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A PITTSBURGH ALBUM 200 Yrs Photos Bicentennial Keepsake - eBay (item 310115335233 end time Jan-15-09 18:57:41 PST)This big soft cover picture book is titled A Pittsburgh Album 1758-1958, Two Hundred Years of Memories in Pictures and Text compiled, written and edited by Roy Stryker and Mel Seidenberg. This copy is from the Third Printing, July 1959, Copyright 1959, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. There are so many great photos it was really hard to choose which to scan.
From "A Word of Explanation..."This book was born of an affection for and pride in a city.
A city of endless contrasts...of subtle charm, of earthy homeliness that has its own beauty; of citizen apathy and dissonance, but of even greater vitality, enterprise and unity when needed. A city perhaps not endowed with the refinements and graces of other places that come to mind, but persistently trying to attain these things, however hard their attainment. A city that refuses to be counted out, always managing somehow to summon its people's strength to fight back from adversity and to overcome natural handicaps...and to become a better city in so doing.
The pages of Pittsburgh's 200 years, speaking eloquently of such characteristics, are filled with fascinating events and personalities. Too many, regrettably, to be framed within these covers.
This book offers a sympathetic glance at the past and some of the people who lived it--through the eyes of some of the artists, illustrators, photographers, writers, and historians, many still living, who helped to preserve it.
The book has been purposely limited in scope that it might be made available, not as a major, studious work of history, but rather as a simple, inexpensive keepsake of this Bicentennial Year, somewhat after the fashion of one circulated 100 years ago for the Centennial (see page 19).
We, the sponsors listed below, are happy to make possible this publication as a public service contribution to the Bicentennial observance. Net proceeds from its sale will go the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, for use in further its work, which deserves wider recognition.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Radio Station WWSW
Television Station WIIC
Herbick & Held Printing Company.
It's in very good condition with minor wear.
Borden Mem Ed THE SHIP OF ISHTAR A. Merritt, Finlay Art - eBay (item 310115558746 end time Jan-16-09 18:19:09 PST)This 1949 Borden memorial edition hard cover of The Ship of Ishtar by A. Merritt comes with the original dust jacket. It was published six years after Merritt's death. The dust jacket back has a photo of the author with a tribute to him by Forrest J. Ackerman. The book has five wonderful Virgil Finlay illustrations.
From the front dust jacket flap:A classic of fantasy that transports the reader back sixty centuries to mystery and romance beyond compare. The hero, John Kenton, received a queer block unearthed in the ruins of Ancient Babylon. It is inscribed with a record of Sargon of Akkad.
An unaccountable conviction possesses Kenton that the stone imprisons some hidden wonder. He strikes it--and as it disintegrates, a miniature craft of elfin enchantment burgeons forth. And as the motes from the cloud of dust envelop him he undergoes a metamorphosis; is projected onto The Ship, where he encounters Sharame--willow-lithe, flame-slender...goddess, temptress, woman.
The ensuing adventures in the long and long ago cast a thrall over the reader with their vivid action and unparalleled beauty. A novel limned in lapis lazuli, that will hold you ensorcelled with the word wizardry and evocative imagery of A. Merritt, the Lord of Fantasy.
About the author:His reputation has not stood well over the years among speculative fiction fans and critics (with the singular exception of The Ship of Ishtar, a universally hailed classic of the fantasy genre), but at one time he was a major influence on H. P. Lovecraft, and highly esteemed by his friend and frequent collaborator Hannes Bok, by then a noted SF illustrator. Merritt's stories typically revolve around conventional pulp magazine themes: lost civilizations, hideous monsters, etc. His heroes are gallant Irishmen or Scandinavians, his villains treacherous Germans or Russians (depending on the politics of the time) and his heroines often virginal, mysterious and scantily clad. What sets Merritt apart from the typical pulp author, however, is his lush, florid prose style and his exhaustive, at times exhausting, penchant for adjective-laden detail. Merritt's fondness for micro-description nicely complements the pointillistic style of Bok's illustrations, and often serves to highlight and radicalize the inherent fetishistic tendencies of pulp sf.
This came from Wikipedia and there's more. Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Merritt
The book is in excellent condition with foxing on page edges and age-darkened end papers.
