1933 Albert and Charles Boni, Inc. Immortality!

#29, the 1933 Albert and Charles Boni, Inc. illustrated edition.

I was given this Moby-Dick by Mark Scott, who was at the time a tenant of mine, and was attending the University at Albany Library School. He obtained his degree in Library Science and moved on.

Raymond Bishop is the credited illustrator, but a search of the web turned no references to this illustrator.

The book is inscribed by Katherine Benton, 22 April 1935 in a precise hand. Nicely done. A search of the web turned up no references to Katherine Benton.

According to his New York Times obiturary, Charles Boni, 1895 - 1965, and his brother formed the concern that bore their names from 1923 - 1928. Although this book is dated 1933, the New York Times states that the business "died in the stock market crash of 1929"

So, this copy, #29 in the collection, contains three mysteries to still be solved: who was Raymond Bishop? Who was Katerine Benton? and how did the defunct Albert & Charles Boni, Inc. publish this book 4 years after its supposed demise?

But a wider issue to be contemplated is this: Within this book is the immortality of Katherine Benton, save for this one notation, she may have slipped in to oblivion. Maybe not, there maybe family who know her story, and certainly, she may still be alive. But also, within this book, Raymond Bishops work, however brief, still exists, and the manufactured efforts of Albert and Charles Boni, and the workers who crafted this book, still exists.

Next: 2 posts, each of the Christmas gifts I received this year..