Maggie Pepper [salesman’s dummy]

I’m fascinated by salesman’s dummy copies, which are simultaneously “book” and “not book.”  Like dust jackets and publisher’s catalogs, libraries seem to neglect collecting dummies.  This is shortsighted.  Dummies represent the publisher’s very first attempt to present a book to the world, even if the world is represented by the retail or library buyer.  “Maggie Pepper” is a more complicated case, given its history as play and motion picture, but the copy shown below is striking, and is indeed “Not in WorldCat.”

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Maggie Pepper.
KLEIN, Charles.

Bookseller:
Babylon Revisited Rare Books
(East Woodstock, CT, U.S.A.)

Price: $200

For sale at: www.abebooks.com

Book Description: H. K. Fly Co. New York: (1911)., 1911. First Edition, Salesman’s Dummy Advance Copy. Original cloth, spine and front panel of dustjacket tipped in, example of full spine tipped to rear cover. Uncommon advance dummy copy of this popular pre-Jazz Age novel, with only the first 32 pages bound within. Klein’s own adaptation of his play which served as the basis for a 1919 silent film comedy. This edition with photographic image at front dustjacket panel likely taken from the theatrical release. Very Good. Bookseller Inventory # 14156

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