GEORGE GERSHWIN. Edited and Designed by Merle Armitage, with contributions by Paul Whiteman, et al.

The SIGNATURE of GEORGE GERSHWIN in blue pen is clipped from an original bank check and glued on to the front free endpaper.

Published by Longmans Green & Co., London and New York, 1938. First edition. Hardcover book, 8" x 10.5" inches, 252 pages, no dustjacket. Illustrated with some b&w plates. GOOD PLUS condition, the covers have light wear to the spine ends and corner tips, some scrapes to the spine folds; internally, the front inner hinge has some clear tape reinforcement, the text block has a few hairline cracks but is holding well with the sewn binding, otherwise the pages are tight, bright, clean and unmarked and GEORGE GERSHWIN'S signature is bold and bright.

SCARCE and UNIQUE with the clipped SIGNATURE of GEORGE GERSHWIN, iconic American composer and pianist.

MIKUCOLOR : KEI HATSUNE MIKU ILLUSTRATION WORKS, by KEI (Kei Garou).

BOLDLY SIGNED BY KEI on the title page.

The Special, Limited SIGNING took place at the KINOKUNIYA BOOKSTORE in San Francisco on July 19-20, 2014, during the City's two day J-POP SUMMIT. The original KINOKUNIYA Book Store sticker from where the book was purchased for the signing event remains on the rear cover.

Published by KADOKAWA SHOTEN, 2012. FIRST EDITION, with the statement "First Published on August 31, 2012" [in Japanese] on the copyright page.

SOFTCOVER BOOK, French flaps, with its original wraparound obi band, 8.25x11.25 inches, 128 pages. Fully ILLUSTRATED with KEI's drawings of HATSUNE MIKU. Text in Japanese.

The book is in FINE condition, tight, bright, clean and clear. The Signature of KEI is bold and brilliant.

This First Edition is RARE and SPECIAL with the SIGNATURE of KEI.

About HATSUNE MIKU (from Wikipedia):

******Hatsune Miku is a Vocaloid software voicebank and its official mascot character, a 16-year-old girl with long, turquoise twintails, created by KEI. Miku's personification has been marketed as a virtual idol, and has performed at live virtual concerts onstage as an animated projection. The task of coming up with Miku's image went to the manga artist KEI GAROU.******

About the KEI SIGNING at the San Francisco J-POP SUMMIT in 2014:

******J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL TEAMS WITH KINOKUNIYA TO PRESENT HATSUNE MIKU CHARACTER DESIGNER KEI.

San Francisco - The 2014 J-POP SUMMIT, San Francisco's premiere annual celebration of Japanese pop culture, is proud to team with Kinokuniya Book Stores to present very special Guest of Honor - KEI - the official character illustrator who designed Hatsune Miku, the wildly popular Vocaloid icon and world's first virtual pop star.

The 2014 J-POP SUMMIT is set to take place across this city's Japantown district Saturday and Sunday, July 19th and 20th.

Hatsune Miku character designer KEI will appear in person at the Kinokuniya booth on both Saturday, July 19th and Sunday, July 20th for a special autograph session. Only the first 100 people will have the opportunity to have their book autographed by KEI.******

Götterdämmerung von Richard Wagner

Published by Ernst Eulenburg, London, Zurich, Mainz, New York, no date circa 1960s, originally published in 1877. English translation by Frederick Jameson. Version Française par Alfred Ernst. Words in German, English and French. Libretto by composer. Miniature study score, EE 6121, reprinted from plate number 27004, in two volumes. Hardbound in textured green cloth with gilt printing on the front cover and spine, top edge with green marbling, 7.5" x 5.25", 1361 pages (volume 1 is 543 pages, volume 2 is 818 pages), sewn in bookmark. VERY GOOD Condition: gilt titling has faded but remains legible, light vertical crease to spine of volume two but text block holding well, former owner's penned name on ffep of both volumes, light foxing to the endpapers, inner pages are tight, bright, clean and unmarked. A very good example of this vintage opera score.

