My First 25 Years
Instead of a Footnote
An Autobiography

Emanuel Halderman-Julius

Girard, Kansas: 1949. Fine condition stapled paperback, 48 pages. Allowing for age, this is as nice as copy as you'll find.

Alongside his more than 2,000 different "Little Blue Books," Haldeman-Julius also published a good number of "Big Blue Books," such as this one, although as you can see, it is green rather than blue. These bigger titles, measuring 5.5 x 8.5", contained much longer works than the Little Blue Books were able. This one is the first of two volumes of autobiography by the proprietor himself, densely printed in two columns of small print per page. In it, Haldeman-Julius describes his professional life up to his 25th birthday, telling how he got started in journalism and how he was able to start his own publishing company. Characteristically unabashed, he gives many fascinating passages revealing the nuts and bolts of the Little Blue Book operation, like this one:

"I work at three desks -- the main one is in front of me, to the left is my typewriter table, and to the right is a smaller desk for papers, magazines, books, and whatnot, and drawers for manuscripts that are ready for the two linotypes. I sit in what's called a 'posture chair,' which whirls from desk to desk, and from desk to typewriter, as the mood hits me. At the typewriter I do my own correspondence and editorial work, for I never dictate. I tried dictating letters and pieces about 25 years ago and found myself getting too gabby. I'd dictate a full page letter, but when I typed it myself it would tell its story in two or three sentences. As for my articles, I can write them faster than I can dictate them, often doing a column article in 20 minutes. To the right of my main desk is a metal cabinet which holds paper, letterheads, envelopes (already stamped), checks, carbons (which I rarely use), rejection cards, deposit slips, and a printed index of all my publications. Before me is a small calendar, piles of Little and Big Blue Books catalogues (for I always insert catalogues with my personal and business letters), a glass vase that holds about 50 sharpened pencils, a 2-pen desk set (not fountain pens), a heap of clips, plenty of stamps, much-used postal scales, scissors, knife, paste, type gauge, a stenographer's book (in which I enter all check transactions for later recording in the usual office book), and two well-placed lights."

If you're not au fait with Emanual Haldeman-Julius after reading this, you never will be!

See also our sale for "My Second 25 Years."