Fine Fellows (Signed)

Laurie York Erskine

Published by D. Appleton And Company, New York and London, 1929

About this Item

First Edition (Appleton (1) on the last page). This book is signed and inscribed on the blank first front end paper. The inscription reads 'To Tom (?) Beck-- with happy memories of days operating in that Paradise of the Pacific as fellow officers--Laurie York Erskine, May 1946.' The 'Tom' I'm not 100% on (take a look at the photo), but if I'm right it could be the 'American film and stage actor during the mid to late 1930s, who first attracted attention playing juvenile leads in several Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto films. Beck was featured in 28 films in his career, including Charlie Chan in Paris, Charlie Chan in Egypt, Charlie Chan at the Race Track and Charlie Chan at the Opera. He also worked opposite Will Rogers in Life Begins at 40 and played Pastor Schultz, the village priest, in Shirley Temple's 1937 film Heidi. He was seen to good advantage in two 1936 movies in which he had leading roles: as a pilot in Peter Lorre's first American film, the espionage thriller Crack-Up and as a rich socialite in Champagne Charlie. He served in the Army, in the Pacific theatre, during World War II, finishing as a major in 1945.' Moving along, you can see the orange covers in the photos. They have held up quite nicely. There are a couple of small spots on the rear cover, one light spot near the top edge of the front cover. The orange of the spine has been lightened to a duller orange. The blue lettering on the spine is still fairly bright. The edges and corners are all in solid shape. The top edge of the spine has a little crinkling. There are a few very small light spots on the middle page edge. They don't have any impact on the actual pages. The book is square and the spine is straight. The binding is very solid from cover to cover with nicely tight pages throughout and nicely tight covers as well. Both inside covers and end papers are in very good shape. All of the pages in the book are exceptionally clean. I have scrolled through them a number of times without finding any soiling at all. They are only lightly, and uniformly, toned. I didn't find any conspicuous creasing, no turned-down corners or placeholder creases. There are no markings or attachments of any kind. And the author's signed inscription is the only writing to be found anywhere in the book. There is one page flaw: a very small loss at the top corner of the page that lists the title of the first chapter. The small bit of paper is not lost. You can find it resting snugly against the juncture of this page. There are no other losses and no tears. 'Laurie York Erskine was a popular boys adventure author, educator, and co-founder of the Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania. He was born in Kirkcudbright, Scotland to actors Wallace Erskine and Ada Margery Bonney Erskine. The family traveled to the United States in 1901 where both parents appeared in silent films. In 1916 Laurie Erskine was commissioned in the Royal Flying Corps where he served in France. Following his demobilization, Erskine was an editorial writer with the Detroit News from until he began writing stories for boys in 1921. His most famous work was a series of books featuring Renfrew of the Royal Mounted that later became a radio, film, and television series with Erskine himself narrating the radio show. Erskine also created and narrated the radio program called Adventure Stories. At the start of World War II, Erskine was commissioned in the Army of the United States Coast Artillery eventually becoming a major in the 38th Anti-Aircraft Brigade from 1944-45. He was awarded the Bronze Star.' Fine Fellows appears to have been inspired by his early military experiences in the Royal Flying Corps. It's story revolves around the lives of soldiers fighting in the war. Seller Inventory # 004357

Bibliographic Details

Title: Fine Fellows (Signed)

Publisher: D. Appleton And Company, New York and London

Publication Date: 1929

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good Plus

Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition