King Kong by Delos W. Lovelace, First Photoplay Edition, 1932
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
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...
Category
Vintage 1930s American Books