Blithe Spirits: A Toast to the Cocktail

Spalding, Jill

ISBN 10: 0874919150 / ISBN 13: 9780874919158

Published by Alvin Rosenbaum Projects, Washington, DC, 1988

About this Item

4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Tall 4to., 207pp. Beautiful First Edition bound in green cloth with titles in gilt. Equally attractive unclipped, though unpriced, dust jacket is fresh and bright with no chipping, creases or tears. Over 100 illustrations in full color. A very pretty collectable copy. Seller Inventory # 001181

Bibliographic Details

Title: Blithe Spirits: A Toast to the Cocktail

Publisher: Alvin Rosenbaum Projects, Washington, DC

Publication Date: 1988

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

Edition: 1st Edition.

About this title

Synopsis:

Book by Spalding, Jill

Reviews:

With society's decree of "the deal" as an art form, it is comparatively easy to swallow "the cocktail" as such as well. The cocktail is "the most perishable of art forms," declares Spalding (Only The Best) in this less-than-intoxicating paean to the well-oiled, and to the oil itself. Quoting bon mots from bon vivants of the past, the author tells us about Oscar Wilde's visit to Chartreuse, where he learned the secret of the gods ("one third green, two thirds yellow") and Samuel Butler's advocacy of asylums for teetotalers. As we journey from Prohibition-era Manhattan to Harry's Bar in Paris, we marvel at the libations served at an opening for a French artist which, with fidelity to his obsession with the color blue, colored the celebrants' urine that hue, discover that Betty Grable liked to dunk croissants into her Pink Lady and, additionally, are informed of several ways to spoil champagne. Recipes for Moscow Mule, Singapore Sling, etc., are also included in this collection of tidbits, which is copiously illustrated with ostentatious, contrived photographs.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.