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COLLECTIBLE SPORTS BOOKS

    ON FENCING          
    By Aldo Nadi
    Forward by Paul Gallico
    Full-page B & W photographs
    New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1943           
    First Edition
    $160.00

    Forward: "If I were asked to draw the portrait of a great fencing master I would naturally think of Aldo Nadi, the best in the world today.  But in picturing this man for you, I would not select one of the flashy moments of attack, the lightning lunge and the touch upon the opponent before the applauding crowd gathered about the International strip. I would show you, rather, this same man, poised for combat ... in the privacy of his own studio where the four walls are the only witnesses to the battle to come ... And who is this formidable opponent facing him on the strip to have called into being all the energies, brain and defensive mechanism of the greatest fencer of the day?  A frog, a moppet, an eight-year-old child in miniature mask and glove, crouched in immature and awkward imitation of the man opposite ... Here then you have seen a man who loves fencing passionately.  The key to Aldo Nadi, to me, always has been his work with children ... Into the pages which follow, Aldo Nadi has poured the same energy, knowledge, patience, understanding and love for fencing.  It is the first book on the subject that has ever tried--and succeeded--to capture some of the glamour, the romance and sheer excitement and pleasure of the sport over and beyond its technical and disciplinary demands.  For fencing is great fun." --Paul Gallico

Appendix: "Into the world of sports there sometimes walks, usually at long intervals, a performer who seems to bring with him everything he needs to be one of the great ones of this particular branch or game, save only a little experience.  On Thursday night a small and rather select group of people who care about fencing paid rather high prices to see such a performer give a demonstration of his astonishing skill in the grand ballroom of the Plaza.  Aldo Nadi, slim and elegant Italian master of three weapons, stands out above the fencers of the world as Bill Tilden once ruled tennis, and he brings to his profession that same amazing aptitude which nature endows only on rare occasions and denies to ordinary mortals.  Although he was making his American debut and has confined all his competitive activities to Europe, his position at the top has never been questioned ... and many fencing enthusiasts believe him to be the greatest fencer who ever lived." --New York Herald Tribune

           TENNIS                                                         

    THE RALLYBOOK
      Eugene L. Scott, Editor
    Caricatures by David Levine
    Forward by George A. Plimpton
    New York: Tennis Week, 1994

SIGNED, with doodle of a pen, by artist David Levine on front free  endpaper and again on title page with doodle of Eugene Scott.
    $75.00

    The Rallybook is a collection of the best stories of 1993 in Tennis Week magazine and includes selections of many of the most prominent authors in the sport including Bud Collins, Richard Evans and Michael Mewshaw.  Headlining topics include the tragic passing of Arthur Ashe, Monica Seles' stabbing, the final Bjorn Borg comeback attempt, and alleged (and real) abuses of players by tennis coaches and parents, elite training camps, and others.

David Levine, whose pen and ink drawings accompany each story, is one of the country's leading caricaturists and political force and was well-known for his caricatures of writers, artists and politicians in the New York Review of Books from its beginning in 1963 until his death at age 83 in December 2009.

Tennis players caricatured include Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Billy Jean King, Arthur Ashe, Monica Seles, John McEnroe, and others.

A nice piece of tennis memorabilia.

    THE FISHING CLUB: BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF THE ANGLE
     by Bob Rich
     Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2006                                     

     First Edition

     SIGNED BY AUTHOR, with a personal inscription and date, on title page.

     $34.00

     "Bob Rich may very well be the Don Quixote of fishing, always on a quest for the most memorable experiences on the water."  The Fishing Club is a delightful and inspiring chronicle about his search to discover what derives all anglers in their hunt for fish.  In it he shares his talks and interviews with prominent figures and other interesting individuals, all of whom are passionate anglers, during which they shared their memories of fishing, reflections on what impact the sport has had on their lives, and why they love to fish. 

Some of these friends include Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams, famous bass fisherman Bill Dance, former president George Herbert Walker Bush, Olympic skier Andy Mill and businessman Don Tyson of Tyson Foods.

Illustrated with black-and-white and color photographs. 

  MORE COLLECTIBLE SPORTS BOOKS

  Basketball
                                       
   DICK VITALE'S LIVING A DREAM: Reflections on 25 Years Sitting in the Best Seat in the House
   by Dick Vitale with Dick Weiss
   Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing, 2003

   Inscribed and signed by Dick Vitale on front free endpaper and also on dust jacket cover.
   $25.00

    Football
   

  FORWARD PASS: THE PLAY THAT SAVED FOOTBALL
  by Philip L. Brooks
  Yardley, PA: Westholme Pub LLC, 2007
  First Edition

  Inscribed and signed by Philip Brooks on page facing title page
  $75.00