Rare books from Royal Books, Inc.

New York: Ace Books, 1953. First Edition. No. D-15. First Edition, a paperback original. INSCRIBED by Burroughs, once on the title page of "Junkie": "For Allen De Loach / With friendship and all best wishes / William Lee Burroughs / April 27, 1974"; and once on the title page of Maurice Helbrant's "Narcotic Agent," printed dos-a-dos with "Junkie": "For Allen De Loach / William S. Burroughs." Burroughs' first book, inscribed to a close friend and important supporter. Allen De Loach edited the mimeo journal "Intrepid" out of Buffalo, New York. Like "Floating Bear," "Intrepid" was a mailing-list-distributed mimeo. Its issue 14/15 was dedicated entirely to the work of Burroughs and was the first serious and comprehensive examination of Burroughs' post-"Naked Lunch" work. De Loach often hosted Burroughs both at his home and for readings and events at SUNY Buffalo, where he also taught. Their friendship continued until Burroughs' death. De Loach also published most of the Beats under his Intrepid Press… Read More

Burbank, CA: Warner Brothers, 1959. Draft script for the 1960 film "Ocean's Eleven," seen here as "Oceans Eleven or And the Angels Sing." Copy belonging to actor Peter Lawford, with his name on the front wrapper and his manuscript annotations throughout. Lawford owned the rights to the film, and accompanying this script is a signed note written on his wife's stationery that reads: "Oceans 11 / $10,000 / 50-50- / P. Lawford," a copy of a contract between Lawford and talent agent Milton Ebbins, and a clipping of a full-page advertisement for the film from "Variety" magazine. A classic and well-loved heist film, "Ocean's Eleven" is the quintessential Rat Pack picture, in which a group of World War II veterans attempts a series of high-profile casino robberies in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve. Steven Soderbergh directed a popular 2001 remake of the film (with two sequels), starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon. Set in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and shot on location in both cities. Pale… Read More

Hollywood: Universum Film [UFA] / Paramount Pictures, 1927. Original advertising herald for the US release of the 1927 film, a shortened 115-minute version re-cut by American playwright Channing Pollock, who is credited on the herald. Interestingly, the herald credits the film as joint production of Paramount and UFA, just prior to the formation of the larger umbrella production company Parufamet, which included UFA, Paramount, and MGM. 4.5 x 6 inches folded, 8.75 x 6 inches unfolded. Near Fine with some light soil. Ebert I. Eureka Masters of Cinema 16. Rosenbaum 1000. Schrader Canon Fodder 5. Godard, Histoires du cinema.

Culver City, CA: RKO Radio Pictures, 1932. Screenplay archive for the 1932 film. Archive consists of a Revised Final script and a typescript rewrite of the film's opening sequence onboard a yacht. The rewrite credits an unknown screenwriter named "Eliscu." Based on the Richard Connell short story first published in "Colliers" in 1924. A rare set of scripts for a groundbreaking film. A deranged millionaire, living on an island, arranges for a yacht to be shipwrecked on his shores, whereupon he arranges for the survivors to be hunted. Decades ahead of its time, and almost iconoclastic in the cynicism of its subtext, Pichel and Schoedsack used ideas from their film "Gow the Headhunter (1931), and predicted their classic "King Kong" (1933), and dozens of other films that would follow using a theme of man being the hunted rather than the hunter. Revised Final script: Tan titled wrappers, noted as REVISED FINAL SCRIPT on the front wrapper, rubber-stamped PLEASE RETURN TO STORY DEPT. / RKO STUDIOS,… Read More

N.p.: Veriscope, 1897. Two vintage fragments from a 63mm film print of the 1897 boxing match between "Gentleman" Jim Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons. The first fragment consists of six frames depicting the fighters in a clinch, while the second consists of four frames depicting the fighters in the center of the ring about to trade punches. At over 100 minutes, the film is the first feature length release anywhere, and, with an aspect ratio of 1.65:1, the first widescreen film ever produced. Though fragments such as this survive, the film in its entirety is considered lost. A five frame fragment is held the National Media Museum in the UK, and approximately 19 minutes are available for viewing, but OCLC locates no fragments in institutions. The heavy weight title bout took place on March 17, 1897 in Carson City, Nevada, which legalized boxing specifically to host this fight, beginning the long and storied relationship between the Silver State and the sweet science. Boxing was already a popular… Read More