Götterdämmerung is Richard Wagner's (1813-1883) last opera in his epic Ring Cycle. Considered among the most stirring and powerful music ever composed, it loosely follows the Nordic legend of Ragnarök (Twilight of the Gods).

DRUMS AND ACCESSORIES - ILLUSTRATED CATALOG of the WFL DRUM CO.

Published by WFL DRUM COMPANY, Chicago, Illinois, 1939.

Softcover catalog, side stapled, 6x9 inches, 48 pages. Illustrated throughout. Complete with its original, illustrated mailing envelope.

Condition: There are a couple brown burn marks on the front cover that affect the same spot on a few of the following inner pages, the staples have rusted but are holding well, the covers have light general creases from use, otherwise the catalog is quite nice, tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. The used mailing envelope is soiled, age toned, has a mailing label "Jack Anthony / Millbrook, New York", and writing on the backside "Clarence Nathaniel Anthony / North Avenue / Millbrook, New York" and "Millbrook Memorial School / Rowland H. Ross / Principal".

Rare original 1939 Drum Catalog of WFL Drum Company.

THE BILLINGS ROLLOGRAPHY - PLAYER PIANO MUSIC FROM 1917-1934, by Ginny and Bob Billings. THREE VOLUME SET: Volumes One, Two and Three complete.

(A rollography is a systematic listing of all known music rolls intended to form an authoritative guide to the subject, and usually includes history and artist biographies.)

Self-Published, 1990. "This three-volume set has been compiled, edited, written, typeset, reproduced, bound and published by ROCK SOUP, Ginny and Bob Billings, Belmont, California...1990".

This is the First Edition of The Billings Rollography, self-published as a three volume set in 1990. Softcovers with tape covered spine, clear vinyl cover protectors, and photocopied pages. The set was later issued in a hardcover edition as well.

VERY GOOD condition, some scratches and shelf rubs to the clear plastic over-covers, overall lovely, tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked.

The three volumes are:

VOLUME ONE: Two complete listings of all 88-note QRS Word Rolls, from the beginning (R No. 100, issued in 1916) to Roll No. 6000, issued in November 1934, one numerical by se number and one alphabetic by title. 357 pages.

VOLUME TWO: A history of the roll companies included in Recordo and QRS; tech information on Recordo; a complete listing by roll company of all Recordo-coded and So Carola-coded expression rolls, numeric by serial number and alphabetic by title, then a separa combined section of classical music listed alphabetically by composer; and finally, a compen composite listing of all Recordo-coded rolls, alphabetic by title. 382 pages.

VOLUME THREE: A complete listing of all pianists credited in the above two groupings, biographical information and photographs where possible, including an alphabetic list of all they played: QRS 88-note, Recordo and Solo Carola. 435 pages.

This sale is for the three volume set, Player Piano Music 1917-1934. Years later Ginny and Bob Billings compiled and published a volume 4, 5 and 6, comprising Player Piano Music from 1934-1994.

From the Introduction (on the verso of the title page):

******This three-volume set is the culmination of twenty years of combing available literature, grilling original artists, and basic research. Had the Editors worked another twenty years, the project still would not have been error free or completely to their satisfaction, but it is as close to that goal as can reasonably be expected.

The significance of QRS Word Rolls to Recordo is that most popular QRS Recordo rolls were first issued in the 88-note version before being coded with Recordo expression. The Editors hope that 88-note Imperial and 88-note U.S. lists will be compiled and published by someone else to complete the correlations.******

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: These three books are heavy and will require substantial additional shipping charges. After placing your order you will be notified of the additional charges and be able to accept or reject them before your payment is processed. Or you can contact us ahead of time to find out the shipping charge to your country. Thanks.

THE MAKING OF THE REPRESENTATIVE FOR PLANET 8 - AN OPERA IN THREE ACTS. By PHILIP GLASS and DORIS LESSING.

A nice gathering of items related to the OPERA by Philip Glass and Doris Lessing:

*LIBRETTO for the OPERA, by Glass and Lessing. SIGNED by PHILIP GLASS on the title page. Published by Dunvagen Music Publishers (Philip Glass' Music Publishing Company), New York, 1988. Softcovers, side stapled, 7x10.5 inches, 28 pages. First Edition. NEAR FINE condition, tight, bright and clean.

