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Photoplay Editions Are Fun
I have always been a book guy. I like stories
told on the stage, or on the radio, or television or in the movies.
For that matter I enjoy a good story around the campfire, in the bleachers
or in a bar. But most of all I have always liked stories told in books.
When I was a teenager one of my very best friends
was a movie guy. He was working as a projectionist as a teenager himself
and was always enthralled by the big screen. He has gone on to own and
manage his own movie theater where he runs the type of movies he
loves. At one point back when we were kids he decided I too should learn
to be a projectionist. He worked at the old Daniel Webster and State theaters
across from each other on Nashua’s Main Street. They were two grand old
downtown movie theaters of the type which no longer exist. The first thing
he showed me was the button that you pushed to open the curtain in front
of the screen. That was the end of my projectionist education. After that
things just got too technical for me and I went back to my books. If there
is ever an opening for a curtain operator I know I have a solid backup
occupation.
Anyway we went our separate ways in the work
world. Now he works long hours for small money showing the movies he loves.
I work long hours for small money seeking and selling the books I love.
But occasionally the twain shall meet. The books that both movie goers
and booklovers appreciate are the photoplay editions.
As with most areas of book collecting there are
several avenues to explore for these throwbacks to the silent film era.
First appearing around 1912 the books became popular as tie ins to the
new and intriguing movie industry. In those days the new "talkies"
were as likely to be referred to photoplays as movies and the corresponding
books rode the wave of popularity. Reasons to collect?
They look good. A photoplay edition, usually
edited by a reprint company like Grosset & Dunlap or A.L. Burt,
included a dust jacket featuring a scene or star from the flick as
well as stills from the "play" on the inside. The importance of dust
jackets has been mentioned here several times but it is particularly important
in the case of photoplay editions. Well preserved covers with likenesses
of early movie stars or scenes from movies such as Dracula and Frankenstein
add to the value and appearance of your collection.
As pointed out the books were done by reprint
companies so here is the formula. With dustjackets, they are attractive
collectable and significant tie-ins to the silent film era as well as the
book the movie was based on. Without dust jackets they might be kind
of ugly and easy to pass by. The image of Lon Chaney or Bela
Lugosi on a dust jacket can’t help but make a collectible more desirable.
Take away that jacket though and you’re probably left with a weak hinged,
faded G&D with little appeal. Throw in a little foxing and a slightly
musty odor and you have the typical yard sale type find. That doesn’t hold
true with some of the books. Titles by authors such as Edgar Rice Burroughs
and Arthur Conan Doyle in photoplay titles are tough to find and even un-jacketed
copies would be nice starting points for your collection.
Another reason would be the many directions your
collection could take. The heyday of this format was the 20s and 30s. A
collection of all of the books from one year would work. So would all of
one genre, or actor or director or studio or…You get the picture.
Whatever you decide will of course have a pretty
big impact on the cost of putting your menagerie together. Like the movies
they depict photoplay editions enjoy varying degrees of popularity.
You may not be able to start out with those Burroughs or Doyle titles in
dust jackets but uncovered ones still turn up at yard and book sales. "The
Jazz Singer" with Al Jolson on the cover or the 1927 "The General" featuring
Buster Keaton as a Confederate General are examples hard to find but worthwhile
photoplays that are out there. In the great moviemaking/terrible history
department copies of D.W. Griffith’s "Birth of a Nation " are obviously
difficult to find in dust jacket and well worth the hunt. As
with any new collection a little patience will pay off. The more you search
the more you’ll learn. The more you learn the more opportunities will appear.
In other words keep working on it and good things will turn up. If you
give up too early you’ll never get past the curtain opening stage.
It is a collecting field that has many interested
people searching but opportunities exist. Because they were done by reprint
companies there are lots of them out there and they are often available
for cheap money. And most of all they are fun to collect. Like with most
book collecting you can learn something new every day. The background
of the authors, movies, actors and social history of the early 20th
century are all part of the learning process when you start paying attention
to photoplay editions. The more you collect the more you learn.
So read the book, see the movie and then collect
the book.
About the Author: Gary Crooker is a free-lance
writer and book dealer of 25 years living in Wilton, NH. Contact him at
crooks@tellink.net