Out Of My Mind (Theodore Bikel's book)

Jack Bilbo

Published by The Modern Art Gallery, London, 1946

About this Item

Stated 'First Edition, April 1946.' This book came from the library of the renowned actor Theodore Bikel. His small bookplate can be seen on the front inside cover. You can read about Mr. Bikel in his long Wikipedia profile. Kudos to him for taking very good care of the book. As you can see from the photos, the black covers are very clean. The silver lettering on the spine and front is very bright. There's very little wear. The edges and corners look very good. There's only a tiny spot of color loss just off the bottom edge of the spine. The book is square and very solidly bound from cover to cover with nicely tight pages throughout and nicely tight covers as well. The interior book of the is in exceptional condition. The pages are very clean. In scrolling through, I haven't found any soiling. I'm also not seeing any conspicuous creasing (there are two or three teeny tip of the corner creases). There are no markings. Mr. Bkel's bookplate is the only attachment. And no one has written their name or anything else anywhere in the book. There are quite a few of Jack Bilbo's fanciful illustrations, many of them full-page. The dust jacket-- from 1946-- has done quite well. It has a very solid feel. I've rated it Very Good, taking into account its age. There is a strip of toning just adjacent to the spine on the front cover. There's a tiny bit of scuffing at the corners and spine ends. There's a speck of loss off the top edge at the juncture between the front and spine. There are two tears, both off the top edge of the rear cover. The flaps are in excellent condition. The jacket is NOT price-clipped, not clipped at all. It will be fitted with a protective cover after the photos are scanned. The book contains a collection of 19 fantastic stories all beginning with the words 'The Strange Story Of.' There's also an Introduction and the book ends with a short chapter titled 'Directions To The Psychiatrists In The Event Of My Going Mad.' The Introduction by the author/artist goes as follows: 'These strange, gruesome and fantastic stories were written and illustrated by me to get away from the pettiness, narrowness, emptiness, and lack of emotion or imagination in our everyday life. I enjoyed them thoroughly and I hope, dear reader, so will you. Some of these stories are completely true, some are partly true, some are completely imaginary, and some have got even me stumped. It is up to you to guess which are which. The correct answer is given upside down after each story. Now, good luck, good spine shills, good excitement, and good laughs. Yours horrifyingly (with his tongue in his cheek) Jack Bilbo.' 'Jack Bilbo was an imaginative storyteller and artist. He regularly held "Bilbo's Fantastic Evenings" in his art gallery, where he shared his incredible stories. The guests then had to guess which stories were true and which were made up. Bilbo was born in Berlin, Germany in 1907. His parents owned a theatrical supply company. After the Nazis came to power he fled to France, Spain, and finally to England. In 1941, Bilbo opened The Modern Art Gallery in London, exhibiting the work of Kurt Schwitters, Pablo Picasso, and his own paintings and drawings, as well as the work of many unknown artists. Bilbo moved to Weybridge, England after the war ended and created large figurative sculptures in cement in his home's garden. They were entitled, Life, Devotion, and Sanctuary, and were destroyed when he left England in the early 1950s, moving to France with his wife Owo. In 1948, he published Jack Bilbo: an Autobiography. The book is subtitled "The first forty years of the complete and intimate life-story of an Artist, Author, Sculptor, Art Dealer, Philosopher, Psychologist, Traveller and a Modernist Fighter for Humanity". In the same year he also closed the gallery. He eventually returned to Berlin where he died in 1967.'. Seller Inventory # 003599

Bibliographic Details

Title: Out Of My Mind (Theodore Bikel's book)

Publisher: The Modern Art Gallery, London

Publication Date: 1946

Binding: Hardcover

Illustrator: Jack Bilbo

Condition: Near Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

Edition: 1st Edition