Rare books from Monkey House Books

New York & Chicago: E. L. Kellogg & Co., 1899. Maroon cloth boards, gilt-stamped cover and spine. Good/No Dust Jacket. Consisting of the Famous Lectures Delivered throughout the United States and England; Much Enlarged, with many Practical Applications. Frontispiece portrait. Discusses mnemonics, memorization tricks and techniques for historical and literary information, passages, foreign languages, etc. Author of other books on language and memory. 147 pages plus advertisements. Name penciled on ffep, slight musty odor, edges soiled/dirty. Ends and corners bumped, lightly worn. Boards slightly warped. Some spotting to beginning and end pages, otherwise unmarked.

New York: Lincoln MacVeagh, Dial Press Inc., 1932. Dark blue cloth boards, yellow-stamped spine. Good Plus./Dust Jacket condition Good . Rare title by the author of ""Bird of Passage"" and ""A Lady of France."" This is her first novel, according to the jacket flap, although apparently published after other works? 274 pages. Lightly toned but square and unmarked. A little roughly cut at the end. Wear to bottom corners. Dust jacket illustration/design by John Gram. Some darkening, spots, chips and tears. Clear wraps added.

Koln und Berlin: Verlag Gustav Kiepenheuer, 1951. Gray cloth boards, gilt-stamped cover.. Good/No Dust Jacket. Lengthy inscription in German by the author in black ink on the half-title, dated 1953. Scarce edition, 32 pages, short poems. Text of the book in German. Cover illustration of a bridge. Publishers advertising slip tucked in. Corners bumped, some fading and soil especially to back cover (small stained area). ""Im Erinnern an den XXI Internationalen Congress des PEN Clubs in Venedig 1949."" Text clean.

New York: Brewer, Warren & Putnam, 1931. Green cloth boards, orange-stamped cover and spine. Very Good/No Dust Jacket. As told to Corey Ford, author of ""Saltwater Taffy"" with 36 Unbelievable Illustrations. 217 pages. Mock photos featuring 1930s personalities, including one of Amelia Earhart on a high-wheeled bicycle. Spine darkened, ends frayed. SIGNED and INSCRIBED on 1/2 title in black ink ""To Sumner Blossom - for perfect attendance in Sunday School - Corey Ford - August 1931."" Sumner Blossom, 1892-1977, was a radio talk show host in the 30s (""Interesting People in the News"") but was best known as editor of The American Magazine from 1929 through 1956. The magazine published short stories by outstanding writers of the day as well as muckraking articles on social issues. Blossom was a ""wonderful, well-respected man"" who wore his hats ""with more distinction than most men."" Corey Ford, 1902-1969, was a humorist, author, screen writer, and world traveler who was friendly with the Algonquin… Read More

Zurich: Galerie Kornfeld, 1978. Softcover. Good. Artwork by Anton Bruhin.. Gallery exhibition booklet, covers worn and a bit dingy. SIGNED on title page in thick red permanent marker: G. Blumer / Anton Bruhin / Zurich 21.1.80. Title page reads ""If You DonÕt Like Me Leave Me AloneÉ"" von Giovanni Blumer. Text in German. Reproduces b/w ink drawings done in 1977 by Bruhin, a Swiss artist and musician born in 1949. Biographical information and works list at back. Single side printed, b/w glossy paper. Good condition, solid but covers/corners somewhat bumped and curled. Unusual item from the man known more recently as a musical artist and poet. Blumer is known for his 1960s work The Chinese Cultural Revolution.

New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc., 1964 [1903]. Yellow cloth boards. Good/No Dust Jackets.. 1964 reissue of this highly detailed and wide-ranging account of theaters, opera houses, lyceums, concert halls, pleasure gardens, amphitheatres, circuses, saloons, etc. in old New York City. Includes index of plays and actors, a list of riots and benefits, theater fires, and extensive accounts of casts and performances. The author is also known for compiling A History of the American Stage in the 1850s. Ex-library, spine labels, stamps, card pockets. Wear to covers, especially ends and corners. Volume 1, 523 pages; volume 2 652 pages, Fair, unhinged at front; volume 3 671 pages, front hinge cracking at top.

