For the Harold Bell Wright Fans

Here's an e-mail I got today, prompted by a previous post on Harold Bell Wright, one of those "Forgotten Authors" I write about every now and then.

July 9, 2005 Press Release - For Immediate Release
From The Family of Harold Bell Wright

The Family of Harold Bell Wright is pleased to offer for sale the original metal bookplates of the 1932 novel, Ma Cinderella, written by America's Great Storyteller, Harold Bell Wright. These are technically known as stereo plates, which are the type in reverse.They were put on a rotary printing press to print the book.During World War 2, the federal government required book publishers to"donate" old bookplates in order to use the metal in the war effort. HarperBrothers, which published Ma Cinderella, offered HBW the opportunity to purchase the plates, which he did. The money went to the government. The Family assumes that the plates of his other books were previously destroyed and not available for purchase by the Author.The Family is offering these bookplates to the fans of Harold Bell Wright for the price of $35.00 each. This price will include all shipping and insurance charges. To purchase Ma Cinderella Bookplates, please send check or money order made payable to "The Family of Harold Bell Wright" for $35.00per plate. Limit 5 per household/business (there is no discount for multipleorders). Send your check and order to: The Family of Harold Bell Wright, Post OfficeBox 1591MC, Burbank, Ca. 91507-1591. There is a limited number available and the orders will be honored as received. Pictures of representative plates are available. The size of each plate is approximately 3 3/8" X 5 7/8" with the book title at the top of each page and page number. Specific pages can be requested for an additional $15.00 per page. If the requested page is not available, the $15.00 will be refunded. This is the first and only time the Family of Harold Bell Wright will offer the bookplates and other items for sale and auction.

Immediately following the Ma Cinderella bookplates sale, the Family of Harold Bell Wright will begin a sealed bid auction of other HBW artifacts and memorabilia. There will be no Buyer's Premium charged, as is customary with most auctions. However, shipping and insurance will be added to the price of each successful auction purchase. Some of the items that will be offered at the auction include the title, dedication, chapter heading pages and other special pages from Ma Cinderella; fishing creel and rod owned by HBW along with a framed pictureof HBW using these items in the Ozarks; wrought iron lamps, candle sticks and candelabras - all handmade by HBW; a set of mounted Texas Longhorns; oneof Harold Bell Wright's traveling writing desks; camping items; water canteens; painting easel; a leather Doctor's bag; several pairs of his glasses and cases; household items, blue glass from the same collection that is featured in the HBW Museum in Missouri; crystal; china; ceramic dishes; monogrammed linens; tablecloths; napkins and many other collectible items including a leather monogrammed sewing kit that belonged to Winnie Wright;and possibly many Native American items he collected while living in Arizona. There will also be books from his personal library including highly collectible "Association" books - books written by contemporaries inscribed by the authors as gifts to Harold Bell Wright. The family has more than 1500 books that are known to have come from HBW's personal library. There are also antique and rare maps in the collection as well. A list of the more collectible and rare books and sets will be available by July 12th. Books dated back to the early 19th century are in the collection. There will also be offered a signed black and white portrait photograph ofWinnie Wright taken by Edward Weston. The Weston Gallery has appraised this photograph at $8,000.00 We also have a signed photograph of John Barrymore that we can date to circa 1925. Most items are expected to sell for less than $200.00 with lots of items in the $50 to $100.00 range. Some items will have reserves and if the reserves are not met, they will not be sold. To order the auction catalog which will include pictures of most items being offered, please send $5.00 by check or money order, made payable to "The Family of Harold Bell Wright" c/o Post Office Box 1591AC, Burbank, Ca.91507-1591. The purchase price will be deducted from any successbid/purchase from the catalog. The catalog will be available for purchase on July 15, 2005 and the auction will be concluded on or about September 30, 2005 and the winning bidders will be notified. After the auction, all items still available will then be offered for sale at a final Estate Sale to take place in Burbank, California the third weekend of October 2005. After that point, any remaining items and books will be donated to the University of Arizona where HBW's personal papers are housed or to other charities of the family's choice. Also available will be Persian rugs from the Tucson House and HBW's SteinwayPiano (circa 1915), which he purchased for the Tucson Home. Also, a complete bedroom set that Winnie purchased for the San Diego house will be offered for sale. (THESE ITEMS WILL REQUIRE PICK UP OR SPECIAL SHIPPING/HANDLING CHARGES.) Many of the items for sale are seen in pictures that the family has from HBW's life. When a picture is available, a copy will be included with thepurchase. Certificates of Authenticity will be issued with each purchase and/or successful bid. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO SHOULD GET THIS NOTICE BY EMAIL OR SNAIL MAIL, PLEASE LET US KNOW ASAP.