The Bride of Frankenstein by Michael Egremont, Photoplay Edition, 1936

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [1931]. 8vo. Rebound in red 1/.4 leather and black cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt stamps, and gilt titles to spine. New matching archival slipcase. Presented is a photoplay edition of Mary Shelley’s masterpiece of horror, Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus. This printing was published by Grosset & Dunlap, in New York, in 1931. One of the most collectible Grosset & Dunlap photoplay editions, this book was published to accompany the 1931 Universal Pictures James Whale horror film starring Boris Karlof, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boless, and Dwight Frye. It is illustrated throughout with scenes from that production. The book has been beautifully rebound in striking ¼ red leather and black cloth boards, with raised bands and gilt stamps and tiles to the spine, and a matching black archival slipcase. Mary Shelley was just nineteen when she wrote her classic novel. The circumstances of its composition are by now well known. In 1816, Mary was in Switzerland with Percy Shelley, Byron, and Byron’s physician John Polidori when the evening’s discussion turned to one of Shelley’s favorite topics, the supernatural. Byron proposed that all members of the party write a romance or tale on the subject. The resulting efforts were Polidori’s The Vampyre, Byron’s unfinished narrative about a vampire, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The first edition of Frankenstein was published anonymously in London, 1818, and is exceedingly rare. An 1831 edition was published in London, for which Shelley wrote an introduction describing the circumstances surrounding the creation of the work. The first American edition was published in 1833. Frankenstein has been named “the most famous English horror novel… a defining model of the Gothic mode of fiction, and… the first genuine science fiction novel, the first significant rendering of the relations between mankind and science through an image of mankind’s dual nature appropriate to an age of science” (Clute and Nicholls, Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, 1099). Alexander Grosset and George T...

Lovelace, Delos W. King Kong. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1932. 8vo. Rebound in 1/4 green leather and cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt stamps, and gilt titles to spine. New matching archival slipcase. Presented is a first edition of Delos W. Lovelace’s adaptation of King Kong. This printing was published by Grosset & Dunlap, in New York, in December of 1932, just months before the March 1933 film premiere of King Kong. The book has been beautifully rebound in handsome ¼ green leather and cloth boards, with raised bands and gilt stamps and tiles to the spine, and a matching green archival slipcase. RKO producer Merian Cooper and writer Edgar Wallace originally conceived of the story about a remote island inhabited by a huge silverback gorilla, among other creatures. After Wallace’s untimely death, the thrilling screenplay was finished by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose. Just as the RKO film of King Kong was finishing production, Cooper asked his friend Delos Lovelace to adapt the film's screenplay into a novelization. On the novel’s cover, Lovelace’s name was overshadowed by the phrase, “conceived by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper.” The Grosset & Dunlap book was published later that month, on December 27, and served as part of the film’s advance marketing campaign. The book would go on to see numerous reprints, furthering King Kong's status as a cultural phenomenon. Alexander Grosset and George T...

Leroux, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [1925]. Illustrated by Andre Castaigne. Signed by actress Carla Laemmle. 8vo. Rebound in black 1/.4 leather and cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt stamps, and gilt titles to spine. New matching archival slipcase. Presented is a photoplay edition of Gaston Leroux’s best-known novel, The Phantom of the Opera. This printing was published by Grosset & Dunlap, in New York, in 1925, to accompany the 1925 Universal Pictures film adaptation starring Lon Channey. It is illustrated throughout with scenes from that production, as well as with illustrations by Andre Castaigne. Additionally, the book is signed on the full title page by actress and prima ballerina Carla Leammle. The book has been beautifully rebound in handsome ¼ black leather and black cloth boards, with raised bands and gilt stamps and tiles to the spine, and a matching black archival slipcase. Partly inspired by historical, nineteenth century events that took place at the famous Paris Opera, the novel chronicles the masked Phantom’s obsessive love for a young chorus girl named Christine. The Phantom of the Opera was first published as a serial in the French Magazine Le Gaulois from September 1909 to January 1910. It was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierre Lafitte & Cie. The first American edition was published by Bobbs-Merrill in 1911. Due to its popularity, The Phantom of the Opera became the source for numerous adaptations, including the 1925 Universal Pictures film starring Lon Chaney and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Tony Award-winning 1986 musical. Alexander Grosset and George T. Dunlap first met while working for the American Publishers Corporation. In 1898, Grosset & Dunlap formed a new partnership with the goal to shift the focus of the publishing industry from expensive books for the few to inexpensive books for the masses. In order to avoid paying royalties and other publishing fees, Grosset & Dunlap started reprinting books that were already in print. With these profits, the partners purchased paperbound books in bulk to rebind them in cloth and resell. As the company grew, Grosset & Dunlap were able to purchase reprint rights from publishers before publication, including reprint rights from Edward Stratemeyer for the Hardy Boys...