London: N.p., 1969. Draft script for the 1969 film. An early version of the screenplay with the provisional title "A Kestrel for a Knave." "6x" in black manuscript marker on top right of title page. The second film (and breakthrough) by esteemed British social realist filmmaker Ken Loach. Based upon the 1968 novel by Barry Hines "A Kestrel for a Knave," a heart-wrenching story of a working underclass youth who finds temporary respite from his oppressive life, and even grace, in the training and caring of a found fledgling kestrel whom he calls Kes. Set in Yorkshire, England, shot on location in Yorkshire, England. Burgundy wrapper with a die-cut window in the British style. Title page present, with credits for author Barry Hines. 91 leaves, with last page of text numbered 90. Mechanical duplication, rectos only. Pages Very Good Plus, wrapper Very Good, bound internally with two flat metal brads. Eureka Masters of Cinema 151. Criterion Collection 561.

N.p.: N.p., 1951. Vintage script for the 1951 musical play. Copy belonging to cast member Steve Elmore, who was an uncredited understudy or replacement in the role of Sandy, with his name and character's name in manuscript ink and pencil to the title page, and several substantive manuscript pencil annotations throughout. Basis for the 1969 film, made 18 years later, directed by Joshua Logan, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, and Jean Seberg. A gold mining camp is established in the California wilderness with a motley crew of inhabitants, including a young Mexican miner forced to live outside of the town because of his ethnicity. Set in California. Red titled wrappers. Title page present, with book and lyrics credits for ALAN JAY LERNER and music credits for FREDERICK LOEWE. 88 leaves, with last page of text numbered 2-7-33. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only, with one white undated revision page on onionskin stock laid in. Pages Very Good plus, wrapper Very Good, bound with two gold brads.

Indianapolis: O'Dell and Shields Studios, 1956. Two vintage photo albums documenting Dean Van Lines Indy car team before, during, and after the Indianapolis 500 in 1955 and 1956, with legendary driver Jimmy Bryan at the helm. Several photographs stamped on the verso by the O'Dell and Shields Studios of Indianapolis, longtime contract photographers for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Dean, a California moving company magnate and noted championship car owner, began his association with Bryan in 1954, when the driver would score his first significant win, the AAA National Championship. The pair would win an astonishing 17 national championship races over the course of the next four years. The 1955 album contains 12 photographs, capturing the moments before the 500, with several views of the team performing last-minute modifications to the Kuzma-Offenhauser, better known as the Dean Van Lines #2 Special, custom-built by Eddie Kuzma for the 1955 race. Also included in the album are several action… Read More

Los Angeles: Twentieth Century-Fox, 1958. Final script for the 1958 film. Missing page 70, likely as used or issued. Based on a 1957 short story by George Langelaan, about a scientist who is transformed into a grotesque, human-fly hybrid after his experiments with a matter-transportation machine go very wrong. A breakthrough hit for actor Vincent Price as well as director Kurt Neumann, although Neumann would pass away a month after the film's release. Basis for David Cronenberg's 1986 film, and its subsequent sequel, "The Fly II," in 1989. Set and shot partly on location in Montreal. Housed in a custom navy clamshell box. Blue titled wrappers, noted as FINAL on the front wrapper, rubber-stamped copy No. 65 and production No. 792, dated FEBRUARY 27, 1958. Title page present, dated February 27, 1958, noted as Final, with credits for screenwriter James Clavell. 121 leaves, with last page of text numbered 121. Mimeograph duplication on eye-rest green stock, rectos only, with blue revision pages… Read More

N.p.: Russ Meyer, 2001. Archive of thirteen vintage oversize photographs by director Russ Meyer, including twelve in color and one in black-and-white. Five photographs signed by Meyer on the verso. All of the photographs are from an edition of 20 and are numbered on the verso, with all twelve color photographs numbered "1/20," and the black and white photograph numbered "2/20." Struck circa 2001, from Meyer's personal collection. Meyer is best known for his distinctive films in the sexploitation genre of the 1960s and 1970s, but also worked as a still photographer throughout his career, shooting for Playboy in the magazine's early years, including three centerfolds, one of which starred his then-wife, Eve Meyer. The earliest photographs in the collection, consistent with the "nudist" aesthetic of the period, are "Model Playing Ping Pong" (circa 1962), and "Blonde in the Grass" (circa 1964). Notable in the archive are images of Meyer regulars Lorna Maitland and Haji. Three of the photographs show… Read More

