MARY ASTOR'S PURPLE DIARY: The Great American Sex Scandal of 1936

New York: Liveright Publishing/W.W. Norton, 2016. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Sorel, one of America's great caricaturists and political satirists, began his obsession with actress Mary Astor in 1965 when, in the process of ripping up the kitchen linoleum in his $97-a-month railroad flat in NY, he discovered issues of the 1936 NY Daily News and Daily Mirror headlining a child custody trial in Hollywood. The trial exposed Astor's many adulterous affairs with, among others John Barrymore and playwright George S. Kaufman. When the purple diary was introduced in evidence, it detailed her affairs and how she graded her lovers. Sorel was hooked but it was 50 years before he was able to write and draw his book. First edition, first printing (as stated, with complete number line). About 6 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches, 167 pages in black cloth-covered boards with gold lettering on spine. Illustrated with over 60 original works by Sorel including full-color nude of Astor covering both end page and paste down. Dustjacket's front panel features a Sorel cartoon below title in large black letters. Back panel has four blurbs of praise; back flap a thumbnail photo of Sorel. A tiny grey stain on fore edge of text, o/w text and boards are free of flaws or damage. Clean, complete and unmarked, not ex-library, not remaindered. Dustjacket shows only touch of edge wear, no tears, no creasing or chipping. Not price-clipped. A collectable copy as much for Sorel's artwork as for the writing and content.