Gastronomy 2021 Catalogue

30 B a u m a n R a r e B o o k s G a s t r o n o m y 2 0 2 1 “Essential… The Best Book On New York Restaurants” 33. JAMES, Rian. Dining in New York. New York, 1930. Octavo, original black cloth, mounted cover illustration. $900. Click for more info First edition of the celebrated New York columnist’s witty guide to popular restaurants and celebrity haunts—from Sardi’s to the Algonquin, the Cotton Club to the Central Park Casino, and Broadway to Brooklyn—with pictorial endpapers displaying “A Gastronomical Map of Manhattan.” James’ Dining in New York is “essential… the best book on New York restaurants” ( Kirkus ). James begins with Sardi’s, where the headwaiter whispers, “Don’t look now— but… that’s Ronald Colman,” and later takes his readers to Chumley’s in the Village, “the headquarters of NewYork’s choosier literati.” Also featured at the book’s over 120 eateries are the Ritz Carlton, the Cotton Club, “the aristocrat of Harlem,” and even a restaurant called the Wivel, which has “the awfullest three-pieced stringed orchestra you’ve ever heard.” James would later become a success in Hollywood, writing the screenplay for 42nd Street (1933) and many more films. With illustrations by Alex Gard, famed for his caricatures of the famous at Sardi’s. Without scarce dust jacket. Small early bookseller inkstamp. Interior very fresh, toning to spine label. A beautiful about-fine copy.