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389.
ANNUAL PUBLICATIONS. Historical Society of Southern California,
1931, Commemorating the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of
the Founding of Los Angeles, September 4, 1781. [7], 8-263
pp. Four unpaginated plates with illustrations and numerous illustrations
in text. 9-1/2x6-1/4, red cloth with gilt-stamped leather spine
label - original printed wrappers bound in. First edition. Los
Angeles: Historical Society of Southern California, 1931.
Bookplate of Henry R. Wagner, a few marginal markings and one
note in pencil. One marking calls attention to Wagner's name in
the list of sponsors of the 1931 Fiesta de Los Angeles. This publication
of the Historical Society of Southern California reprints many
primary source documents in the founding of Los Angeles in addition
to original articles by Laurance Hill, Lindley Bynum, and Thomas
Workman Temple II. Fine condition. (70/100).
390. BARTLETT, DANA W.
The Better City. A Sociological Study
of a Modern City. [11], 12-248 pp. Thirty-two unpaginated
plates with illustrations from various sources. 7-1/2x5, blue
cloth with gilt spine and cover titles. First edition.
Los Angeles: The Neuner Company Press, 1907.
Signed, presentation copy. The author, a social worker in Los
Angeles, provides a picture of the Los Angeles of his day from
a social worker's perspective along with an expression of optimism
for the future generated by faith in the continued social evolution
of mankind. Fine condition. (40/70).
391. [BEL-AIR]
Bel-Air, a Picturesque Domain of Homes.
[36] pp. Numerous full page illustrations from photographs, map
showing location of Bel-Air. 8-1/4x6, pictorial wrappers in color.
Los Angeles: [Alphonzo E. Bell Corporation, 1927].
High-quality, low-key promotional brochure for this most exclusive
residential area in Los Angeles County, located in the hills adjoining
Westwood and Beverly Hills: a favorite of cinema celebrities.
Fine condition. (40/60).
An exceptionally fine copy of Bell's Reminiscences
392. BELL, MAJOR HORACE.
Reminiscences of a Ranger or Early
Times in Southern California. [7], 10-457 pp. 9x5-1/2, green
cloth with gilt spine and cover titles and cover decorations,
laid in folded cloth-covered chemise and full polished leather
slipcase with gilt spine title and decorations. First edition.
Los Angeles: Yarnell, Caystile & Mathes, Printers, 1881.
Cowan p.44; Howes B325; Zamorano 80 #5. Lawrence Clark Powell
gave this book its finest honor by selecting it for one of his
California Classics with the following enconium: "Fortunately
there is a single book about Los Angeles and its environs in the
1850s which is the best of all sources on the period. This classic
work is Major Horace Bell's Reminiscences of a Ranger.
Because of its vigorous style, lively narrative, and range of
human interest, it is unique in its portrayal of time and place,
and it is also written in readable prose." This book also
bears the distinction of being "the first cloth-bound book
to be printed, bound, and published in Los Angeles" [J. Gregg
Layne, Zamorano 80]. This is a remarkably fine copy of a book
seldom found in fine condition. Speaking of the first edition,
Larry Powell commented that it "should be under lock and
key as rare, valuable, and well-nigh irreplaceable." This
copy is almost like new and, if not under lock and key, it is
at least appropriately preserved in a fine slipcase. (500/800).
Horace Bell's own copy with his handwritten corrections
and notes
393. BELL, MAJOR HORACE.
Reminiscences of a Ranger or Early
Times in Southern California. [7], 10-457 pp. 9x5-1/2, green
cloth with gilt spine and cover titles and cover decorations.
First edition. Los Angeles: Yarnell, Caystile & Mathes, Printers,
1881.
Cowan p.44; Howes B325; Zamorano 80 #5. The author has written
the following instructions on the inside of the front cover: "To
be returned to the author Horace Bell, Culver, Sept. 14th 1910."
