Music from Main Street Fine Books & Manuscripts, ABAA

New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1988. Hardcover. 4to. Black paper over boards with silver spine lettering, pictorial dust jacket. 169pp. Extensive illustrations (most color), pictorial endpapers. Fine/near fine. Superb and tight later (10th) printing of this survey of French author Gaston Leroux's 1909 novel and its various iterations, first on film and then as a musical -- this… Read more about this item

The acclaimed and influential English singer, songwriter and musician entered pop stardom in the 1970s with the androgynous Ziggy Stardust character and remained at the top for decades, innovating and experimenting along the way. Bold signature (his usual stylized "Bo") and "'80" in blue fineline on a heavy stock 5" X 3" card, which he dates "Aug 14 1980"… Read more about this item

Cambridge: The Limited Editions Club, 1977. Hardcover. Edited and introduced by Jim Lees. Illustrations by David Gentleman. Small 4to. Quarter green cloth with gilt spine lettering/decorations and pale green decorative paper over boards, slipcase. xxiii, 206pp. Color frontispiece, full-page color plates, numerous line drawings. Fine/near fine. Handsome, tight copy of the seventh title in the LEC's 44th Series, with… Read more about this item

The popular English contralto, wife of French violinist Prosper Sainton, after retiring from singing enjoyed some success as a composer with cantatas such as "The Legend of St Dorothea" (1876), "The Story of the Faithful Soul" (1879) and others. ALS, 3pp (lettersheet), 4½" X 7", London, England, 1 July 1879. Addressed to Mrs. Sawyer. Near fine. Cordial note raving… Read more about this item

Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989. Hardcover. Translation by Rosario V. Munson. 8vo. Blue cloth with silver spine lettering, pictorial dust jacket. xii, 186pp. Illustrations. Very good/near fine. First edition, tight and nice, of this volume in the "Ancient Society and History" series.

Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999. Paperback. Small 4to. Glossy wrappers. xv, 806pp. Figures, tables. Near fine. Tight, near pristine copy of this American Council of Learned Societies production.

This Italian conductor and composer of light music is best known for his song "Tornerai," a 1938 French version of which ("J'atttendrai") was wildly popular in France during World War Two and has been used in many films, soundtracks and television. ALS, 3pp (lettersheet), 5½" X 7", Biarritz, France, n.y. Addressed to "Dearest." Near fine. On pale green "British… Read more about this item

Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1965. Hardcover. 8vo. Black cloth with silver spine lettering, pictorial dust jacket. 300pp. Illustrations. Near fine/very good. Jacket a bit age toned and edgeworn, with a few old tape mends on verso but overall still attractive. Tight and nice early printing of this memoir by the African-American singer/dancer/actress (1917-2010) -- boldly inscribed and signed… Read more about this item

This German conductor and composer of folk music solos and vocal pieces enjoyed enormous popularity throughout Europe in the mid-19th century. Photograph Signed, heavy stock 2½" X 4", Braunschweig, Germany, 24 March 1881. Very good. Lightly age toned. Handsome head-and-shoulders portrait of Abt in three-piece suit later in life, signed small but bold by him just below his likeness.… Read more about this item

Danish-born American tenor, known for Wagnerian roles, who also appeared in a handful of films from the late '40s and early '50s. PS, 5½" X 3½", n.p., n.y. Fine. Handsome formal head-and-shoulders portrait of a smiling older Melchoir in tux and bemedaled chest, signed large and bold in red ballpoint along the blank lower margin.

This French composer produced religious and piano pieces, then transitioned to operattas; he committed suicide by jumping into the Seine River. ALS, 2pp, heavy stock 4½" X 3½" correspondence card. Addressed to Madame Comtesse de Montozon. Very good. Lightly age toned. Not translated, though clearly discussing music matters, with mention of Intermezzo, "l'Opera Comique," etc. Boldly if sloppily penned… Read more about this item

This British composer and pianist accompanied many famed musicians of the day -- singers Enrico Caruso, Titta Ruffo, Richard Tauber, John McCormack, Beniamino Gigli and violinists Fritz Kreisler and Mischa Elman -- and as a composer his main claim to fame is the sacred song "Ave Maria." AMuQS, 1p, 5" X 3" (irregular top edge), n.p., 20 November 1958.… Read more about this item

San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2007. Hardcover. Small 4to. Pictorial paper over boards, pictorial slipcase. 64pp. Extensive color illustrations, foldouts, CD in sleeve, 20-plus facsimiles of letters, lyrics, sketches, programs, etc. Near fine/near fine. Superb, tight and bright first edition of this unusual tribute volume, with all laid-in reproductions present and accounted for.

San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2003. Hardcover. Small 4to. Pictorial paper over boards, pictorial slipcase. 64pp. Extensive color illustrations, foldouts, CD in sleeve, 20-plus facsimiles of letters, lyrics, sketches, tickets and other memorabilia, etc. Near fine/near fine. Superbly tight and bright fifth prointing of this unusual tribute volume, with all laid-in reproductions present and accounted for.

New York: Barnes & Noble, n.y.. Hardcover. 12mo. Red cloth with black spine lettering, dust jacket. 248pp. Near fine/very good. Very faintest of jacket wear only. Handsome first U.S. edition, undated but likely ca. 1952, same year the first British edition (London: George C. Harrap & Co.) was published -- and with "Made in Great Britain" on copyright page… Read more about this item

New York: George Lane and Levi Scott, 1849. Hardcover. Wide 16mo. Quarter calf with gilt rules and tan printed paper over boards. 424pp. Extensive music notation. Good plus. Boards lightly edgeworn and as usual age toned and rubbed; internally tight, with light to moderate foxing throughout; front flyleaf an expert contemporary replacement. Attractive, quite handleable first edition of this… Read more about this item

Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000. Hardcover. Small 4to. Gold-flecked green paper over boards with gilt-lettered green calf label. 103pp. Illustrations. Fine. Superb first edition of these scholarly music essays on such topics as "Al-Farabi and the Role of Arabic Music Theory in the Latin Middle Ages," handsomely inscribed and signed by the author in black ballpoint on… Read more about this item

New York: Miller Music Corporation, 1937. Paperback. Wide small 8vo. Stiff glossy pictorial wrappers. 38pp. Full-page line drawings. Very good. Mildly edgeworn. A tight and decent first edition. Gruelle's lyrics accompany Milller's music and his delightful drawings illuminate this charmer -- which apparently was used by a child pianist, for inoffensive pencilled key markers and such appear on occasional… Read more about this item

New York: Random House, 1934. Hardcover. Introduction by Carl Van Vechten. 8vo. Black cloth with gilt spine lettering, dust jacket. 57pp. Fine/very good. Jacket mildly age toned and spine rather darkened, with small chip at spine head/tail. Handsome first edition of this work for which Virgil Thomson composed the score -- considered groundbreaking in every respect including its all-black… Read more about this item

New York: George H. Doran Company, 1926. Hardcover. Illustrations by Jerry Delano. Green cloth with paper labels. x, 189pp. Frontispiece, numerous line drawings. Very good. Spine paper label a tad sunned, with tiny corner chip; text block tight, bright and nice with a couple brown smudges to front pastedown and rear flyleaf. Tight and nice later printing of this… Read more about this item