Presented is a photoplay first edition of London After Midnight by Marie Coolidge Rask. This printing was published by Grosset & Dunlap, in New York, in 1928. The book has been beautifully rebound in striking ¼ green leather and cloth boards, with raised bands and gilt stamps and tiles to the spine, and a matching green archival slipcase. The book is illustrated with eight stills from the original silent film. One of the most collectible Grosset & Dunlap photoplay editions, this book was a novelization of the 1927 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer mystery horror film of the same title, co-produced and directed by Tod Browning. The movie starred Lon Chaney in a dual role of Scotland Yard Inspector and vampire; this was his only movie role as a vampire. Due to the success of the film, Marie Coolidge Rask penned the novelization of the movie. Rask worked from Tod Browning’s screenplay as well as the original source material, Browning’s short story "The Hypnotist.” The book was published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1928 and included eight stills from the silent film. The last known copy of the film was destroyed in the 1965 MGM vault fire, along with hundreds of other rare early films, making it one of the most sought-after “lost” silent films. Copies of the film have never surfaced. This 1928 book is therefore important and collectible, as it is one of the few remaining records of the film’s content and storyline. Alexander Grosset and George T...

Stevenson, Robert Louis. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [1932]. First Grosset & Dunlap Edition. 8ov. Presented rebound in ¼ navy leather and red cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt tooling, and gilt titles to the spine and a matching archival red slipcase. Presented is the first Grosset & Dunlap edition of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, published in 1932. The book is presented rebound in ¼ navy leather and red cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt tooling, and gilt titles to the spine and a matching archival red slipcase. First published in 1886, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Inspired by both a murder trial and a subsequent nightmare, Stevenson wrote this novel as an examination of the duality of human nature and the inner struggle between good and evil. The tale is about a London legal practitioner named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and the murderous criminal Edward Hyde. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is considered to be a defining book of the gothic horror genre. The book was initially sold as a paperback for one shilling in the U.K. These books were called "shilling shockers" or “penny dreadfuls.” The first American edition was published on January 5, 1886, four days before the U.K. edition published by Longmans. Scribner's published 3,000 copies, only 1,250 of them bound in cloth. Initially, stores did not stock it until a favorable review appeared in The Times in January of 1886. Within the next six months, close to 40 thousand copies were sold. A wildly captivating story, there have been numerous adaptations of the novella, including over 120 stage and film versions alone. In 1931, Paramount Pictures produced an adaptation directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Fredric March...

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1891. 12mo. Rebound in 1/.4 black leather and green marbled boards, with raised bands, gilt...

AUTHOR: POE, Edgar Allan. TITLE: The Murders In The Rue Morgue. PUBLISHER: New York: Grosset & Dunlap, n.d. [1932]. DESCRIPTION: FIRST PHOTOPLAY EDITION. 1 vol., publisher...

Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus hardcover book, 1950s Edition. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's legendary horror story is presented in an illustrated Heritage Press edition. Hands...

AUTHOR: PLANCHE, James Robinson: Pierre-Frederic-Adolphe Carmouche. TITLE: The Vampire; or, Bride of the isles, A Tale, founded on the popular superstition of Caledonia.... From wh...

The Genius of the Garden by Peter Verney and Michael Dunne. Exeter: Webb & Bower Publishers Limited, 1989. 1st Edition hardcover with dust jacket. 120 pp. A beautiful book on the ele...

AUTHOR: PRAGNELL, Festus (Frank William Pragnell) TITLE: The Green Man of Kilsona. (The Ape-man of the Electron World) PUBLISHER: London: Philip Al...

What a Book! The sheer scale and weight makes for a wonderful talking piece. The Times London Royal Edition covers the period of 1 September to 31 October 1936, each day has around 10-11 pages of content, including some fabulous advertisements from the period, a pure joy to flick through and read. These bound copies were made for Royal Palaces and Libraries, this surviving copy from 1936 is in good condition for its age with most of the pages intact, there is some age related damage/rips to a few pages but all in all in good condition. A wonderful decorative piece of British history.