Royal Books

Burbank, CA: Warner Brothers, ca. 1959. Draft script for the 1960 film "Ocean's Eleven," seen here as "Oceans Eleven or And the Angels Sing." Copy belonging to actor Peter Lawford, with his name to the front wrapper and his holograph notations throughout. Lawford owned the rights to the film, and...

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Paris: Jean-Michel Place, 1999. First printing of this edition, originally published by Reynal and Hitchcock in 1939.Husband and wife team Dorothea Lange and Paul Taylor were hired by the Farm Security Administration to document the 300,000 strong, Depression-era exodus, and the struggles theses migrant workers overcame in search of basic...

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N.p. N.p. 1966. Heavily corrected original typescript for a story by Dieter Dengler and ghost-writer Trevor Armbrister, "Dengler" (here with the hand-corrected title, "Vietnam Exclusive: I Escaped from a Red Prison"). The story first appeared in the December 3, 1966 issue of the "Saturday Evening Post," and was adapted many...

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Universal City, CA: Universal Pictures, 1941. Draft script for the 1941 film, here under the working title %The Great Man,% with holograph annotations on nearly every page. W.C. Fields' last starring film before his death in 1946. Told as a "real life" film starring Fields as himself, "Never Give a....

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Hollywood, CA: RKO Radio Pictures, 1932. Vintage double weight reference photograph from the 1932 film. A rare glimpse behind the scenes of a film that was a triumph of design, practical effects, and cinematography. Fay Wray, the actors playing the natives of Kong Island, and the crew prepare for one...

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New York: LIFE Magazine, 1960. An extremely uncommon film preview poster issued by LIFE magazine, to promote the first appearance of Hemingway's "The Dangerous Summer," which first ran in the magazine in two parts, in the September and October 1960 issues. The only example we have ever encountered. 26.5 x....

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Vintage double weight press photograph from Hollywood beach house party, held on June 19, 1926, attended by the movie's industry elite of the day. Dated snipe on the verso notes that among those in the photo are Rudolph Valentino (who would die two months later in New York City), Pola...

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Paris: Societe d'Exploitation et de Distribution de Films, 1938. Set of 3 black-and-white still photographs from the US premiere of the 1964 film. Each with a mimeo snipe affixed to the verso, as issued, noting that the film is making its debut at the Esquire Theatre in Los Angeles. Also...

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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...

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Universal City, CA: Universal Pictures, 1945. Original treatment (titled "Characters and Premise") and complete set of continuities for the 1945 13-episode film serial, including a continuity for the trailer, constituting a virtually complete record. Hammett debuted his Nazi-fighting agent in 1934 in comic book form, with artwork by the legendary...

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New York: Sloane, 1949. First Edition. SIGNED by the author on the front endpaper. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and basis for the 1967 Andrew V. McLaglen film starring Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum. Jacket art by Alan Haemer. Fine and unread in a Fine dust jacket. An especially bright copy.

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Burbank, CA: National Broadcasting Company [NBC], 1976. Final and Revised Final drafts for four episodes the 1976 season and two episodes 1977 season of the NBC television series "Gibbsville," based on characters in John O'Hara's 1934 novel, "Appointment in Samarra." Gibbsville is the name of the town central to the...

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Toronto: Bell and Cockburn, 1912. Octavo, two volumes. First Canadian Edition, first printing. Published the same year as the English first (and correct first) edition. Publisher's maroon cloth, gilt titles, top page edges gilt, red borders on the front boards with Norwegian flag designs. All plates, maps, and illustrations present...

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Moscow: Creative Unit of Writers, 1972. Set of 16 vintage oversize black-and-white still photographs from the Russian release of the 1972 Russian film. On the verso of each photograph is a label for a European distributor. Often cited as one of the most important films in the history of cinematography...

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New York: Dodd, Mead, 1944. First Edition. Fine in a bright, Near Fine dust jacket, lightly chipped at spine ends and lightly rubbed at hinges. A sharp copy of the author's first novel which introduced one of the giants of twentieth century crime fiction to the public. Rare.

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Chicago: Earl Seubert, 1970. Vintage borderless black-and-white photograph of Richard Avedon holding up a photograph of Rennie Davis (of the Chicago Seven) for an exhibition held in Chicago in June 1970. Shot by Tribune photographer Earl Seubert, with his stamp on the verso, as well as several date stamps (all...

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New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1971. First Edition. SIGNED by Charles Mingus on the dedication page. One of the most uncommon signatures in jazz history, this being only the second example we have ever encountered.A highly unorthodox, stream-of-consciousness autobiography, on which Mingus reportedly worked for over twenty years. Told in...

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London: George G Harrap and Co, 1923. Large quarto. First Edition. Issued by Harrap in an edition of 2000 copies in 1923, 250 of which were distributed by Stokes in the US. With 48 richly colored plates interspersed with sheets of calligraphic text. Housed in a custom maroon quarter-leather clamshell...

