"100% Better" – The Ben Raeburn Copy

O'Neal, Hank (1940–) ; Author

Berenice Abbott: American Photographer [Association Copy] [Inscribed to Ben Raeburn] [Publisher's Working Note]

New York: McGraw-Hill (An Artpress Book), 1982. First Trade Edition.

A premier association copy from the Raeburn Archive, functioning as both a personal tribute and a functional editorial tool. Also the  definitive retrospective of Berenice Abbott, the photographer who captured the face of 20th-century New York, uniquely held and annotated by her inner circle. 

Hank O'Neal's 1985 inscription provides a rare, candid professional endorsement, stating the work 'would have been 100% better' had Raeburn published it. The copy is further distinguished by a manuscript lead—likely in Raeburn's hand—linking the subject to Horizon Press author Arnold Maddaloni, documenting the volume's use in the firm's active networking and project development.

KEY FEATURES
+++ Visuals: Features 250 high-fidelity black-and-white plates of Berenice Abbott's career. 
+++ Associated Names: Ben Raeburn (Dedicatee); Hank O'Neal (Author/Signatory); Arnold Maddaloni (Mentioned in Note).
+++ Imprint: First Trade Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1982.
+++ Specs: 14 inches tall / 254, [2] pages.
+++ Binding: Large folio (14 inches) in gray cloth with silver-stamped titles
+++ Ephemera: Laid-in newsletter clipping regarding O'Neal, signed 'Hank O'Neal' with a note in the upper margin.

LIMITATION & SIGNATURES
+++ Author's Inscription: Inscribed on the flyleaf: 'For Ben -- The best book publisher there is anywhere -- just wish you had done this one and it would have been 100% better. Let's do another one! XX Hank 30 July 1985'.
+++ Working Note: A second hand has added a specific directional note: 'Check with Arnold Maddaloni of Stanford [Stamford] Conn. Good Luck'. A drawn arrow connects the 'A' in Arnold to the word 'Conn.', identifying a specific lead for the publisher. Likely in Ben Raeburn's hand.

CONDITION
+++ THE BOOK: The bindings are tight and square. Text is clean with light, even age-toning. The gray cloth shows moderate shelf handling wear and light bumping to the corners.
+++ DUST JACKET: The dust jacket is unclipped (priced $59.95) and has evenly toned. It shows moderate rubbing and minor shelf wear but remains a Very Good example.

SCHOLARLY FEATURES
+++ Artistic Merit: Documents the full evolution of Abbott’s 'straight photography'—from her 1920s Parisian surrealist portraits of Joyce and Cocteau to her monumental 'Changing New York' project—presented in a scale that respects her large-format original negatives.
+++ Editorial Standard: Serves as a 'comparative specimen' in publishing history, where a major trade edition (McGraw-Hill) is openly weighed against the artisanal standards of a boutique press (Horizon) regarding the reproduction of world-class photography.
+++ Design & Scholarship: Hank O'Neal was Abbott's primary collaborator in her later years; his commentary serves as the definitive late-20th-century framework for her legacy, bridging the gap between her technical process and her historical impact.
+++ Modernist Lineage: Links the circle of Berenice Abbott directly to the Horizon Press intellectual network. The manuscript note regarding Arnold Maddaloni provides a physical record of how this volume was used as a cross-pollination tool between various Modernist authors and the publisher.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (ASSOCIATION)
This volume serves as a primary document of the 'Publisher's Publisher' status held by Ben Raeburn. Hank O'Neal's 1985 inscription is a significant piece of 'shop talk,' codifying the superior reputation of Horizon Press compared to major trade houses.

The Maddaloni note is the key provenance marker. Arnold Maddaloni was a Horizon Press author (publishing 'To Be or Not to Be' in 1957). The presence of this note, with its intentional arrow, proves Raeburn was using his personal library to facilitate editorial connections. It places this book at the center of the Horizon Press 'Business of Books' rather than just on a display shelf.

SUBJECTS: Berenice Abbott, Hank O'Neal, Horizon Press, Ben Raeburn, Arnold Maddaloni, Publishing History, Association Copy, Publisher's Archive, Signed Edition, Photography.

Item #21898

Price: $425.00