Below, he has added: "Excuse printer's mistakes. This is
the first book published in Los Angeles." On the last page
the author has attached a piece of stationery with a long note
in his hand about Jose Yves Limantour written Feb. 27, 1911. Bell
was 81 years old at the time. He lived to be 88. Between pages
203 and 234 a number of corrections and changes are written on
the pages. An eight page article by Benjamin Ide Wheeler, president
of the University of California, entitled A Forecast for California
and the Pacific Coast published in 1911 tipped in. Laid in
are photostatic copies of some pages from Fortune Favors the
Brave with notes in an unknown hand. Covers lightly worn,
hinges cracked, one repaired with book-mending tape - otherwise
in good condition. (500/800).
394. BELL, MAJOR HORACE.
Reminiscences of a Ranger or Early
Times in Southern California. Foreword by Arthur M. Ellis.
[17], 2-499, [1] pp. Sixteen unpaginated plates with original
illustrations drawn for this publication by James S. Bodrero.
8x5-1/2, green cloth with gilt spine and cover titles and cover
decorations.
Santa Barbara: Wallace Hebbard, 1927.
First reprint of this California classic. Bookplate and signature
of Rockwell Dennis Hunt and bookplate of the Stuart Library. Slight
rubbing of the covers and dulling of gilt - otherwise in fine
condition. (40/70).
395. BELL, MAJOR HORACE.
Reminiscences of a Ranger or Early
Times in Southern California. Foreword by Arthur M. Ellis.
[17], 2-499, [1] pp. Sixteen unpaginated plates with original
illustrations drawn for this publication by James S. Bodrero.
8x5-1/2, tan buckram with paper spine label. Los Angeles: The
Primavera Press, 1933.
Reprint of the 1927 Hebbard edition with same introduction, pagination,
and illustrations. Fine condition. (40/70).
396. BELL, MAJOR HORACE.
Reminiscences of a Ranger or Early
Times in Southern California. Introduced by Ward Ritchie.
Three volumes: [13], 2-120; [11] 122-269; [9], 274-439 pp. Original
illustrations for this edition by Gene Holtan. 8-1/2x5-1/2, tan-cloth-backed
boards in three colors: 1st vol. white, second vol. brown and
3rd vol. red., slipcases for 1st and 3rd volumes. Limited edition
of 1200-1500 copies.
Los Angeles: Anderson, Ritchie and Simon, 1965-67.
This three-volume edition of Reminiscences of a Ranger
was issued one volume at a time in the Christmas seasons of 1965-67.
The first volume was printed letter-press at Anderson, Ritchie
and Simon and the last two were printed offset at Advertiser's
Composition Company in Los Angeles. Lacking slipcase for volume
2 - otherwise as new. (50/80).
397. BELL, HORACE.
On the Old West Coast. Being Further Reminiscences
of a Ranger, Major Horace Bell. Edited by Lanier Bartlett.
[4], v-xiv, [2], 336 pp. Thirty-nine unpaginated plates with fifty-five
illustrations from various sources. 91/4x6, brown cloth with paper
spine and cover labels, pictorial endpapers. First edition.
New York: William Morrow & Co., 1930.
One of Bell's eleven children preserved all his unpublished as
well published sketches which are now in the Huntington Library.
In 1930 [twelve years after Bell's death] Lanier Bartlett assembled
and edited these unpublished sketches to round out the old ranger's
tales. Although critics have suggested that there was a good reason
why Bell selected the ones that he did for publication, these
are nevertheless worthy additions to the scant literature about
Southern California in the early days after the conquest. Fine
condition. (50/80).
398. [BELL, HORACE] Harrison, Benjamin.
Fortune Favors the
Brave. The Life and Times of Horace Bell, Pioneer Californian.
Foreword by Robert G. Cleland. [6], vii-xvi, [2], 3-307 pp. Twelve
unpaginated plates with twenty-one illustrations from various
sources. 9-1/4x6, red linen with gilt spine title, pictorial dust
jacket. First edition.
