Mondo Lizzie Borden

This reprint of the 1893 classic by Porter is a good buy on eBay if you can grab it for under $35. The starting bid is only $15. There are a lot of them out there, but a deal is a deal, so if you can snag it for cheap, do it.

Edwin H. Porter. The Fall River Tragedy. A History Of The Borden Murders. A facsimile of the 1893 bookk with a foreword by Robert A. Flynn. Portland, Maine: KIng Philip Publishing Co. 1985. (Copyright 1985; This First Facsimile…is published…in the year 1985). 9.25×6 inches(h x w)/green textured cloth, gilt lettering front and spine/gray-green endpapers/312 pages/illustrated/no dust jacket. Condition: boards and spine are clean with very little wear, soiling to page edges (light to moderate), sound hinges and clean endpapers, clean pages. Please add $3.00 postage.

On eBay now is a copy of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Lizzie Borden.

No no no no NO. Do not pay $600 for this book. While it is out of print, it is not worth that amount of money. You can find this book every once in a while and if you are patient, you can, like I did, find one in a used bookstore for $20.

On eBay is an interesting item: BUTCHERED AND MUTILATED. UNUSUAL MURDER VICTIMS. RARE.

I’ve never seen this title before as related to Lizzie Borden but it looks like it is worth a looksee. Opening bid is $19.95, but shipping from Canada is $5.50. Only one copy is available on bookfinder, and that one is $36.

If you win it, please let me know about the Lizzie section. Perhaps you can even guest blog about it!

THE BUTCHERED AND MUTILATED by James Bellaugh.

A paperback original. 16 pages of black and white photos. 188 pages. Minor wear to the extremities and minor cover wear. The spine is somewhat shaken and the first set of photo illustrations are loose, but intact. Still, the book is in good condition. Very scarce. 9 chapters. Some familiar cases, such as Belle Gunness and Lizzie Borden, and others not so famous, but all interesting and rather macabre.

For sale on eBay right now is a great item: LIZZIE BORDEN A Play by Owen Haskell signed ltd. The opening bid of $24.95 is fair and you won’t regret this purchase—if you can grab it for under $50. It is funny and bright and full of surprising scenes and dialogue. Plus, this copy is signed and has a dust jacket. A rare find indeed. PS: there are a few copies available on bookfinder, but the cheap ones are without dustjackets, so if you just want a reading copy, buy one of those.

LIZZIE! , A two act play by Owen Haskell, hardcover with dustjacket, in maroon slipcase, signed by author and illustrator, Ted Beargeon, one of 26 lettered copies it is in excellent condition. The play follows closely the facts of Lizzie Bordens trial and the day of the murders. the front cover there are 41 axes hidden in the picture and the back has 40. Published by Lazarus Press.

I just returned from a 7 day trip to the great Northwest where we visited the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, Portland, Oregon, Vancouver, BC, Victoria, BC, and the glorious region around Vancouver. The weather was lovely and I really believe all that doom and gloom about liquid sunshine is just a way to scare people away from relocating to this paradise.

In Seattle I met with the manager, Tammy Domike, of the Seattle Mystery Bookshop, a privately owned place on Cherry Street, devoted to mystery reads, including true crime non-fiction. They didn’t have any Lizzie books on the shelf but they said there was a renewed interest in the Black Dahlia murder with the release of The Black Dahlia Files by Donald Wolf. Good news is they plan to advertise The Hatchet by distributing our bookmarks and postcards and we will do them the same favor by mentioning their store here. They are on the web as well and you can order books from them directly. If you do buy anything, tell her I sent ya.

Powell’s Books in Portland, which calls itself the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world, on the other hand, was quite stingy with their display space and said they never allow anyone to make available items for giveaways like bookmarks or postcards, no matter how professionally produced. They told me it would ruin the clean counters. Really, they said that to me. So while I was drinking my delicious java, I stuck a few bookmarks on the bulletin boards in the cafe among all the other indie ads for movies and local bands. Perhaps someone will see them and join in the discussion on Lizzie. I guess they only support their own independence and not the independence of others.

One place you must visit if you are in Seattle is the new public library building. Designed by world class architect Rem Koolhaas (isn’t that the best name for an architect?), the structure is stunning in its use of glass and steel and large open spaces. The stacks are literally ramps that go up the center of the building. It is 10 floors tall and the views both outside and down into the rest of the library are amazing.

Oh, and you also must do the BILL SPEIDEL’s Seattle Underground Tour. Full of good natured jokes, puns, and ribald humor, the tour also is loaded with interesting stories about the history of the city of Seattle. This hour and a half tour is well worth the 11 bucks for admission. You see the city from under the ground, in ways you cannot imagine. This rates a big fat thumbs up in our book.

Photos of the trip will appear in the gallery section of the blog later in the week.

From the Chicago Daily Tribune, September 3, 1892.