Pegeen and Jean Hélion's Copy of All in Line by Saul Steinberg

A signed copy of Saul Steinberg's All in Line (1945) is generally worth a look, especially when there is also an original drawing. Listed online by Black Gull Books of St. Leonard's-on-Sea, a copy is described with the intriguing words "Signed with a drawing on half-title page" and the less welcome "Boards show wear, upper spine ragged." The cover, lacking a dust jacket, is photographed in its protective acetate jacket.

The listing has no photograph, though, of that crucial interior half-title page. The price, around 200 GBP, comes to over $300 with shipping. Ordinarily, in this situation I might write one of my "Sight Unseen" posts: one, that is, where I order the book despite not getting a good look at it and then report on whether it met or didn't meet my expectations. Either way, it's a bit of a gamble and recent market uncertainty has left me less willing to commit real money to a book that might not live up to its description. So instead I asked the bookseller for another photograph and then began the long process of waiting, wondering whether a less risk-averse collector would take the plunge while I was napping at poolside.

Saul Steinberg
AbeBooks listing accessed May 27, 2028

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Line-Saul-Steinberg-Duell-Sloan-Pearce/32207585801/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=viewbook_high

Saul Steinberg
AbeBooks item description

After two or three days, the requested photograph arrived revealing a 1948 inscription with a drawing of a man raising his hat. It all looks authentic to my eye.

This drawing recalls a similar one Steinberg gave to cartoonist Sam Cobean and his wife Anne, also in a copy of All in Line, which you can see in the archives here. Already Steinberg was traveling in rarefied artistic circles as the book's recipients demonstrate. Pegeen, a painter, was born Pegeen Vail Guggenheim, the daughter of art collector Peggy Guggenheim and writer Laurence Vail. She was married to French modernist artist Jean Hélion from 1946 to 1956. This was the couple's copy of the book. And now it's mine.

Note:  There is always room on this blog for other books personally embellished by Saul Steinberg.

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