Front cover of The Art of W. C. Fields by William K. Everson, 1959 first edition, showing black-and-white photographic image of W. C. Fields on stage, original illustrated dust jacket.
Title page of The Art of W. C. Fields by William K. Everson, published by Bonanza Books, New York, showing author and title.
Copyright page of The Art of W. C. Fields, 1959 first edition, published by Bonanza Books, showing copyright statement and publication details.
Back cover of The Art of W. C. Fields, original 1959 dust jacket with black-and-white photographic image related to W. C. Fields’s film career.
Interior illustrated page from The Art of W. C. Fields featuring black-and-white film stills of W. C. Fields in performance and publicity photographs.
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Front cover of The Art of W. C. Fields by William K. Everson, 1959 first edition, showing black-and-white photographic image of W. C. Fields on stage, original illustrated dust jacket.Title page of The Art of W. C. Fields by William K. Everson, published by Bonanza Books, New York, showing author and title.Copyright page of The Art of W. C. Fields, 1959 first edition, published by Bonanza Books, showing copyright statement and publication details.Back cover of The Art of W. C. Fields, original 1959 dust jacket with black-and-white photographic image related to W. C. Fields’s film career.Interior illustrated page from The Art of W. C. Fields featuring black-and-white film stills of W. C. Fields in performance and publicity photographs.

The Art of W. C. Fields

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Price:
$110.00

Description

Author: William K. Everson
Publisher: Bonanza Books (Crown Publishers), New York
Date of Publication: 1959
Edition: First edition
Format: Hardcover with original dust jacket
Illustrated: Profusely illustrated with black-and-white photographs

Condition 

Book: Very Good+ — tight binding; clean, bright interior; light, even age toning only.
Dust Jacket: Very Good — one small chip and one neatly repaired tear; otherwise clean, bright, and well-preserved. Jacket now protected in a Brodart archival cover.

Description 

The Art of W. C. Fields by William K. Everson is one of the earliest and most respected critical studies of the legendary American comedian and film performer. Everson, a pioneering film historian, examines Fields not merely as a comic personality but as a carefully constructed screen presence whose timing, diction, and physical comedy shaped the language of early sound film.

Richly illustrated with period film stills and promotional photographs, the book traces Fields’s career across vaudeville, radio, and cinema, with particular focus on his Paramount films of the 1930s and 1940s. Everson places Fields within the broader history of American screen comedy while highlighting the originality and precision that made his work enduring.

Long considered a standard reference for collectors and scholars of classic Hollywood cinema, this volume remains essential for anyone interested in film history, performing arts, and American popular culture. Copies retaining the original dust jacket in very good condition are increasingly uncommon, and this example has been archivally protected for longevity.