Jazz Singer by Raphaelson Samson, Signed (5 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. Xii, (I), 122 Pp. Green Cloth, Faux-Wood Boards. First Printing. Signed By Author, Samson Raphaelson; By Dorothy Gish, The Lead Actress For Its Opening In Boston, And Signed "Compliments Of Sidney Ross- May 1, 1929". Worn, Front Hinge Cracked , Spine Cloth Foxed And Damp Stained With Lettering Readable. Samson Raphaelson (1894 -1983) Was A Leading American Playwright, Screenwriter And Fiction Writer. While Working As An Advertising Executive In New York, He Wrote A Short Story Based On The Early Life Of Al Jolson, Called The Day Of Atonement, Which He Then Converted Into A Play, The Jazz Singer. This Would Become The First Talking Picture, With Jolson As Its Star. He Then Worked As A Screenwriter With Ernst Lubitsch On Sophisticated Comedies Like Trouble In Paradise, The Shop Around The Corner, And Heaven Can Wait And With Alfred Hitchcock On Suspicion. His Short Stories Appeared In The Saturday Evening Post And Other Leading Magazines, And He Taught Creative Writing At The University Of Illinois. Raphaelson's Second Play, Young Love, Was Banned In Boston When Authorities Found It Too Racy. It Starred Dorothy Gish, One Of The Leading Actresses Of The Day. Three Of His Subsequent Six Plays Produced On Broadway Were Chosen For Publication In The Annual Ten Best Plays Of The Season, Compiled By Burns Mantle, The Widely Read Critic Of The New York Daily News, At The Time The Largest Circulation Daily In The U.S. They Were Accent On Youth (1934), Skylark (1939) And Jason (1941). Accent On Youth Was A Critical And Popular Success Both On Broadway And In London's West End, Where The Young Greer Garson Played The Leading Role. Skylark, Another Substantial Hit, Starred Gertrude Lawrence. Jason Was Less Successful Commercially But Won High Praise From The New York Critics. One Called It "The Best Play Of The Season" And Added That It Contained "Some Of The Finest Writing To Grace A Stage In Several Years." Another, Commenting On One Main Character Inspired By The Colorful Writer William Saroyan, Wrote: "Many Authors Have Tried To Put Into Their Plays Characters That Possess The Picturesque Qualities Attributed To Saroyan, But Mr. Raphaelson Is The First To Do The Thing Successfully." His First Wife Was Rayna Simon From Chicago, Who Also Studied At The University Of Illinois. She Became A Legendary Figure, Rayna Prohme, Thanks To Vincent Sheean's Bestselling Book Personal History In The 1930S. She Played A Role In The Chinese Revolution, And Died In Moscow In 1927. Raphaelson Was Married For 56 Years To Dorothy Wegman, Known To Friends And Family As Dorshka. The Name Was Given To Her By Her Friend Marion Benda, A Fellow Dancer In The Ziegfeld Follies In The Early 1920S. Dorshka Raphaelson Published Two Novels: Glorified, An Account Of Her Life In The Follies, And Morning Song, A Highly Praised Story About Growing Up In New York's Washington Heights. Signed by Author(s).

First Edition. Signed by the author. Presentation copy from Samson Raphaelson, rather scandalously inscribed: ÒFor Dorothy Speare, A lady in Hollywood (a slut from Boston) with love, Samuel Raphaelson. Hollywood (unfortunately) 1932.Ó A used and worn copy with some dark spotting to the boards and fading and rubbing to the spine and edges in a chipped and torn price-clipped dust jacket.

Hardcover. Condition: Very good. First Edition. 153p octavo. A very good copy in patterned boards and green cloth. Inscribed by the author to author Fred Hummel, known as "The King of East Long Island," "January 1926 to the George F Hummels -grand people- from Damson Raphaelson" The book was the source for the first "Talkie" "The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson.

RAPHAELSON, Samson. THE JAZZ SINGER. NY: Brentano's, [1925]. Small 8vo., cloth & patterned boards in dust jacket. First Edition. Signed by Raphaelson on the front endpaper, and dated Christmas, 1925. Basis for the hit play, starring George Jessel and Sam Jaffe. The play was later adapted to the famous film, starring Al Jolson and Warner Oland. The film, generally considered the first "talkie," is certainly one of the milestones in cinematic history. Very Good; some edgewear & shallow chipping (number of tears with professional interior repairs) d/j. Enclosed in a custom-designed, leather and cloth clam-shell box, with Al Jolson in black face depicted on the spine and front cover. $4000.00.

153pp. 8vo. 153pp. 8vo. Signed by the author on the ffep. This movie is considered the first talkie. Blue cloth, paper label & patterned boards. Very Good.