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Lyrics on Several Occasions
New York: Elm Tree Books - Hamish Hamilton, 1973. Item #06676
“Who…Gets the Scope of the Thing”
A Playful, Insider Inscription from Ira Gershwin to Leslie Bricusse
GERSHWIN, Ira. Lyrics on Several Occasions. A selection of stage & screen lyrics written for sundry situations; and now arranged in arbitrary categories. To which have been added many informative annotations & disquisitions on their why & wherefore, their whom-for, their how; and matters associative. By Ira Gershwin. New York: The Viking Press, [1973].
First paperback (Viking Compass) edition. Octavo (7 3/4 x 5 1/8 inches; 197 x 130 mm.). xviii, [1–2], 3–371, [1, blank], [1], [1, blank] pp.
Publisher’s original color printed wrappers. A near fine copy, unusually crisp for this format.
A notably animated and revealing presentation, inscribed on the front free endpaper:
“For Leslie Bricusse,
who, like the undersigned,
‘sort of gets the scope of
the thing and then scopes
it out.’
Ira Gershwin
Jan. 12, ’74.”
With a small penciled note in Gershwin’s hand beneath: “see p. 43”, and signed again by Bricusse at the foot of the page - an appealing and seldom-seen dual-mark of author and recipient.
An exceptionally engaging association copy, far more intimate in tone than the usual formal presentation inscription. Here, Ira Gershwin addresses Leslie Bricusse not as admirer or dedicatee, but as a fellow practitioner of the craft.
The central phrase - “gets the scope of the thing and then scopes it out” - is quintessential Gershwin: witty, slightly elliptical, and quietly profound. It distills the lyricist’s process into a kind of private shorthand - intuition first, refinement second - shared here as a knowing aside between equals.
Particularly desirable are the additional layers of interaction: The direction to “see p. 43”, suggesting a specific lyric or passage of shared significance, Bricusse’s own signature, confirming receipt and preserving the moment of exchange.
These small but meaningful features elevate the book from a simple presentation to a document of creative dialogue.
Compared with the more formal 1977 inscription in your Elm Tree copy, this example is:
More spontaneous
More revealing of process
Arguably more desirable to collectors focused on literary/musical interaction.
Price: $1,750.00