John Michael Lang Fine Books

jmlbooks@isomedia.com (206) 624 4100

5416 – 20th Avenue NW

Seattle, WA 98107 USA

1. [Automobiles] Serving the Motorist. What the Automobile Club of Southern California Offers Its Members. Los Angeles: Automobile Club of Southern California, circa 1925. 6" x 4.25". 32pp. Decorated stapled wrappers. Near fine condition. With informative text about the club's benefits and activities, details about its sign posting program, California touring information, their outing bureau and legal department, insurance, financing services, official hotels and garages, the club's highway patrol and emergency road services, the club's licensing department, and more. With many black & white photo illustrations and a charming double page map of the club's Southern California field of service. $45.00

2. Barton, Ralph. God's Country. A Short History. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1929. First edition. 8.25" x 5.75". 330 pages, plus index. Red cloth spine, blue cloth boards, silver lettering. Very light soiling to the spine, one leaf with a short closed tear, else near fine condition. This first edition was limited to only 110 copies, each signed by Barton, who was one of the foremost artistic chroniclers of the Jazz Age. A very uncommon book. $150.00

3. [Books About Books] Johnson, Henry Lewis. Gutenberg and the Book of Books. With Biographical Notes, Reproductions of Specimen Pages and a Listing of Known Copies. New York: William Edwin Rudge, 1932. First edition. 16" x 11.5". 21pp. Brown cloth with gilt lettering. Fine condition, in the original clamshell box. Limited edition, one of only 750 copies. A good scholarly study of the first European book printed from moveable type. $125.00

4. [Broadcasting] Low, A. M. Wireless Possibilities. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1924. First edition. 6" x 4.5". 77pp. Blue cloth with printed paper labels on the spine and front board. Corners and spine tips a little worn, else VG+ condition. With four diagrams. A treatise on the future possibilities of wireless communications. With chapters on sound in wireless, wireless and war, and "Radio Television." A very uncommon book. $45.00

5. [Broadcasting] Broadcasting in Japan. A Historical Review. Tokyo: Nippon Hoso Kyokai, 1963. 9.75" x 7". 122pp. Printed light brown wrappers. The upper spine tip is a little worn, else nice VG+ condition. With the ownership signature and stamp of author and academic John Kittross. With numerous black & white photo illustrations. An overview of radio and television in Japan, as well as audiences, technical facilities, technical research laboratories, commercial broadcasters, broadcasts of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, etc. $35.00

6. [Cocktails] Fleischmann's Mixer's Manual. New York: The Fleischmann Distilling Corporation, 1947. 6.25" x 3.25". 26pp. Color illustrated glossy wrappers. Near fine condition. A colorful guide to making classic cocktails. With many illustrations.

$30.00 $

30.00

7. [Comic Books] Wertham, Frederic. Seduction of the Innocent. New York & Toronto: Rinehart & Company, Inc., 1954. First edition. 8" x 5.5". 397pp. Gray paper covered boards with a black cloth spine, in dust wrapper. Fine condition. The VG jacket has some edge wear, a faded spine, and a split along the front hinge. A pioneering work that warned that comic books cause juvenile delinquency. Along with Elvis Presley's pelvis, presumably. $200.00

8. [Computers] What Every Businessman Should Know About Electronic Brains, or Facts That Will Make You A Cocktail Party Expert On Office Automation. New York: Sperry Rand Corporation, 1960. 7.25" x 3.25". 21pp. Color illustrated stapled glossy wrappers. Fine condition. With colorful and goofy illustrations thoughout. An early promotional booklet trying to sell businesses on the uses of computers. $35.00

9. [Faulkner] Scribner's Magazine. June, 1931. Volume LXXXIX, Number 6. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1931. 9.75" x 6.5". 113pp., plus ads. Light soiling and a little edge wear; generally VG+ condition. This issue features the first appearance of one of William Faulkner's most highly regarded short stories, Spotted Horses. This issue also includes contributions by Carleton Beals and Margery Latimer. $35.00

TERRIFIC JO MORA MENU ART FROM 1937

10. [Food - Menus – San Francisco] The Fable Menu. Hotel Drake – Wilshire. Single

sheet, folded to 6.75" x 10.25". San Francisco. Lunch and dinner menu. Printed

date of December 24, 1937. Tiny crease to one corner, else about fine with very

rich and vibrant colors.