Los Angeles: The Ward Ritchie Press, 1953.
Horace Bell's real life was the kind dreamed up by fiction authors
appealing to the common appetite for heroic adventure and Harrison
took full advantage of it in his delightful biography of the Los
Angeles "ranger." A seldom mentioned episode in Horace
Bell's life recounted in this biography was his daring "rescue"
of his father and brother in the middle of the day from a Kentucky
jail where they had been incarcerated for aiding the escape of
a slave. This was shortly before the civil war when feelings were
running strong and Horace became the instant local hero of antislavery
Indiana where most of the Bell family lived. Fine condition. (40/70).
399. CAMERON, ROBERT.
Above Los Angeles. A Collection of Nostalgic
and Contemporary Aerial Photographs of Greater Los Angeles.
[2], 5-153, [6] pp. Profusely illustrated from color photographs
by Robert Cameron and with monchrome illustrations from old photographs.
11x13-3/4, orange cloth with gilt spine title, pictorial dust
jacket. First printing.
San Francisco: Cameron and Company, [1976].
Another spectacular perspective on Southern California - not
just Los Angeles. Fine condition. (40/70).
400. [CATALINA ISLAND]
Santa Catalina Island, Winter and Summer.
16 pp. Numerous illustrations from various sources. 6-3/4x4-1/4,
blue pictorial wrappers.
Los Angeles: Wilmington Transportation Co., [1895].
Stamped "Compliments of Wm. R. Staats Co. Investment Bankers
and Brokers, Pasadena, Cal." and also stamped "Season
of 1895." Extensive physical description of the island, the
harbors, the climate, the recreational opportunities, and the
facilities are provided the reader. "Santa Catalina is an
island twenty-five miles off the coast Los Angeles County, Southern
California. It is reached from Los Angeles in three and one-half
hours by steamers of the Wilmington Transportation Company...As
the steamer crosses the blue waters of the channel, flying fish
dash into the air, and many wonders of the deep greet the eye
during the trip...Avalon is the yachting rendezvous of Southern
California...the picturesque bay constitutes in its smooth waters
and perfect safety an ideal boating place." Recreational
activities, including fishing, hunting, camping, boating, shooting
of flying fish, a scenic fifteen mile stage ride, and dancing
in the pavilion at Avalon are touted in partisan prose. The role
of the Wilmington Transportation Company in all of this is quickly
revealed at the onset: "The Wilmington Transportation company
has secured the exclusive right to grant camping privileges on
the Island of Santa Catalina, and has perfected a system for its
patrons which is attractive to the highest degree." Small
stain on front cover - otherwise in fine condition. (80/120).
401. CLELAND, ROBERT GLASS.
The Cattle on a Thousand Hills.
Southern California 1850-1870. [11], xii-xiv, [3], 4-327 pp.
Four paginated illustrations. 9x6, green cloth with gilt spine
title. First edition. San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1941.
* Cleland, Robert Glass. The Cattle on a Thousand Hills. Southern
California 1850-1880. [10], xi- xvi, [3], 3-365 pp. Four paginated
illustrations and sixteen unpaginated plates from various sources.
9x6, red cloth with gilt spine title, printed dust jacket. Second
edition. San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1951.
Together two volumes: the first and second edition of Cleland's
classic on Southern California before the "boom of the Eighties"
when Southern California was still a land of ranches and a haven
for the social pariahs of the Gold Rush. The second edition was
expanded by an additional chapter on the period 1870 - 1880 to
bring the history of the area up to the "Boom of the Eighties."
The first volume lacking dust jacket and spine gilt partially
worn off - otherwise both volumes in fine condition. (50/80).
402. COWAN, ROBERT G.
A Backward Glance. Los Angeles, 1901-1915.
