Uncle Don's Bookshelf

After digging through my photo stuff in the attic, I found boxes of old books. I couldn't throw it out till I gave the collectors a chance at them. Prices include shipping within the USA, unless otherwise noted.

I have no intention of starting an internet business. I'm keeping this web page simple. No fancy graphics. I don't accept credit cards or Paypal, but I accept personal checks or money orders. Contact me to confirm availability of items you want. Then I'll hold them until I receive payment from you. I'll ship by U. S. mail, or UPS if you prefer.

I try to give accurate verbal descriptions of condition. On request, I can email you a digital picture of an item you are interested in, or give additional information.

Mail-order only. Absolutely no home sales. Prices shown here are firm. If you want a better price, wait until I have a sale or I mark down a price, or take your chances on eBay.

Donald E. Simanek
309 Mackey Ave.
Lock Haven, PA 17745-4003
Email: Address at right.
Phone: 570-748-7213

Postage rates have gone up again, yet I'm still inclcuding postage in the price of the books. Buy some books quickly before I come to my senses.

Also see my page of photo items for sale in Uncle Don's Attic. You will also find a treasure-trove of old photography books there.

Last edited, May 15, 2008.

Land of OZ Books

I list first the hardbound books published by Reilly & Lee, Chcago. 7" x 9.25" with dust jackets. Front covers have bright color printed pictures, same picture as the one on the dust cover. These books are often seen (and sold at high prices) without dust jackets, broken and repaired hinges, and the color-printed covers scuffed. The fact that these books still have dust covers, has ensured that the color covers on the books are nearly flawless, without scratches or scuff marks. The four scans below are of the dust jackets. The books themselves are mint, with unbroken spine and binding, no marks on pages, and no missing or torn pages, except for minor defects as noted below. However, these 1940s editions did not have the interior color plates that earlier editions had.

Baum, L. Frank. The Magic of Oz. Illustrated by John R. Neill. Reilly and Lee (no date!). Book is in mint condition. Dust cover has slight wear and some repair (glued reinforcement inside dust cover at spine). $200.00.

Neill, John R. (writer and illustrator) The Wonder City of OZ. Reilly & Lee, 1940. The first book of the series written by Neill. Book is in mint condition. Dust cover has slight wear and some repair (paper tape inside cover at spine). $100.00. SOLD

Thompson, Ruth Plumly. Captain Salt in OZ. Illustrated by John R. Neill. Reilly & Lee, 1936. Book in very good condition except for a margin tear, p. 21/22. Dust cover has paper tape repair inside, and some wear. $100.00.

Thompson, Ruth Plumly. Kabumpo in OZ. Illustrated by John R. Neill. Reilly & Lee, 1922. Book in mint condition. Dust cover has some repair inside the cover, with paper tape, and shows slight edge wear. [Illustration below is from page 109.] $100.00.

Baum, L. Frank. The Land of Oz, Junior Edition. Rand McNally, 1931. Hardbound, 5.5" x 6.75", 62 pages. Cracked cover paper at hinge, otherwise undamaged. $20.00

Baum, L. Frank. Rinkitink of Oz, Junior Edition. Rand McNally, 1939. Hardbound, 5.5" x 6.75", 62 pages. Cracked cover paper at hinge, otherwise undamaged. $20.00

Children's Books.

Echols, Ula Waterhouse. Robin Hood from the original ballad. Illustrated in color by James McCracken. Junior Press Books, Albert Whitman & Co.1932. Hardbound, 7.25" x 9.25", qality paper, art noveau illustrations, some as brilliant color plates, and black/white plates. Nice color plate on dust jacket (see scan at the left). Though billed as a book for "junior readers", this is a serious and scholarly translation, and a beautifully produced book. The book is in mint condition; the dust cover has some edge repair. $100.00.

Coatsworth, Elizabeth. Knock At The Door. Macmillan, 1931. Hardbound, 74 pages, with one full color plate and b/w drawings. This book has been described as inspired by Strephon of "Lolanthe" fame, one who was half fairy and half mortal. This title by this well known author is not easy to find in this mint condition: no marks, tears or grime. No dust cover. $75

Illustration from The Arabian Nights.

