Rare books from Royal Books, Inc.

N.p.: N.p., 1979. Original artwork depicting exotic birds in a glorious psychedelic landscape, created by singer-songwriter Don Van Vliet, better known as Captain Beefheart. Signed "Van Vliet / 79" on the bottom left corner. From the collection of Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas, for whom the painting was made. It was around 1979 that Van Vliet began to contribute artwork to the covers of two of his finest recordings-"Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)" (1978) and "Doc at the Radar Station" (1980). Gary Lucas was the principal guitar player, along with Jeff Moris Tepper, in Beefheart's final configuration of the Magic Band, appearing prominently on Beefheart's last two recordings: the aforementioned "Doc at the Radar Station" (1980) and "Ice Cream for Crow" (1982). Lucas' solo guitar performances of "Flavor Bud Living" and "Evening Bell" on the respective recordings are singular in Beefheart's oeuvre. Lucas performed with Beefheart for five years, until Van Vliet retired to Trinidad, California to… Read More

Paris: Editions 213 / Steidl, 2015. Deluxe Limited Edition portfolio. One of five copies (this being copy No. 1) of photographer Sophie Bramly's portfolio of 47 matte finish photographic prints in both black and white and color, depicting the emerging hip hop scene of 1980s New York. Signed and numbered by the photographer on the limitation page, and again on the verso of each photograph. Housed in a gold and red multi-tiered custom box. Also included is a copy of the limited edition softcover, published by Galerie 213, one of 500 copies (this being no. 058) containing a signed and numbered print by Bramly. With an introduction by Fab 5 Freddie. Arguably the most important photography portfolio documenting American hip hop that has ever been published, "Walk This Way" intimately showcases the burgeoning genre's emergence in 1980s New York, as captured via scenes backstage, in the homes of the artists, at art galleries, and of course while performing. Photographer Sophie Bramly left her native… Read More

Mexico: Producciones Barbachano Ponce, 1958. Draft script for the 1959 film. Presentation copy belonging to director Luis Buñuel, and SIGNED by Buñuel on the front wrapper. Also laid in is a program from the film's American premiere on May 18, 1960, also SIGNED by Buñuel. Blue ink manuscript annotations in the same hand to the verso of the last page of the script. Also laid in are two vintage photographs: one of Buñuel getting a haircut on the set of the film, and another with Buñuel, seated next to cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa, composing a shot in his viewfinder. Based on the 1895 novel by Benito Perez Galdos. A priest with radical but very philosophical notions leaves his order to go on a pilgrimage, learning much about the nature of human suffering as his life mimics that of Jesus Christ, all the way through to his untimely end. One of the mostly highly regarded films from Buñuel's Mexican period, one of director Andrei Tarkovsky's ten favorite films, and one of 15 religious films… Read More

