Kup's Chicago

Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1962. Hardcover. 8vo. Black cloth with gilt lettering and blind-embossed decoration, pictorial dust jacket. 286pp. Illustrations. Near fine/very good. Jacket rather edgeworn and a bit rubbed. A tight, attractive first edition of this (to cite front jacket panel) "many-faceted and affectionate portrait of Chicago," a witty profile of The Windy City, full of anecdotes involving celebrities, authors, politicians and landmarks. Choice autograph addition: Tipped to the front flyleaf is a Typed Note Signed by the author, 1p, 5" X 6", n.p., n.y. Addressed to a Chicago publisher. Near fine. On "Chicago Sun-Times" slip, Kupcinet tells this Chicago publisher, "I'm as disappointed as you are over our slow start. Now that I'm resuming after a three months convalescence, we'll make some headway." Signed boldly in blue ballpoint simply "Kup," as per usual. Aaron Cohodes' firm Bonus Books published Kup's memoir "Kup: A Man, an Era, a City" in 1988. Kupcinet (1912-2003) was a long-time journalist and television and radio personality; his syndicated "Kup's Column" began in the "Chicago Sun-Times" in 1943 and ran for over half a century; his syndicated television talk show ran from 1959 to 1986, and in 1957 he briefly replaced Jack Paar on "The Tonight Show.