6 WIZARD OF OZ DOLLS in Orig Boxes, 11" w/ Accessories! - eBay (item 310114864735 end time Jan-13-09 18:00:55 PST)These six 11" Wizard of Oz dolls in original boxes include Glenda the Good Witch, the Wicked Witch of the West, the Wizard, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion. For ages 3 and up, they come complete with their accessories--wand, axe, broom and so on. They were produced by Multi Toys Corp. and made in China, Style no. 8875.
The dolls are in excellent condition. The boxes are crushed to varying degrees on the side with the plastic window, with the Scarecrow's box being the worst. The dolls are not affected.
The boxes say, "©1939 Loew's Incorportaed, Ren. 1966 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. ©1988 Turner Entertainment Co. All Rights Reserved."
I forgot to photograph the backs of the boxes, all the same, with actual color photos from the movie of Dorothy, Wicked Witch, Cowardly Lion, Glenda, Scarecrow and Tin Man.
Vintage GASPARI WIRE FRAME EYE GLASSES 10-12 K GF, Case - eBay (item 310114674912 end time Jan-12-09 18:11:02 PST)This vintage pair of bifocal eye glasses is marked on the bridge, "1/10-12 K G.F. Gaspari G 20" and on both temples, "1/10-12 K G.F." The bridge and frame that curves around the tops of the lenses to the nose pads are plain, the hinges and temples have art deco decorative carving. They have floating nose pads for comfort.
The glasses are in excellent condition except for a tiny chip in the bottom edge of the left lens. The metal case is very nice inside and has a few marks in the faux leather finish.
This style of temple that wraps around the back of the ear is great for active people. These spectacles will not fall off, even if you turn upside-down.
The glasses measure 118 mm wide across the front, the distance between the lenses is 22 mm, and the temples are 110 mm long from hinge join to the middle of the ear curve. The lenses measure 44 mm wide and 40 mm high. The lenses are attached to the frame with screws through holes in the lenses.
ALIEN MOVIE NOVEL Over 1000 Color Photos Outsize Book! - eBay (item 310114254370 end time Jan-10-09 18:40:41 PST)This outsized soft cover movie novel book captures the movie Alien in over 1000 color photos. It was published by Avon in September, 1979. The cover says, "Man has reached the stars, and it may be too late to turn back.... Alien, the spectacular twentieth Century-Fox film--now the most dazzling Movie Novel™. Over 1,000 full-color photos, edited by Richard J. Anobile from the story by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett. Screenplay by Dan O'Bannon. Avon/46631/$8.95."
From the back cover:Conceived and created by such talents as Swiss surrealist painter H.R. Giger, Heavy Metal artist Meobius and Ron Cobb, one of the designers of Star Wars. A new dimension in epic space adventure."
This is the coffee table version of the movie, with all the action caught in stills you can study at leisure. It measures 8 1/2 by 11 inches and is half an inch thick with high-quality paper and virtually every scene in the movie appears in sequential photos.
The book is in great condition with bumped corners at top front and back covers.
EG Goldberger Willie Tyler's LESTER VENTRILOQUIST DOLL! - eBay (item 310114043792 end time Jan-09-09 19:18:13 PST)This 26" tall Willie Tyler's Lester Celebrity Ventriloquist Doll was produced by EG Goldberger in 1973. It's for a beginner just learning to throw their voice, with a pamphlet of lessons on how to pronounce sounds without moving your lips. Pulling a string at the back of Lester's neck opens his mouth.
The back of Lester's neck is marked, "©1973 Lester ©Egee Co." A tab inside the box says "I'm Willie Tyler's Lester™, EG Goldberger." The tab was bent inward and doesn't show in the photos.
Lester comes complete with his plaid cap, vest-front shirt, plaid pants and shoes. His legs are flexible cloth and will bend every which way. His left sleeve wrist is attached to his shirt with a plastic strip. His shoes are attached to his feet at the back with plastic strips. His hat is attached to his head at the back with a plastic strip.
The original box says, "Have Fun With Famous Playpals. Great make-believe. Use imagination. Make up Stories. Tell Jokes. For boys and girls over 4 years of age. Ventriloquist instructions inside. No batteries needed."
Lester himself is in excellent condition. The pamphlet is somewhat bent. The original box is a mess. It has lost most of the finish on the front, has bends, a moisture stain on the back, and a missing piece at the top corner. Lester gets fastened into the box with twist-ties. Someone wrote on the back "Won't Talk" and crossed it out. They must have expected him to talk like Chatty Cathy when the string was pulled.
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