Fleischer, Nat; Stanley Weston (illus.)
 
The Ring [World's Foremost Boxing Magazine] (5 bound volumes in custom dust jackets)
 
New York: The Ring, Inc., 1943. Printed by Phelps Publishing, PDC (distributors), 1943, 1945, 1947-49, black hardcover quartos, gilt spine titles, plain endpapers, little more than 60pp ea magazine issue (800pp ea volume), ea magazine w/ color wrappers, b/w throughout. Each volume collects 12 magazine issues for respective years, retaining original color wrappers, bound into one volume. Produced by the publishers presumably as limited editions for subscribers, & these issues were possibly remainders that went unsold (no remainder markings apparent, however). These bound volumes especially of note due in part to the cool contemporary custom dust jackets created by a former owner. Each volume w/ its own color dust jacket, lightweight pastel-colored craft paper collaged in text & die-cut images from the magazines, on the front, rear & spine; narrow blank front/rear flaps. Whoever created the jackets had an eye for design while also an avid Baltimore boxing fan, attested by the bibliographic clippings affixed to the front endpaper of each volume. Clippings appear typescript or mimeograph & note certain Baltimore boxers in each issue, as well as each issue's front cover boxer. Many pp referenced in the clippings show red pencil marginalia respective to the cited boxer. Whether the work of a DIY rabid fan, or a local reporter, the collection is presented as a time-capsule of Baltimore lore & a unique piece w/ folk art aesthetic. Essential for historians of pugilism, military history, & Charm City alike. Bound volumes in any condition are rarities.
 
All volumes: moderate lean/cocking, corner bumps, light toning, endpapers w/ residual tape & tape ghosts from old jacket protectors, wrinkling to endpapers as a result of the glued clippings, many magazines creased vertically, rubbing, but pages & edges still supple; jackets w/ light toning, wrinkling, a few long tears, similar tape issues at edges, a few small chips, & collaged areas remain attractive. Magazines trimmed in uniformity but texts not seriously impacted (if at all). 
 
1943: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December; Baltimore boxers Walter Michaels, Eddie Finazzo, Todd Cole, Joe Gans, Leo Matriciani, Charley Crump, Home Bingham, Jimmy Phillips, Joseph Rumenup, Melvin Gant. Jacket w/ Tony Canzoneri, Barney Ross, Randy Turpin.
1945: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December; Baltimore boxers Pedro Sisco, Al Spalding, George Williams, Sammy Rizzio, Edward Poodles, Joe Dinofrio, Biddy Garcia's team, Johnny Shkor, Frankie Swiston, Jim Laskey, Buddy Krager, Leo Matricciani, Jimmy Jones, Robert Clark, Ray Klingmeyer. Jacket w/ Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, George Araujo. 
1947: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December; Baltimore boxers Charley Chaney, George Chaney, Joe Gans, Paul Watson, Vince DiVenti, Joe Poodles, Joe Dundee, Bill Lewis. Jacket w/ Fidel LaBarba, Jack O'Brien, Coley Wallace.
1948: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December; Baltimore boxers Joe Gans, Jimmy McAllister-Pep, John Wilson. Jacket w/ Rocky Graziano, Tom Sharkey, Danny Giovanelli.
1949: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December; Baltimore boxers Joe Gans, Terry Moore, Robert Bolden, Jimmy Zaicko, Vince Dundee, Tommy Sheppard, Johnny Iozzi. Jacket w/ Max Schmelling, Ad Wolgast, Ezzard Charles.
 
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