*CANOPUS IN ARGOS ARCHIVES : THE MAKING OF THE REPRESENTATIVE FOR PLANET 8, by DORIS LESSING. Published by Jonathan Cape, London, 1982. First Edition. Hardcover Book in Dustjacket. NEAR FINE book in NEAR FINE dustjacket, a solid, lovely copy. **SIGNED** by Doris Lessing on a bookplate on the front pastedown.

*PROGRAM for the OPERA performed by the English National Opera at its U.K. Premier at the London Coliseum. Published by the English National Opera, 1988. Softcovers, side-stapled, 5x9 inches, 48 pages. NEAR FINE condition.

*TWO ORIGINAL 8x10 GLOSSY PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS for the OPERA PREMIER at the HOUSTON GRAND OPERA in 1988. One photo is a mock-up of the stage set design, as designed by EIKO ISHIOKA and MINORU TERADA DOMBERGER. The 1988 Washington Post review said: "The most effective part of this opera's performance here was the staging by director Minoru Terada Domberger and designer Eiko Ishioka." GOOD condition, both press photographs have the expected marks, ink stamps, and notes, but remain bright and clear. Eiko's stage mock-up is a wonderful and rare item.

About the OPERA The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 (from Wikipedia):

******The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 is a full-scale opera by Philip Glass with a libretto by Doris Lessing based on her novel of the same name, first performed in 1988. Together with Glass's 1997 opera The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five, it is part of a planned trilogy of operas based on Lessing's Canopus in Argos novels.

The opera was co-commissioned by English National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam, and Theater Kiel, and co-produced with Artpark, Lewiston, New York State. The opera was first performed at Houston Grand Opera on 8 July 1988. The British premiere was 9 November 1988 by English National Opera at the London Coliseum. This production was broadcast live in the UK on BBC Radio 3 on 13 December 1988.******

Hand SIGNED by African American Composer and Blues Musician W. C. HANDY in ink on the ffep.

UNSUNG AMERICANS SUNG Edited by W. C. HANDY. Published by Handy Brothers Music Co., Inc. New York City [rubber stamped], 1944. First edition, First printing. Hardbound in original dark blue textured cloth with gilt printing on the front cover, 11" x 7.5", 236 pages, illustrated with a photographic frontispiece portrait of Handy, two full page photographic illustrations, and eight full page illustrations of African Americans from sketches by Beauford De Laney, and musical scores. VERY GOOD CONDITION: a few droplet stains and light wear to the covers, internally, toning to the pastedown and a penned gift inscription from the former owner Kitty Dalton, a chorus girl for Billy Rose on the ffep, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked.

Handy's important musical and cultural collection of song tributes to outstanding African Americans, explores the different dimensions of musical development that exist within Black culture, while also highlighting the struggle and triumph that exist for people of color. Includes poetry, illustrations, children's songs, choral works, scenes from major works, and art songs. Handy, the "Father of the Blues" composed the music for Phillis Wheatley poetry, and collaborated with Langston Hughes on a number of his poems as did Margaret Bonds, there are over 30 contributors including jazz luminaries Eubie Blake, James P. Johnson, Andy Razaf, Luckey Roberts and Ismay Andrews.

William Christopher Handy (1873-1958) born to former slaves, W. C. Handy was one of the first to compose, play and publish a steady stream of blues, spiritual arrangements, marches, hymns, and miscellaneous songs. His collections include Blues: An Anthology (1941), and A Book of Negro Spirituals (1938). His books include: Negro Authors and Composers of the United States (1936), Father of the Blues (1941), and Unsung American Sung (1944).

Beauford De Laney (1901-1979) Noted African American Artist.

THE ANNALS OF THE BOHEMIAN CLUB VOLUME IX - MUSIC and MUSICIANS in BOHEMIA The First One Hundred Years [A Symphonic Summary], by Richard P. Buck.