[48] pp. Forty plates of illustrations from old photographs of
Los Angeles. 9-1/4x6, cloth-backed pictorial boards with gilt
spine title and cover title lettered in black. First edition.
Los Angeles: Historical Society of Southern California, 1969.
Signed presentation inscription by Robert G. Cowan, the son of
Robert Ernest Cowan and coauthor with his father of the later
editions of Cowan's California bibliography. This is a nostalgic
glance at the Los Angeles that once was - before smog, freeways,
gridlock, race riots, etc. featuring forty choice photographs
of Los Angeles between 1901 and 1915. Fine condition. (40/70).
403. DUMKE, GLENN S.
The Boom of the Eighties in Southern California.
[4], v-xi, [3], 3-313 pp. Nine unpaginated plates with illustrations
from various sources. 9x6, cloth-backed printed boards with spine
and cover titles, endpaper maps. First edition printed by Anderson
and Ritchie at the Ward Ritchie Press.
San Marino: Huntington Library, 1944.
After gold lost its luster in Northern California, the "golden"
climate and soil of Southern California was rediscovered. Fueled
in addition by the advent of railroad service to the southland
and finally by "fare wars" between competing railroads
that reduced the fare from the East to Los Angeles to the ludicrous
level of one dollar, a real estate boom, the like of which had
not been seen before was precipitated in Southern California.
In a frenzy of speculation, land was bought and sold like commodities
or shares on a stock exchange. The bubble "burst" in
1888 and land prices tumbled leaving many a speculator in financial
ruin. Even then, the attraction of California was great enough,
the government generous enough in adjusting taxes, the banks lenient
enough in reducing interest and payments, the merits of the scenery
and climate real enough and the promotion good enough that recovery
was not long in coming [see Elias, Judith W., Los Angeles.
Dream to Reality, 1885-1915, item #404]. Fine condition. (50/80).
404. ELIAS, JUDITH W.
Los Angeles. Dream to Reality, 1885-1915.
[12], xiii-xv, [5], 86, [3] pp. Fourteen paginated color plates
from promotional material, title page and endpaper drawings by
Irving Block. 9-3/4x6-1/2, green pictorial linen with paper spine
label. Limited edition of 300 copies printed by the Santa Susana
Press.
Northridge: California State University, Northridge Libraries,
1983.
Signed by the author and illustrator. After the collapse of the
land boom of the eighties, the professional land developers really
went to work to sell Southern California and recoup the wealth
that had slipped through their fingers in the eighties. As the
author states, "Following the railroad's pattern of bringing
about improvements before the demand warranted, the developers
gambled on the beach resorts, built transport out to remote areas,
built subdivisions and created suburbs, and finally with much
ballyhoo and golden promises, enticed the population to those
areas. If ever a region lived and planned for the future, it was
Southern California. Development was, to a large extent carefully
organized, plotted and manipulated. Expansion became the major
business of the region." Fine condition. (60/90).
405. GRAVES, J[ACKSON] A.
My Seventy Years in California, 1857-1927.
[8], ix-xvii, [4], 4-478 pp. Nineteen unpaginated plates with
fifty-one illustrations from photographs of various sources. 9x6,
blue cloth with gilt spine and cover titles. First edition.
Los Angeles: The Times-Mirror Press, 1927.
J. A. Graves came to California in 1857 at the age of five with
his parents. He grew up on a farm in Marysville, was taught largely
by his mother but finished high school in San Mateo and attended
St. Mary's College in San Francisco where he received both bachelor's
and master's degrees. He then worked in one of the San Francisco
law offices "reading law" until he passed the Bar and
entered the practice of law. Mr. Graves moved to Los Angeles in
1875 when it was still a small frontier town of about 7,000. Like
Horace Bell and Harris Newmark, he eventually became one of its
leading citizens. Almost eighty percent of the book is about Los
Angeles and his successful career there as an attorney and successful
banker. Light foxing of a few pages - otherwise in fine condition.
