Daniel Blum's Screen World 1949 [Volume 1]

New York: Greenberg: Publisher. Poor. (c.1950). First Edition. Softcover. [heavily worn with extensive creasing to covers; the spine covering is almost completely gone, but it's holding together -- just barely -- because it was stitched, not perfect-bound; rubber stamp of Kier's Book House on front endpaper and title page]. (B&W photographs) The first issue of this long-running annual round-up of the year's films and personalities. In the beginning (and for another year or two, I believe) this publication was issued in both a dust-jacketed hardcover edition and as a softcover, this example being the latter -- as as noted, with the binding almost shot. The front cover features small portrait hotos of Joan Fontaine, Cary Grant, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Barbara Stanwyck, Katharine Hepburn, and John Lund. The volume contains the first of the "Portrait Dolls of Famous Film Folk" (by artist Mary Green) full-page photo feature (including dolls of Greta Garbo, Greer Garson, W.C. Fields, Bing Crosby); the "Promising Personalities" sections includes Mario Lanza, Ruth Roman, Scott Brady; the volume is dedicated to silent film actress Clara Kimball Young. Ordinarily I would just discard a book in this condition -- but, well, it was the beginning of a long-running and much-loved series, and I just haven't got the heart to chuck the poor abused thing out. So I've made it super-cheap, just to help it find a new home. .