Published by the Bohemian Club, San Francisco, 2007. Limited to 3,000 copies, as stated on the Colophon Page (the last page).

COMPLETE SET - Hardcover book, green cloth covered boards with gilt titling on the spine, 7x9.5 inches, xvii, 187 pages + Three CDs and accompanying booklet in a cd case + Slipcase covered in matching green cloth, with gilt design on the front and gilt titling on the spine

NEAR FINE BOOK, very light rubs to the covers, overall looks and feels unused, tight, bright, clean and unmarked; in a VERY GOOD SLIPCASE that has some shelf rubs, overall bright and solid; with CDs that look unused, and an accompanying CD booklet that is in GOOD condition, with some creasing. A wonderful, very presentable set.

GRATEFUL DEAD - TWENTY FIVE YEARS - EUROPE 1990.

SIGNED & INSCRIBED in SILVER on the FRONT COVER by KEN KESEY, Friend, Mentor and LSD Guru to the Grateful Dead:

"Hmmm... / that's either Bill Graham's ghost or a live version of / Ken Kesey".

SIGNED & INSCRIBED in GOLD on the first two page panel by KEN BABBS, an LSD laden Merry Prankster and friend of the Grateful Dead and Ken Kesey:

"I didn't Go! - DURN! - Ken Babbs".

Softcovers, side stapled, 11.75x11.75 inches (the shape of a vinyl album cover), 26 pages. illustrated with photographs of the band and its Dead members.

NEAR FINE condition, just lightly handled, tight, bright, clean and clear. A lovely copy.

RARE SIGNED & INSCRIBED ASSOCIATION COPY that combines the GHOST of BILL GRAHAM, with the MERRY PRANKSTER MISCHIEVOUS WIT of KEN KESEY, and the LSD mindset of Prankster and Dead Friend KEN BABBS.

A Unique Item from the Pranksters and the Dead.

About KEN KESEY (excerpts from Wikipedia):

******Ken Kesey, b.1935 d.2001, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Sometimes a Great Notion, Merry Pranksters, Acid Tests, Grateful Dead... After One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was published, Kesey began hosting happenings with former colleagues, miscellaneous bohemian and literary figures, and other friends (Ken Babbs et al), collectively known as the MERRY PRANKSTERS; these parties, known as ACID TESTS, integrated the consumption of LSD with multimedia performances. KESEY MENTORED THE GRATEFUL DEAD (THE ACID TESTS' HOUSE BAND) throughout their early years and continued to exert a profound influence upon the group throughout their career.******

About KEN BABBS (from Wikipedia):

******Ken Babbs, b.1936, is a famous Merry Prankster who became one of the psychedelic leaders of the 1960s. He, along with best friend and Prankster leader Ken Kesey, wrote the book Last Go Round. Babbs is best known for his participation in the Acid Tests and on the bus Further. He and Ken Kesey said The Acid Tests were conceived when the Pranksters met the Grateful Dead.******

About BILL GRAHAM (from Wikipedia):

******Bill Graham, b.1931 d,1991, was a German-American rock concert promoter from the 1960s until his death in 1991 in a helicopter crash. On July 4, 1939, he was sent from Germany to France due to political uncertainty in his home country. At age 10, he settled into a foster home in the Bronx, New York. In the early 1960s, Graham moved to San Francisco, and in 1965, began to manage the San Francisco Mime Troupe which eventually led to his becoming one of the world's greatest Rock Concert Promoters. His promoted concerts at the Fillmore and Winterland Ballrooms made such bands as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin, world famous. The San Francisco Civic Auditorium was renamed The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in his honor.******

An early, important and scarce composition by American Composer NED ROREM. From Virgil Thomson's personal collection.

PRAYER AND PARAPHRASE for Virgil Thomson by NED ROREM

NED ROREM music composition written in his hand. Signed holograph music manuscript reproduced by blue print process with Circle Blue Print Co., New York City printed in the bottom margin. Piano composition, small folio, one folded sheet 11" x 14", opens to 22" x 14", 2 pages. Beneath the last measure of Prayer is the number 9-25-45, and beneath the last measure of Paraphrase is the number 10-45. They are most likely the composition dates, September 25, 1945 and October 1945. Such copies are made for a performance, usually not many exist.