Delightful cover art by noted California painter, sculptor and illustrator Jo Mora

(1876 - 1947), who was also renowned for his fanciful murals in local hotels and

restaurants. He had a special knock for painting charming animals engaged in

human activities, which you see on this menu.

The Drake - Wiltshire building at 340 Stockton (just off Union Square) dates from

the mid teens of the last century, and is now the very upscale Campton Place Hotel.

$90.00

11. Foss, Sam Walter. Songs of War and Peace. Boston: Lee and Shepard Publishers, 1899. 7.25" x 5". 146pp. Blue cloth with gilt lettering and gorgeous gilt and blue rules and vine and wheat stalk illustrations. Foss was an American editor, poet, and humorist. He wrote for the Boston Globe, and was editor of the Yankee Blade. This copy bears a seven line holograph poem by Foss, signed in full and dated 1898. Near fine condition, except that there is a 2 inch closed tear and crease on the first leaf which affects the inscription. No writing or text is lacking. $125.00

12. Gallup, George & Saul F. Rae. The Pulse of Democracy. The Public Opinion Poll and How It Works. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1940. First edition. 8" x 5.25". 335pp. Blue cloth, in dust wrapper. Fine, bright condition. The jacket is somewhat rubbed and worn. A very uncommon early study of the science of political polling. Gallup began his career in political prognostication in 1932, and eventually built a company into the gold standard of electoral pollsters. $75.00

13. [Gandhi] Patel, M. S. The Educational Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi. Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House, 1953. First edition. 8.25" x 5.5". 288pp. Printed wrappers, in the original dust wrapper. Rear wrapper and a few leaves bumped at the lower corner, else VG+ condition. With a foreword by Hansa Mehta. Uncommon; this edition limited to only 1500 copies. $50.00

14. Gandhi, M. K. To the Students. Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House, (1949). First edition. 8.25" x 5.25". 324pp. Paper covered boards with a beige cloth spine, in dust wrapper. Near fine condition. The jacket has a little edge wear and a darkened spine. With an introduction by Nirmalkumar Rose. A treatise on guiding principles for young people by the Indian spiritual leader and social philosopher. $175.00

15. [Graphic Design] Dell, John. Layouts For Advertising. A Useful Handbook of 700 Layout Suggestions Used in Magazines, Newspapers, Booklets, Folders, Broadsides, Letterheads and Posters With Specimens of Type and Borders. Chicago: Frederick J. Drake & Co., (1928). First edition. 7.25" x 4.75". 175pp. Black flexible cloth with gilt lettering. Some light soiling and general wear, spine faded; VG+ condition. With an introduction by noted advertising executive, J.M. Watson. $75.00

16. [Humor] Butler, Ellis Parker. Dollarature, or the Drug - Store Book. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1930. First edition. 7" x 4". 26pp. Orange illustrated paper covered boards, in dust wrapper. Tasteful bookplate of a noted collector, else fine condition. The rear panel of the jacket has some light soiling, else near fine condition. This copy signed and inscribed by the author on the first leaf, with a charming sketch of a pig beneath the signature. A superior copy of this hilarious book by the popular American humorist. $75.00

17. [Idaho] Greenough, W. Earl. First 100 Years of the Coeur D'Alene Mining Region 1846 - 1946. Mullan, Idaho: W. Earl Greenough, 1947. 6" x 6". 40pp. Spiral bound with illustrated. Near fine condition. With the folding map at the rear of the book; it is a reproduction of Captain John Mullan's map of the military road from Fort

Walla Walla to Fort Benton. With good text about Idaho mines, the miners and magnates involved, etc., as well as many black & white photo illustrations. $45.00

18. [Japanese American Internment] Movie Ticket. Minidoka Community Activities. Hunt, Idaho. Appr. 1" x 2". Printed on one side only. An interesting relic of one of the Japanese - American internment camps during WW II. I find it sadly ironic that admission to the film was eight cents plus an additional two cents taxes. I wonder what the prisoners thought about being taxed for the privilege of being injustly sent to prison. $40.00

19. McCarthy, Cormac. The Crossing. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994. First edition. 8" x 6". 426pp. Black paper covered boards with a black cloth spine, illustrated dust jacket. VG+ condition; the book has been read and has some light wear and has an ownership signature. NOT near fine. Near fine condition jacket. A novel set in the New Mexico - Mexico border area of the 1930's, and the second book in McCarthy's Border Trilogy. This copy signed and briefly inscribed by McCarthy on the half title; very uncommon thus. Images of the book and / or the inscription can be supplied. $250.00

20. McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media. The Extensions of Man. New York, Toronto, London: McGraw - Hill Book Company, 1964. First edition. 8.25" x 5.5". 359pp. White and black cloth, in dust wrapper. Near fine condition; VG+ jacket with mild soiling and edge wear. An influential book in which the author proposes that the media, not the content that they carry, should be the focus of study. He suggests that the medium affects the society in which it plays a role mainly by the characteristics of the medium rather than the content. The book is considered a pioneering study in media theory, and is the source of the well-known phrase "The medium is the message". $300.00

21. Meany, Edmond S. Circular of Information Regarding Indian Popular Names. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1915). First edition thus. 9.5" x 5.75". 8pp. Two sheets, folded to form a booklet. Near fine condition. This copy signed by the author on the front cover. Meany was a much loved faculty member of the University of Washington. This Smithsonian / Bureau of American Ethnology pamphlet includes Indian words and their English language translations from 13 separate Native languages. $60.00

22. [Military History] Blackburn, 2nd Lt. Alex. Sight. Number 1, June, 1953. Fort Bragg, North Carolina: Sixth Radio and Broadcasting and Leaflet Group, 1953. 8" x 8". 30pp. Stapled wrappers. VG+ condition. A periodical produced by American soldiers studying and teaching psychological warfare and propaganda techniques. With articles by James Mize on psychological warfare, Indochina (Vietnam), brain washing in Red China, Capt. Frederick Schnurr on psywar in WW II, etc. With numerous black & white photo illustrations. $35.00

23. [Movies] Dale, Edgar. How To Appreciate Motion Pictures. A Manual of Motion - Picture Criticism Prepared For High - School Students. New York: Macmillan, 1933. First edition. 7.75" x 5.25". 243pp. Black cloth with gilt lettering. Mild rubbing, ownership signature, one small pencil mark on the first blank, else near fine condition. With many black & white photo illustrations. The author was an Ohio State University education professor who wrote this pioneering book for use in high school film appreciation classes. With chapters covering the theory of film appreciation, movie selection, the history of movies, film reviewing, and much more. Dale clearly gave students more credit than did the censorship - happy enforcers of the Motion Picture Production Code. $75.00

24. [Movies] Still Photograph of Debbie Reynolds and Harve Presnell in The Unsinkable Molly Brown. 1964. 13.5" x 10.5". With a little wear to the edges and a couple faint creases, else nice condition. Signed and inscribed by both actors in ink. Reynolds inscribes on the white part of Presnell's portrait "For Ron, Wishing you happiness always, Debbie" while Presnell wrote on Debbie's portrait "Ron, All best, Harve Presnell." Reynolds was nominated for the best actress Oscar for this role. $60.00

HOLLYWOOD...RIGHT BEFORE "IT" ALL HIT THE FAN

25. [Movies] Motion Picture Studio Directory Trade Annual 1921. New York: Motion

Picture News Inc., (1921). First edition. Large 8vo. 6" x 9.25". 422p. Bound in

flexible green buckram, gilt stamped. VG+ copy.

A fascinating and informative business directory for the movie industry, issued only

months before the news of the first of many 1920s Hollywood scandals.

This is a virtual encyclopedia of important people in Hollywood at the time...not just

the renowned actors and actresses but

producers, directors, scenarists, cinematographers, etc. Not only is there a printed

directory of hundreds of movers and shakers (often including their home addresses

and telephone numbers!) but there are several hundred photo portrait

advertisements, mostly full - or half-page.

It is haunting to see happy looking photos of many of the stars who became

embroiled in scandals related to murder, drugs, etc., starting with Fatty Arbuckle's

ordeal in 1921. Also with photos of William Desmond Taylor, Mabel

Normand, Mary Miles Minter, Thomas Ince, etc. Any student of Hollywood

history will know those names and the stories which go with them.

Other eye-catching photos include Tod Browning, cowboy star Buck Jones (who

died in the Boston Cocoanut Grove fire in 1942), producer Irvin Willat, who built

the famous and still-standing "Witches House" in Beverly Hills, the often-

overlooked pioneer African-American actor Noble Johnson, etc.

