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