New York: Edward J. Clode, 1927. First Edition. First Edition. In the first state dust jacket, priced $2.00 and with a blurb for this title on the front flap and an advertisement for Richard H. Watkin's "Half a Clue" on the rear flap. From the collection of Otto Penzler. In the early days of the seminal pulp magazine "Black Mask," writer Carroll John Daly was the first to publish a story in the hard boiled vernacular, virtually inventing the style. He was followed months later by Dashiell Hammett, but for some time remained the magazine's number one selling author. His popularity legendarily changed the magazine's focus from traditional mystery fiction to hard boiled crime fiction. As publishers began to pick up on Daly's popularity, he published his first novel, preceding Hammett's "Red Harvest" by two years. Also the first book to feature Daly's hard boiled private detective Race Williams. Rare in the first-state jacket, with a single auction record listed in Rare Book Hub (Swann, 2011), a much… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1978. Archive of 14 iconic vintage photographs of Studio 54 celebrities and revelers by photographer William Coupon, all from 1978. Ten of these are signed and dated by Coupon at the bottom right, and one bears a tag on the verso, noting, "Two Dancers, Studio 54, August, 1978." Images of Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Grace Jones, Patti Smith, and Divine are included in the collection, along with a variety of other glamorous and fascinating visitors to the exclusive New York night club. Coupon's Studio 54 photographs were included in the International Center of Photography exhibition "Fleeting Gestures: Treasures of Dance Photography" in late 1978, his first major exhibition. The photographs in this collection were exhibited at Photo London 2019 and on display at Tenderbooks in London in conjunction with Rare Photo Gallery in Toronto. Coupon was born in New York City, and after attending Syracuse University returned there in 1978. He began to photograph the disco/celebrity scene at… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1968. Archive of manuscript material for Rudolph Wurlitzer's 1968 debut novel "Nog," including a complete first draft of the novel, showing significant differences from the published version and with an unpublished final chapter, and over 300 loose manuscript pages, both with extensive manuscript annotations throughout. As complete and detailed an archive regarding a writer's creative process as we can imagine. From the collection of Rudolph Wurlitzer, with provenance. A landmark of postmodern American fiction and a bona fide cult classic, whose plot is best summed up by the rear panel copy of Two Dollar Radio's 2009 reprint edition as "the tale of a man adrift through the American West, armed with nothing more than his own three pencil-thin memories and an octopus in a bathysphere." On publication, "Nog" drew favorable comparisons to the work of Thomas Pynchon and Samuel Beckett, with Pynchon himself stating it was "more than a beautiful and heavy trip, it's also very important in an… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1932. Archive of six extraordinary Autograph Letters Signed, including five in French and one in English, by the pioneering film director Georges Méliès, revealing a great deal about his little-discussed but profoundly important origins in the Robert-Houdin Theatre in Paris, as well as his work as a magician and ultimately a film director. Equally interesting in these letters are various revelations regarding his character, a combination of innocence, boundless enthusiasm, a quizzical nature, a photographic memory, and a great love for artists, magicians, and all performers whose work came under the umbrella of "illusion." One image shown. Additional images of the letters in the archive are available on request. Méliès began his career in theater at the Theatre Robert-Houdin, doing extremely creative work in an area that could be described as an intersection of live theater, pantomime, magic, and vaudeville. After seeing an 1895 demonstration by the Lumiere Brothers, he became… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1943. First Edition. First Edition. INSCRIBED to Frank Partos on the half-title page: "For Frank Partos / with love / Raymond Chandler." Partos and Chandler co-wrote the screenplay for "And Now Tomorrow" (1944), one of Chandler's few screenwriting efforts. As a screenwriter, Partos was responsible for some of the best genre films of the 1940s. His work includes "Stranger on the Third Floor" (1940), "The Uninivited" (1944), and "The Snake Pit" (1948), each groundbreaking in the areas of film noir, ghost stories, and insane asylums, respectively. The author's fourth book, and the fourth Philip Marlowe mystery. Basis for the 1947 film, directed by and starring Robert Montgomery. Near Fine in a Very Good dust jacket with moderate wear at the extremities.

N.p.: N.p., 1962. Draft script for the 1962 film. With director Luis Buñuel's annotations in manuscript pencil and ink throughout, noting changes and additions to dialogue, and the name of Russian-American director Victor Stoloff in manuscript ink on the front of the folder housing the script. Stoloff was associated with Buñuel during Buñuel's brief sojourn in America, and is interviewed in the 2000 documentary "Buñuel in Hollywood." Included with the script is an English translation of Buñuel's revisions. An impossibly rare script for Buñuel's masterpiece, and the penultimate film the director made in Mexico. An incisive, eerie, surrealist comedy about a group of bourgeois guests at a dinner party who realize they inexplicably cannot leave the house. Nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Set and shot on location in Mexico. Tall, lacking wrappers and title page, housed in a light blue folder. 94 leaves, with last page of text numbered 94. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only. Pages Near… Read More