Rosa van Rosen. The Arabian Nights. Illustrated by Oscar Fabrès. Hyperion Press. Hardbound, 7 3/4 x 11 inch, with dust jacket. 72 pp., 24 with full color illustrations. One tape repair on inside bottom of dust jacket cover. $35

Alexander Korda's Story of The Thief of Bagdad. Authorized Edition adapted from Alexander Korda's Technicolor Production The Thief of Bagdad. Saalfield Publishing Company, 1940. Paperback, 7 3/4 x 11 inch, 64 pages, pulp paper, with stiff color cover. Book is rare in this excellent condition. Many full page line drawings suitable for coloring, but these have never been colored, and all pages are unmarked. $25

McKishnie, Archie P. Dwellers of the Marsh Realm. Full page illustrations by Franz Johnston. M. A. Donohue & Company. First edition, 1937. Hardbound, 79 pages. Full page b/w illustrations are on glossy paper. Stories about marsh-dwelling animals. Dust jacket has some fraying around edges and a short tear near lower edge. Cloth cover has large b/w paper illustration. Unmarked except for inked writing on flyleaf: "Donald Simanek, from Mrs. Sexton, Reading Prize 1948," with a gold star. $20

Le Grand (Henderson). Augustus Helps the Navy. Bobbs-Merrill 1942, First Edition, Hardcover with dust jacket. Illustrated by Le Grand (Henderson). 128 pages. Condition of book excellent, with no marks or damage. Very slight soiling of page edges. $25.

Le Grand (Henderson). Augustus Saves a ship. Bobbs-Merrill 1945, First Edition. Illustrated by Le Grand. Hardcover with dust Jacket. 136 pages. Condition of book excellent with no marks or damage. A few small spots of insect damage on dust cover spine. $15

Big Big Story Book. A modern abridged version with new illustrations by Hal Arbo. Whitman, 1938. Hardbound with color dust cover. 384 pages, many b/w illustrations with single color accents. Includes Black Beauty, Heidi, Peter Pan, Hans Brinker and Grimm's Fairy Tales. As was common in books of this era, some pages have small perforations near the bottom edge, due to the printing and binding equipment. But none of these are usage damage. Otherwise very good condition. $25.

Big Big Favorite Stories. Whitman, 1944. Softbound, pulp paper, color cover. 128 pages with many b/w illustrations. Includes Black Beauty, Sandy, Tag, Heidi. Very good condition. $15.

Funny Stories about Donald and Mickey by Walt Disney. Whitman, 1945. Pulp paper, 128 pages, with many b/w pictures. As was common in books of this era, some pages have small perforations near the bottom edge, due to the printing and binding equipment. But none of these are usage damage. Condition otherwise good. $20

Big Little Books and Better Little Books from the 1940s.

These books are all 3.5" x 4.5" and thickness varies, usually at least 1". Originally published by Whitman. This stash of books is from my childhood. I was an only child, so these are generally in excellent contion, some even "like new", some show slight cover wear from reading, and only one (the Donald Duck title) has obvious wear and some scotch tape repair. Must have liked that one! Nearly all have the "Better Little Book" logo on the spine.

I was never a "collector", these just got stored away in a dry upstairs closet and forgotten. If you are new to collecting these, consult The Big Little Book Club which has more detailed information on condition grading and a comprehensive price list. If you are a collector, you have probably paid money for titles such as these with dust, mildew, brittle paper, banged corners, water damage, missing pages, abused by careless children, or gnawed by rodents. You will find none of that here. These have never suffered the indignity of an antique store bin.

Collectors use this grading scale, and so will I:

NM Near Mint. Near-perfect, seldom if ever read.
F Mild usage, read but well treated.
VG Average usage, well-read but well treated.
G Average usage, well read.
F Harsh usage, well read.
P Poor, damaged.

I've had customers skeptical of an NM rating. One such ordered anyway, and upon receiving them, wrote: "Hi. I recieved the BLBs today. As usual, I raised my eyebrows with someone listing them as NM or better, and was doubtful. When I opened the package, I could not believe my eyes, as they were amazing. My mom even asked if they were real!

Only two titles left!

1418 Mandrake the Magician and the Flame Pearls. © 1940, 41, 42, 46 by King Features Syndicate. Very good condition. However, these books usually counted the flyleaves in the page count even though they were blank on both sides, the first flyleaf counting as page 1 and 2. This copy does not have the first flyleaf. $20.00.

Miscellaneous

Grey, Zane. King of the Royal Mounted and the Ghost Guns of Roaring River. Whitman, 1946. Hardbound, 8" x 5.5", 248p. Like-new condition, including dust jacket. (I doubt that I ever read it.) $40.00.

Williams, Beryl and Samuel Epstein. The Great Houdini. Illustrated by Louis Glanzman. Pocket Book Jr. J-63. Pocket Books 1951. Paperback, 4" x 6.5", 275 pages. Condition: looks like it just came off the newstand rack. $10.00.

