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Publisher: Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, 1931.
Hard Cover, 175 pages, 5.25 x 7.50.
Item #1371
Here's George Ade's classic 1931 book, The Old-Time Saloon. It is a nostalgic and romantic look back (written during Prohibition) at the glory and traditions of the once-flourishing American saloon. Features a number of illustrations by Gluyas Williams from Cosmopolitan and a handful of other prominent cartoonists of the day. End papers show a busy bar-room scene by Dan Sayre Grosbeck. A period description Here is a book for those who are too young ever to have seen the old-time saloon, for those who saw it and remember it with hatred, and for those who saw it and remember it as an institution which to their way of thinking was not quite as bad as it was painted. George Ade recognizes that the old-time saloon can never come back, but he does think that there are certain memories of it which should not be allowed to fade. He tells of the ornate and opulent places like the Waldorf and the Knickerbocker. He tells also of the dives on the corner and the old-fashioned roadhouse. He remembers the free lunch, the songs which used to be sung, the questions which used to be asked of the bartender, and the consolation which used to be extended by that individual. He tells it all with the rare good humor that is so characteristic of everything he has written. It is a joyous book, and yet it is an informative book. It is a book a lot of folks will want to treasure.
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