San Francisco: N.p., 1915. Archive of five vintage oversize photographs of San Francisco, circa 1909-1915, relating variously to Portola Week, the U.S.S. South Dakota battleship, the Panama-Pacific Exposition, and the opening of the Panama Canal. Manuscript captions on the rectos of each. Portola Week was a five-day festival that originated in 1909, in honor of Spanish explorer Don Gaspar de Portola's expedition to the San Francisco Bay in 1769. The festival featured parades, fireworks, and lighted floats, led by a man dressed as Portola, accompanied by dragoons, that processed from the Golden Gate to Pier 2. The festival took place a second time in 1913, and then not until 1948, when it was revived by a local civic club. The collection on offer here includes a photograph captioned "the king and queen of our last celebration," ostensibly taken during the first Portola Week in 1909. The Panama-Pacific Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco from February 20 to December 4, 1915. The… Read More

Hollywood: Capitol Records, 1966. Vintage undistributed promotional poster for the notorious "butcher cover" of the Beatles' 1966 album "Yesterday and Today." The photograph was quickly withdrawn by Capitol Records after public outrage, to be replaced by the "steamer trunk" photograph. The poster has been bootlegged numerous times: vintage copies have the word "Incredible" printed in bright red across the top, and the Capitol logo at the bottom in jet black (as opposed to dark brown). Many of the known bootlegs have a small bluish blemish, with a light dot at the center, to the right of the word "Yesterday" on the album cover. 18 x 22 inches. Easily Near Fine, never distributed, unfolded and rolled as issued.

Detroit: General Motors, 1969. Collection of 48 vintage black and white publicity photographs of the Chevrolet lineup of cars and trucks for 1969. The collection appears to be the entire Chevrolet lineup of vehicles for 1969, and were likely for use in print advertising. One, the Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe, has annotations in manuscript orange wax pencil to the recto, likely specifications for print, and manuscript pencil annotations on the verso. The photographs feature 25 side views, 20 3/4 front views, two 3/4 rear views, and one overhead view. The Chevelle SS 396 Sport Coupe features a 3/4 front view as well as a side view, and the Custom El Camino includes a duplicate 3/4 view photograph. Uncommon to find in such a large grouping, the collection includes three convertibles coupes, ten sedans, one convertible sedan, six station wagons, two Suburbans, two vans, four pickup trucks, four cab trucks, and three utility vans. Some of the most popular muscle cars ever made were manufactured by… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1940. Archive of 26 vintage photographs of mid-Atlantic roadside alert signs with advertisements, circa 1930s-1940s. Includes 21 double weight photographs and two matte-finish. Three photographs bear annotations in manuscript pencil on the verso. The collection contains thirteen photographs of alert signs advertising Champion spark plugs, seven advertising hotels (the Biltmore in Dayton, Hotel Sinton in Cincinnati, Hotel Adelphia in Philadelphia, Hotel Schenley in Pittsburgh, Hotel Webster Hall in Detroit, and two for Hotel Elizabeth Carteret in Elizabeth, New Jersey), three advertising radio stations (WJW and WADC of Akron and WSPD of Toledo), and three for various automobile and travel-related businesses. Ostensibly designed to warn drivers of forthcoming crossroads, turns, or junctions, the roadside alert signs presented here were perhaps more effective for the prime advertising real estate of their plinths. The circular "alert" section, containing text or symbols of approaching… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1966. Four vintage reference photographs of director François Truffaut on the set of the 1966 film. Two with printed mimeo snipes affixed to the versos. Based on the 1953 novel by Ray Bradbury. Truffaut's fifth film, set in a dystopian future in which all books are burned and free thought is discouraged. Set and shot on location in England. Ranging in size from 7.75 x 9.25 inches to 8 x 10 inches. Near Fine to Very Good plus.