Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Author meets severe critics at Strand book reading
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
Strand Bookstore , the giant among American quality antiquarian book dealers, est. 1927 and the lone survivor of the 50-odd Fourth Avenue Booksellers of the post-WWII halcyon years, has grown to 18 miles of bookshelves, since acquisition and refurbishing of several floors at 828 Broadway. They have also become part of the NYC book-reading and signing scene, with such authors as Mark Penn (Microtrends, just chopped as Clinton’s chief political advisor), Luke Sante and Jeff Wall making recent appearances.
I was lured into attending an April 7th reading by the announcement of Gregory Gibson’s Hubert’s Freaks, The Rare-Book Dealer, the Times Square Talker, and the Lost Photos of Diane Arbus (Hartcourt, Inc $24). The famous photographer was part of my Washington Square generation, as was Hubert’s on 42nd Street.
Diane Arbus , a tragic and doomed depicter of low life, freakish people and oblivion, took barbiturates and killed herself on July 26, 1971.. Hubert’s Freak Show museum at 228-232 west 42nd Street was her favorite hang-out, and its normal working staff members were frequent subjects of her pictures. The McKim, Mead & White schoolhouse had been converted as a palatial restaurant for the blue-bloods of the early 1900s, as Murray’s Roman Gardens. But the area deteriorated, and Max Schaffer’s Dime Museum took over the premises. Freaks of various disfigurations were featured attractions, and eventually performing fleas became the stars, with several dispatched to Hollywood, to act in a Claudette Colbert movie. Joseph Mitchell and A. J. Liebling of the New Yorker wrote about Hubert’s at length.
Charlie Lukas seems to have taken copious notes of the Arbus’s pictures that she gave him, and archived them, But Lucas died in the 1990s, and the place folded, the archives, props and memorabilia went into a warehouse in the Bronx, and ended up in an auction sale in 2003, bought by speculators and flea market operators. This was reminiscent of the hotel sales of abandoned suitcases that the late 14th Street bookman Ernie Wavrovics would romance about. A bookfinder, Bob Langmuir, some time later, recognized among the items sold some unknown Arbus photos, now being dissipated in weekend sales. He started searching out the buyers, and picked the prints up, then had them authenticated by the Arbus estate. The 29 or so identified prints will be auctioned, as we speak, at Phillips Auction Galleries. The sources of the prints? Langmuir found the major warehouse sale buyers, an African- born book dealer, and a "paper show" trader, and bought their holdings. Gibson estimates their value it at $1,500 to $85,000 per print, depending on reliability of authentication.
If you think this was an easy review of a fascinating author’s reading of looking for lost treasures in the trash, good luck. The narrative, facts mixed with surmises, was interrupted several times, first by an African dealer objecting to unfair phone inquiries, then by Michael, a Hassidic flea market dealer who wanted recognition in the book. He and the African claimed to have been the original buyers in 2003, knowing nothing of Arbus , until the book scout, Bob Langmuir, some time later, recognized that Arbus touch and bought the pictures from them, plus the archives. There were lively arguments on the side, and Langmuir, an expected speaker at the event, never appeared, apparently busy in the book stacks with his cell phone, talking with parties interested in the upcoming auction.
Meanwhile, an invited ex-Hubert magician now retired, white-bearded Richard del Burgo, stepped up to tell of the Dime Museum days, and recognized the audience’s questions, identifying remembered performers as Susie the Elephant-Skin Girl , and Georgea The Legless (she had no knees, and the bone went directly, hip to the ankle). At this point a Michel Lee, magician and escape artist, burst into the scene to make a plea for donations for Earl "Presto" Johnson, a cups –and-balls juggling master of the old days, who was known to del Burgo. The author , recognizing a genuine need, disclosed that a web site, hubertsfreaks.com is being developed (if I have it wrong, please send corrections to wally@ix.netcom.com) and volunteered to accept donations for Presto.
The reading was advertised as a dialogue between Gibson and the mysterious Langmuir who also seems to have had a nearly fatal road accident on the day of Arbus’s death , resulting in an epiphany of sorts, but he was not available for confirmation, in seclusion with his busy cell phone. The entire reading was like a mixture of street theatre, audience takeover of the proceedings and impro stage. The Strand staff photographer (will this event ever make it to the weekend BookTV show on cable?), Kendall, a U. of Florida graduate only eight months in NY, was gloriously thrilled, the Strand supervisor Christine was busy breaking up noisy side discourses and the Harcourt editor on site, Andrea, placidly accepted the chaos. But the interchanges were fascinating enough to make me buy a copy of the book – not a good habit for an unpaid columnist. More when I read it – maybe.
One cannot guarantee such excitement every time at the Strand readings – perhaps the April 14th poetry slam will also be hot - but you can call 212-473-1452, or check the Strand website. Big time guests in April will be Nobelist Joseph Stieglitz and Bush observer Sidney Blumenthal.
