I think I’ve brought this up before, but, since the recent unpleasantness, pickings have been sort of slim at Half-Price Books. Sometimes I’ll stumble across something, but it doesn’t seem like they’re getting as much good stuff as they used to.
Today was one of those stumble across days. We happened to be in the neighborhood dealing with the Mongolian fire drill that is Dan’s on a Saturday morning for breakfast, so I thought I’d duck in for a few minutes. And I walked out with a haul. Including not one, but two original Samworth books. (Technically, one is a reprint, but it is an original Samworth book.)
Automatic Pistol Marksmanship, by William Reichenbach. This is a thin little book (142 pages). The advertising page in the back is dated December of 1943, with a copyright date of 1937. This is the only post-1937 printing documented in Smith’s bibliography. I’d call this fair to fair minus: the front board has some blotches, the gold lettering is faded on both it and the spine, the spine itself is faded, and there’s no dust jacket. But I’ve never run across a copy before, and this was only $10 (plus tax). That appears to be about market on ABE for this condition. It’ll do until I find a better copy.
It also has an interesting little sticker inside the front board for Stoeger Arms Corporation, 507 Fifth Avenue, New York City.
Sold at retail to a customer? Corporate library copy? Given out as a promotional item? I don’t expect I’ll ever know, but I’m guessing the first one.
Modern American Rifles, A.C. Gould. This is actually a Samworth reprint of a book originally published in 1892: the reprint has a 1946 copyright date, and the Samworth advertising page is dated March of 1947. This is the only issue documented in the Smith bibliography. The Samworth reprint includes a biography of A.C. Gould written specifically for this edition, so I guess this is a first printing first state in this edition. “For the present day arms enthusiast with an interest in black-powder cartridge rifles, this book contains a bonanza of valuable information.” I would call this near fine: there are a few small marks and about a 3/4″ chip out of the dust jacket (which is in a plastic protector) and the page edges are slightly discolored. But I think this is a very good quality copy, and another one I haven’t run across previously. $35 (plus tax).
And a couple of non-Samworths:
The .45 Automatic. This is one of those collections of reprinted articles from the American Rifleman that the NRA used to do. They show up sometimes at Half-Price Books, and I try to grab them when I can. I’m pretty sure this is actually copy #2 in my collection, but at $2.99 (plus tax) it might make good trade fodder. Or I might pull it apart, scan the whole thing to PDF, and put it back together again.
Danger! Explosive True Adventures of the Great Outdoors, Ben East. This was an “Outdoor Life” book, and is what it says on the tin: tales of outdoor adventure and close calls, including at least one rattlesnake bite. Sounds like fun reading. Original cover price on this was $5.95: I paid $5.99 (plus tax) and I’d call this very good approaching fine. There’s some very small marks at the top of the dust jacket (which is in a protector) but other than that, no noticeable defects. This is the kind of thing I would have devoured as a ten year old, and will make good bathroom/nighttime when I want something not too demanding reading.
Those all look like very good deals, but I think the same about your last book. I would have also loved it when I was young. I used to read just about anything that I could get my hands on, when I was young, with this type of book being just about the top of my list.
I also read things like Tom Swift, the Hardy Boys, and others like that. While I was kind of into guns when I was young, it tended to the more utilitarian and not so much into the real detail of guns themselves.
I tried to get into the sci fi of the time, like Ray Bradbury, Philip Dick, etc. And on occasion I did like some of their books and short stories. But it was not really a genre that I got into. I did read a lot of WWII non fiction.
Now with my Kindle Fire, I am able to read so many things, it is just amazing. If I had the internet when I was a kid, I don’t know if I would have had time for school, as I would have been too busy educating myself.
Have a great week, and stay safe out there, with all of the craziness going on.
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but when I was a small child, the fiction targeted at boys of my age was mostly condescending and gross.
The novels I read were mostly adult novels I picked up at garage sales. The books I checked out from the library were mostly non-fiction, like C.B. Colby.
I never really got introduced to SF until later in my boyhood.
” If I had the internet when I was a kid, I don’t know if I would have had time for school, as I would have been too busy educating myself.”
Heh. Me, too.