First edition. A fine copy in fine jacket.

In post-World War I America, a world teeming with magazines, newspapers, radio broadcasts, and movies, many feared that the survival of traditional, serious books was in peril. This concern led to a publishing boom in fine editions--books valued primarily for their beauty, craftsmanship, extravagance, or scarcity. Beauty and the Book is a lively cultural history of the explosion in demand for these deluxe books during the 1920s and 1930s. The author combines new archival research with a close examination of 300 fine editions of the period, showing the interplay between the ideal and real nature of fine publishing, as well as the complex nature of American cultural ambitions during this pivotal era. Illustrated.