Satan Sanderson - Pastor in Trouble!
A best-selling title in 1907, SATAN SANDERSON is the melodramatic mystery story of a saintly Southern minister, Harry ‘Satan’ Sanderson, who assumes the identity of his college chum Hugh Stires, a disinherited, dissolute wastrel, and is brought to trial for a murder he did not commit.

The 400-page hardbound book was written by Hallie Erminie Rives and published in 1907 by the Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis.

Color illustrations, including a great color frontispiece, are by A. B. Wenzell. The cover features an applied drawing, with title and author notations in gilt lettering.

The book is in Good condition, with minor edge/corner spine end wear to the covers. The cover art is missing one small area at bottom corner. A previous owner’s name is handwritten in the front; hinges are loose.

The book is, however, complete and readable -– and a fun read, even today! (6219)


Circa: 1907
Publisher: Bobbs-Merrill
ISBN: None  

Early Guide to Historical Fiction
Published in 1914 by George Routledge & Sons, London, Ernest A. Baker’s
A GUIDE TO HISTORICAL FICTION provides a very thorough guide to all areas of historical fiction – including children’s literature!

The 570-page hardbound book (it’s very heavy!) covers plot, synopses and descriptive notes for fiction written throughout the world from Britain under the Romans to the U.S. in 1900; from the earliest times in Asia, Australasia, Africa, Spain and Portugal, Scandinavia, Denmark and Iceland, Russia and Poland, The Netherlands, Holland and Belgium, Italy, Greece, the Balkan States, Turkey, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary and France.

Unfortunately, the book has seen some wear – the front cover is loose from the text. It’s probably well worth restoration, however, since most other facets of the structure and appearance are without serious defects. There is minor edge/corner and spine end wear, but inside pages are clean, crisp and easily read – with no apparent defects. It is ex lib with the usual library markings. If you want a very helpful book about books, this may be it! (5847)

Publisher: George Routledge & Sons
ISBN: none  

Stephen Vincent Benet: Two Volumes
This is a marvelous slipcase-enclosed set of two volumes of the SELECTED WORKS OF STEPHEN VINCENT BENET, published in 1942 by Farrar & Rinehart Inc., New York.

Volume I, POETRY, features 487 pages that include John Brown’s Body; as well as poems from his volumes of poetry entitled Young Adventure; My Fair Lady; Ballads and Tales; Creatures of Earth; Nightmares and Visitants; and Listen to the People.

In the 483-page Volume II, PROSE, are included stories from Benet’s Stories of American History; Spanish Bayonet; Tales of Our Time; and Fantasies and Prophecies.

In introductory notes about the author, Basil Davenport comments:
There is no one to touch Benet in the variety and skill of his treatment of American themes; yet even his Americanism is the outcome of something deeper… He loves New York as the communal achievement of the spirit of man; he loves America because there every man can most freely become what God meant him to be…

And because he loves man he loves man’s life. If we are to be saved, it will be in great part by the writings that show us all what we have to live for, and the good life that we could make.

The set is in Very Good condition, with no apparent defects on the covers or inside pages of the hardbound books. The slipcase is Good, with wear to the edges/corners and some scuffs on the outside.

A beautiful set for a gift -– or your own book shelf! (6008)
Circa: 1942
Publisher: Farrar & Rinehart
ISBN: None  

Bulfinch Age of Fable, NICE COPY
Mythology is the handmaid of literature; and literature is one of the best allies of virtue and promoters of happiness. This book is not for the learned not, nor for the theologian, nor for the philosopher, but for the reader of English literature, of either sex, who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently made by public speakers, lecturers, essayists, and poets, and those which occur in polite conversation.

Those words are from the Preface of The Age of Fable, Or, Stories of Gods and Heroes, written by Thomas Bulfinch and published in this edition by Hurst & Co., New York. The book is not dated, but judging from the three-quarter leather and marble covers, decorated spine and gilt top edges, appears to be from the early 1900s.

All the familiar names are here: Prometheus and Pandora, June all and her rivals, Phaeton, Midas, Proserpine, Pygmalion, Venus, Adonis, the Halcyon birds, Cupid, Psyche, Narcissus, Hero and Leander, Minerva and more!

And their stories are written in any easily understood, yet fascinating way! There is a great drawing on the frontispiece, with other drawings in the text throughout the book.

The book is in very good condition with minor edge/corner/spine end wear. Leather on front edge of spine shows some roughness. Although a previous owner’s name is handwritten inside, we see no apparent defects on the inside pages. It’s a nice copy of a wonderful old book! (3959)
Publisher: Hurst & Co.
ISBN: none  

HER MAN - Early HB Romance
HER MAN is another of a long list of early romance novels written by turn-of-the-century author, Beatrice Burton.

Believing that women and young girls would appreciate her books because they were written with an understanding of their plight in life, Burton’s characters were usually girls who were earning their own living and trying to find their way through the many temptations they faced each day. These romances caused a tremendous sensation when they first appeared as newspaper serials.

In this one, published in 1926 by Grosset and Dunlap, New York, we read the story of Sylvia Starr, a girl who gave everything and still could not hold the man she loved!

Condition of the 376-page hardbound book is Good. The bright orange cloth covers show a few minor scuffs and slight wear on the corners. The black title design is scratched. The spine is quite faded, with light wear on the ends. Inside pages are slightly yellowed, but still clean, tightly bound and easy to read. A previous owner’s name is handwritten on front endpaper, with residue from a removed price tag there, too. (2618)
Circa: 1926
Publisher: Grosset and Dunlap
ISBN: none  

Davis, Great American Novel, 1938 THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL -- is the saga of Homer Zigler, who wanted more than anything else in the world to do something wonderful with his life – to write the 'great American novel' and to marry the woman of his dreams. His sojourns take him to the American cities of Buffalo, Cleveland, Kansas City, San Francisco and Denver, where he is a ‘good’ newspaperman ... an marries another woman who is ‘right at hand.’

The story is one of a man and his inner life and outer life … his dreams and hopes framed by a mediocre existence.

The book was written by Clyde Brion Davis and published in 1938 by Farrar & Rinehart, New York. This 309-page hardbound copy appears to be a first edition.

Condition is Very Good, with very minor edge/corner/spine end wear to the covers and a few minor scuffs. The spine is sun-faded. Inside pages, however, are clean, crisp and without apparent defects. There is a previous owner’s name handwritten on the front endpaper, and a typewritten list of names and dates on the back endpaper. We don’t know the significance of that, but it can easily be removed. Here’s an interesting book – well worth reading! (3780)
Circa: 1938
Publisher: Farrar & Rinehart
ISBN: none  

Women & Thomas Harrow, Marquand
Women and Thomas Harrow is the story of a successful playwright in 1920s New York who is facing financial ruin through his own mismanagement. It’s a story concerned with the conflict between the creative mind and the inhibitions of worldly success – a wryly satirical and humorous view!

The 490-page hardbound book was published in 1958 by Little, Brown & Co., Boston. This is an apparent FIRST EDITION.

Condition of the book is Very Good, with minor corner bumps on the covers, but no other apparent defects inside or out. (3778)
Circa: 1958
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: none