Various (Gingrich, Arnold (Editor); Cain, James M.; Dos Pasos, John; Fitzgerald, F. Scott; Hemingway, Ernest; Pound, Ezra; Quintanilla, Luis et al.)

Esquire: The Magazine for Men, Vol. III No. 2 ("Whole No. 15," February 1935)

Chicago, IL: Esquire Publishing Company, Inc., 1935. First Printing. Stapled Wrappers. This very-vintage number of the venerable Esquire magazine co-founded & edited by Arnold Gingrich (1903-1976) features a short story by the canonical American author F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940), "The Night Before Chancellorsville," in which "One carload of the original Hooker girls is put to some annoyance by a great battle". Also in this issue are non-fiction articles including the sporting memoir "Remembering Shooting-Flying: A Key West Letter" by the quintessential American Writer's Writer & proto-Gonzo adventurer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961); "Oh, les Crepes Suzettes!" by (of all people) the hard-boiled Noir-pioneer James M. Cain (1892-1977) which states "The very fact that you want to make 'em may be held against you but if you're insistent, here's how"; &, alas, "Mug's Game?" by the despicable Ezra Pound (1885-1972, should have been -1946 at Nuremberg), "In which Ezra, with averted nose, delicately hints that bankers and bums are brothers under the skin" (especially Jewish bankers, we suppose). We hereby avert our noses from your memory, "Ezra." Also a portfolio of etchings by the Spanish artist Luis Quintanilla (1893-1978) with commentaries by Hemingway & the great American novelist John Dos Passos (1896-1970); & much more, mostly by authors, journalists & artists who have faded from notoriety during the better-part-of-a-century since the publication of this issue. Among our favorite aspects of this issue, & similar magazines from this era, are the beautifully produced, suave advertisements for clothing, liquor & especially automobiles (there's also "Esquire's Preview 1935 Automobile Parade," an Art Deco-illustrated extravaganza). The rigid division by which (always WASP-white except for a few politically incorrect cartoons) males & females were depicted, the graciousness & formality, the ubiquitous cigarette smoking & drinking devoid of any warnings, the palatial backdrops, the top hats , fedoras & ascots...such hypnotically stylized artifice! The many cartoons are also fascinating, some quite risque for the time in a pin-up manner, anticipating the Playboy style two decades later. Large-format magazine in stapled wrappers with high-quality glossy covers & pages. An extraordinary, aesthetically superb relic, particularly rare among the Esquire numbers & in exceptionally relatively fine condition, complete with attached subscription card: Mild rubbing, moderate creasing & light scratching to front, back covers & stapled spine; mild wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; very light rubbing to edges of text block; staples in process of rusting with miniscule interior bleeding. Interior (again relatively) very fine with only moderate crease at/near upper left corner of inner front cover (barely effecting rim of the gentleman's top hat in a Lucky Strike cigarette ad); very light rubbing, occasional spotting mostly to blank margins of page leaves; tiny bumps & very small, faint creases at corners of some of same. Fine. [Item #5305]

Price: $150.00