Greer, J. H., M. D. A Physician in the House for Family and Individual Consultation. The Model Publishing Co, 1939. Very good condition, tight binding, with dust jacket. Red sticker across from the title page "The Illinois Herb Company, Chicago." 877 pages plus a first aid supplement bound in. Several pages of advertising from Illinois Herb Company. The "dogwood" picture is from the "herbal remedies" chapter. Owner's name on flyleaf, otherwise unmarked. This book (which originally appeared in 1915) is a comprehensive encyclopedia of prevailing medical advice of the early decades of the 20th century. This is of historical interest only, and should not be assumed to contain reliable medical information. $45.00.

Deutsch, Ronald M. The Nuts Among The Berries, an Exposé of America's food fads. Ballantine Books paperback, 1961. Clear tape repair on spine, with some staining there. $3 on request with any order, or free with the Greer book just above.

Mencken, H. L. Christmas Story, illustrated by Bill Crawford. Knopf, 1944, hardback with color dust cover. 32 pages with two-color enhancements of pictures. A bum's Christmas story. I have two copies of this Mencken classic. 1 copy is the first edition dated 1946 on title pages. Blue cloth binding with a 2.75 inch color printed cartoon on the front cover. With original dust jacket, both in very good condition. $70. [SOLD]

Mencken, H. L. The American Language, 769 pages. Knopf, 1937. Fourth Edition, corrected, enlarged, and rewritten. Has a color bookplate inside front cover (from a previous owner), and a library impression on title page, lower right corner. Hardbound in blue cloth with the Knopf logo impression. Very good condition, but no dust jacket. $70

Reyburn, Wallace. Bust-Up, the uplifting tale of Otto Titzling and the development of the bra. Prentice-Hall, 1972. Hard photo-printed cover, 106 pages, many line drawings and 8 pages of glossy photos. This is a classic "bogus biography": fiction in the style of a biography. Near-mint condition. $20.00.

Too Many Songs by Tom Lehrer with not enough drawings by Ronald Searle. Includes all the songs from the revue Tomfoolery. Pantheon 1981. 8.5 x 11 inches, 160 pages. Condition: like new. $20.00. [SOLD]

Magazines

Fact magazine, Vol 1. #1 to Vol. 4 #4 (Jan. 1964 to Aug. 1967). Editor: Ralph Ginzburg. A high-class muck-raking effort that didn't make it. $20.00 SOLD

Avant Garde magazine, Issues 1 (Jan 1968) through 10 (Jan 1970). Another failed effort by Raph Ginzburg. Attempted to be "arty" and outrageous. Each 11 x 11 inch issue had a color section on glossy paper, the remainder of the issue was on pulp paper. A typical issue had 70 pages, but didn't bother to number them. $50.00 for all ten issues. [The full run is SOLD] For some unaccountable reason there are duplicate issues of Nos. 2, 3, and 4, which I will sell individually for $10 each.

The Realist No. 50, May 1964. A magazine of freethhought, criticism and satire, edited by Paul Krassner. Cover proclaims "Special—Our 50th Anniversary Issue." Pulp paper, 32 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches. This is in very good condition except for slight age yellowing. $10.00. [SOLD]

Music and Musical Instruments

Brewer's Collection of Popular Songs. Vol II, No. 22. March 15, 1901. Student's Series of Four Penny Classics "The Blue Song Book". The Orville Brewer Publishing Co., Chicago. 6 x 9 inch., 32 pages. Worn edges, penciled name on top of front cover, a few tears into page edges, but nothing missing or unreadable. $15.00

M. Hohner's Auto-Valve Harp (Harmonica) No. 105 with "Organ Tone" "D". 4 5/8 inches long 10 hole. Harmonica is used, from the early 1940s and is in very good condition. Original cardboard case with hinged cover and brilliant color printed label on cover. Case in good condition, too, except for a bit of corner wear and some damage to information label on bottom of box. This was Hohner�s finest full concert octave harmonica with wind saving valves, the Auto Valve provides the player with greater volume and blowing ease. Ten double holes and 40 reeds are housed with a wood comb between durable chrome-plated covers. $35 [Shipping $5]

F. R. Hotz "Harmonica King" 4 inch 10 hole harmonica. Good condition, in hinged metal case which is also in good condition (color painted label, only slight corrosion of "gold-colored" finish). $10.00 [Shipping $3]

Postage rates have gone up again, yet I'm still inclcuding postage in the price of the books. Buy some books quickly before I come to my senses.