(50/80).
406. GRAVES, JACKSON A.
California Memories, 1857-1930.
[20], 330 pp. Forty-nine unpaginated plates with illustrations
from photographs of identified and unidentified sources. 10x7,
marbled cloth with paper spine label, decorative endpapers. Deluxe,
special edition limited to 350 copies. Los Angeles: Time-Mirror
Press, 1930.
Signed by the author on the half-title. More reminiscences by
Jackson Graves in a fine press edition. For those who believe
that the present Republican theme of "too much government"
is a new one, it will be of interest to read Mr. Grave's opinion
that "the United States is today threatened with an autocracy
of office holders" [p. 130 - written in or before 1930].
As a matter-of-fact, that has always been a favorite American
theme for it was just such rebellion against authority that gave
birth to the United States. Fine condition. (50/80).
407. HARLOW, NEAL.
Maps and Surveys of the Pueblo Lands of
Los Angeles. [4], ix-xvii, [3], 169, [3] pp. Two illustrations
and fourteen maps [two in rear pocket]. 12-1/2x8-1/2, cloth-backed
decorated boards with gilt spine title. Limited edition of 375
copies printed by Grant Dahlstrom. Los Angeles: Dawson's Book
Shop, 1976.
Signed by Neal Harlow and Grant Dahlstrom. Sample page laid in.
The story of the land in Los Angeles as told by maps. The author
has selected and reprinted in facsimile fourteen of the most significant
maps from the first in 1781 to 1870. He has then reconstructed
the history of Los Angeles in relation to these maps. This important
and scholarly work is printed in an elegant volume printed by
Grant Dahlstrom. Fine condition. (200/300).
408. [HAYNES FOUNDATION OF LOS ANGELES] Scott, Mel.
Metropolitan
Los Angeles: One Community. [8], 192 pp. Numerous illustrations
from various sources. 10-1/2x8-1/4, pictorial boards with printed
spine title, pictorial endpapers, pictorial dust jacket. First
edition. Los Angeles: The Haynes Foundation, 1949.
The Haynes Foundation of Los Angeles was established by a successful
physician [John R. Haynes] who moved to Los Angeles from Pennsylvania
just after the boom of the eighties collapsed and soon made a
fortune in real estate. He was a very public-spirited man who
promoted and accomplished several worthy reforms in civic affairs
and left a legacy in the Haynes Foundation to continue research
in government, economics, and sociology - especially related to
Los Angeles. This book, prepared in the second half of the 1940s
with extensive information on Los Angeles at that time, population
projections, freeway plans, etc. makes very interesting reading
today and only underscores the timeless philosophy of Robert Burns
that "the best laid plans...gang aft aglay." Very slight
wear of cover extremities and one small chip from margin of dust
jacket - otherwise in fine condition. (50/80).
409. [HAYNES FOUNDATION] Metropolitan Los Angeles.
A Study
in Integration. Sixteen volumes: xii, 120, [3]; xii, 256,
[3]; vi, 103, [3]; x, 207, [4]; x, 159, [4]; xvi, 170, [3]; viii,
60, [3]; xii, 177, [3]; vi, 73, [4]; vi, 69, [4]; vi, 134, [3];
xii, 103, [4], viii, 85, [3]; viii, 85, [3]; vi, 150, [4]; x,
160, [4]; x, 116, [4] pp. Folded map in each volume showing the
Los Angeles basin with the various geopolitical areas in color,
many charts and tables. 9x6, red cloth with gilt spine and cover
titles.
Los Angeles: The Haynes Foundation, 1952-1955.
In 1952 what the editors meant by the term integration was integration
of services among the numerous geopolitical entities in the Los
Angeles area - not integration of the various ethnic and cultural
entities. Not many were concerned about that forty years ago.
