Rare books from Royal Books, Inc.

N.p.: N.p., 1970. One page, typescript, with a couple of typeover corrections. A fascinating muse by Southern on the crafting of the "Easy Rider," screenplay, focusing on how he actually wrote Jack Nicholson's role for Rip Torn, with a detailed explanation of why Torn did not ultimately fill the role. Full provenance available on request. Blank office stock, recto only, 8.5 x 11 inches. Near Fine.

London: British Nation Films, 1942. Original British program for the 1942 film. A fascinating piece, in that it consists almost entirely of a long transcription by Pressburger of the true-life narrative by Sir George Corbett, which forms the basis for the film. Photo illustrations from the film throughout. Saddle-stapled illustrated self wrappers, 7 x 9 inches, 32 pages. Very Good, with some creasing to the wrappers but no loss or detachment.

New York: Stuart Company, 1966. Draft script for the 1966 Broadway musical. A series of three playlets tied together by themes, such as dissatisfaction with getting what one wants, and repeated references or design elements, such as the color brown. Each playlet based on an existing work, with the first act based on "The Diary of Adam and Eve" by Mark Twain, the second based on "The Lady, or the Tiger?" by Frank R. Stockton, and the final act based on "Passionella" by Jules Feiffer. The musical first premiered at the Shubert Theater on October 18, 1966 and ran for 463 performances before closing November 25, 1967, directed by Mike Nichols, and starring Alan Alda, Barbara Harris, and Larry Blyden. Nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical for Nichols, and Best Actor in a Musical for Alda, and winning Best Actress in a Musical for Harris. Revived December 14, 2006 by the Roundabout Theatre Company, running for 99 performances through March 11, 2007,… Read More

Talent Associates/N.S.I. / ABC Pictures, 1970. Final Draft script for the 1971 film, here under the working title, and title of the source material, "The Siege of Trencher's Farm." Based on Gordon M. Williams's 1969 novel. Director Sam Peckinpah and screenwriter David Z. Goodman kept only the central concept of the siege itself, but completely altered the circumstances around it, including the creation of the film's controversial rape scene. Nominated for an Academy Award. Set in Trencher's Farm in Dando, Cornwall, shot on location in Cornwall and Middlsex, England. Maroon titled wrappers. Title page present, dated 24th August 1970, noted as Final Draft, with credits for screenwriters David Z. Goodman and Sam Peckinpah. 131 leaves, with last page of text numbered 130. Mimeograph duplication. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, bound with two gold brads. Clover, Men, Women, and Chainsaws. Criterion Collection 182. Grant, US.

Hollywood: Paramount Pictures, 1963. Revised Draft script for the 1964 film. With a few manuscript pencil annotations throughout, mostly relating to line revisions and props. Based on the 1959 French play by Jean Anouilh. King Henry II's malcontent relationship with the Church leads to the appointment of his close friend Thomas Becket as the Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry does not anticipate, however, how seriously Becket will take the vocation, leading to the dissolution of their friendship in the face of Becket's rising political power. Nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winning one for Best Adapted Screenplay. Set in England and France. Beige titled wrappers. Title page present, dated 12th February, 1963, noted as REVISED. 157 leaves, with last page of text numbered 155. Mimeograph duplication on yellow stock, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, with some rusting near the binding, bound internally with three silver brads.

Unknown: Unknown, 1968. Draft script for the 1968 film. A pitch black comedy about a man sentenced to death who survives his hanging, leading to a two-hour debate among his executioners over how best to handle the situation. Loosely based on a 1958 crime and execution, and a rare (for its time) discussion of the discrimination faced by ethnic Koreans in Japanese society. Black titled wrappers. Title page present, rubber-stamped copy No. 035. Approximately 130 leaves, with last page of text numbered h-8. Mimeograph duplication, rectos and versos. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Near Fine, with perfect binding. Criterion Collection 798. Rosenbaum 1000. Vogel, Film as a Subversive Art.

N.p.: N.p., 1962. Draft script for the 1962 film. With director Luis Buñuel's annotations in manuscript pencil and ink throughout, noting changes and additions to dialogue, and the name of Russian-American director Victor Stoloff in manuscript ink on the front of the folder housing the script. Stoloff was associated with Buñuel during Buñuel's brief sojourn in America, and is interviewed in the 2000 documentary "Buñuel in Hollywood." Included with the script is an English translation of Buñuel's revisions. An impossibly rare script for Buñuel's masterpiece, and the penultimate film the director made in Mexico. An incisive, eerie, surrealist comedy about a group of bourgeois guests at a dinner party who realize they inexplicably cannot leave the house. Nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Set and shot on location in Mexico. Tall, lacking wrappers and title page, housed in a light blue folder. 94 leaves, with last page of text numbered 94. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only. Pages Near… Read More

Tokyo: Shinchosha, 1988. Draft script for the 1988 Japanese animated film. Text and titles in Japanese. Based on Akiyuki Nosaka's semi-autobiographical short story, following the final days of two Japanese children during World War II. Nosaka purportedly heartily approved of the choice to adapt his story as an animated film, noting that he believed it would have been impossible to create the bleak backdrop or find child actors able to create a film of the subject in any other way. The second film animated by Studio Ghibli, best known for its animated films directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Set in Kobe. Black titled wrappers. 64 leaves, with last page of text numbered 124. Xerographic duplication, printed on rectos and versos. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, with light foxing to the page edges, bound perfectly. Ebert II.

