Gert and Dave Cooper's Charles Addams Library

No home should be without a Charles Addams library. Of course, some Addams libraries are more special than others. Gert and Dave Cooper were fortunate enough to have five books personalized for them by the master between 1976 and 1982. These five books were sold together at Bonhams last year for $4,845. Two months later they were relisted individually with Raptis Rare Books of Palm Beach for a combined total price of $7,750.

Three of these books have original Addams drawings. The featured characters are Grandmama for Mother's Day 1976 in The Chas Addams Mother Goose (1967), Pugsley for Father's Day 1978 in The New Yorker Album of Sports & Games (1958), and Wednesday for no particular 1976 occasion in that year's collection Favorite Haunts. Who says Addams wasn't a family man? There are also personalized copies of Monster Rally (1950, inscribed 1978) and Creature Comforts (1981, inscribed 1982). Here they are, in no particular order. A couple of Bonhams images and numerous images from the Raptis website are interspersed with the listings from AbeBooks.

https://www.raptisrarebooks.com/product/creature-comforts-charles-addams-first-edition-signed/

Title page

Listed on AbeBooks August 20, 2021 and subsequently sold

Charles Addams AbeBooks listing posted August 20, 2021 and sold by January 1, 2022 https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Creature-Comforts-Addams-Charles-Chas-Simon/30985552688/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&cm_ite=readmore_low

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/26890/lot/96/?category=list

Title page

Peter Arno https://www.raptisrarebooks.com/product/the-new-yorker-album-of-sports-and-games-charles-addams-first-edition-signed/

Listed August 20, 2021

Charles Addams AbeBooks listing posted August 20, 2021 and sold by January 1, 2021 https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/New-Yorker-Album-Sports-Games-Addams/30985552690/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&cm_ite=viewbook_high

Title page

https://www.raptisrarebooks.com/product/monster-rally-charles-addams-first-edition-signed/

Charles Addams AbeBooks listing posted August 14, 2021 and accessed January 1, 2021 https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Monster-Rally-Addams-Charles-Chas-Simon/30980895133/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&cm_ite=viewbook_low

Title page

https://www.raptisrarebooks.com/product/the-chas-addams-mother-goose-charles-addams-first-edition-signed/

Charles Addams AbeBooks listing posted August 14, 2021 and accessed January 1, 2021 https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Chas-Addams-Mother-Goose-Charles-Windmill/30980895134/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&cm_ite=viewbook_high

As mentioned, we have an image from Bonhams of the copy of Favorite Haunts with the drawing of Wednesday. While I haven't seen this one listed on AbeBooks, Raptis does have it available on their own website:

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/26890/lot/96/?category=list

Raptis may need to acquire a bigger scanner if they want to match Bonhams.

Title page

https://www.raptisrarebooks.com/product/favorite-haunts-charles-addams-first-edition-signed/

The original Bonhams sale:

Charles Addams Bonhams, June 17, 2021 https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/26890/lot/96/?category=list

Note:  Now it's time to check your own Charles Addams library for books with original drawings. I'll be right here should you find something good.

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