Rare books from Rare Finds Booksellers

New York: Mutual Music Society, 1943. Book. Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Hard cover, red cloth boards with beautiful bright gilt lettering on front and on spine, Fine. Very little rubbing on edges and mild bumping on top and bottom of spine. Binding tight with a little give. Pages ever so slightly yellowed but clean. 116 pages. AUTHOR HAS SIGNED on free front page "SINCERELY GLENN MILLER" in black fountain pen. Not stated but assumed first edition, first printing. ALSO INCLUDED are much sought after 2 MUSICAL SCORES loosely inserted: "I'M THRILLED" first page has edge chipping due to page being larger than others and minor yellowing, and "SONG OF THE VOLGA BOATMEN" stamped "Bradbury Wood Ltd. 142, Charing Cross Road, WC2" (London, England). Both scores are in Very Good condition. B&W photographs and many musical arrangements. Included are 2 small catalogues from Bron's Orchestral Service, London. No dust jacket as issued. Book issued one year before… Read More

New York, NY: Remick Music Corporation, 1935. Sheet music. Good. Soft cover. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. 48-page Music Book, SIGNED and INSCRIBED in fountain pen on inside front cover by EDDY DUCHIN "To Mary Helen, Best wishes, Eddy Duchin" Top of table of contents has a small hand stamp of The Dayton Company Music Department, whatever that was. This music book contains piano scores for 12 of Duchin's favorite songs: Memories, Shine On harvest Moon, Chinatown My Chinatown, Nagasaki, and others. Duchin died young of leukemia and his life was made into a movie in the 1950s. In Good condition. Rare one of a kind piece..

New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1972. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). Second Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hard Cover, Very Good. Navy cloth boards with gilt printing on spine and signature cut out printing on cover. Very little bumping on top and bottom of spine. Binding tight with a little give. Pages clean. 380 pages. Photo section with many B&W photos in center of book. SIGNED BY AUTHOR DAVID NIVEN on front free endpaper in black pen "For Mary Frances All good luck! David Niven". Dust jacket is in Very Good condition in protective mylar cover, with next to no flaws but a little yellowing and slight bumping on top of spine and a very little wear on top and bottom of back cover. Very Good, solid signed Second Impression. NOT A REPRINT!!! Hard to find..

New York: Stackpole Sons, 1940. Book. Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author + Others. Second Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hard cover, second printing January 1940, black cloth boards with silver design on front cover and silver lettering on spine, Good. Some scratches and indented spots on front and back covers. Some wrinkling on back cover. Some edgewear, especially on board corners and top/bottom of spine. Binding tight but has a little give. Pages yellowed but mostly clean except for a few pages that have some spots on the bottom. JAM-PACKED WITH AUTOGRAPHS on inside front cover, free front pages, half title page and back free pages. These include: HARRY JAMES (clipped, formerly taped, tape removed but stains remain, now glued); HENNY YOUNGMAN (clipped, glued to page) signed in red pencil: "To Jeanette All the Best Henny Youngman"; JACK ___ (illegible in pencil); MARTHA TILTON (in red pencil); RUBINOFF (in red pencil); GENE KRUPA (in black ink); TOMMY DORSEY (in pencil); JESS STACY (in… Read More

New York, NY: William Morrow, 1976. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hard Cover, Very Good +. Grey boards with black cloth spine, gilt lettering on spine. Next to no flaws with barely visible bumping on top and bottom of spine. SIGNED BY AUTHOR on first free page, in large black ink, "To Doris and Sidney Gracias Desi Arnaz" Binding tight. Pages clean. 322 pages. Starting with page 291 and ending with 322 (last page), the pages are upside down and book needs to be turned around to continue reading, a unique printing error? Dust jacket is in Very Good condition, and is protected by a mylar cover, with a very little chipping on top and bottom of dj spine. NOT price clipped. B&W photos throughout. A scarce, signed, very special edition. Full Title is: A Book By Desi Arnaz: The Outspoken Memoir of "Ricky Ricardo" - The Man Who Loved Lucy.

Harrison, NJ: Grand Award, 1960. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Boxed set of vinyl record albums, SIGNED and INSCRIBED in black ink on the cover by PAUL WHITEMAN near his potato head caricature "To the gang at Music Systems, Pops, Paul Whiteman" Bandleader Paul Whiteman was known as The King of Jazz and is credited with discovering dozens of future top jazz and pop artists including Bing Crosby, Jack Teagarden, Hoagy Carmichael, Ferde Grofe, and many many others. In Very Good Condition. Rare one of a kind item..

New York: William Morrow, 1979. Book. Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Hard cover, black boards with gilt lettering on front and spine, Fine, Not stated but assumed first edition. Binding tight. Pages clean. 63 pages of text plus more than 140 pages featuring 212 photos. Dust jacket, Very Good. Very slight edgewear. Gold with red/white/black lettering with Hirschfeld caricature on front and photo on back. SIGNED BY AUTHOR on second inner page, featuring a reproduction of an air mail envelope addressed to Benny Goodman, in bold black felt tip marker "To Paul Best wishes Benny Goodman". A fantastic Signed First Edition book..

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1959. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hard cover, black boards with silver lettering on spine and small cut-out depressions of top-hats, canes and dance shoes on cover, shows almost no wear with very little edgewear on top of spine, Very Good +. Binding tight. SIGNED BY AUTHOR on first title front page in black ballpoint pen "FRED ASTAIRE".Dust jacket has some edgewear with one small tear on edge but overall Very Good. Not price clipped. 338 pages. Pages very slightly yellowed but clean. B&W photo illustrations throughout. Not stated but assumed first edition. Very desirable Signed First Edition..