The first volume is subtitled Characteristics of the Metropolis,
the second is How the Cities Grew, the third is Regional
Planning, and each one after that addresses a different service
function such as law enforcement, sanitation and health, fire
protection, etc. The last volume is a summary and discussion of
whether integration was really possible. This work represents
a major study of a rather unique set of communities. Laid in is
a current brochure on the activities of the Haynes Foundation
for 1989-1994. Code letters and number written in white ink on
the spine of one volume - otherwise all in fine condition. (80/120).
410. HYLEN, ARNOLD.
Los Angeles before the Freeways, 1850-1950,
Images of an Era. [8], 162 pp. Frontispiece, folded map, and
115 paginated plates from photographs by the author. 9-1/4x6,
cloth-backed pictorial boards with gilt spine title. Limited edition
of 600 copies printed by the Castle Press. Los Angeles: Dawson's
Book Shop, 1981.
A photographic essay on the old central Los Angeles. The author
photographed this area very extensively before the freeways were
built and altered the landscape. Included with this is a much
earlier photograph of central Los Angeles taken from one of the
areas shown in the map. Photograph moderately faded, volume in
fine condition. (50/80).
411. [LOS ANGELES AREA EPHEMERA]
Glenwood Hotel. California's
Mission Hotel. The Glenwood, Riverside. [16] pp. Numerous
illustrations from photographs. 7-3/4x5-3/4, pictorial wrappers
with title in gold and black. [San Francisco: Norman Pierce Company,
1905]. * Deuel, Pauline. Mexican Serenade. The Story of the
Mexican Players and the Padua Hills Theatre. [6], vii-xiii,
[3], 80 pp. Sixteen paginated plates with illustrations from photographs.
10x6-3/4, stiff pictorial wrappers. Claremont: Padua Institute,
1961.
Together, two items. Very good or better condition. (40/70).
412. [LOS ANGELES BIBLIOGRAPHY] Nunis, Doyce, Jr.
Los Angeles
and Its Environs in the Twentieth Century. A Bibliography of a
Metropolis Compiled under the Auspices of the Metropolitan Los
Angeles History Project. [6], vii-xvii [3] 3-501 pp. 11x8-1/2,
beige linen with gilt spine title and cover rules, printed dust
jacket. First edition.
Los Angeles: The Ward Ritchie Press, 1973.
Nearly 10,000 entries. Detailed author and subject indices help
in locating obscure [and some not so obscure] references as the
bibliography, itself is divided into almost as many categories
as Los Angeles is divided into communities. Fine condition.
(100/150).
Southern California Blue Books for 1895 and 1930
413. [LOS ANGELES BLUE BOOKS]
Los Angeles and Southern California
Blue Book Embracing Los Angeles, Pasadena, Riverside, San Diego,
Pomona, Santa Barbara, San Bernadino and Fresno. [4], i-vii,
[2], 22-94, 1a-32a, i-xlii, [8] pp. Elaborate title page in blue
and gilt with illustration of young female, three full-page illustrations
and many smaller illustrations in advertisements. 8-1/4x5-1/2,
blue and white cloth with elaborate gilt cover title. Los Angeles:
A. A. Thompson, 1894-1895. * Los Angeles Blue Book: A Society
Directory of Names and Addresses, at Home Days and Telephone Numbers.
Names of the Leading Clubs and Their Officers, 1930. [17],
18-265, [7, adv.] pp. Illustrations in advertisements. 7-1/2x4-3/4,
full suede leather with gilt cover title and ornament. Los Angeles:
Raymond J. Wolfsohn, 1930.
Together two volumes. First item has worn bindings with cracked
front hinge and beginning cracking of rear hinge. Second one has
marginal tears of limp suede in several places, uneven fading
of suede leather, cracking of front hinge, and detachment of one
page - otherwise in good condition. (80/120).
414. [LOS ANGELES CENSUS] Newmark, Maurice H. and Marco R. Newmark
Census of the City and County of Los Angeles, California for
the Year 1850 together with an Analysis and an Appendix. [15],
14-139 pp. Sixteen unpaginated plates and one folded map from
the Ord Survey of Los Angeles. 10-1/2x7-1/4, dark green cloth
with gilt spine and cover titles. First edition. Los Angeles:
The Times-Mirror Press, 1929.
All the data pertaining to Los Angeles from the first California
census is included in this volume along with valuable historical
introductions, a biographical sketch of the census taker, John
Evertsen, and a totally unrelated story about the death of Peter
Lebec. Fine condition. (60/90).
415. [LOS ANGELES CIVIC AFFAIRS] Ford, John Anson.
Thirty Explosive
Years in Los Angeles County. [6], xv, [3], 3-232 pp. Frontispiece
portrait of the author, eight unpaginated plates with fourteen
illustrations, one map. 9x6, black cloth with red spine title,
printed dust jacket. San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1961.
* Hales, George P. Los Angeles City Hall. [6], vii-xi,
[2], 14-63 pp. Numerous illustrations from photographs, drawings
and plans of the Los Angeles City Hall. 9x6, beige pictorial linen
with printed cover title and hand-lettered spine title and library
number. Los Angeles: Board of Public Works, 1928.
For twenty-four of the thirty years [1934-1958] in the title
of the first book, as a member of the Los Angeles County Board
of Supervisors, John Anson Ford had a front row seat in the amphitheater
of Los Angeles politics. A journalist for many years before entering
the politial arena, he skillfully sketches the story of the phenomenal
growth of Los Angeles and some of its consequences. In one prescient
chapter, entitled "The Cancer in Politics" he documents
the progressive deterioration in honest representation of the
populace brought about by the high cost of campaigns, a problem
which has continued to exacerbate ever since. The second item
provides a dramatic view of the growth of civic pride [or politics]
in Los Angeles with the construction of a five million dollar
city hall [the equivalent today would probably be 50 to 100 million
dollars]. The second item is a very clean and unworn exlibrary
copy - otherwise both in fine condition. (40/70).
416. [LOS ANGELES, COLUMNISTS] Carr, Harry.
Los Angeles. City
of Dreams. [6], vii-ix, [3], 3-403 pp. Color frontispiece,
and 32 other unpaginated plates from original drawings by E. H.
Suydam. 9x6, orange cloth with gilt spine title and blind-stamped
cover, pictorial endpapers, top edges stained, pictorial dust
jacket. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, n.d. * Shippey, Lee. Luckiest
Man Alive. Being the Author's Own Story with Certain Omissions,
but Including hitherto Unpublished Sidelights on Some Famous Persons
and Incidents. [8], 9-203 pp. 8x5-1/4, blue linen with gilt
spine title, pictorial dust jacket. First edition. Los Angeles:
Westernlore Press, 1959. * Smith, Jack. Alive in La La Land.
[14], 256 pp. 9x6, cloth-backed boards with gilt spine title,
pictorial dust jacket. New York, Toronto: Franklin Watts, 1989.
Together three books by three different Los Angeles columnists
over a span of 60 years. The first is L.A. Bib. #2245. and tells
the story of Los Angeles to 1930 in the light-hearted fashion
that we have learned to associate with the entertainment capital
of the world [even then]. The author of the second autobiographical
sketch was a columnist for the Los Angeles Times for many years.
The third is dedicated "to the nurses and doctors of the
USC-County Medical Center, with thanks for bringing me back from
the dead." Dust jacket of the second is slightly chipped
- otherwise all in fine condition. (50/80).
Facsimiles of the first Los Angeles city and
phone directories
417. [LOS ANGELES DIRECTORY]
The First Los Angeles City and
County Directory, 1872. [8], 9-131, [1] pp. One photographic
panorama of Los Angeles in 1869 extending over four pages, four
illustrations from old photographs and one folded map of Los Angeles
in 1873. 9x5-3/4, linen-backed decorated boards with gilt spine
title, plain slipcase. Limited edition of one thousand copies.
