Monday, July 4, 2011

Valentino, The Unforgotten

Valentino, The Unforgotten was a released in 1938 by Roger C. Peterson. Peterson worked at what is now Hollywood Forever Cemetery and wrote this book based on his experiences with visitors to Valentino's Crypt. This book was then re-released by Tracy Terhune in 2007. He stated that very few copies of the original first printing was released because of a warehouse fire that destroyed many of the copies. This making the original release more difficult to find and obviously more valuable. If you are able to come across a copy of the original, it is common to find the book signed by Peterson. Definitely one of the more rare Valentino books out there, especially based on the number in existence.

17 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting the dust jacket, I'd never seen it before.

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  2. Not a problem, good luck with finding a copy, priced reasonably!

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  3. I still find abebooks.com fairly reasonable for old books and oddly enough I've seen Rudolph Valentino owned books listed as well.

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  4. Yes, I agree, I started my Google Affiliate program where I allow ads on the blog, they are the first ones I selected. I thought they would be most useful to the group.

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  5. I've found some good deals on that site..

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  7. @Lindsay - I was so excited because I found a book owned by Rudy with his book plate on Abebooks for only $280 called Ideals of Life in France or How the Great Painters Portray Woman in French Art from the McIntosh book shoppe. I ordered it but they said it's already sold. It's still listed there because they bugged me and bugged me until I canceled my order then because apparently the book store gets a bad rating if they cancel the order so they make you do it. So the book remains listed there even though it is no longer available. :-( I was so disappointed and so annoyed. :-( It is so cool that there are still some out there that he did own! I would love to own one of his. :)

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  8. Lindsay, that sucks! I had the same thing happen to me with a hardback edition of Recollections by Natacha, it was only $150! Keep your eyes open, hopefully you will get lucky and find another!

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  9. Two copies of this book recently came up on Ebay. The first one went for 152.00 which I missed on by 1.00..Another copy came up today and I snagged it....Believe me, I have been wanting this book for along time...

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  10. @Brad Frick - Recollections by Natacha there is one out there on Ebay for $870.00 The book is in sad shape but I want it. I asked the owner would he be willing to lower the price he said no..I told him it would take some money to restore this..He agreed but someone told him he could get that much money. But it really is not worth the price he is asking. I do understand his point of view. But from a buyer perspective it is still not worth his asking price...just a thought...

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  11. The original release of this book was one of the first Valentino books I purchased. I obviously got very luck, I found it in a book store with the dust cover in Dallas for $8. At the time I had no idea how hard to find it was.

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  12. On the Recollections book, if you are referring to the paperback abridged version of Rudy: An Intimate Portrait of Rudolph Valentino. They have really increased in value over the past few years. There are two listed on Abe.com, one for $650, the other for $750. A few years ago you could pick them up for a few hundred dollars. It seems to be dictated by the price of the original hardback which now goes from $1000 to $2000 without the dust jacket, with the dust jacket...name your price! It seems a bit steep to ask almost $900 for the abridged paperback version of a very rare book that starts off at $1000. I am still looking for the hardback version myself.

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  13. @ Brad The Recollections Book is in Hardcover with no dust jacket. I would love to have this item to read. But again, condition dictates price. I agree with a dust jacket makes it worth more money. Please check Ebay....on this item...

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  14. Chris, I looked it up on ebay. It is a tough call. The hardback edition of this book sells for $1000 - $2000, the average is normally around $1200 - $1500. With that being said, their copy is in pretty rough shape. They also do not mention the condition of the pages. I would think their copy should be around the $500 range in the condition it is in. However, if you value the book on the high side, they are offering close to half of the high end value. The bottom line for me is, it is a bit overpriced.

    The same sellers have the book listed on abe.com for the same price. Just for your information there is a copy on abe.com from a bookseller in the U.K. asking $650 for their copy. From their description is sounds like it is better shape than the one on ebay. You may want to check it out, there is a link for abe.com above on the top right. Let me know how it goes. I am looking for a copy myself, I just cannot justify spending a great deal of money on it. I am also looking for "How you can keep fit." I am really big on collecting the books, I have over 80 different books and always looking for more! Good luck!

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  15. I grew weary of waiting for a reasonably priced copy to surface, so I purchased the 2009 paperback edition. It is said to contain the complete text of the original 1926 UK edition. I love collecting memorabilia, but the study of Valentino and his life and work is the most important thing to me. The information in Natacha's book is essential to any fan who wants to get a complete picture of Rudy's story. I urge all such fans to read it in any form they can until a vintage copy in their price range come along.

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  16. I totally agree Ana, I need to polish up on reading many of the books I own as well. I will keep an eye out for an original copy for you!

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  17. Thank you Brad, my Valentino pal.

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