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Books and Bidders The Adventures of a Bibliophile - INSCRIBED to Jesse Straus
by ROSENBACH, A. S. W
- Used
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Very Good+
- Seller
-
Seattle, Washington, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1927. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good+. Large 8vo. Pp. xiv, [3], 4-310. Frontis. illustration of a Gutenberg Bible leaf. Amply illustrated with reproductions of black-and-white photos, manuscript leaves, title pages, etc. Index. Bound in full brown cloth with gilt lettering stamped on front board, gilt lettering on spine. Top edge gilt; fore- and bottom edge untrimmed. Partially uncut. Spine just a bit dulled, and with three light spots on the rear board, each smaller than a chickpea, else a solid, sharp-cornered copy. Inscribed by Rosenbach on the front free endpaper. Inscription reads: "Inscribed for Jesse Straus, with the kind regards of A. S. W. Rosenbach / Dec. 14, 1927". The early life of Jesse Straus was marked by his leadership of Macy's department store, a position for which he was destined after his father, president of Macy's, and his mother died on the Titanic. After establishing Macy's as America's preeminent department store, Straus was appointed Ambassador to France by his longtime friend Franklin Roosevelt. When Straus died in 1936, age 64, the stacked headline above his New York Times obit included "Death Grieves Roosevelt".
The nature of the of the Straus-Rosenbach relationship was likely simply that of customer-bookseller. However, an anecdote involving high-stakes book auctioneering suggests a deeper connection: In early 1932, Rosenbach, at the behest of the Trustees of the New York Public Library, was engaged to bid up to $37,500 for the Tickhill Psalter, an illuminated manuscript dating to the early 14th century. Rosenbach's exuberance, coupled with his desire to enhance his public image, resulted in his successful bid ... at $61,000 - a staggering sum even today, but especially during the Depression. Rosenbach appealed to Straus, one of the Trustees, to cover the difference, with the concession that Rosenbach would forego his commission; the sale was consummated, to Rosenbach's deep relief. (Rosenbach A Biography, p. 367).
Dr. R., known in Paris auction houses as "Le Napoléon des Livres," was more than the most prominent of 20th-century American antiquarian booksellers: On one side of the leaf he was a promoter of book collecting, rationally suggesting valuable books as an investment; on the other, he was a scholar of depth and wide berth who contributed substantially to the world of bibliography.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Long Brothers Fine and Rare Books, ABAA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 7209
- Title
- Books and Bidders The Adventures of a Bibliophile - INSCRIBED to Jesse Straus
- Author
- ROSENBACH, A. S. W
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good+
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Little, Brown, and Company
- Place of Publication
- Boston
- Date Published
- 1927
Terms of Sale
Long Brothers Fine and Rare Books, ABAA
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About the Seller
Long Brothers Fine and Rare Books, ABAA
Biblio member since 2010
Seattle, Washington
About Long Brothers Fine and Rare Books, ABAA
Long Brothers Fine and Rare Books was established in 1996 as a natural progression of proprietor Jeffrey Long's historical and bibliophilic interests. We are located in West Seattle and can be visited by appointment only.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Good+
- A term used to denote a condition a slight grade better than Good.
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
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