Treasures Here at Home EDITORIAL
LIBERTY, August 21, 2005 – I enjoy browsing and collecting things. No, I’m not a pack rat, but I do enjoy the browsing necessary to locate a real find. Browsing seems to serve the purpose of clearing the mind and occupying yourself for short periods with things other than the ordinary and everyday concerns. This happened this weekend right here in Liberty County.
I do some traveling and always browse the shops in the towns I visit. However, most of them contain things that are over priced. I’ve found that here in Liberty County it’s possible to locate items which are real treasures and reasonable. Such was the case this weekend.
While browsing a local resale shop (which I won’t name) I discovered a copy of a book I’d heard about almost two years ago. It’s called, “The Gay Place” first published in 1961 by author William Brammer. The copy I located was a first edition, hardback in good condition in a shop in South Liberty County.
Texas Observer writes, “Long delayed, modern fiction arrived in Texas in 1961 with the publication of The Gay Place, and Larry McMurtry’s Horseman, Pass By. The Gay Place, really a collection of three novellas, reminded many of Brammer’s literary hero F. Scott Fitzgerald, in its lyrical language and insight into fallible human nature. The book made Billie Lee Brammer a reluctant celebrity in Austin.”
Writing about William Brammer, the Handbook of Texas says, “From 1955 to 1959 Brammer worked as press aide in Washington, D.C., to Lyndon B. Johnson, when Johnson was Senate majority leader. During that period he wrote a 1950s era novel, The Gay Place (1961), which was set in an unnamed state capital that clearly was Austin. The novel's central figure was a crude and ruthless political progressive, Gov. Arthur Fenstemaker, who was a master of solving political crises and imposing order on the legislative process. The fictional governor, while depicted as an earthy but sympathetic and charming character, shared some of the personal traits and the political acumen of Lyndon Johnson. LBJ did not appreciate the book. The Gay Place was published by Houghton-Mifflin in March 1961 and won critical acclaim in literary circles but did not sell well. Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist David Halberstam called The Gay Place "an American classic that will be on reading lists a hundred years from now."Since I got the book I couldn’t put it down and have devoted every spare moment to reading it. It is fascinating.
The point of all this is that we overlook the treasurers we have right here at home. First editions of this book, like the one I have, sell for around $100.00 to $150.00. Not bad for a $5.00 investment and some really enjoyable reading.
Give us your Feedback about this story!
|
|
|||||
|
Lasting
Memories Digital Photography Call to schedule an appointment 936 336-7498 Click on Thumbnails Below to View Larger Image
Lasting Memories Digital Photography Tonya Neuman, Photographer All
images available on CD |
|||||
|
|
Copyright © i-dineout.com. All rights reserved
For questions, comments, advertising information or to send a press release
