Alfred A. Knopf: Quarter Century

N.p.: N.p., 1940. Hardcover. Small 8vo. Green cloth with paper labels, slipcase. 52pp. Frontispiece. Very good/very good. Binding spine and edges ever-so-faintly sunned, else near fine. A tight and handsome first edition of this slim tribute volume, boldly signed and Inscribed by Knopf in blue ballpoint on the front flyleaf: "For Carl Haverlin / with sincere regard / Anfred a Knopf / 19 January 1960." (CARL HAVERLIN,1899-1985, was a noted Lincoln and Civil War scholar, radio pioneer and president of Broadcast Music, Inc.) Scarce collection of tributes published by a group of Knopf's friends called "The Book Table," consisting of "a few each of publishers, booksellers, librarians, authors, designers and producers of books and book materials." Two side-by-side rear flyleaves bear the boldly inked signatures of six of the book's ten contributors: Novelist Carl Van Vechten (who took the frontispiece portrait), critic/essayist Carl Van Doren, H.L. Mencken, New York Public Library director H.M. Lydenberg, "Publisher's Weekly" co-editor Frederic G. Melcher and publisher B.W. Huebsch. Also signed by Milton Ferguson and Franklin F. Hopper (N.Y.P.L. librarians), Max Salop (book distributor), John T. Winterich (editor), C.C. Williamson (Columbia University librarian), Whitney Darrow ("New Yorker" cartoonist), Robert F. DeGraff (publisher, founder of Pocket Books), Nathan H. Shrift (?), Benjamin S. Van Wyck (printer), Meredith Wood (co-founder Book-of-the-Month Club), John Meullor (?), Harry Scherman (BOMC co-founder), Donald Barr (?), John L. Ladd (publisher, Plimpton Press), Bertram Wolff (printer), Robert S. Lynd (editor/publisher turned sociologist, author of classic "Middletown"), George P. Brett (chairman, Macmillan Company), Elmer Adler (legendary typographer who founded "The Colophon"), Elmer Davis (journalist, radio news commentator), Charles Denhard (publishers' ad man), Fred Crofts (publisher), Michael A. Corrigan (book wholesaler), Alfred A. Knopf (again) and Cedric R. Crowell (publisher), plus one illegible. A unique cross-section of signatures from the book world. No limitation statement, but probably fewer than 50 copies were produced.