Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - March - 2008 Issue
More Works of Film, Literature, Mystery and More from James Pepper Rare Books
Pitiful, miserable pre-EMO poet Sumner Lincoln Fairfield.
Everyone remembers Soupy Sales, though you might just as soon forget. Soupy had a children's TV program, but one of those which overlapped to adult audiences as well. Why remains a mystery. Soupy was a slapstick performer, his claim to fame his constantly being hit in the face with pies. Soupy was never very successful at reaching above the children's audience, but proceeded to do what many marginally successful performers do for years -- appear as a guest on quiz programs. Item 11 is an original script for a pilot of The Soupy Sales Hour. It was never picked up. A DVD of the pilot is included with this script, which was inscribed by Soupy himself. $950.
Item 58 is a biography of Elmyr de Hory: Fake! The Story of Elmyr de Hory the Greatest Art Forger of Our Time. De Hory was an exceptional artist, but his skill was in imitation rather than innovation. Apparently he could copy many styles. He started with Picasso (of course my kids could copy Picasso's style when they were in kindergarten) but moved on to many others. He pawned off hundreds of works over the years on gullible buyers more interested in the artist's name than the work. His life makes a fascinating story, but you will need to get the book to learn more. This 1969 first edition is inscribed by its author, Clifford Irving. Irving learned well from de Hory. Two years later he wrote a phony autobiography of Howard Hughes, the reclusive billionaire, for which he received $750,000 in advances, eventually spending over a year in jail for his fraud. $175.
James Pepper Rare Books is located online at www.JamesPepperBooks.com, telephone 805-963-1025, email pepbooks@aol.com.
