In Search - An Autobiography [ Inscribed to Ben Raeburn Publisher's Archive: with Signed Ephemera]

Levin, Meyer (1905-1981)

Published by Horizon Press, New York, 1950

About this Item

A REMARKABLE 'PUBLISHER'S ARCHIVE' COPY OF MEYER LEVIN'S SEARCHING AUTOBIOGRAPHY. This volume comes from the estate of Horizon Press founder Ben Raeburn, to whom the book is warmly inscribed. It includes a rich trove of laid-in ephemera from Raeburn's files, documenting Levin's desperate struggle to publish this book, his gratitude to Raeburn, and his bitter, historic lawsuit over The Diary of Anne Frank. KEY FEATURES +++ Content: A seminal text on mid-century Jewish-American identity, covering Levin's evolution from a Chicago marioneteer to a Holocaust reporter and fervent Zionist. +++ Associated Names: Meyer Levin (Author); Ben Raeburn (Recipient/Publisher); Otto Frank (Subject of Ephemera). +++ Provenance: Inscribed in blue ink on the front free endpaper: 'For Ben Raeburn - / even a better publisher than / Meyer Levin / New York / 1950'. +++ The Ephemera Archive: Contains several original clippings from the publisher's files, including: 1) A 6.5 x 22-inch article by Levin from Congress Bi-Weekly ("When I Was a Book Peddler") detailing how Ben Raeburn rescued this exact book from obscurity; 2) Levin's 1961 essay "Another Kind of Blacklist"; 3) A rebuttal letter defending Otto Frank against Levin's lawsuit over the Anne Frank stage rights; 4) A 1950 Romeike press clipping; 5) A 1950 proof of Levin's open letter to a critic. CONDITION: Very Good in Good Dust Jacket -- The bindings are tight and square. Text is clean with light, even age-toning. There is a small tear to the cloth at the head of the spine. Distinct browning/offsetting to the endpapers is present, caused by the acidic newspaper clippings housed within the book for decades. The dust jacket is unclipped ($3.75) but age-toned with visible wear to the edges and spine ends. +++ Binding: Publisher's black cloth boards with gilt spine titles. +++ Imprint: New York: Horizon Press, 1950. First Edition. +++ Specs: 8.5 inches tall / 524 pages. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE - - Meyer Levin was a titan of mid-century Jewish-American literature, but his career was defined by fierce, often self-destructive battles. The most famous was his obsession with The Diary of Anne Frank, resulting in a bitter lawsuit against Otto Frank over the Broadway adaptation rights-a controversy detailed in the ephemera included here. Before that battle, Levin struggled to publish In Search because it was deemed 'Too Jewish' for a general audience. As detailed in the laid-in Congress Bi-Weekly article, he self-published the book in France and peddled it out of suitcases until Ben Raeburn (Horizon Press) risked his 'entire capital' to publish the American edition. The inscription-'even a better publisher than Meyer Levin'- is a direct, heartfelt reference to this history. This is not just a signed book; it is the physical artifact of a literary rescue mission. SUBJECTS: Meyer Levin, Jewish American Literature, The Diary of Anne Frank, Otto Frank, Zionism, Horizon Press, Ben Raeburn, Publishing History, Blacklisting, The Holocaust.

Seller Inventory # 21516

Bibliographic Details

• Title: In Search - An Autobiography [ Inscribed to Ben Raeburn Publisher's Archive: with Signed Ephemera]
• Publisher: Horizon Press, New York
• Publication Date: 1950
• Edition: First Edition, First Printing.
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good
• Weight: 3 pounds
• Signed: Signed
• Seller catalogs:
  • LITERATURE [Many Sub-Catagories]
  • EPHEMERA & POPULAR CULTURE