New Paths in Book-Collecting: Essays by Various Hands

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1934. First American Edition, 1st Printing.

Small Octavo (7 1/2 x 5 inches; 192 x 130 mm), 294 pages, original green cloth, titles to spine gilt, top edge green, in a printed dust jacket.

A scarce first U.S. edition -- in an even scarcer dust jacket -- of a landmark work on book collecting edited by John Carter. It includes essays by some notable bibliophiles, including David Randall, Percy Muir, Michael Sadleir, Graham Pollard, and, of course, Carter himself. The American edition followed Constable's U.K. edition in 1934. This was during the Depression, so Carter wanted to suggest some new areas for collecting that wouldn't cost much money. Interestingly, the book was also aimed at antiquarian book dealers to give them ideas for new specialties.

The essays are: The Expansion of an Author Collection by John T. Winterich; Ignoring the Flag by P.H. Muir; Detective Stories by John Carter; Musical First Editions by C.B. Oldman; Yellow-Backs by Michael Sadleir; English Illustrated Books, 1880-1900 by T. Balston; American First Editions, 1900-1933 by David A. Randall; War Books by P.H. Muir; and Serials by Graham Pollard.

A fascinating insight into new collecting areas during the Depression years--and an excellent reference work. Moreover, copies in the dust jacket are scarce to the market.

CONDITION: Gilt spine titles bright and unfaded, top edge a bit dusty, spine rolled, end papers toned, but internally clean and unmarked. The dust jacket has several nicks to the extremities, a couple of small splits where the front panel meets the spine, a loss of about 2 inches to most of the top of the lower flap, and some toning to the spine. A price of $3.00 has been stamped and then crossed out on the front flap. Overall, About Very Good.