King, Alexander.

May This House Be Safe From Tigers.

First Edition. Kingswood, Surrey, The Windmill Press Ltd., 1960. 15cm x 22cm. VIII, 374 pages. 23 illustrations by the author. Original Hardcover with original, illustrated dustjucket in protective Mylar. Foxing to the edges. Minor signs of external wear to the dustjacket and a ball pen mark on the front of the DJ. Otherwise in very good condition. Especially the rare dustjacket in excellent condition !

Alexander King (1899–1965), born Alexander Koenig in Vienna, was a bestselling humorist, memoirist and media personality of the early television era, based in the United States.

In his late fifties, after becoming a frequent guest on the a Tonight Show hosted by Jack Paar, King emerged as an incongruous presence in the realm of national celebrity: an aging, irascible raconteur, with elegant mannerisms and trademark bow-tie, who spoke frankly and disarmingly about his bohemian lifestyle, multiple marriages, and years-long struggle with drug addiction. His checkered past led TIME magazine to describe him as

“an ex-illustrator, ex-cartoonist, ex-adman, ex-editor, ex-playwright, ex-dope addict. For a quarter-century he was an ex-painter, and by his own bizarre account qualifies as an ex-midwife. He is also an ex-husband to three wives and an ex-Viennese of sufficient age (60) to remember muttonchopped Emperor Franz Joseph. When doctors told him a few years ago that he might soon be an ex-patient (two strokes, serious kidney disease, peptic ulcer, high blood pressure), he sat down to tell gay stories of the life of all these earlier Kings.” (Wikipedia)

• Keywords: Addiction · American Literature – Rare · Austrian Literature · Autobiography · Comedy · Humour · Illustration · Memoirs
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 30022AB

EUR 175,--