aurora borealis - written for older children (or "dear Young Folks" as Du Chaillu greets them in his introduction.) Illustrated by M.J. Burns with a frontispiece of Du Chaillu on skis and 23 inserted glossy plates. An association copy INSCRIBED by Du Chaillu on the front endpaper to his niece "To Marie, With the great love of her uncle, Paul" and signed in full and dated October 18, 1899. Uncommon thus. 266 pp plus 4 pp of publisher's advertisements.

New York: Viking, 1940. Hardcover first edition - The scarce third book by this Southern California author whom Charles Bukowski referred to as "my god. ... a lifetime influence on my writing" - a writer who really was ahead of his time. A collection of short stories illustrated by Valenti Angelo. While this copy has some flaws, it also has a unique provenance: on the front endpapers is a bookplate with the name removed and a couple of stamps - one of which is of the type usually described as 'previous owner's name and address stamp' - in this case, the name and address is that of John Fante in Malibu, California! According to his son Dan, this indicates that it was Fante's personal copy. 211 pp.

Boston: Little Brown, (1965) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - A biography covering Dr. Connie Guion's early life, growing up in North Carolina near Lincolnton, her attendance at Wellesley, and as a professor at Vassar and Sweet Briar. She earned her M.D. from Cornell in 1917, graduating first in her class, with an internship and residency at the ornell division at Bellevue, where - among other things - she successfully rebelled against the 24 hour shifts and founded a clinic for affordable care. To cite just a few of the firsts in her career, she was the first woman in the U.S. to be made a professor of clinical medicine; the first woman to become a member of the medical board of the New York Hospital; and the first living female doctor in the U.S. to have a hospital building named in her honor. The biography ends in 1919, when Guion was 37, though she would practice medicine until her death at 88, becoming known as 'the dean of women doctors.' But in addition to being a valuable account of a pioneering woman doctor, this copy is a rather poignant association copy: it is INSCRIBED to Mrs Zachary Scott "whose son is proud of her." That son was the actor, Zachary Scott, perhaps best known for his role in 'Mildred Pierce' although he had returned to the stage before his death. In early 1965, Elaine Steinbeck (his first wife) said that Zach called her to a New York hospital, where he was dying of cancer. "He said 'I'm going home to die and I wanted to spend the day with you.' A kind of watch went on from afar, the Austin papers respecting the family's privacy at Sweetbrush, publishing brief updates on Scotts health from time to time until he died on Oct. 3 1965." (benevity) This book was published just a few month's before his death, and it is possible that Dr Guion was involved in his care. Notation of "Sweetbrush, 1965" on the half title page. Review of book tipped onto page opposite title page. Illustrated with photographs. Index. xii 378 pp.

Boston: Little Brown, (1965) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - A biography covering Dr. Connie Guion's early life, growing up in North Carolina near Lincolnton, her attendance at Wellesley, and as a professor at Vassar and Sweet Briar. She earned her M.D. from Cornell in 1917, graduating first in her class, with an internship and residency at the ornell division at Bellevue, where - among other things - she successfully rebelled against the 24 hour shifts and founded a clinic for affordable care. To cite just a few of the firsts in her career, she was the first woman in the U.S. to be made a professor of clinical medicine; the first woman to become a member of the medical board of the New York Hospital; and the first living female doctor in the U.S. to have a hospital building named in her honor. The biography ends in 1919, when Guion was 37, though she would practice medicine until her death at 88, becoming known as 'the dean of women doctors.' Earlier in her career, starting 1908 until she left 5 years later to attend medical school, Guion was a chemistry professor at Sweet Briar College (she is also credited with founding the school bookstore) and at the time this book was published the Connie Guion Science Building was under construction at Sweet Briar. INSCRIBED to a Sweet Briar alumna, Cordelia [Penn] Cannon and dated April 22, 1965 - in the month of publication, Laid in is a small newspaper clipping showing Dr. Guion as the cornerstone for the Guion Science Building was set in place. Illustrated with photographs. Index. xii 378 pp.

New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1933. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - The University of Virginia Institute for Research in the Social Sciences Monograph No. 16. A very detailed and thorough look at the prisons and jails throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, with a look at the history, the current procedures for everything ranging from feeding, control, health, and a look towards the future. The introduction makes the point that it is very difficult to make improvements to the system, which is deeply imbedded in our social system and benefits from the often mistaken assumption that things are being well-handled. An interesting association copy INSCRIBED by one of the authors - Delbert Mann - to his son, Delbert Mann, Jr, the Academy Award winning director of "Marty" as well as the director of many other films, including "Dark at the Top of the Stairs," "Separate Tables," and more. Illustrated with figures of a Jail Record Card and Punch Card, two fold-out maps and many tables. Index, xvi, 453 pp.

New York: Henry Holt, (1951.) dj. Hardcover first edition - A late and uncommon collection of poetry by Hughes - a book which attempts to catch in verse the variety of Harlem life, a world in transition after the war and one where African Americans still have to demand justice and respect in a mostly hostile world. This includes what is perhaps Hughes' best known poem: 'Harlem' - "What happens to a dream deferred?/ Does it dry up/ Like a raisin in the sun? . . " An interesting association copy inscribed on the front endpaper "To my dear friend Kathy by way of my mother Alice C. Browning. I know you will cherish this as I cherish all of her books" and signed by Barbara Cordell, Browning's daugher, dated in 1985, the year Browning died. Browning was an active member of the Chicago Black Renaissance, who, among other things, founded and published the 1940s magazine "Negro Story" which included contributions by Langston Hughes as well as nearly every prominent African American writer of the time, including Ralph Ellison, Chester Himes, Frank Marshall Davis, Margaret Burroughs, Richard Wright, Gwendolyn Brooks, Owen Dodson, as well as her own stories under the pseudonym of Richard Bentley. 75 pp.