American Buffalo Mamet, David; McCurdy, Michael (Artist) Andrew Hoyem and Arion Press (New),Performing Arts

Quarto, 10 3/4" by 8", 118 pages. The type is 8-, 10-, and 12-point DeVinne, in Monotype composition, with larger sizes set by hand and display sizes printed in green. The paper is Byron Weston Linen Record, a smooth off-white all-cotton fiber sheet made for ledger books. The binding, done in-house, is machine-sewn, in full green Japanese cloth, with a round metallic paper label bearing the author and title, and a genuine buffalo nickel inset into the front board. Edition of 400 numbered copies, plus 26 lettere copies hors de commerce, signed by the author and the artist. "American Buffalo" was the first play in the Arion Press drama series. Our feeling was that important dramatic works were under-represented in the literature of fine limited-edition books and that oustanding American playwrights, in particular, should be honored in this way by the Press. Michael McCurdy, an artist specializing in wood engraving, was hopeful of illustrating an Arion book. He was on friendly terms with David Mamet, who was then living in the Boston area, and so McCurdy proposed that he arrange a meeting wtih Mamet the next time Hoyem and Ketcham came east. The gathering was at the St. Botolph Club, a private arts and letters club, for lunch, joined by Peter Davison, the poet and publisher at Atlantic Monthly Press and Houghton Mifflin. The play was quickly agreed to, and McCurdy set to work cutting the blocks of end-grain hardwood. The play is based on a long-running poker game that Mamet played in, run by the owners of a junk store in Chicago, which was a front for petty criminal activities. The buffalo in the title refers to the supposedly rare nickel that is the object of a planned theft in the play. ___POSTAGE: Please note that the suite is an unusually large item, and therefore additional postage; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.