New York: Boni & Liveright, 1928. Hardcover, purple paper, white cloth spine, slipcase but missing glassine. Very Good in Good slipcase/No Jacket. Signed, limited edition in slipcase, presentation copy. Purple paper is faded, and there are some small ink (?) spots on back cover, as well as a small smudge on the bottom corner of the limitation page. SIGNED limitation page with 'Dorothy Parker' in blue ink, states Ôthis edition limited to 275 copies, of which 250 are for sale.Õ This copy is numbered in the same blue ink as 322, and the word ÔPresentationÕ in black ink follows. 75 pages, many unopened, printed on Boni & Liveright watermarked paper. Slipcase worn and faded, all edges rubbed, splitting at top and bottom. Label affixed to slipcase states ÔAutographed Edition. This edition is limited to 275 numbered copies. Each copy is signed by the author.Õ At the upper right corner is the number 322 in ink, mirroring the number on the limitation page of the volume. From the family of T. R. Smith, who… Read More

New York: Horace Liveright, Inc., 1931. Hardcover in slipcase. Good/No Jacket, as issued. SIGNED Presentation Copy in Slipcase, #524 of the special limited edition (501-550 were for presentation). Signed by O'Neill in black ink. Though not indicated, this volume is from the library of T. R. Smith, chief editor and adviser at Liveright throughout its heyday in the 1920s and responsible for publishing some of O'Neill's works (including an early volume of one-act plays and Strange Interlude in 1928). Trilogy of plays containing Homecoming, The Hunted, and The Haunted. Includes Working Notes and Extracts from a fragmentary work diary, facsimile pages inserted in rear pocket. Stained & spotted white vellum with beveled edges, gilt-stamping and black spine label. Scarce slipcase in fair condition with fragile & cracked edges and old tape repairs. Binding solid and untrimmed/uncut, but covers are rather spotted & darkened. O'Neill was a Puitzer and Nobel Prize winning American playwright, considered one of… Read More

New York: Boni & Liveright Publishers, 1927. Hardcover, black boards & vellum. Good/No Jacket, marbled slipcase in Good condition. Signed Presentation Copy of a Limited Edition. The limitation page indicates the edition consists of 265 numbered and signed copies, of which 250 are for sale. The word 'Presentation' is hand-written on the number line, and it is signed in black ink 'Sherwood Anderson.' Though not indicated, this was in the collection of T. R. Smith, chief editor at Liveright during the 1920s. 118 pages, free verse and prose poems. Slipcase edges worn & rubbed, glassine torn with losses, spine well-spotted and darkened. Some pages unopened, ribbon marker. Although the book and slipcase are a bit worse for wear, it is a unique copy of an unusual work. Anderson, 1876-1941, was an American novelist and short story writer best known for his 1919 masterpiece 'Winesburg, Ohio' about life in a typical Midwestern town. He is remembered for his sympathy for the struggles of the common man. He… Read More

Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1936. Hardcover, tan cloth boards. Very Good/No Jacket. Classic Depression-era (post-Prohibition) guide to wines and mixed drinks. Covers wines from America, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, etc. Dictionary of alcoholic beverages from Absinthe to Whisky. Pseudonymously published by wine experts Frank Schoonmaker & Ted Marvel. Part of The Household Shelf series, first printing. Light wear to spine ends, some darkened areas of endpapers.

New York: Atheneum, 1974. Hardcover. Good/Dust Jacket condition good. Atheneum. Association copy, signed and inscribed on the first leaf by Keith McDermott to Andrea/Andrew. McDermott, born in 1953, made his Broadway debut (1974-1977) as Alan Strang in Equus opposite Richard Burton as the doctor. This plum role for a young man proved to be McDermott's acting break. The play is a psychological thriller set in a hospital, where a psychiatrist examines a young man who maims horses. Book club edition/BCE. 99 pages. Loss to jacket spine, other darkening and chips.

