Search Results: History from Royal Books, Inc.

New York: NBC Television Network, 1960. Four vintage photographs from NBC News of the 1960 Democratic National Convention. "NBC photo by Frank Carroll" stamp on the verso of each. Laid in is an NBC News mimeo snipe. One photograph is of the floor of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, largely empty, prior to the beginning of the convention, one photograph of the press, with newscaster David Brinkley in foreground, being shown the convention hall from the upper balcony, and two of the press trolley escorting reporters, photographers, and newscasters to the convention hall, one of which has Brinkley, standing, conversing with other reporters. The 1960 Democratic National Convention was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on July 11-15 and nominated Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts for president and Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas for vice president. The other top presidential candidates at the convention were Stuart Syminton, Adlai Stevenson, Robert B. Meyner, and Hubert… Read More

Glendale, CA: Allied Artists, 1963. Vintage black-and-white keybook photograph of director Nicholas Ray on the set of his 1963 film, "55 Days at Peking." Shot by still photographer Dennis Stock, and with a mimeograph snipe on the verso crediting Ray, screenwriter Philip Yordan, and actors Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, and David Niven, and with a stamp crediting producer Samuel Bronston along with the above noted parties. Ray's last stand, an iconic image. The filming of the epic historical drama took place in and around Madrid, and Ray collapsed during shooting. It was completed by director Guy Green and the film's second unit director Andrew Marton, though Ray was given sole credit on the finished film. It would be the director's last major film. 8 x 10 inches (20.5 x 25.5 inches). With a 3-hole punch on an affixed tab at the left margin as called for. Near Fine.

New York: Grossman Publisher, 1966. First Edition. First Edition. The story of Adlai Stevenson's career told through photographs, including texts from his essays and speeches. Near Fine in a Very Good dust jacket. Some light rubbing to the board edges. Jacket has moderate edgewear and rubbing overall.

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1955. Vintage reference photograph from the 1955 film. Mimeo snipe on the verso. Based on the 1823 novel by Walter Scott. The third film in an unofficial trilogy, following "Ivanhoe" (1952) and "Knights of the Round Table" (1953). A Scottish knight is sent to France to ask a countess if she will marry his uncle. Set in France, shot on location in East Sussex, England and France. 10 x 8 inches. Near Fine.

Rome, Italy: Produzione Gallone / Filmsonor, 1951. Original souvenir program, printed in Italy, for the 1951 Italian-French-Spanish film. With several full-color illustrations of Roman warriors and women, and black-and-white films stills and on-the-set images. Based on the powerful and influential wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius, who conspired to kill him and was executed as a result. The classic adulterous figure has been portrayed in film since the Silent era, and actress Felix, a prolific and popular Mexican celebrity, marked the third appearance of Messalina on screen. A healthy credit for director Carmine, whose 100-plus films leave a considerable impression in early Italian cinema. 9.25 x 12 inches, saddle-stapled color illustrated wrappers, 12 leaves. Very Good plus, with foxing and light curling.

New York: Delia Productions, 1970. Mimeograph play reproduction of William Alfred's 1954 play "Agamemnon" for an unproduced film based on the play. A verse play retelling of the Greek myth, in which King Agamemnon is murdered by his wife upon his return to Mycenae after the Trojan War. Navy wrappers with a die-cut title window. Title page present, with credits for screenwriter Alfred. 102 leaves, mechanical duplication. Pages Very Good plus, wrapper Very Good plus bound internally with three silver brads.

Los Angeles: Twentieth Century-Fox, 1965. Vintage studio still photograph of Charlton Heston from the 1965 film. The film follows the quarrels between Michelangelo and Pope Julius II over the painting of the Sistine Chapel. It was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. Shot on location in Italy. 8 x 10 inches. Fine.

Los Angeles: Twentieth Century-Fox, 1965. Collection of five vintage color British front-of-house cards from the 1965 UK film. The film follows the quarrels between Michelangelo and Pope Julius II over the painting of the Sistine Chapel. It was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. Shot on location in Italy. 8 x 10 inches. Fine.