N.p.: N.p., 1960. Vintage satin banner with hand-sewn lettering, by an unknown artist, made after Paul Krassner and John Francis Putnam's 1963 poster. Krassner created the "Fuck Communism" poster for sale through his satirical underground magazine "The Realist," with typography by longtime "Mad" magazine art director Putnam. In addition to publishing The Realist from 1958 to 2001, Krassner was a founder of the radical activist group the Youth International Party (The Yippies) and an early member of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters. In the words of occasional Realist contributor Kurt Vonnegut, "At the beginning of the 1960s, FUCK was believed to be so full of bad magic as to be unprintable. [...] By having FUCK and COMMUNISM fight it out in a single sentence, Krassner wasn't merely being funny as heck. He was demonstrating how preposterous it was for so many people to be responding to both words with such cockamamie Pavlovian fear and alarm." 36 x 14 inches. Near Fine.

Paris: Alpha France, 1975. Archive of material relating to the production and release of the 1974 US adult film, a period costume drama. From the US production of the film: 72 vernacular color snapshots, each with a small label adhered to the corner with the film's French title, and 18 snapshot-size contact photographs. From the French release of the film: three double weight glossy French lobby cards, three copies of a black and white French program, one color French program, and one moyenne film poster from the French release (with the French title "Soumise et perverse Cecilie"). Vernacular color snapshots and contact photographs are essentially the keybook photos for the film, numerically annotated in manuscript marker and wax pencil, respectively, one photograph with cropping annotation on recto in manuscript yellow wax pencil. French lobby cards with "Soumise et perverse Cecilie" stickers to upper corners. Black and white flyers with credits and synopsis on verso, and color flyer with… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930. First Edition. First Edition. Perhaps the most influential single work in solidifying the conventions, style, and character of hard-boiled fiction, both a cornerstone and highlight of any collection of twentieth century fiction. Basis for three film adaptations between 1931 and 1941-the 1941 groundbreaking adaptation by John Huston starring Humphrey Bogart legendary on every level, cementing the foundation of the noir style. Publisher's cloth. About Near Fine, lacking the dust jacket, with a lightly toned spine and a contemporary owner name at the top left corner of the front pastedown. Housed in a custom blue quarter-leather clamshell box, with rounded spine, raised bands, and gilt titles. The Dark Page I: 1940-1949, p. 132.

Berlin: Road Movies / Greno, 1984. First Edition. Two copies of the First Edition of this title, a trade softcover original. INSCRIBED by screenwriter Sam Shepard and director Wim Wenders, respectively. First issue, without the Ecco Press device on the rear panel, and lacking the credit on the front panel that reads, "Written by Sam Shepard" (and) "Adaptation by L.M. Kit Carson," appearing on all subsequent issues. Wim Wenders' definitive film as a director, with an original screenplay by Sam Shepard that stands among his finest work as a novelist and a playwright. The film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1984. This book, published simultaneously with the film, begins with a transcription of the final script in English, German, and French, and the last two-thirds present stills from the film alongside photographs taken on location by Wenders. The Wenders copy is about Near Fine, with a few faint vertical creases at the spine panel, and is inscribed on the front endpaper: "Für… Read More

San Francisco: Determined Productions, 1965. Vintage wall calendar for the year 1966, composed of twelve calendar sheets illustrated with twelve lithographs, held together at the top edge with a metal rod. Designed and illustrated by noted fashion artist Betty Brader, best known for her work for San Francisco specialty store Joseph Magnin, as well as her freelance work for Neiman Marcus in Dallas. Bay Area publisher Determined Productions was founded by Connie Boucher in 1961, largely creating licensed products-including some of the first Peanuts merchandise. The company quickly expanded, producing books and ephemera on a variety of topics, including astrology, the occult, and alcohol. With a vibrant, feminist overtone, the calendar on offer here features illustrations of women from around the world posed in bright and nationally specific garments, with text focusing on the way language is often used to discriminate against women. Not found in OCLC. Housed in the original pictorial paper tube.… Read More

Hollywood: Frsco Productions, 1976. Archive of three draft scripts for an unproduced film, including One First Draft script, one Second Draft Shooting script, and one Third Draft Shooting script. Annotations in manuscript pencil on the title page of the First Draft and cast pages of the Second Draft Shooting script. A musical spoof of John Huston's classic 1941 film noir "The Maltese Falcon." Screenwriter Frank Saletri, a criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles, worked as a part-time screenwriter and producer, primarily of exploitation (especially blaxploitation) films. Saletri's screenwriting work was largely unproduced, with the exception of the 1973 film "Blackenstein," and the possible exception of "Black the Ripper," a questionably apocryphal film whose existence has been debated for decades among grindhouse fans. First Draft: Blue untitled wrappers. Title page present, dated 1975, noted as First Draft in manuscript pencil annotation, with credits for screenwriter Frank Ritenhyde Saletri. 144… Read More

London: The Mandrake Press, 1929. First UK Edition, preceding all others. One of famed British occultist Aleister Crowley's best-known works, about a magical battle over the soul of an ethereal being. Many of Crowley's contemporaries appear as thinly veiled characters in the story, including MacGregor Mathers, Arthur Edward Waite, Annie Besant, Allen Bennett, Leila Waddell, Isadora Duncan, and Mary D'Este. Very Good plus in a Very Good dust jacket. Boards lightly soiled, with moderately frayed corners. Jacket spine panel is separated from front and rear panels, but has been repaired with cello tape on the verso, with chips on the spine ends and top corners of the rear panel.