Hollywood loved books in the 1930’s and 40’s. Not only were many of the films adapted from books but books also played a pivotal role in promoting the films.
Above is Alan Ladd with a well-designed, super-sized copy of The Great Gatsby. Ladd played Jay Gatsby in the 1949 film version.
and here are a few more striking examples:
Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor promote High Society Blues, 1930
Loretta Young, Alan Ladd– And Now Tomorrow , 1944
Jennifer Jones, Charles Boyer– Cluny Brown,1946
Toby Wing, actress in the 20’s and 30’s
All images via Sergio Leemann’s A Certain Cinema, an amazing repository featuring over 12,000 images.
Unfortunately, none of these giant editions have made it to the marketplace yet but here are copies of the original books including copies of the crown jewel of the Modern First Edition genre of book collecting ; A First Edition of The Great Gatsby in the original dust jacket.
The Great Gatsby – reading copies
And Now Tomorrow by Rachel Field – First Edition – reading copies
and some sheet music for High Society Blues
