Photoplay edition refers to movie tie-in

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

s of the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

and early sound era at a time when

motion pictures A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

were known as "photoplays". Typically, photoplay editions were reprints of novels additionally illustrated with scenes from a film production. Less typically, photoplay editions were novelizations of films, where the film script was fictionalized in narrative form. Today, vintage photoplay editions are sought after by film buffs, bibliophiles, and collectors. The first photoplay editions were published around 1912, and as a genre, they reached their height in the 1920s and 1930s. Thousands of different titles were issued in the United States. Most photoplays were published in hardback by companies like

Grosset & Dunlap Grosset & Dunlap is a New York City-based publishing house founded in 1898. The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of Penguin Random House through its subsidiary Penguin Group. Today, through the Penguin Gro ...

A. L. Burt A. L. Burt (incorporated in 1902 as A. L. Burt Company) was a New York City-based book publishing house from 1883 until 1937. It was founded by Albert Levi Burt, a 40-year-old from Massachusetts who had come to recognize the demand for inexpen ...

, and some in soft cover by companies like Jacobsen Hodgkinson. Similar movie related books were also published in England, France and elsewhere. Typically, photoplay editions of the 1920s and 1930s contained stills and/or a dust jacket featuring artwork or actors from a film. Deluxe editions might also contain a special binding, illustrated end papers or, rarely, a written introduction by the star of the film. Sometimes, the spine or cover of the book will note the edition is a "photoplay edition." Illustrated movie tie-in books continued to be published though the 1940s, 1950s, and into the 1960s. Today, novels published in conjunction with the release of a film will often feature an actor or actress on the cover of the book, but without the interior illustrations. Today, the most sought after photoplays are those tie-in editions for favorite films such as ''Dracula'', ''Frankenstein'' and ''King Kong'', or lost films such as ''London After Midnight''. Other collectors search for books featuring individuals stars, like

Louise Brooks Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

. Published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1927, ''The General'' is today one of the most sought after of photoplay books. Not only did the Joseph Warren novel make its first appearance in print as a photoplay, but the book is the only photoplay edition to feature film star

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

Guidebooks

''Photoplay Edition'' (SISU, 1975), by the noted science fiction and fantasy author

Emil Petaja Emil Petaja (12 April 1915 – 17 August 2000) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer whose career spanned seven decades. He was the author of 13 published novels, nearly 150 short stories, numerous poems, and a handful of books and ...

, was the first book on the subject. Petaja based the book on his collection of photoplays, which at the time of publication numbered more than eight hundred. Petaja had owned many rare examples, including a few autographed by film stars. Petaja's ''Photoplay Edition'' is composed of a checklist of books, with each entry detailing the book's movie title (which sometimes differed from the title of the novel), as well as its author, publisher, date of release, the motion picture company which produced the film, its leading actors, and the number of illustrations included within the book. Illustrating Petaja's guide are dozens of dust jackets and scene stills, each of which graced the original editions. Petaja also offers a short prologue, a longer history of photoplay books, and an anecdotal chapter telling the story of the author's involvement in collecting these books. ''Photoplay Edition'' has been surpassed by later, more comprehensive, illustrated guides. These include Arnie Davis' ''Photoplay Editions and Other Movie Tie-In Books'' (Mainely Books, 2002), and Rick Miller's ''Photoplay Editions: A Collector's Guide'' (McFarland, 2002). Each list more than the 800 examples found in Petaja's pioneering guide. Thomas Mann's ''Horror and Mystery Photoplay Editions and Magazine Fictionizations'' (McFarland, 2004) examines genre editions.

External links

informational webpage displaying examples of Louise Brooks photoplay editionsPhotoplay Editions and Movie Tie-Ins
ebsite for Arnie Davis' Photoplay Editions and Other Movie Tie-In Books, 2002 Book collecting

Guidebooks

Further reading

External links