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Munich: Lenbachhaus, 1982. Original poster for the 1982 exhibition of drawings created by director Robert Wilson, in conjunction with his play of the same name. The exhibition took place at Lenbachhaus, in Munich, Germany, from May 19th to June 13th, 1982. Wilson typically created preliminary drawings for his theatre works...

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Stockholm: Svensk Filmindustri, 1963. Original Swedish photographic style poster for the 1963 film. The second entry in Bergman's legendary and highly personal "Faith" trilogy, a series of films that launched a new and important phase in the director's career. "Winter Light" takes place in entirely within a three-hour period on...

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London: George Routledge and Sons, 1874. Small quarto. First printing of this edition. First published in 1842 by Rudolph Ackerman in London. Thirty-five color illustrations by Henry Alken, all present. One page of ads at the rear. Marbled boards in half-bound red morocco leather, compartments, titles and designs all gilt...

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Los Angeles: Twentieth Century-Fox, 1960. Vintage oversize, double weight, borderless film still from the 1960 musical film depicting Shirley MacLaine involved in a hand of cards with assistant director Joseph E. Rickards while Frank Sinatra and director Walter Lang look on. Based on the 1953 Broadway musical by Abe Burrows...

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New York: The Monacelli Press, 1995. First Edition. INSCRIBED by Rem Koolhaas on the title page, in the year after publication: "To Rochelle / Rem Koolhaas / 1-2-96."Koolhaas' magnum opus, a profusely illustrated guide to his process. Conceptual in its design and execution, much like the architect's work.Near Fine, with...

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Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1981. Revised First draft script for the 1982 film. Laid in is a photocopied MGM memorandum from Steven Spielberg addressing the confidentiality of the "Poltergeist" project. Red numeric watermark on each page as called for.A quintessential entry in the horror film oeuvre, "Poltergeist" tells the...

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London: Chatto and Windus, 1930. First Edition. One of 260 copies (this being No. 120) SIGNED by the author. Light fading to the spine, else a bright Fine copy. A lovely copy of this play by the author of "Winnie the Pooh."

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Hollywood, CA: Wallis-Paramount Pictures-Hazen / Paramount Pictures, 1964. Final White script for the 1964 film. Notation (name) in holograph pencil on the front wrapper, and in pencil and ink on one page, though the association is unknown. Included are two vintage black-and-white reference photographs from the film.Charlie Rogers (Elvis Presley)...

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New York: Fluxus Editions, 1963. First Edition. Young's compositions for 1961, beginning on January 1 and repeating roughly every 13 days through December 31, were a reconceptualization of his "Composition 1960 No. 10" ("Draw a straight line and follow it"), which would become something of a guiding artistic principle for...

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Los Angeles: William Fox, 1927. Vintage double weight reference photograph from the 1927 film. Portrayed are star-crossed lovers Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien, in the midst of their romantic city adventure, boarding a trolley.Murnau's first film to be made in the US, a rare and poignant studio photograph from what...

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Salem, Germany: The Salem School, 1930. First Edition. Publisher’s half vellum with decorative gold string over textured handmade paper. An album produced in a small limited edition, targeting American supporters for the purpose of raising funds for the then-new school. Though today the school is one of the most elite...

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London: Romulus, 1961. Draft script for the 1962 film. Copy belonging to producer James H. Ware with his name and notations in holograph ink and pencil throughout. Ware was a major presence in British and American cinema, best known for his work on "Beat the Devil" (1953), "Room at the...

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London: Smith, Elder and Comapny, 1858, 1867. Second Edition. Three volumes. Set belonging to US Army General, White House Staff Secretary, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Andrew Goodpaster, with a presentation bookplate on the front pastedown of each volume. Very Good plus. Rebound in full leather, with marbled endpapers...

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Hollywood, CA: Paramount Pictures, 1933. Original film program for the 1933 film. With a striking image of Dietrich on the front wrapper, and much detail throughout regarding the production. Based on the novel by Hermann Suermann and the play by Edward Sheldon, about a country orphan who goes to Berlin...

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Hollywood, CA: Paramount Pictures, 1979. Final draft script for the 1980 film.A shining credit for John Travolta, based on an article in Esquire magazine (1978) by Aaron Latham. A country boy moves to the city to take a job with his uncle, meets a cowgirl and the two fall in...

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N.p. Rome Paris Films, 1966. Vintage French Moyenne poster for the 1966 film. Nominated for a Palme d'Or at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival. A flurry of controversy surrounded the production and release of Rivette's film. Upon facing pressure from the French Catholic Church regarding its critical religious and sexual...

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Redding, CT: C.E. Ives, 1922. First Edition. A self-published volume of songs by Charles Ives, selected from a volume published earlier the same year, titled "114 Songs." Like "114 Songs," this was printed for distribution among the composer's friends, and judging from the small number of copies in world libraries...

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N.p. N.p. 1953-1986. A curated collection of 9 typed letters signed written by John D. MacDonald to various serious inquiries from readers all over the world regarding his fiction, as well as some correspondence with the Finnish publisher Eurographica (who published "The Annex and Other Stories in 1987), all dating...

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