Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening the second symphony of one Alexandre Tansman, a composer I’ve always liked. I discovered him via his film score to Flesh and Fantasy and then discovered his classical music, which I find very enjoyable. He wrote a LOT of classical music, including nine count them nine symphonies. Ravel was a major influence on him, as was Albert Roussel and Paul Dukas. A good deal of his output was thankfully recorded. He withdrew his first symphony, but the other eight are all recorded. He’s well worth a listen if you’re interested. Yesterday, an online AABA book fair began, and I paid a visit. My history collecting books goes back to around 1971 and I’ve had three what I’d have to call major collections. Even now, I have some wonderful books still. But those major collections were really something else and I’d probably be very wealthy if I’d held on to the last one, which I mostly got rid of beginning around 1995 when I sold off a lot of it to purchase illustration art. That collection was something else. In order to purchase my first major illustration art purchase, a 1921 Saturday Evening Post cover by J.C. Leyendecker, I pulled fifty books off the shelves and gave an L.A. dealer two hours to come to my house before I’d begin calling others. I told him to bring his checkbook and what those books would cost. I only had to tell him about three titles for him to be at my house less than an hour later. He spent forty minutes checking out each of the fifty books and then wrote me a check for the cost of the Leyendecker – $32,500, which the gallery had discounted from %38,000. I called the gallery and made the purchase. But in that group of books was an entire Cornell Woolrich collection, every book in pristine condition. A first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird along with an advance reading copy of same. And many other such titles, with the crème de la crème being Raymond Chandler’s The High Window first edition in jacket, signed by Chandler to Billy Wilder in the year they wrote Double Indemnity together. That had been the most expensive book I’d ever bought – $15,000 – which it took me two years to pay off. The dealer had gone in with another dealer on the purchase and I cannot even begin to imagine how much money they made. I do know that they sold the Chandler for 25K, and they probably made a clean 50 to 100K on the others. Anyway, I love books, I love first editions, I love collecting, but for me the fun is the thrill of the hunt, discovering something hidden away, finding a great bargain.
I think the first actual book fair I attended was fairly late in my collecting career – somewhere around 1994 at the Armory in New York, when I had a sublet on East 66th Street. I went to that every year, and it was so much fun. Hundreds of great dealers with books not crazily priced. I would ship home five or six big boxes of books on every trip. Which brings us back to this online book fair, which wasn’t fun, whose books were so crazily priced it made me want to vomit on the ground. I own several books that were for sale that were absurdly priced. It’s become a game, I think – who can outprice whom. There was a first edition of the first Harry Potter book – that would normally fetch about 20K to 30K. This dealer had it marked at 220K. I mean, that is a collector hobby out of control. You’d have to be awfully stupid to pay that kind of money. And I don’t think they actually sell at those prices, but even if he lowered it by 50% it would still be way too much. But it’s the online thing itself – book collecting is a tactile thing. You go to a real book fair or a shop, and you hold the book, you examine it, you fall in love with. Online, you’re looking at a photograph and price. I really didn’t see one reasonably priced book. I think someone mentioned there’ll be a book fair at Union Station in October, and I’ll definitely go to that – not to buy, but just to be around other collectors and dealers I know and like, just to look at amazing books. Actually, that’s a week from Saturday.
There were hundreds of “booths” so I spent a lot of yesterday looking at those dealers. I did get eight hours of sleep, answered lots of e-mails and texts, and then moseyed on over to the framers, to be my newly-plexiglassed new piece of art – gifted to me by someone who knew I would love it and when you see it in a moment you will understand why. The history of how all this came to be is fun and interesting and began in the early 1990s. I’ll tell that at some point. But for now, here is this gorgeous piece.
Now, for those who may not know what this is, it’s an original Edith Head costume sketch dated October 1954, initialed by her on the backside. It’s for the character of Maid Jean played by Glynis Johns in – The Court Jester. There were several sketches done for this costume, and one of those sold at a Heritage Auction some years ago but isn’t as good as this one. The actual costume differs slightly from my sketch but is fairly close. It is the outfit she wears in her first scene with The Fox. Isn’t it lovely? I know where it will hang, which requires me to move one piece up and move the piece that was there back to where it originally hung, and what replaced it is easy to hang somewhere else. Anyway, I love it large.
I had a Wolfgang Puck Caesar salad with chicken from Gelson’s, with about two ounces of mac and cheese from the hot bar. Salad was good, mac and cheese not so much. Otherwise, I mostly worked at the piano, trying to solve a myriad of small problems with the song I’m working on. Most of it now works really well – just have to fix the form for two verses now and that should do it. Then I can move on to the final song, which should be a lot easier. I’ll tell you the problem with this song I’ve been struggling. I thought it would be fun to have a phone call song, where the character gets a call, but that we’d only hear her side of the conversation. So, it’s a weird concept but really fun to try and make work, leaving pauses or musical fills for when the other person is talking.
I didn’t watch anything but a couple of Jackie Mason clips on the Tube of You – very funny. And here we are.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll hopefully finally finish the song and move on to the final song, I’ll eat something tasty, and then at some point, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
The rest of the week is more writing, a meal or four, and getting ready for a new month and a busy one at that.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, hopefully finish a song and start another, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite things to collect, what was the priciest collectible you ever bought, and what about collecting do you love most? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, looking forward to attending an in-person book fair.