New York: Random House, 1987. First Edition. Preceding the First Edition by two years. First generation photocopied typescript (rectos only) containing photocopied annotations throughout. In five volumes. Last leaf of text in each volume states the editor's name (presumed) followed by the date(s) of revisions made, ranging from 1985 to 1987. Likely an internal draft prepared for circulation while the book was being edited. Volume one: title page through chapter IV, page 145 (roughly pages 1-304). Revised 6/20/86 and 9/10/86. Volume two: chapters V-VII (roughly pages 305-660). Revised 5/13/86 and 8/21/86. Volume three: "SECOND HALF-MINUS LAST CHAPTER" on title page. Chapters VIII-IX (roughly pages 661-968). Revised 4/16/85, 7/2/86, 10/9/86, 11/26/86. Tipped-in slip from Al Silverman (chairman of Book of the Month Club, 1972-1988; editor and publisher at Viking Press, 1989-1997), with "Mr. Fadiman" on the slip in manuscript ink. Clifton Fadiman (1904-1999) was an author, editor, and radio… Read More

N.p.: Mafilm, 1977. Dialogue script for the 1979 Hungarian film "Allegro Barbaro." The second of Jancso's two-part dramatized history of Hungary, from the turn of the century to World War II, as told by the conflicted son of a wealthy landowner. Shot on location in Hungary. Gray titled wrappers, dated 1977. Title page not present, presumably as issued. 122 leaves, with last page of text numbered 122. Mimeograph duplication. Pages Fine, wrapper Near Fine side stapled.

Culver City, CA: Columbia Pictures, 1966. Two vintage photographs from the 1966 film, one color studio still photograph of Victoria Shaw and Patrick O'Neil and one borderless black and white test photograph of Janice Rule. Based on the Confederate "Beefsteak Raid" of 1864 during the Civil War. William Holden is an expatriate cattleman in Mexico during the Civil War who supplies the Union with cattle until Confederate Colonel Rossiter, played by Richard Widmark, kidnaps the cattleman, leaving him little choice but to cooperate with the Confederacy. Set in Petersburg, Virginia, shot on location in Baton Rouge and Clinton, Louisiana. 8 x 10 inches. Light toning to the extremities of the black and white photograph, else Near Fine.

Towson, MD: The Collectors' Press, 1958. Complete run of 8 issues of the short-lived firearms enthusiast magazine, published in Maryland. Volume 1 Number 1 SIGNED on the Contents page by editors Benet and Codd in 1991. The magazine saw little light, had limited distribution, and only ran for a year and a half, but its content was amongst the most in-depth in its field, with interesting illustrations and close-up photography of firearms of all kinds. Book reviews, ads, and historical accounts all made for an excellent, albeit brief, encounter with rifles, pistols, Colts, swords, and war paraphernalia. Issues included: Volume 1, Number 1, January 1957; Volume 1, Number 2, April 1957; Volume 1, Number 3, July 1957; Volume 1, Number 4, October 1957; Volume 2, Number 1, January 1958; Volume 2, Number 2, April 1958; Volume 2, Number 3, July 1958; Volume 2, Number 4, October 1958. All issues 8.5 x 11 inches, saddle-stapled, printed color wrappers. Light rubbing and foxing overall, else Near… Read More

Los Angeles: Twentieth Century-Fox, 1956. Final draft script for the 1956 film. Wrappers trimmed to conform to text block, separating spine from wrapper abd cropping copy number stamp "650" and re-written in manuscript ink. Production number adjusted in manuscript pencil with ."5." "#3" in manuscript in on edge of spine. Based on Marcelle Maurette's 1952 stage play, about a scheme to conspiracy to extort ten million pounds from a bank by teaching a homeless girl to impersonate the missing Russian princess Anastasia. Ingrid Bergman won an Academy Award for her lead role. Blue titled wrappers, noted as FINAL on the front wrapper, rubber-stamped copy No. 650 and production No. 2677, dated June 7, 1956. Title page present, dated June 7, 1956, noted as Final Script, with credits for screenwriter Arthur Laurents. 139 leaves, with last page of text numbered 136. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, trimmed to conform to text block with spine separate, bound with… Read More

