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George Gershwin's Song Book
New York: Random House, 1932. Item #06561
A Superb Association Copy Across Two Generations of Great Songwriters
Signed by George Gershwin and Inscribed by Ira Gershwin to Leslie Bricusse
GERSHWIN, George (composer). George Gershwin’s Song Book. Illustrated by [Constantin] Alajalov. New York: Random House, 1932.
Limited first edition, one of 300 copies signed by George Gershwin and Alajalov (this being copy No. 201).
Large quarto (12 3/4 x 9 1/2 inches; 324 x 241 mm.). Frontispiece portrait photograph of Gershwin at the piano by Maurice Goldberg. xii, 160 pp., followed by an 8-page bibliography. Profusely illustrated with striking full-page color designs by Alajalov. Complete with the often-missing 8-page sewn booklet containing the song “Mischa, Yascha, Toscha, Sascha”, here preserved in the rear pocket.
Publisher’s full blue morocco, expertly and almost invisibly rebacked with the original spine laid down, covers decoratively ruled and lettered in gilt with characteristic sweeping gilt lines extending from spine and fore-edge, blue endpapers, top edge gilt. Front inner hinge with neat reinforcement.
A handsome and well-preserved copy of a book seldom encountered in superior condition. Exceptionally, accompanied by the original color pictorial dust jacket from the trade edition - an unusual and highly desirable survival.
Additionally inscribed by Ira Gershwin on the limitation page: “To Leslie Bricusse / With unlimited admiration and affection / From Ira Gershwin / Beverly Hills, June, 1973.”
Accompanied by a loosely inserted fine typed letter signed (TLS) from Ira Gershwin to Leslie Bricusse, dated June 13, 1973, in which Gershwin warmly congratulates Bricusse on his score for Feeling No Pain and notes, with characteristic wit, that he has “taken the liberty” of adding his signature to the page already signed by his brother and Alajalov, humorously expressing the hope that this “doesn’t decrease the value of the book.”
One of the most celebrated American musical publications of the twentieth century, George Gershwin’s Song Book represents the composer’s work at its most refined and enduring. Issued in a luxurious limited format, it brings together a selection of Gershwin’s finest songs, drawn from Broadway and Hollywood, arranged for piano and voice, and presented with the vivid and sophisticated color illustrations of Constantin Alajalov, whose work lends the volume a distinctive Art Deco elegance.
Signed examples are always sought after; however, the present copy is elevated far beyond the norm by its remarkable association. The inscription from Ira Gershwin to Leslie Bricusse links two of the most important figures in twentieth-century songwriting. Bricusse, an Academy Award - winning lyricist and composer, was responsible for such enduring works as Stop the World—I Want to Get Off, The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd, Doctor Dolittle, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, as well as songs including “What Kind of Fool Am I?”, “Feeling Good,” “Goldfinger,” and “Pure Imagination.” Their longstanding friendship is reflected in the warmth of the inscription -“unlimited admiration and affection” - a phrase that speaks to genuine personal regard rather than formality.
Provenance: From the collection of Leslie Bricusse, assembled over many decades with the close involvement of David Brass, who first met Bricusse in 1968 and remained a trusted advisor and friend until his death in 2021.
A copy of exceptional depth and character: not merely a signed limited edition, but a document of musical lineage, linking the Gershwins to one of their most distinguished successors. Rarely does a copy so clearly embody both the artistic achievement of its creators and the enduring influence of their work.
Price: $13,500.00