Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - July - 2007 Issue
Literary Firsts, Crime, Rare Cinema, and Unusual Items from James Pepper Rare Books
Author Alvin "Creepy" Karpis in his pre-literary days.
George Burns was actually young once. His performing career ran from the turn of the century, as a child vaudeville performer, to the 1990s when he died at age 100. His big break came in the early 1930s, when he and wife/partner Gracie Allen secured a costarring role on radio with famous bandleader Guy Lombardo. They got that role in 1932 on the Robert Burns Radio Program (Robert Burns was not a relative of George but a cigar brand). The program was perfect for Burns as he was noted for his cigars. Meanwhile, Allen entertained the audiences with her strange logic while Burns played straight man. Item 3 is Gracie Allen's Anniversary Gift to Guy Lombardo, a 1933 pamphlet published by General Cigar, honoring Lombardo's fourth anniversary with the show. It contains photos and comic drawings of Burns, Allen, and Lombardo. $150.
Item 135 is an apocalyptic warning from Dr. Frederic Wertham -- Seduction of the Innocent: The Influence of Comic Books On Today's Youth. Don't you long for the days when the worst influences your child faced came from Donald Duck? What would Wertham have thought of today's ultra-violent video games, explicit sex on television, rampant drugs, and violence in schools? Perhaps it can all be traced back to comic books. In 1954, Wertham warned that all sorts of evils, from illiteracy to delinquency, were the result of reading too many comic books. Today we'd be happy if they would read anything. $1,250.
James Pepper Rare Books may be found at www.JamesPepperBooks.com, telephone 805-963-1025.