Los Angeles: Warner Brothers Records, 1970. Original photographic artwork assemblage for Van Morrison's classic 1970 album, , with original double exposure photograph by David Gahr, designed by Janet Planet and used by Warner Brothers Records as shooting artwork for the album cover. Production annotations, in manuscript marker and pencil, at bottom of board below the image. Annotations on verso noting, "Van Morrison 'Cover' 1884," in manuscript marker, with the "1884" being the album catalogue number, and "the band + street choir," just below in manuscript pencil. Gahr was a preeminent photographer of folk, blues, jazz, and rock musicians for over four decades, whose subjects include the likes of Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Miles Davis, Bruce Springsteen, Janis Joplin, Peter Seeger, and many, many others. His work was regularly featured in the seminal rock magazine "Crawdaddy." Building on the critical successes of "Astral Weeks" (1968), and "Moondance" (1970), Morrison's fourth studio LP featured the… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape, 1966. Complete run of Ian Fleming's James Bond series. All 14 books are First UK Editions, except for "Dr. No" (second state with dancing woman silhouette stamped on front board) and "The Man with the Golden Gun" (binding B). None of the jackets are price-clipped, and all are Very Good plus to Near Fine in jacket. Images demonstrating all condition issues are included here, but for further detail on any of the books, please inquire. The titles included, in chronological order, are: Casino Royale (1953), Live and Let Die (1954), Moonraker (1955), Diamonds Are Forever (1956), From Russia with Love (1957), Doctor No (1958), Goldfinger (1959), For Your Eyes Only (1960, Thunderball (1961), The Spy Who Loved Me (1962), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963), You Only Live Twice (1964), The Man with the Golden Gun (1965), and Octopussy and The Living Daylights (1966). Also included with the collection are: The deluxe edition of Jon Gilbert's definitive Ian Fleming bibliography,… Read More

Burbank, CA: Warner Brothers, 1950. Final Draft script for the 1951 film, dated October 18, 1950. Although the front wrapper and the first distribution page identify the script as Part I, the script presented here is the complete Final Draft divided into four parts (Parts I-IV), each with its own distribution page. Laid in are twelve call sheets, dating from October 31, 1950 through December 23, 1950, with all but one heavily annotated in manuscript pencil. Based on Patricia Highsmith's 1950 novel. A Hitchcock classic, following a psychotic socialite and tennis pro who meet on a train and promptly form a partnership to "exchange murders." The plan seems infallible until one person shirks his end of the deal. Shot on location in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Connecticut. Blue titled wrappers, noted as FINAL on the front wrapper, rubber-stamped copy No. 115, dated OCT. 18, 1950. Four distribution pages present, one for each Part, with the first receipt removed, all others intact. 158… Read More

N.p.: John Margolies, 1991. Archive of ten vintage oversize photographs of drive-in theaters across America, taken variously between 1977 and 1982. Three photographs struck in 1981 and seven photographs struck in 1991. All photographs signed by the photographer on the verso, identifying name, date, and location. States represented in the archive are Texas, Virginia, Ohio, California, Washington, and Michigan. Architectural critic, photographer, and author John Margolies is best known for his photographs of vernacular and novelty architecture, most notably roadside attractions built during America's automobile culture of the 1950s, taken between 1969 and 2008. Approximately 400 of the photographs appear in his 2010 monograph, "John Margolies: Roadside America," and in 2016 the Library of Congress created the public domain, "John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive," consisting of 11,710 color slides of his photographs. All photos 20 x 16 inches. Generally Near Fine.

New York: Julian Messner, 1946. First Edition. First Edition. INSCRIBED in the year of publication by the author to director Delmer Daves on the front endpaper: "October 17, 1946 / To Delmer Daves / With all of my best / Dave Goodis." Daves would direct and write the screenplay for the 1947 film adaptation, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall-a noir cornerstone, and the third film to pair Bogey and Bacall. Fine in an about Fine dust jacket, with only a hint of edgewear to note. An attractive copy, and a scarce association. The Dark Page I: 1940-1949, p. 114.

Burbank, CA: Warner Brothers, 1941. Final Draft script for the 1941 film, dated May 26, 1941. Warner Brothers Story Department copy, carbon typescript, with stamps on the front wrapper stating same. Shooting began on June 1, 1941, making this Final Draft in effect the shooting script for the film. OCLC locates only one institutional holding of a production script worldwide. In his 1990 book on the making of the film, Rudy Behlmer notes that Huston, under pressure with a small budget and low expectations from the studio, planned each second of the film to the last detail, tailoring the screenplay with instructions to himself for a shot-by-shot setup, with storyboards for every scene, so filming could proceed fluently and professionally. In the end, virtually none of the script was altered during production, and the production finished on time and under budget. A groundbreaking film noir cornerstone, signaling the beginning of what is today known as the classic film noir era, based on Dashiell… Read More