First Books, American Authors, Typed Bibliography
Unknown. Item #018558
78 unnumbered pages, circa 1940's. A curious item from either a serious bookseller or collector of American authors' first books. Neither is the author identified nor is there a date in this carefully typed list. Since the latest item we noted is Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, we know it is after 1936. On the items we have checked it has many in Ahearn's Book Collecting but a number that are not. This is a remarkable look at someone who had done their homework. The last two pages (4 leaves) list Merle Johnson's High Spots. There are at least two dozen corrections in pencil and a few typed inserts. One notation cites a price from Edward Morrill & Son who were active from the late 1930's to at least the 1960's. Clearly this is an item for a library of books about books. A good copy in paper salmon wrappers. The process used was a form of mimeograph but stencil is free of the letters such as "a" or "e" which tend to fill up after multiple uses. This suggest a type of stencil technology used in offices during World War II long before the thermoses or xerography.
Price: $185.00