Search Results: Americana from Royal Books, Inc.

London: N.p., 1953. Original film script, an unofficial "without permission" adaptation of George Sidney's "Young Bess" (1953). Simpson's presentation copy, a maroon composition notebook with the script filling rectos of over 70 leaves in the author's own manuscript ink, and a dedication on the front endpaper: "Everything I have to say, has already been said. I'll dedicate this, my first film to [memories], to you, and I hope you [appreciate] the honour / Herladyship x / 1953." No recipient is mentioned. The mysterious and unseen ladyship Simpson based her adaptation on the film, itself based on Margaret Irwin's 1953 eponymous novel and nominated for two Academy Awards. She includes her own embellished "title card" and a cast list of all credited members except Lester Matthews, and follows the film closely in dialogue and action, with slight differences, mostly spelling, grammar, and word replacing. Presumably Simpson watched the film incessantly to master the dialogue and scene changes, or may have… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1988. Archive of 120 vernacular borderless color snapshot photographs of the Detroit Grand Prix, taken in 1986, 1987, and 1988. In the summer of 1982, the US became the first country to host three World Championship Grands Prix in one season, with the older Grand Prix West races in Long Beach and Las Vegas joined by the newly established Detroit Grand Prix in Michigan, near the General Motors headquarters. The Detroit race continued to be held annually for the next six years, in spite of its growing reputation for its narrow, bumpy track (a result of the race taking place on a closed street course in downtown Detroit) and typically hot, humid weather. These factors would ultimately push FISA to declare the track unsafe, ending the circuit's affiliation with Formula One in 1988, to be replaced by the CART-sanctioned Detroit Indy Grand Prix the following year. The photographs in the archive document an attendee's perspective of the races from 1986-1988, won all three years by Brazilian… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1950. Archive of 13 vintage single-weight vernacular photographs and 1 vintage double-weight vernacular photograph of open-wheel racing events held at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, circa 1950s. The photographs in the archive show close-ups shots of races at the Iowa State Fairgrounds' original half-mile dirt track, with the idiosyncratic vehicle designs and paint schemes of the era on full display. Also included in the archive are several photographs of the Bardahl Special #2, "The Black Deuce," a champion racing car owned by noted car collector Hector Honore Jr., with the car's second driver, Bobby Grim, behind the wheel. Open-wheel racing was first sanctioned in the US by the AAA Contest Board, who introduced the first track season national championship in 1905. The sport grew in popularity after World War II, attributable in large part to the rapid innovations in auto engineering and design throughout the 1950s. In the ensuing decade the rise of the Chevy V8 would quickly… Read More

San Diego: San Diego Timing Association, 1964. Archive of vintage programs, bulletins, flyers, and newspaper clippings published by and relating to the San Diego Timing Association, a foundational sanctioning organization in US drag racing. In postwar America, the return of risk-loving, unmarried ex-GIs with advanced mechanical skills and extra money to spend led to the rise in popularity of illegal street racing. Southern California racers took advantage of the growing number of abandoned military strips in the state, colloquially known as "drags," such as the Santa Ana Drags and Sweetwater Dam Navy Outlying Field. Local car clubs pressured law enforcement to allow racing on the strips, efforts which would precipitate the formation of the San Diego Timing Association. The SDTA held their first sanctioned meet at the Sweetwater Dam drag, which the members renamed Paradise Mesa, on March 11, 1951. The events drew spectators and racers from across Southern California, catching the attention of the… Read More

Racine, Wisconsin: S.C. Johnson, 1980. Archive of 26 vintage wax-based die-cut stickers advertising S.C. Johnson products. The S.C. Johnson company was founded in 1886 in Racine, Wisconsin, primarily selling wax for parquet flooring. The company would expand throughout the twentieth century, eventually departing from wax-based products in 1955 with the launch of Raid insecticide, accompanied over the next three years by a new suite of products, including Off! insect repellent, Pledge cleaner, and Glade air freshener. The company continues to operate today as one of the oldest family-owned businesses in the United States. The stickers on offer here were likely created for distributors' use, and advertise a wide variety of Johnson products, including Agree shampoo and conditioner, Glade aerosol spray, Edge shaving gel, Off! insect repellent, Shout laundry spray, Befresh toilet bowl deodorizer, Scrunge sponge, and more. The archive also includes four sale signs for use during spring, summer, autumn,… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1965. Archive of 40 vernacular photographs taken at the NASCAR World 600 race on May 23, 1965 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC. Eight of the photographs with manuscript annotations on the verso, identifying the date and location, as well as drivers pictured. The photographs are primarily taken at track level, and feature shots of the pit, track, and car storage areas, indicating that the photographer was likely involved as more than a spectator, as either a member of a crew, a race official, or member of the press. A close up look at stock car racing, from a time when it was very much still a regional sport. 3.5 x 3.5 inches. Very Good plus overall.