GOOD CONDITION: The sheet is toned, lightly foxed, slightly fragile, the fold is tender and starting to split but holding, tiny tears and chips to edges, otherwise the piece is bright, unmarked, completely legible, and remains upright on a music stand. Scarce, OCLC locates only one other copy archived at Yale in the Virgil Thomson Papers.

Ned Rorem (1923-2022) Iconic American Composer and Diarist. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1976 for his Air Music: Ten Etudes for Orchestra.

Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) American Composer and Critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. In 1949, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music for the score to the film Louisiana Story.

RARE, EARLY 1958 CONCERT PROGRAM by the DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET. "Benefit Jazz Concert by the Dave Brubeck Quartet for Dave's Friend, Al Jay Naukana, January 7, 1958, 150 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco." The "Master of Ceremonies" was Phil Elwood, longtime San Francisco Bay Area jazz and blues critic.

HAND-SIGNED by BAND MEMBERS DAVE BRUBECK, PAUL DESMOND and JOE MORELLO, and BAND MANAGER MORT LEWIS.

Joe Morello and Mort Lewis also INSCRIBED the booklet to JEAN (Jean Gundlach), who was on the Committee that arranged for the Benefit Concert (she is named at the bottom of the last page of the 4 page program pamphlet).

Also signed Lou Olvera, who was a beloved teacher at the East Contra Costa Junior College (now Diablo Valley College) and Jazz fan. Dave Brubeck once performed at ECCJC along with Cal Tjader.

The program consists of TWO ITEMS:

(1) An illustrated SIGNED and INSCRIBED booklet about the Dave Brubeck Quartet and its members, produced as an informational booklet for Brubeck's 1957-1958 tour, published by Derry Music Co., 1957. Printed paper covers, side-stapled 8.5x11 inches, 16 pages including covers. VERY GOOD condition, light offsetting to the front cover, and light signs of handling, overall tight, bright, clean and clear; with lovely signatures and inscriptions.

(2) A 4 page program for the "BENEFIT JAZZ CONCERT" that took place on January 7, 1958 in San Francisco. GOOD condition, several horizontal folds, perhaps to fit into a jacket pocket, otherwise just lightly used, bright and clear.

About JEAN (Gundlach), who was on the Committee to arrange the Benefit Concert, and to whom Joe Morello and Mort Lewis inscribed the program (from her 2010 Seattle Times obituary):

******Jean Gundlach, b.1914 d.2010, was a lifetime labor union activist. Beginning in the 1950s she served for 30 years as secretary to Harry Bridges in the ILWU in San Francisco. Throughout her years, Jean devoted herself to progressive programs, fighting against the McCarthy hearings, working with migrant farm worker organizations in the 1950s, joining many labor strikes and walkouts, etc. She was central to the creation of the Harry Bridges Chair and Center for Labor Studies at the University of Washington.******

OPERA CAVALCADE - STORY OF THE METROPOLITAN. Published by The Metropolitan Opera Guild, New York, 1938.

Doubling as an AUTOGRAPH ALBUM, the book contains SIGNATURES of 55 OPERA SINGERS collected by a fan over the OPERATIC SEASONS 1943-1948. The signatures are on opera program covers, cut pages, and clipped sheets, that have been glued on (most at the corners) to the pages and inside covers of the book. The signatures are in ink and pencil.

On the title page the previous owner lists some of the operas he/she attended, and the dates they were performed.

On page 63 there is a list of all the members of the "current" Metropolitan Opera Company (i.e. 1938 when this book was published). There are check marks by twenty-one of the names. Those names make up part of the 55 signatures collected in this album/book.

Signatures include: Karin Branzell, Thelma Votipka, Edward Johnson, Bidu Sayão, Nicola Moscona, Patrice Munsel, Ezio Pinza, Rose Bampton, Frances Greer, Richard Tucker, Zinka Milanov, Lily Pons, Astrid Varnay, Florence Quartararo, and many, many more.

