Oscar Weil Letters and Papers
San Francisco: The Book Club of California [printed by The Grabhorn Press], 1923. Lange, Dorothea; H. Von Schmidt. Limited Edition. Leather bound. One of 400 copies, quarto size, 140 pp., in a deluxe binding, with slipcase. Fine. Item #260827002
A tribute to Oscar Weil (1839-1921), born in New York and educated as a musician. When the Civil War started he enrolled in the Northern cause as a private and by the end of the war he was a Major; however, injuries received during the war meant he could no longer be a violinist. He therefore turned to composing, and settled in San Francisco where he also served as the music critic for the Argonaut newspaper; he was a man much loved by the community, as attested to by this memoir.
Frontispiece a tipped-in photograph by Dorothea Lange from a painting of Oscar Weil by Olga M. Ackerman; when this photograph was taken, Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) was living in Berkeley, having recently married the western painter Maynard Dixon. Printed by the Grabhorn Press, the renowned publishers/printers Edwin and Robert Grabhorn.
This copy in a deluxe leather binding, beautifully executed but with no binder's stamp or ticket that we can find.
___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full tan leather, both boards with horizontal ruled borders (one gilt and one black), gilt lettering on the spine, the spine bands extending slightly onto both boards with their tips decorated with a gilt star, top edge gilt, fore- and bottom edges uncut, pastepaper endpapers, tissue-guarded frontispiece the photograph by Dorothea Lange of a painting of Oscar Weil as referred to above, title page in red and black, almost every page of text has red lettering for marginal notes and capital letters, some of which are blue; binding quarto size (11 1/2" by 7 3/4"), pagination: (i-xiv), (1)-119, blank (120), divisional title page "Compositions of Oscar Weil" (121), blank (122), 3 pp. of compositions (123-125), colophon page (126), issued in an edition of 400 copies, this no. 343. Housed in a slipcase covered with pastepaper with the opening trimmed in leather.
___CONDITION: The volume fine, the leather smooth and supple and utterly without wear, the corners straight and unrubbed, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; a stunning example. The slipcase near fine, strong and sturdy with no splits to the seams, the paper covering the case mostly clean (other than a few light, stray spots) and showing minimal wear, the leather guarding the opening well-rubbed at the top edge.
___CITATION: BCC 100 no. 19; Grabhorn Bibliography no. 58.
___POSTAGE: International customers, please note the following: (i) additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs, please inquire for details; and (ii) any taxes, duty, or tariffs charged by your country will, of necessity, be your responsibility.
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Price: $900.00