Play the Harmonica for Fun and Profit by Hal Leighton. Hilshire Book Company, 1973. Leighton was known as "The Original Harmonica Rascal". Book includes 30 songs for the diatonic and chromatic harmonica. 5 1/4 x 8 1/4 inch, 120 pages. Card cover, red with photo of author. Good diagrams. Condition: like new. $5.00

EZ (Easy) Method for Harmonica. Wm. J. Smith Music Co, Inc., New York, 1928. 4 3/4 x 7 3/4, 32 pages. Music also has banjo chord notation. $10.00

New Standard Harmonica Course, by Margaret J. Synnberg of the McKinley High School, Chicago. 5.5 x 9 inch. 64 pages of songs for children, with treble line, words and harmonica notation. Brief few pages of how to play the instrument. Cover separated at hinges for about 3 inches, otherwise in good contition. $13.00

Music is Fun with this Gretch Ocarina Book. The Fred Gretsch Mfg. Co, Chicago, 1940. 6 x 9 inches, 25 pages. Clearly pitched to people in the military. Red white and blue cover. $10.00 [SOLD]

Moreschi and Sons Piano Accordian. 3 octave + a third, with 3/4 inch wide white keys, keyboard 19" long. 20 x 6 = 120 base buttons. Bar for heel of hand to switch to "loud" which allows bass reeds to resonate with treble. Two leather shoulder straps. Carries number 2299-3 on left hand wooden panel. Many rhinestones in its decoration; only a few are missing. Dark "imitation mother of pearl" covering in very good condition. Wear on felt facing of shoulder straps, and on the panel under the keyboard (which contacts the player's body). I just played a few pieces on it, testing every key, and all play properly. (I was amazed that I could play properly.) Suitcase style black case has green plush interior. Exterior of case has edge repair, and has clearly "traveled". Probably made in the 1930s or 40s. Weight of accordian: 18 lbs. $300 with case. [Shipping $20] SOLD

Green plastic Alto C ocarina, Made in USA. 1940s. $10.00 [SOLD]

Red-finished clay ocarina, pitched in D, I think. No damage. $20.00

Toys

I have a number of construction sets in original box, some never opened. Erector, Meccano, Mech-Tech, Steel-Tech, (all English standard with 1/2 inch hole spacing) Also have Eitech, Merkur, and some Russian sets (metric, 1 cm hole spacing). Please inquire if you have any interest in these, and I can quote a price. One of these days I must list these with descriptions, on a new page: Uncle Don's Toybox. Note that when the number of parts is listed on the box, that includes nuts and bolts, which account for about half of the parts count. Also, when they say a set will build a given number of different models, that's one at a time, not all at once.

Here's a preliminary listing.

Erector Metal Construction Set, Motorized Ferris Wheel No. 8257 (For ages 8 & up.) 477 parts, with instructions for 8 amusement park ride models. This is a recent item, made by Meccano and marketed in the US under the Erector brand name, for which they own the rights. $50 [Shipping $10].

Meccano-Erector "The Original" Motorized Ferris Wheel. 440 parts. Builds 25 models. A fairly recent set, intended to imitate (though not exactly) one of the early Erector Ferris wheel sets. $50 [Shipping $10]

Small Eitech sets, the one on left shows the inner bagged contents. Bags intact and unopened. Boxes show some foxing. $10 [Shipping $5]

Eitech motor pack, unopened bag. Alongside is the contents of a second bag, that was used and has some corrosion in the battery box. $15 for both. [Shipping $5]

The Russian sets below are labeled "Toy Meccano Universal" but are not Meccano brand, nor are they Meccano compatible. They are metric standard. Metal parts are heavier gauge steel than any other set, very solid, nicely plated. Plastic parts merely adequate. Instructions in black/white on pulpy paper, in Russian and English, and the English translation is sometimes amusing. Nice supplement to Eitech, for someone primarily interested in building things. Boxes are modest quality cardboard.

Toy Designer "Schoolboy" set. I have three of these. $15 [Shipping $5]

Larger set. I have two of these. The box in the picture shows two missing pieces, which are presently in an assembled model, and can be restored to the box to complete it. $25 [Shipping $10]

Merkur construction sets. These are metric standard sets, very well made. No pictures yet.

Merkur 330 (2 trays of parts in heavy cardboard case) No motor. See below. 40 page full color manual in perfect condition. $200 [Shipping $10]

Merkur 340 (4 trays of parts in heavy cardboard case) No motor. See below. Includes two rubber caterpillar treads. 40 page full color manual in perfect condition. $400 [Shipping $20]

Merkur 018 Motorbikes set, builds 10 models, 172 parts. Box and instruction manual in perfect condition. NEW $30 [Shipping $5]

Merkur 2.1 motor & gear set. I have two of these sets. NEW, UNUSED $35 [Shipping $5]

Meccano Multikit Crane Building Set Book of Models. (Book only.) 42 pages, 13.5 by 7 inches, printed in England. Detailed color and black/white photo illustrated instructions for large Meccano models, some ambitious, with parts lists for each. Level Luffing Crane, Foundry Crane, Breakers Yard Crane, Tower Crane, Radial Crane, Hammerhead Crane, Dockside Crane, plus photos of six bridge models. $20, including postage and handling.

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