Woodford, Jack, and Jeanne Renée [Evis Joberg]
 
Two Can Play (First Edition, 1952)
 
Baltimore, MD: Signature Press, 1952. Octavo, 192pp, original dust jacket. First Edition, August 18, 1952. Main character Thompson Jonathon Potter, in deep water w/ pregnant mistress. San Francisco night clubs, showgirls, TV studios. Evis Joberg possibly John B. Thompson, he & Woodford coauthored several titles, one being "Desire in New Orleans" (stated on this jacket rear flap).
 
Hardcover sleaze (essentially romance pulp novels lacking certain 4-letter words) saw popularity in 1930s, later published in 1950s by Arco, Argyle, Balzac, Brookwood, Key, Signature, Vixen, Woodford Press, many being conglomerates or managed by same individuals, notably Signature & Woodford Press. Jack Woodford, sleaze pioneer & Baltimore mainstay, wrote successfully about writing, publishing, & romantic pulp fiction, employing a number of pseudonyms. 
 
A complete bibliography of hardcover sleaze has yet to be furnished, however. Most titles are well-built books, if one can overlook the cheap ink & paper stock. The advent of legitimate paperback sleaze of 1950s-60s signaled the end of classic hardcover era. Many titles were inevitably banned, as many saw reprints by publishers like Beacon Books.
 
Near Fine in Very Good Plus dust jacket. Light edge bumps, Gordon's (Baltimore) bookseller label on front pastedown; sticker bruise to front panel, tiny bruise to rear, faint rubbing & dampstains (jacket). [Book ID 125995] [Literature (LT)]