New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Dust Jacket condition fine. Signed and inscribed on ffep to gift recipient 'Elaine - we really wish you were here! Eddie Baby.' Elaine's friend Marie obtained the signature for her and tucked in a dated snapshot of herself with Eddie at the signing on 17 September 1999. She has written on the back, 'A Special Bookmark - Eat your heart out!' On the verso of the page Fisher signed is an inscription from Marie to Elaine. 341 pages, index, b/w photo section. Fisher, 1928-2010, was a singer, actor & entertainer; married to Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor, Connie Stevens & Betty Lin; and father of Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher (grandfather of Billie Lourd) and Joely Fisher. He was extremely popular in the 1950s, had several successful records, and was a TV show host. Great gift for an entertainment memorabilia collector, old movie buff, or classic Hollywood aficionado.

New York: The Viking Press, 1975. Hardcover pictorial boards. Very Good/No Jacket. Illustrations by Simon Paukov. Signed and inscribed on front endpapers by three 20th century golf greats - Chi Chi Rodriguez, Jim Dent, and Byron Nelson. Rodriguez has written in blue felt tip, To Bernie from your friend Juan Chi Chi Rodriguez. Dent has written in pencil, Friend Bernie - Try using the Black Shaft Jim Dent. Nelson has written All my love Byron Nelson. Also on the endpaper is an inscription, Happy Golfing Irving Palmer and a comical diagram of the chemical composition of TNT. Foreword by Byron Nelson. Prepared by Elias Productions, Inc. 152 pages, spine darkening but pages clean and binding solid. Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican golfer born in 1935, winner of 8 PGA Tour events, and is in the World Golf Hall of Fame. James Lacey Dent is an African-American golfer born in 1939 who has numerous professional wins, especially as a Senior (50+) golfer. Byron Nelson, 1912-2006, was an American pro golfer in the… Read More

New York: The Outing Publishing Company, 1907. Hardcover, red cloth boards, b/w stamped pictorial cover. Good/No Jacket. Illustrated by N. C. Wyeth and F. E. Schoonover. Being a record of certain happenings that occurred in the otherwise peaceful lives of Hopalong Cassidy and his companions on the range. 382 pages, illustrated plates by Wyeth, cover & frontispiece adapted from the Schoonover painting for the 1905 story The Fight at Buckskin. This book is fictional, rough-talking cowboy hero Hopalong Cassidy's first appearance; the character is known for his distinctive walk due to a gunshot wound. Spine gilt darkened, wear to ends and corners, previous owner's name inked on front endpaper, one-inch stain on the left side of front cover.

New York, 1879. No binding. Good/No Jacket. Henry J. Johnson. Steel engravings by Henry J. Johnson salvaged from a partial destroyed copy of The Collected Works of William Shakespeare published in 1879. Included are brothers Henry & Thomas Placide as The Two Dromios; Mr. Warren as Lance from Two Gentlemen of Verona; James E. Murdoch as Petruchio from Taming of the Shrew; Mr. & Mrs. Burton as Sir Toby Belch and Maria from Twelfth Night; Mr. & Mrs. Charles Kean as King John & Lady Constance; Edwin Forrest as Richard III and Coriolanus; sisters Charlotte & Susan Cushman as Romeo & Juliet; Mr. Jamieson as Brutus from Julius Caesar; and E. L. Davenport as Hamlet. Some of the prints still have the original tissue attached. They are in good condition generally, with some worn and darkened edges. Scarce in any condition, these could use a gentle hand and a little TLC. Each print measures 7"" x 10"" and depicts a famous 19th century actor or pair portraying characters from Shakespeare's plays. There is an… Read More