N.p.: National Screen Service, 1950. Collection of 89 vintage placards, circa 1950s, used as sample advertising slides (i.e., dummies) at drive-in theaters by National Screen Service regional salesmen. The placards would have then been photographed, sometimes illustrated or otherwise manipulated, then turned into slides to be projected on the drive-in movie screen. National Screen Service (NSS) controlled the distribution of theatrical advertising materials from the 1940s through the 1980s, most famously producing and distributing film posters, but also film still photographs and publicity material, and (as shown here) both regional and national advertising goods. The advertisements represent a wide variety of services and retail locations: sporting goods, shoe salesmen, car dealerships, florists, heating and air conditioning repair, gas stations, exotic dancers, and many more, ranging in location throughout Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. Two placards also feature negative photographs… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1972. Archive of 40 vintage vernacular matte street photographs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by an anonymous photographer, circa 1972. Five with annotations in manuscript pencil on the versos of their locations, four of which also have the year 1972. The photographs in the archive, many of which appear to be in or near Center City, focus almost entirely on architecture and urban decay. An outstanding collection of anonymous 1970s street photography depicting the urban decline of the early 1970s. 5 x 3.5 inches. Near Fine.

San Francisco: San Francisco Examiner, 1947. Archive consisting of five vintage oversize narrow margin photographs of Frank Avilez, the San Francisco "Black Gloved Rapist," 1947. All five with dated San Francisco Examiner Library Stamps on the verso, one "July 13 1947," three "July 14, 1947," and one "Aug 8 1947," four with "Frank Avilez" stamps on the verso, one with the stamp of photographer "Joe Farrell" on the verso, and two with San Francisco newspaper clippings of the same photographs affixed to the verso. In the first seven months of 1947, serial rapist Frank Avilez terrorized the San Francisco community, breaking into his victims' homes at midnight, wearing black gloves and carrying a pencil flashlight (seen in the July 13 booking photograph), earning him the moniker of the "Black-Gloved Rapist" in the San Francisco press. On July 12, he was apprehended, and after several hours of questioning from police inspectors and assistant district attorneys, confessed to fourteen rapes and attempted… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1940. Archive of 20 stunning oversized photographs of Buick auto dealerships in Minneapolis, MN, circa 1940s, all owned and operated by the W.R. Stephens Company. Each photograph mounted on board, with the stamp of photographer George Miles Ryan on the verso, and all but five with his name in manuscript pencil to the rectos of the boards, just below the lower right of each photograph. Photographs in the archive include images of the exteriors of three different dealerships, cars parked in lots, garages, showroom floors, service centers, interior spaces, including waiting areas, offices, a secretary pool, and employee cafeteria, occasionally with employees going about their day. Ryan worked primarily as a commercial photographer in the Minneapolis area, operating his own studio for roughly 40 years, and it seems likely these photographs were taken for use by the Stephens dealerships, either as artwork or for promotional material. Photographs roughly 13.5 x 10.5 inches, mounted to 16 x… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1968. Archive of 48 vintage photographs of car accidents scenes in the Columbia County, New York area, from the years 1961-1965, 1966, and 1968. With the stamp of Lee's Studio in Chatham, NY on the verso of the majority of photographs, along with occasional manuscript annotations. Most photographs housed in sleeves with annotations detailing dates, locations, and occasionally noting whether or not the accident was fatal. Also included are several accident reports prepared by Lee Studios for internal use, and correspondence between Lee and law firms representing people involved in the accidents requesting copies of photographs. The 1960s saw large increases in the number of vehicle fatalities, as car ownership greatly increased over the previous decades, and out of the six years documented in the archive, 1966 and 1968 are both among the ten deadliest in US history. Photographs variously sized, with most being 10 x 8 inches. Generally Near Fine. Housed in a contemporary photo album… Read More

Philadelphia: N.p., 1920. Archive of twelve touched-up photographs of Philadelphia business storefronts, likely for use in real estate advertising, circa 1920. Each with annotations on the versos, noting a catalog number and address. Seven of the photographs depict storefronts in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, three in West Philadelphia, one in North Philadelphia, and one in Center City. Almost all locations depicted no longer exist, have been rebuilt, or have had the facades rebuilt. Only one building in the collection remains largely as it is seen in the photograph-a charming candy shop located at 52nd Street and Walnut Street. Approximately 8 x 10 inches, mounted on art board. Very Good plus to Near Fine overall, four with even fading.