Los Angeles: The Ward Ritchie Press, 1963.
Facsimile reprint of the first Los Angeles Directory. The original
is so rare that only three incomplete copies are known to exist.
By using all the copies this one could be made complete except
for the title page which is missing in all three copies. Approximately
1500 entries appear in this first directory corresponding quite
well with the known population figures of somewhere around six
thousand assuming that most of the entries were the heads of households.
The many advertisements that are faithfully reproduced in facsimile
are as of much or more interest than the directory of citizens.
This reprint includes two articles about the directory written
by J. M. Guinn in the early part of this century and a new introduction
by W. W. Robinson.
Included with this is an exact facsimile reprint of the first
Los Angeles Telephone Company directory issued ten years after
the first city directory. This directory is three pages long and
has a list of 90 subscribers. Slight fading of spine of first
item - otherwise both in fine condition. (50/80).
418. [LOS ANGELES FIESTA]
Official Program Souvenir, La Fiesta
de Los Angeles, April 10, 11, 12, 13, 1894. [2, adv.], [1],
2-80 pp. Seven paginated plates with portraits of members of the
Fiesta committee and ten paginated plates with drawings of floats
planned for the parade of the Fiesta. 5-3/4x9-1/4, pictorial wrappers
with decorative cover title. [Los Angeles]: R. W. Pridham, 1894
* Original photograph, probably of a float in the Fiesta de Los
Angeles. 5-3/4x8, laid in clear plastic holder. Los Angeles: C.
B. Waite, n.d. [c. 1894-1900].
Official program for the first Fiesta de Los Angeles initiated
four years after Pasadena's success with the Tournament of Roses.
This is just one example of the intense promotion of Southern
California [which has been so successful that it has brought about
its own destruction]. The photograph has the photographer's stamp
on the back but no label or date. It is a photograph, however,
of a float for a parade in an unpaved street with streetcar tracks
in front of an old brick building. The photographer was located
in Los Angeles which suggests that this is the location of the
festival. The dirt street, the style of clothes, buildings, horses
etc. suggest the last decade of the 19th century. Fine condition.
(60/90).
419. [LOS ANGELES GUIDE-BOOK] Workers of the Writer's Program
of the Work Projects Administration in Southern California. Los
Angeles: A Guide to the City and its Environs. [4] v-lii,
[2], 3-433 pp. Ten maps [including endpaper maps] and sixty-four
unpaginated plates with 127 illustrations from various sources.
5-1/4x8, beige linen with spine and cover titles in red, endpaper
maps. First edition.
New York: Hastings House, 1941.
Fine condition. (40/70).
"Pen Pictures from the Garden of the World"
420. [LOS ANGELES HISTORY]
An Illustrated History of Los Angeles
County, California Containing a History of Los Angeles County
from the Earlist Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time,
together with Glimpses of its Prospective Future; with Profuse
Illustrations of its Beautiful Scenery, Full-Page Portraits of
some of its most Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of Many
of its Pioneers and also of Prominent Citizens of Today. [12],
835 pp. Frontispiece portrait of J. J. Warner and eight full-page,
unpaginated plates from photographs of Los Angeles scenes as well
as fifty-four full-page unpaginated plates with engraved photographic
portraits. 11x9, full morocco with gilt spine title and blind-stamped
and gilt cover decorations, all edges gilt. Chicago: The Lewis
Publishing Company, 1889.
Cowan p.397. Although not exactly living up to the description
on the title page of profuse illustrations, the eight plates of
Los Angeles scenes are particularly handsome representatives of
the photographic art of the time. Although this is a classic "mug
book" it has more than 360 pages devoted to the general history
of Los Angeles in addition to the paid-for biographical sketches
and portraits. Rebacked with original well-worn leather backstrip
laid on. Lacking one of the portraits - otherwise in very good
condition. (300/500).