BOILERPLATE: History's Mechanical Marvel (Signed) by Guinan, Paul; Bennett, Anina - 2009

New York: Abrams Image, 2009. First Edition. Hardcover. Collectible As New. Pictorial 4to hardbound. 167pp. Index. Time Line. Signed by both authors & dated '09 on the blank verso of the ffep. Original ink drawing of Boilerplate by Guinan on same page. A spectacular book! The authors have created a character named Boilerplate, who looks like a WWI Doughboy made out of a cylinder boiler with arms, legs, & head with WWI helmet. They photo-shopped him into real photos & prints/posters of historical events (and theatrical events) from the late 19th Century into the early 20th Century, & have written a text explaining the real history, interwoven with Boilerplate's imagined place in that history. Thoroughly illustrated in color & b/w with vintage photos (including Boilerplate!), maps, prints, etc.. Example: full page poster in color from a fictitious Jack London play, "Marvel of the Klondike" showing Boilerplate wrestling with a bear in a saloon, captioned, "The Metal Man Triumphs Over An Enormous Grizzly." Fine, like new. No dj as issued. If you like Steampunk you'll love this book.