N.p.: N.p., 1974. Archive of 20 vintage black-and-white photographs (along with one color photo) of Central Valley, CA stock car racer Don Darling, 1972-1974. Five photographs loose, the remainder tipped onto black card stock leaves with masking tape. Occasional manuscript ink annotations to the tape, identifying the years, as well as dirt tracks in Roseville and Maryville, CA. Included are images of Darling and others drivers in action, crashed or wrecked cars, many of which appear to be a decade or more older than the photographs, and posed shots of Darling or others with vehicles, including a signed portrait. Also including is a handwritten note listing the point totals for racers on Aug. 18, 1974, showing Darling solidly in sixth place out of a field of 16. Black-and-white photographs 10 x 8 inches, color photograph 5 x 3.5 inches. About Very Good.

N.p.: N.p., 1937. Binder of vintage photographs compiled by Mary Norris, a nursing student at Evangelical Deaconess Hospital in Marshalltown, Iowa, circa 1937. The photographs provide a detailed visual account, with notations throughout, of her time at the Hospital as a student nurse in training. Included are over 100 vernacular photographs, generally featuring classmates, professors, doctors, and her fiance, Donald Malcolm, and their friends in posed shots, several detailed autograph letters signed from Malcolm, and over a dozen typed or handwritten poems, presumably by Norris, predominantly on the themes of nursing and religion. Also included are invitations to social events, mementos, clipped newspaper articles, and pamphlets or other ephemera regarding her classwork. Taken together these form a detailed and highly specific account of the life of a nursing student just prior to World Word II. The Evangelical Deaconess Hospital, along with the attached nursing school, opened in 1914. It was just… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1966. Archive of photographs, newspaper clippings, and various ephemera belonging to a Kenny Aumont Brown (1943-2016), of Burlington, North Carolina, largely relating to automobiles and automobile accidents, 1963-1966. The archive, assembled by Brown when in his early twenties, documents his preoccupation with automobiles, automobile accidents, and racing, at a time when Brown was first employed as a tow truck driver for Cobb Motor Company, and later as part of a rescue unit (as seen in one of the newspaper clippings). In his later years, Brown would serve as an Alamance County Deputy Sheriff for 34 years. A copious and insightful vernacular documentation of the relationship of Southern culture and automobiles in the early to mid 1960s. The archive contains 37 standard size black and white photographs, one 8 x 10 inch black and white photograph, four color photographs, 25 newspaper clippings, two newspaper issues, and twelve various documents, all housed in a photo album. The archive… 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

Miami, FL: N.p., 1940. Archive of sales material and design documents for the James O. Tice Company, a custom mechanical scoreboard firm active in the 1940s in Florida. Included in the archive are 19 vintage black and white photographs (including 14 original photographs and 5 xerographically duplicated photographs), 2 manuscript design documents, 1 original blueprint and 1 xerographically duplicated blueprint for scoreboard designs, a sales brochure, and a newspaper page featuring a profile of a goose-themed specialty board designed by Tice for Miami Field. Five photographs show the boards in use throughout the US, in sports fields at the University of Alabama, Duke University, University of California, Loyola College, and in Tampa, Florida, accompanied by a small typescript cover letter on company letterhead introducing the set. In addition to photographs of the boards in use, the archive includes several manuscript design documents laying out the mechanics of the goose-themed scoreboard in Miami… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1970. Substantial archive of material belonging to Austrian-American stage hypnotist and magician John Kolisch, including two three-ring card binders with typescript and manuscript notes for Kolisch's live shows, and 271 vintage photographs of Kolisch in performance. Archive appears to date from the 1950s through the 1970s, the heyday of Kolisch's career. One binder holds notes and scripts for Kolisch's magic tricks, powers of suggestion, and general show patter and jokes, while the other binder focuses primarily on feats of hypnosis. The binders hold a variety of material relating to Kolisch's performances, a mix of more formal typed scripts for routines alongside manuscript draft notes and annotations noting potential "ad-libbed" interjections. Several pages capture Kolisch recording his ideas for changes to the pacing and setup of his shows, as well as reminders about modernizing his patter and updating his celebrity references. Although the bulk of Kolisch's material is undated,… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1935. Archive of 24 vernacular photographs documenting a 1935 summer road trip through the badlands of South Dakota, Idaho, and Wyoming. Each photograph with manuscript ink annotations identifying location to the margins, and manuscript pencil annotations to the verso noting locations and dates, along with the stamp of Rays photography studio in LaCrosse, WI. Captured in the archive are various natural landmarks, including Shoshone Canyon, IXL Ranch, and Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming, Bald Mountain in Idaho, and the Black Hills, Badlands, and Missouri River in South Dakota. Also included are a few photographs taken along US Route 14, one of the original US highways of 1926, an east-west route running 1,398 miles. An alternately charming and chilling collection of Depression-era travel photography in the Midwest and Mountain West. 23 photographs 4.5 x 2.17 inches, 1 photograph 3.5 x 2.75 inches. Generally Very Good plus, some with light fading and age toning.

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