Bolton, Guy. Polly Preferred: A Comedy Romance of Faith and Salesmanship. New York: The H. K. Fly Company, Publishers, [1923]. First edition. Octavo, pp. [1-5] 6 [7-8] 9-318 [319-320: blank]. Original pictorial cloth with printed title labels affixed to front and spine panels. Illustrated at frontis with a full-color painting by Maginel Wright Barney (sister of Frank Lloyd Wright); a small note at bottom of this page, "Courtesy of Colgate and Company", suggests the artwork may have been used initially for an advertisement. Faint tide mark to section of fore-edge of first few leaves, spine panel just a bit darkened, still a very good copy overall. #1950. $25. This comic novel of show business in the Roaring Twenties, touching on both stage and screen, was written by a comic dramatist of the period. The title plays on the distinction between "common" and "preferred" shares of stock -- a subject of wide interest in the market's booming Twenties. The publisher was noted for its novelizations of plays and musicals. Not in Smith, American Fiction 1901-1925, presumably because the author was born in Britain, though he moved about a good deal and spent much time in the U.S. as did his close friend and sometime collaborator, P. G. Wodehouse, and became a U.S. citizen in 1956. The present title was also published in 1923 as a play. Seller Inventory # 1950

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Polly Preferred

Publisher: H. K. Fly, New York

Publication Date: 1923

Binding: Hardback

Illustrator: Maginel Wright Barney

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

Edition: First Edition.

Store Description

When I began my bookselling business in 1996 I called it "Eldritch Books" because that adjective at least partly covered the type of material I offered (and because its similarity to my own surname seemed so -- eldritch). "Ghost stories" would be another handy, if somewhat reductive, term. Most of it is fiction from the 19th and early 20th century with a strong emphasis on the fantastic. Since the most familiar and relevant genre terms in use today -- "science fiction," "fantasy," "supernatural," "horror" -- were not so much in use when these books were first published, pegging them that way can be anachronistic. But that should give you the general idea. I don't have much in the way of American pulp (either in magazine or specialty press book form) but otherwise my interests range widely from high-brow to middle-brow to low-brow to amateur/eccentric. You're more likely to find rare and obscure works here than high spots. (Or at least they're obscure now, whatever their status was when first published.) In 2001 I went to work for L. W. Currey as cataloguer and general assistant. Since 2014 I've been back working on my own. I have exhibited at convention fairs (such as WFC and Readercon) in the past. I began collecting and studying antiquarian fantasy around 1980. Some of my essays have appeared in genre publications such as NYRSF, Wormwood and F&SF. I tend to carefully research my inventory and write extensive notes. (If another dealer wishes to make use of any of these notes, I'd appreciate the courtesy of putting such excerpts in quotes and giving proper attribution to me. That's what I do when I quote from any of my reference works.) I will be gradually listing my inventory on ABE over the coming years. I hope you find something of interest.

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Robert Eldridge, Bookseller
NY, U.S.A.

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Robert Eldridge
P. O. Box 293
Elizabethtown NY 12932
USA.
Tel: 518-873-9966.
Email: rfx51@charter.net.

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I ship only by U.S. Postal Service. All shipments are packed carefully and mailed with insurance and (for domestic shipments) tracking information. Except where specified for extra large items, rates are: Domestic (within USA) Media Mail: $5. Domestic Priority: $10. International First Class (must be under 4 lbs.): $25. International Global Priority (...

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