.
Strand Bookstore , the giant among American quality antiquarian book dealers, est. 1927 and the lone survivor of the 50-odd Fourth Avenue Booksellers of the post-WWII halcyon years, has grown to 18 miles of bookshelves, since acquisition and refurbishing of several floors at 828 Broadway. They have also become part of the NYC book-reading and signing scene, with such authors as Mark Penn (Microtrends, just chopped as Clinton’s chief political advisor), Luke Sante and Jeff Wall making recent appearances.
I was lured into attending an April 7th reading by the announcement of Gregory Gibson’s Hubert’s Freaks, The Rare-Book Dealer, the Times Square Talker, and the Lost Photos of Diane Arbus (Hartcourt, Inc $24). The famous photographer was part of my Washington Square generation, as was Hubert’s on 42nd Street.
Diane Arbus , a tragic and doomed depicter of low life, freakish people and oblivion, took barbiturates and killed herself on July 26, 1971.. Hubert’s Freak Show museum at 228-232 west 42nd Street was her favorite hang-out, and its normal working staff members were frequent subjects of her pictures. The McKim, Mead & White schoolhouse had been converted as a palatial restaurant for the blue-bloods of the early 1900s, as Murray’s Roman Gardens. But the area deteriorated, and Max Schaffer’s Dime Museum took over the premises. Freaks of various disfigurations were featured attractions, and eventually performing fleas became the stars, with several dispatched to Hollywood, to act in a Claudette Colbert movie. Joseph Mitchell and A. J. Liebling of the New Yorker wrote about Hubert’s at length.
Charlie Lukas seems to have taken copious notes of the Arbus’s pictures that she gave him, and archived them, But Lucas died in the 1990s, and the place folded, the archives, props and memorabilia went into a warehouse in the Bronx, and ended up in an auction sale in 2003, bought by speculators and flea market operators. This was reminiscent of the hotel sales of abandoned suitcases that the late 14th Street bookman Ernie Wavrovics would romance about. A bookfinder, Bob Langmuir, some time later, recognized among the items sold some unknown Arbus photos, now being dissipated in weekend sales. He started searching out the buyers, and picked the prints up, then had them authenticated by the Arbus estate. The 29 or so identified prints will be auctioned, as we speak, at Phillips Auction Galleries. The sources of the prints? Langmuir found the major warehouse sale buyers, an African- born book dealer, and a "paper show" trader, and bought their holdings. Gibson estimates their value it at $1,500 to $85,000 per print, depending on reliability of authentication.
If you think this was an easy review of a fascinating author’s reading of looking for lost treasures in the trash, good luck. The narrative, facts mixed with surmises, was interrupted several times, first by an African dealer objecting to unfair phone inquiries, then by Michael, a Hassidic flea market dealer who wanted recognition in the book. He and the African claimed to have been the original buyers in 2003, knowing nothing of Arbus , until the book scout, Bob Langmuir, some time later, recognized that Arbus touch and bought the pictures from them, plus the archives. There were lively arguments on the side, and Langmuir, an expected speaker at the event, never appeared, apparently busy in the book stacks with his cell phone, talking with parties interested in the upcoming auction.
Meanwhile, an invited ex-Hubert magician now retired, white-bearded Richard del Burgo, stepped up to tell of the Dime Museum days, and recognized the audience’s questions, identifying remembered performers as Susie the Elephant-Skin Girl , and Georgea The Legless (she had no knees, and the bone went directly, hip to the ankle). At this point a Michel Lee, magician and escape artist, burst into the scene to make a plea for donations for Earl "Presto" Johnson, a cups –and-balls juggling master of the old days, who was known to del Burgo. The author , recognizing a genuine need, disclosed that a web site, hubertsfreaks.com is being developed (if I have it wrong, please send corrections to wally@ix.netcom.com) and volunteered to accept donations for Presto.
The reading was advertised as a dialogue between Gibson and the mysterious Langmuir who also seems to have had a nearly fatal road accident on the day of Arbus’s death , resulting in an epiphany of sorts, but he was not available for confirmation, in seclusion with his busy cell phone. The entire reading was like a mixture of street theatre, audience takeover of the proceedings and impro stage. The Strand staff photographer (will this event ever make it to the weekend BookTV show on cable?), Kendall, a U. of Florida graduate only eight months in NY, was gloriously thrilled, the Strand supervisor Christine was busy breaking up noisy side discourses and the Harcourt editor on site, Andrea, placidly accepted the chaos. But the interchanges were fascinating enough to make me buy a copy of the book – not a good habit for an unpaid columnist. More when I read it – maybe.
One cannot guarantee such excitement every time at the Strand readings – perhaps the April 14th poetry slam will also be hot - but you can call 212-473-1452, or check the Strand website. Big time guests in April will be Nobelist Joseph Stieglitz and Bush observer Sidney Blumenthal.
.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 3:43 PM 