Beverly Hills, CA: Bard Productions, Ltd, 1981. Vintage script for the 1984 televised stage production of the Shakespeare play, copy belonging to Speech and Dialect Coach Roberta Farkas, her name in manuscript ink on both the top right of the recto and the top of the verso of the front wrapper. Profusely annotated on every page in manuscript ink and pencil in multiple colors, regarding dialect, elocution, as well as camera choice and staging. Farkas even supplies a legend on the verso of the front wrapper of "Yellow = 1st read-thru / Dark red = 12/17 run thru / Pink [over struck 'green'] = 12/19 afternoon / Navy = Weds, taping / Green = Thurs. aft. taping." Front wrapper with copy number "26" in manuscript pencil on the bottom right, and front wrapper and title page both feature director credits to Paul Blake, struck through, with Lawrence Carra written in, in manuscript ink. The script is preceded by three pages, bound in, of "Scene Titles." First broadcast in the United Kingdom on the Bravo… Read More

San Francisco: N.p., 1915. Archive of five vintage oversize photographs of San Francisco, circa 1909-1915, relating variously to Portola Week, the U.S.S. South Dakota battleship, the Panama-Pacific Exposition, and the opening of the Panama Canal. Manuscript captions on the rectos of each. Portola Week was a five-day festival that originated in 1909, in honor of Spanish explorer Don Gaspar de Portola's expedition to the San Francisco Bay in 1769. The festival featured parades, fireworks, and lighted floats, led by a man dressed as Portola, accompanied by dragoons, that processed from the Golden Gate to Pier 2. The festival took place a second time in 1913, and then not until 1948, when it was revived by a local civic club. The collection on offer here includes a photograph captioned "the king and queen of our last celebration," ostensibly taken during the first Portola Week in 1909. The Panama-Pacific Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco from February 20 to December 4, 1915. The… Read More

New York: Meredith Press, 1968. First Edition. First Edition. INSCRIBED by the author on the first blank: "For Barry and Angela / Love to you my darlings / Herewith Georgie-Porgie! / Mary / Mary Higgins Clark / 4/29/92." The author's first book, an historical novel about George Washington. About Near Fine in a Good, price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket is lightly toned overall, with tape reinforcements at the corners and top edges of the verso, and corresponding offsetting on the recto.

London: Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica, 1972. Vintage color British front-of-house card featuring Richard Burton, from the UK release of the 1972 UK film. 8 x 10 inches. Near Fine.

Universal City, CA: Universal Pictures, 1990. Revised script for the 1992 film. A biography of famed baseball legend Babe Ruth, who was born in Baltimore and given to an orphanage there by his father. He soon demonstrates his amazing hitting ability and adopted by a scout who has him play for the Orioles until he is sold to the Red Sox, and consequently angers the owner and is sold to the Yankees, for whom he helps win the 1932 World Series. He is soon pushed out of the spotlight by Lou Gehrig and eventually sold to the Braves. At the end, a boy he met at the start of his career is all grown up and reminds him that Ruth is still his hero and that he's the best. Set in Baltimore, New York, Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, shot on location in Chicago and California. Title page present, dated November 22, 1990, noted as Revised, with credits for screenwriter John Fusco. 132 leaves, with last page of text numbered 131. Later generation photocopy. Pages Very Good plus, wrapper missing bound with two gold brads. Read More

Hollywood: Paramount Pictures, 1964. Original Pressbook for the 1964 film. Unique for a pressbook, with a folding front page and a coloring contest (to have been used as a herald by distributors). Based on Jean Anouilh's 1959 play. Winner of an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, and nominated for 11 more, including Best Picture, Best Director, and twice for Best Actor. It would be the first of two times O'Toole was nominated for portraying Henry II, the other being in 1968 for "The Lion in Winter." 18 pages, saddle-stapled, 12.25 x 15 inches. Rust to the staples, else Near Fine.

Beverly Hills, CA: United Artists, 1974. Vintage studio still photograph of Glenda Jackson and Margaret Leighton from the US release of the 1973 UK film. Based on the 1970 play by Terence Rattigan. Released in the US under the title "The Nelson Affair." Lord Nelson (Peter Finch) returning from battling Napoleon's navy, resumes life with his mistress Lady Hamilton (Jackson), his family and beleaguered wife (Margaret Leighton). Shot on location in Bath Somerset, England. 8 x 10 inches. Near Fine.