The Greatest Gift...

It's true, it isn't even Thanksgiving yet--but while our gem from today revolves around Christmas, it certainly has a good message for year round.

"The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern is the short story of a man named George Pratt who, while contemplating suicide on Christmas Eve, meets a stranger who gives him his wish of "never being born." George proceeds to find out what the town is like now that he was never part of it. When George stops at his parents house, he finds they do not know him, and that the boy who would have been his little brother drowned many years ago--George was not there to save him as he had before. At his wife's house, he meets her terrible drunk of a husband who treats the family poorly; since George was never born he had never courted her and won her heart. He races back to the bridge and pleads with the stranger to change him back, and once back he races home to his parents and wife and family with a new thanksgiving for his life and happiness.

 

If this story sounds familiar to you, it is because this is the original story of "It's a Wonderful Life," the traditional Christmas movie favorite of today.
Stern's 4,100 word short story was inspired by a dream, and unable to find a publisher for it, he sent the 200 copies he had privately printed to his friends as Christmas cards in 1943. It came to the attention of RKO producer David Hempstead, and the rest is history. Sold to Frank Capra's production company for $10,000; it was adapted into what is now one of the best known Christmas movies of all time.

Original signature by Philip Van Doren Stern

Our copy at Mullen Books is one of the original 200 sent out by Stern in 1943.

It is signed in ink by the author/publisher on the very last page. Some pages even have the paper watermark in the corners--something that is not present in many books, but adds to the value of hand-prints as a sign of their hand-crafting.

Though a quick read [only 21 pages long] it is a beautiful story, and well-written--a book with a moral of thanks and peace that is timeless at any age. Beyond the story itself, this booklet is a gorgeous piece of history.

 And certainly something that "person who has everything" will never expect for Christmas!

Country Life...

Today's book find is on German country life, a beautifully hand-printed and hand-colored volume circa 1821.

"The Country Life, or Family Friedheim's Travel to Rural Areas: Contemplation of Natural Objects and the Agriculture. A Picture-Book for the Instruction and Entertainment of Inquisitive Children." (Rough translation.)

The text is in German, on just-the-right thickness rag paper that makes you feel good to be turning the pages. There are twelve total hand-colored copper plate engravings, with a rich yet muted palette.

 It is printed in Schwabacher typeface (near as can be told through research) and though it is German, this volume was apparently printed in a time prior to complete written standardization of the German language.

Another gorgeous book in the collection, one that needs a loving bookshelf somewhere to call it's own!

Oh! The Things You'll Learn...

Today's spectacular find may be a bit of base humor, but it has kept us laughing all morning. In 1931, Dr. Seuss (then just beginning his soon-to-be long and industrious career) illustrated a book titled "Boners." We're not kidding.

At least it's written in large, friendly letters.

This is "A Collection of Schoolboy Wisdom, or Knowledge as It Is Sometimes Written, Compiled from Classrooms and Examination Papers by Alexander Abingdon, and Illustrated by Dr. Suess." In so many words, it is hilarious, and it is brilliant. Through some research, Alexander Abingdon does not apparently exist. "[His name] was added as a place-holder by the manufacturing manager of the Viking Press and was due to be replaced by a "big name" when one was found to write the introduction. One was not found in time and they forgot to remove the name." (Read the full Curious Pages blog here.)

Boners is full of the wit that only schoolboys from 1931 can arrive at, and while funny, they are occasionally quite dirty and some by today's standards are downright racist. However, Dr. Seuss' inimitable illustrative style is evident and worth seeing. For any adults who enjoyed Seuss books as a child, this would be a good step up from the remembered One Fish, Two Fish.

Some of the favorites from this morning include:

A goblet is a male turkey.

A polygon is a dead parrot.

Homer wrote the Oddity.

In what order do the Gospels come? --One after the other.

A mountain range is a cooking stove used at high altitudes.

Masculine, man; feminine, woman; neuter, corpse.

The different kinds of sense are common-sense and non-sense.

Oh! The Things You'll Learn...about young Dr. Seuss.

A Beautiful Find...

This card was tucked into a book on Medieval French Miniatures. We're not 100% positive that it's the real McCoy from 1420, but if it isn't original it's an extremely well made copy.

Viva Pulcinella! Happy Friday!

It's the end of the week, and as we all know, weekends are the time for mischief!

Recently we acquired an edition of the book "Domenico Tiepolo: The Punchinello Drawings" and who could possibly be better at mischief than good old Punch? Tiepolo's ink wash drawings are best described as "nervous line" and give off an effervescence and joviality that is hard not to smile at. To leave you with a good weekend, here is some research on Punchinello and the drawings of Tiepolo.

A Fine Beginning...

Welcome to the newest addition to Mullen Books: the blog! Here you can keep up with our most interesting (read: we laughed or gasped when we found it) new finds, progress on a potential new home for the books, and general information.
When you have the time, stop over at our website to check out the huge selection of books! The main focus is on American and European Monographs, Ceramics, Decorative Arts, Architecture and Serials, but also branches into art technique, militaria, history, literature, and the odd section we just call "Miscellaneous."
For today, however, since the specialty is in fine art books, I'd like to share something interesting: books made into fine art! You can read the full article here.

Jules Verne never saw this one coming...