Miller, Margery – Joe Louis: American

Description

Miller, Margery ‘Joe Louis: American’ 1945 1st edition. 181-pages. VG in VG mylar protected dust jacket. (2) $30 each.

The first edition of the hardcover book Joe Louis: American by Margery Miller is a seminal biography of the legendary heavyweight boxing champion. Originally expanding upon her honors senior thesis at Wellesley College, the 22-year-old author’s work earned immense respect across the sports world, garnering praise from figures like Eleanor Roosevelt and Joe Louis himself.
The primary physical and bibliographic specifications of the true first printing include:

Bibliographic Specifications:
• Title: Joe Louis: American
• Author: Margery Miller
• Publisher: Current Books, Inc. / A.A. Wyn, Publisher (New York)
• Publication Date: 1945
• Format: Small octavo (8vo) hardcover, bound in original cloth boards
• Page Count: 181 pages complete
• Dimensions: Approximately 5.25″ x 7.75″

Core Visual Elements:
• The Book: The book features a stark, clean cloth cover with a tight, compact vintage binding. Inside, the front matter includes a dedicated frontispiece portrait of Joe Louis and the text is supplemented by photographic plates capturing major bouts and monumental milestones of the “Brown Bomber’s” career.
• The Original Dust Jacket: The book’s most defining visual element is its striking, illustrative dust jacket. Designed with a highly collectible Mid-Century aesthetic, the front cover showcases a bold brown boxing glove physically punching through a vertical stack of historic newspaper headlines. The back of the dust jacket showcases an author profile photo of a young Margery Miller alongside details highlighting her unique expertise as a pioneering female boxing journalist