Barflies and Cocktails: Over 300 Cocktail Recipes

Lecram Press, 41, Rue des Trois-Bornes, Paris, Copyright by Harry McElhone, 1927. Tod Sloan, a former American star jockey, acquired a bar in Paris in 1911 and renamed it the New York Bar. He then hired Harry McElhone, a barman from Dundee, Scotland, to run it. In 1923, McElhone bought the bar and renamed it Harry's New York Bar. The bar has since become one of the most famous bars in the world and, today, is still owned by a family member. Harry's, over the years, was a favorite drinking hole of the expatriate American and British communities. Frequent imbibers included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, Coco Chanel, Jack Dempsey, Rita Hayworth, Humphrey Bogart, D.B. Wyndham Lewis, and Brendan Behan. In the 1960 Ian Fleming short story From A View to a Kill, James Bond recalls visiting Harry's bar during his first visit to Paris at age 16. The Ivories Piano Bar at Harry's is where George Gershwin composed An American in Paris. Harry was the birthplace of classic cocktails such as the Bloody Mary, Side Car, and Monkey Gland. This book includes a section entitled The Birth of the IBF. In 1924, journalist O. O. McIntyre wrote an article for the Cosmopolitan wherein he referred to the barflies of this, our fair city (Paris). Harry McElhone s prompt response was a follow-up advertisement in which he called for an organization meeting of barflies in his urban retreat. About Christmas 1924, the International Bar Flies (IBF) was organized at Harry s New York Bar. Big Blue Bottlefly, O.O. McIntyre, was installed as President, and Little Blue Bottlefly, Harry McElhone, became Vice-President. The last word in this section is Bzzzzzzzzzz The illustration, see photo, on the back cover of the book shows two flies facing each other, surrounded by lots of Buzz. The aim of IBF was the serious business of drinking. Members had their own secret handshake and decorated their ties with a tie clip featuring two friendly, well-dressed flies. IBF still exists. D. B. Wyndham was a British journalist, author and biographer. He lived in Paris during the mid-1920s while doing historical research for his biography of Francois Villon. He also wrote biographies of Moliere, Rabelais, and Gilles de Rais. After returning to Britain, he co-wrote the screenplay for the first version of Alfred Hitchcock's, The Man Who Knew Too Much. This book is in very good condition, solid and square. Slight scuffing of the covers. Page sizes are 6.25 and 4.25 inches, and the book has 112 pages. There are photos and illustrations by Wynn throughout the volume and many vignettes illustrating the cocktail recipes. I believe someone has written their last name on the inside front cover. This book features one of the world's most famous and influential bars and is also the source of the term "barfly," firmly entrenched in our lexicon. Perfect addition to your inventory #Bar123