One of the most interesting photo ads is for Chinese-American actress "Lady Tsen

Mei" (1888-1985) which announces her upcoming starring role in Lotus

Blossom...the photo shows the actress relaxing off camera with the director and the

camera man. She is dressed in stylish Western clothes, and the caption to the photo

says "Three Pals."

We also were intrigued by the photos of so many of the scenarists of the time...the

men and the many women who wrote stories and the subtitles which accompanied

so many silent films.

This is a very uncommon film reference volume, and much more interesting than the

usual movie star portrait compilations of the era. $150.00

26. Pinchot, Amos. Why Trout Have Red Spots. New York: America's Future, no date, circa 1939. 11" x 8.5". Single sheet, folded once to form a 4pp. booklet. Folded for mailing, light general wear, else VG+ condition. This circular is a comic Native American - themed fable about American leftist politics. With two comic illustrations by Rube Goldberg who won a Pulitzer Prize for a political cartoon in 1948. $35.00

27. [Spiritualism] Greber, Johannes. Communication With the Spirit World. New York: Macoy Publishing Company, 1932. First American edition. 8.5" x 5.75". 429pp. Purple cloth with gilt lettering, in dust wrapper. Boards slightly faded along the bottom edges, else near fine condition. The bottom of the jacket has a one inch chip, else VG+ condition. Greber (1874-1944) was a controversial Catholic priest turned Spiritualist. He claimed to have been informed, via psychic communication, of errors in the Bible, and retranslated the New Testament with the help of God's 'spirits.' The story of his experiences and communications with these spirits was recounted by him in this volume.

$75.00

28. Thorn, F.M. Methods and Results, Voyages of Discovery and Exploration on the

Northwest Coast of America From 1539 to 1603. Appendix No. 7 - Report For 1886.

Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1887. 14.5" x 12". 253pp. Printed

wrappers. With a little edge wear, else nice VG+ condition. This volume covers the

travels of Ferrelo, Cabrillo, Vizcaino, and Ulloa for the same areas. The accounts are

arranged in parallel columns for easy comparison. Most of these voyages cover

California, including the Baja California coast. With a folding map at the end.

$125.00

29. [Twain] Le Row, Caroline B. English As She Is Taught. Genuine Answers To Some

Examination Questions Asked In Our Public Schools. New York: The Century Co., 1905.

6.75" x 4.5". 108pp. Red cloth with gilt lettering. Mild soiling, spine a bit faded, else

nice VG+ condition. With an introduction by Mark Twain; it is a reprinting of his

review of Le Row's book which was published in Century Magazine, in April, 1887.

An early printing of a quite scarce book. $50.00

30. [Macklin Bible] The Holy Bible. Embellished with Engravings

from Pictures and Designs by the Most Eminent English Artists.

London: Printed for Thomas Macklin by Thomas Bensley,

1800. Seven 18" x 14.5" volumes. Each bound in full light

brown calf with gilt border decorations to the boards, gilt

decorated spines with raised bands, all edges gilt. With light

edge wear, offsetting from some of the engravings, other

trivial imperfections, but generally a beautiful and imposing set

of one of the great English language Bibles.

The Macklin Bible is thought to be the largest English Bible printed on a letterpress. With more than 100 allegorical headpieces and tailpieces and some 70 large folio sized copper plate engravings after Fuseli, Joshua Reynolds, William Hamilton, Angelica Kauffman, West, and others. Described by one scholar as the "most prodigious form of scripture in English ever published, the Macklin Bible features very large and bold type, fine Whatman paper, [both of which were created specifically for this set], and a series of engravings by some of the most celebrated artists of the period. Like the Boydell "Shakespeare Gallery" (also printed by Bensley), the Macklin Bible is a vast picture book with illustrations that are grand both in size and emotional impact. According to DNB, Macklin (1752/3 - 1800) announced his intention to produce a lavishly illustrated, luxuriously produced folio Bible in 1789, and he spent the next 11 years and £30,000 making his dream a reality. His efforts paid off: "the subscription list for 703 copies at £46 1s. apiece was headed by the king, the queen, and the prince of Wales." Poor Macklin did not live to see his completed masterpiece which the DNB describes as "the most ambitious edition produced in Britain, often pirated but never rivalled." Additional images of this magnificent set can be supplied. Shipping and insurance will be charged at cost. $4,500.00