Friday, March 3, 2017

Paperback 987: New York: Confidential / Jack Lait & Lee Mortimer (Dell 1534)

Paperback 987: Dell 1534 (2nd ptg, 1951)

Title: New York: Confidential
Author: Jack Lait & Lee Mortimer
Cover artist: Robert Stanley

Estimated value: $12-15
Condition: 8/10

Dell1534
Best things about this cover:
  • Guys! Dolls! Together!
  • Robert Stanley's people are always ridiculously rich and creamy.
  • Seriously, the art is gorgeous. That dark aquamarine NYC night sky somehow works perfectly.

Dell1534bc
Best things about this back cover:
  • Map! Back! Mapback!
  • It's a pretty dang dull map, from a design point of view, but the "Key" on p. 240 is amazing. All those little numbers on the map represent "Hotels," "Night Clubs & Restaurants," "Theaters," and "Shopping":
Dell1534Key

Also, there are appendices of cool info like "Headwaiters' Names" (!?) and a "Glossary of Harlemisms":

Harlemisms
Harlemisms2


Page 123~

Do not use cheap perfume when night-clubbing (or at any time).

~RP

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Tumblr]

1 comment:

DemetriosX said...

That glossary of "Harlemisms" is fascinating. The words and phrases that made it into mainstream white slang in such a short time is particularly interesting. But the one that jumped out at me the most was probably "kopasetic" (which I usually see spelled copacetic). That was being used in the space program by the time of Project Mercury at the latest. I really wo´nder how it made that jump.