The book - Opera Cavalcade: The Story of the Metropolitan, is a history of the Metropolitan Opera. It is filled with b&w photographs of stage productions and singers, and includes a nice frontispiece photograph of Edward Johnson by Steichen.

Condition: The book is in GOOD MINUS condition, worn through at the edges and corners, with rubs, scrapes and scratches to the boards; but is solid and has a cover image that is bright and attractive. The inner pages have some age toning and foxing, and two pages have offsetting likely from a newspaper page laid in at some point; otherwise the inner pages are tight, bright, clean and clear. The signatures are mostly sharp and clear though some of the pencil signatures are fading, but even those are easily legible with only one that has faded into near illegibility, at least according to my aging eyes.

A wonderful look at the world of Opera as it was in the mid 1940s, filled with signatures of those who were part of that world.

A unique treasure for the lover of opera in your life or soul.

COUNT IGNAZIO ALESSANDRO COZIO DI SALABUE - OBSERVATIONS on the CONSTRUCTION of STRINGED INSTRUMENTS and THEIR ADJUSTMENT: 1804, 1805, 1809, 1810, 1816.

Compiled, Translated, Edited and Annotated by Andrew Dipper and David Woodrow from Salabue's original books and manuscripts. Produced as part of the series: Technical Studies in the Arts of Musical Instrument Making

Published by Taynton Press, Taynton, England, 1987. Produced as part of the series: Technical Studies in the Arts of Musical Instrument Making. ISBN 10: 1870952006 ISBN 13: 9781870952002.

FIRST and LIMITED EDITION of only 995 copies, this being hand numbered copy 890.

Hardcover book in dustjacket, black cloth covered boards, gilt embossed titling on the front cover and spine, 8.5x12 inches, 85 pages.

Condition: NEAR FINE

book, lightly used with a couple small indentations on the covers, in a VERY GOOD dustjacket that has light creases from handling and use, still bright and clean. A solid, nice, very presentable copy.

About COUNT IGNAZIO ALESSANDRO COZIO DI SALABUE (from Wikipedia):

******Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue, b.1755 d.1840, was an Italian Count known as the first great connoisseur and collector of violins. Among the most important instruments in Cozio's collection were ten violins of Antonio Stradivari, which he acquired from the maker's son Paolo in 1773-1774; however, many more instruments by Stradivari and numerous other renowned violin makers were in his collection or passed through his hands over the years. Cozio's meticulous notes on nearly every instrument that passed through his hands contributed enormously to the body of knowledge surrounding Italian violin making.******

THE SECOND HURRICANE: A Play Opera in Two Acts - For High School Performance. MUSIC by AARON COPLAND. Libretto by Edwin Denby. This was Aaron Copland's FIRST OPERA.

SIGNED, INSCRIBED and DATED by AARON COPLAND on the title page:

"For Martin Riskin / Aaron Copland / '72".

Martin Riskin, individually and through his charitable foundation, was a major supporter of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and classical music throughout New York City. A search for "Martin Riskin" together with "New York Philharmonic" will provide a good sampling of Martin Riskin's involvement with classical music and musicians.

Published by Boosey & Hawkes, undated but likely circa 1970, a later printing. (First published by Birchard & Company in 1937, the rights to this work were transferred from Blanchard to Boosey & Hawkes in 1957. Any copies showing Boosey & Hawkes as the publisher were published post 1957.)

Musical score, softcovers, 7x10.25 inches, 112 page score plus 8 introductory pages, including a facsimile of a program for the original 1937 production which was titled: "The Second Hurricane: A Play Opera for High School Children". (I like how "Children" was changed to "Performers" in later editions.) There is a long tradition of great composers writing operas to be performed by young performers.

VERY GOOD condition, tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. A lovely copy.

RARE with the SIGNATURE and INSCRIPTION of AARON COPLAND from 1972, and the Association to the notable NY Philharmonic supporter Martin Riskin.