Description
The first edition of The American Theatre as seen by Hirschfeld, inscribed Al Hirschfeld to Merrill Panitt, the editor of TV Guide.
Oblong octavo, [unpaginated]. Red cloth boards, black cloth spine. Title and illustration in gilt on the spine. Stated “First Printing” on the copyright page. Dust remnant along top of text block, internally clean. In the publisher’s near fine dust jacket, $9.95 retail price on the front flap, two archival repairs on verso at the spine, bright illustrations, a near fine example. Inscribed on the half title: “For Merrill / who had the good sense to use my drawings and help me have meat with my potatoes. Affectionately, Al Hirschfeld / Oct 18 ’61.”
From the personal library of Merrill Panitt (1918-1994), the founder and editorial director of TV Guide. During World War II, Panitt served on the staff of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, where he came to the attention of Walter Annenberg, the publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Panitt joined The Inquirer in 1945 and worked with Annenberg to found TV Guide in 1953. He later became the director of Triangle Publications, the publisher of TV Guide, Seventeen Magazine, and many more.
