This is a one-of-a-kind collection of rare portraits, production stills, and negatives of more than 100 legendary film directors. Found in a file cabinet formerly belonging to Films Incorporated, a Chicago-based 16mm film supplier and home video company that shuttered in the mid 1990s, this was their Director's Index, a.... More about Collection of Archival Film Director Portraits, Stills, and Negatives from Films Incorporated

University of California, 1984. First Edition. Cloth. Association copy. Inscribed on title page: "For Victor Cassidy -- I'm glad this introduced us. Mary Barnard, September 26, 1987." Barnard was a celebrated poet, biographer, and translator. Her tutelage under Ezra Pound and friendship with William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, and other... More about Assault on Mount Helicon; A Literary Memoir

Vintage, 1991. Paperback. Inscribed "Para la Evelyn, Sandra Cisneros, 12.7.93, Chgo." One of the finest popular contemporary works by a Chicago author. More about The House on Mango Street

1934. Hardcover. First page has a nameplate: "Ex Libris Roland H. Bradley" and is stamped twice: "R.H. Bradley" and "APR 9-1934". Light pen marks in pages 111-118 where previous owner bracketed and underlined several passages, mostly dealing with the ACLU. Self-published in 1934, this rare 352-page title details the organizations and... More about The Red Network; A "Who's Who" and Handbook of Radicalism for Patriots

Cambridge University Press, 2004. Paperback. This is a socological study of grassroots feminist activism among Africa-American women in Chicago public housing. Fine condition, appears unread. More about The Dignity of Resistance; Women Residents' Activism in Chicago Public Housing

Harper and Row, 1970. First Edition. Cloth. Some shelf wear and rubbing at corners and edges of dust jacket. This is a stated first edition of Gitlin and Hollander's humanist study of Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. Studs Terkel called it "an overwhelmingly beautiful book." More about Uptown; Poor Whites in Chicago

Sage Publications, 1971. First Edition, First Printing. Paperback. This is a stated first printing of Herrick's very thorough investigation of Chicago public schools. There are some small stains on front cover and a large stain on the back cover that appears to be a coffee spill. Interior is bright and... More about The Chicago Schools; A Social and Political History

Terk Books and Publishers, 1995. Paperback. A self-published oddity by retired Chicago police officer Thomas "Terk" Krupowicz, signed and personalized on the title page. Terk wrote and published several collections of noir thrillers and a non-fiction book on identifying fingerprints. Features several illustrations of ghosts who are excited to read... More about Dead Men Don't Drink Vodka

Lakeside Press. Low, Joseph. Paperback. Stamped several times with the name "M. Larson." This is a curious illustrated history of book binding and restoration as well as a promotion for Lakeside Press' own hand bindery services. Lakeside Press was a Chicago specialty press that produced fine limited editions in its... More about All the King's Horses and All the King's Men Couldn't Put Humpty-Dumpty Together Again

Chronicle, 2008. First Edition. Hardcover. Signed on flyleaf by the great Stephanie Izard. Izard was the first female contestant to win Top Chef (season 4), and a beloved fixture in the Chicago restaurant scene, creative mind behind Fulton Market favorites Girl & the Goat, Little Goat, and Duck Duck Goat... More about Top Chef: The Cookbook

Indiana University Press, 1999. Cloth. This is the expanded edition of Middleton's handsome book about the Chicago South Shore Line train, featuring over 250 photos, maps, and schematics. A must-have for enthusiasts of Chicago transportation or railroad history. More about South Shore; The Last Interurban

Putnam, 2010. First Edition. Hardcover. Association copy. This is first edition of Paretsky's Chicago police thriller inscribed to and previously owned by (famous/infamous) Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan: "Lisa Madigan, you really are the best thing that's happened to Illinois probably since Lincoln. Good wishes always, Sara Paretsky, 06.06.2011." This... More about Body Work; A V.I. Warshawski novel

Harcourt Brace, 1943. First Edition. Hardcover. This is a stated first edition of legendary Chicago man of letters Sandburg's plea for domestic support of the war effort. This volume collects a number of articles, speeches, poems, and essays around the theme of sacrificing at home to support American soldiers in... More about Home Front Memo