Between the Covers

Softcover. First edition. Thick quarto. Stiff green suede wrappers tied with silk cord as issued. A small dampstain on the front fly and a somewhat larger dampstain affecting the edges of the last several pages, spine slightly faded, a couple of minor tears to the yapped edges, else a handsome, very good or better copy, housed in a custom cloth clamshell case. 200 leaves printed on thick deckle-edged paper interleaved with tissue page guards, each page contains a caricature of a Lardner friend, many either in sporting garb or engaged in one or another sporting activity, with a small caricature of Lardner observing each of them, and a limerick about each person. Among the notables are Ban Johnson, Charles Comiskey, golfer Chick Evans, Kid Gleason (manager of the White Sox), and August Herrman (owner of the Reds). Aside from a handful of other baseball executives, the vast majority of the individuals included are Chicago businessmen, professionals, and politicians, with a smattering of actors and journalists thrown in. According to Bruccoli and Layman in their *Ring W. Lardner: A Descriptive Bibliography*, where this appears as item number A10 this "was a subscription (or mug book) sold to the men included in the text. Unknown number of copies." Exceptionally scarce.

Item #68595