New York - Boston: Carl Fischer, 1935. Sheet music. Fair. No Binding. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Over 1 lb. of various music scores, i.e. Big Band arrangements, some printed and others handwritten and SIGNED by Big Band Leader JAN SAVITT. In varying condition. Some items signed in fountain pen, others in pencil. Many musical notations in Savitt's hand added to the scores. I have no way of knowing if any of these are complete scores, so it's probably best to consider all of the titles as fragments. Titles are: "Park Avenue Fantasy", "Negro Spirituals: Go Down Moses - Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", "Valse" (Brahms), and "Paganini"..

New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 1959. Book. Illus. by Reginald Marsh. Very Good. Hardcover. Signed by Bing Crosby and Kathryn Crosby. Fifth Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hard Cover in Very Good condition. Beige boards and green cloth spine with gilt lettering and design on spine. Slight bumping on top and bottom of spine and top corners. Binding tight. Pages clean. 833 pages. Illustrations by Reginald Marsh throughout book. SIGNED on illustrated bookplate printed with "KATHRYN AND BING CROSBY" in blue ink "Kathryn, Bing" . Book is protected by a boxed cover which is in Good condition, some chips and wear on edges and a little chipping on cover. Stated on boxed cover under title "Being those parts of The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneers, and The Prairie which specifically pertain to Natty Bumppo, otherwise known as Pathfinder, Deerslayer, or Hawkeye". Noted in book Fifth Edition. A very special edition signed by the greatest singer of the twentieth century, Bing Crosby..

Paris: Editions Du Belvedere, 1947. Book. Very Good. Soft cover. Signed by Louis Armstrong and 7 Jazz Musicians. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Soft Cover, Very Good; This book used to belong to a French amateur musician who knew many jazz musicians. A line on the first page of the book says it was dedicated at the Jazz Hot Club in Toulon, France. AUTOGRAPHED!!! SIGNED by LOUIS ARMSTRONG in green ink on title page; and on the preceding page signed in dark blue ink by JACK TEAGARDEN, BARNEY BIGARD, EARL "FATHA" HINES, ARVELL SHAW, BIG SID CATLETT, BOB WILBER, and VELMA MIDDLETON. 107 pages [2] pp., frontis., b&w photographic plates of the mastermusician/entertainer, including frontispiece portrait. The first volume in the Maitres du jazz series, in French only; Dust Jacket Condition: Good, original paper wrappers with small chips at extremities, especially along the top. Scarce first edition of this biography by one of Armstrong's closest friends in the Jazz world. At rear is complete… Read More

New York: Farrar, Straus and Young, 1952. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hard cover, black cloth boards with yellow/green lettering on spine, Very Good. Some edgewear on corners of boards and spine and small discoloration on back. Boards show some overall wear. Binding tight with just a very little give. Pages slightly yellowed but clean. 394 pages. Dust jacket, Good, is protected by mylar cover and is price clipped. DJ has edgewear and several open tears on edges of both front and back boards, spine and front and back flaps. Dj has a light brown water stain on top and bottom of back as well as on top of front and back flaps. Vintage SIGNED bookplate by author in blue ink "ARTIE SHAW" affixed to free front page. Bookplate reads "Ex Libris Best Wishes from the Author" . Previous owner's stamp and light signature appears above bookplate. Previous owner's signature appears on second half-title page after book foreward. Note from previous… Read More

New York: The Review of Reviews Corp., 1917. Book. Very Good. Full-Leather. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. Hard Cover editions, all in Very Good condition, all dark brown embossed full leather with gilt raised lettering and decorations on covers and spines, none are worn. All bindings tight with very little give. Few bumped corners, nothing serious. Page edges cut rough. COMPLETE 10 VOLUME SERIES, pub. 1917-1923. No DJs as issued. Sold as a set. Book 1: Myself - To Date, Irvin S. Cobb aka Stickfuls (autographed edition; signed by author in black ink on free front page "Irvin S. Cobb") (1923, 355 pages); Book 2: Snake Doctor and Other Stories (1923, 343 pages); Book 3: Sundry Accounts (1922, 435 pages); Book 4: From Place To Place (1920, 407 pages); Book 5: Those Times and These (1917, 374 pages); Book 6: Speaking of Operations - and Other Humorous Stories (including Eating in Two or Three Languages) (1923, 341 pages); Book 7: Old Judge Priest (1916, 401 pages); Book… Read More

Boston: Little Brown & Company, 1954. Book. Illus. by Al Hirschfeld. Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hard cover, black cloth boards with slightly faded gilt lettering on spine displaying some broken letters, Good +. First/First. SIGNED BY AUTHOR FRED ALLEN on free front page in blue ink "For - Ed & Betty - If you have abandoned your radio set - this may bring back some pleasant memories - Fred Allen". Includes drawings by Al Hirschfeld. No dust jacket.Few small stains on front and back, some bumping on top and bottom of spine. Binding tight but has very little give. Pages clean and surprisingly nearly white considering age. 240 pages. Wonderful Signed First Edition..

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1959. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hard cover, black boards with silver lettering on spine and small cut-out depressions of top-hats, canes and dance shoes on cover, shows almost no wear with very little edgewear on top of spine, Very Good. Binding tight. SIGNED BY AUTHOR on gatefold title page in black ballpoint pen "FRED ASTAIRE". Dust jacket Good + (not price clipped) fading on spine, has some edgewear/tears with chips, sticker applied to front dj: A Reminder to see "Another Evening With Fred Astaire" NBC 9:00 PM EST Wednesday, November 4 sponsored by Chrysler Corporation. There is a letter included from the manager of the Chrysler Corporation Promotion office dated Oct. 15 1959 to a newspaper columnist. 338 pages. Pages slightly yellowed but clean. B&W photo illustrations throughout. First Edition. The best, most beautiful example of this signed first edition seen thus far..