Description
An unusual surviving piece of early Amazon.com and e-commerce history, preserved together with the vintage book that Amazon documented as part of the original shipment.
This 1959 Doubleday hardcover of Taylor Caldwell’s Dear and Glorious Physician includes original 1997 Amazon.com order paperwork and an Amazon.com “Out of Print Search Service” insert.
The Amazon order is dated November 8, 1997 and specifically lists Dear and Glorious Physician under “In This Shipment.” The paperwork displays an early Amazon.com logo and period contact information, including the Amazon.com web address, customer-service email address, telephone numbers, fax number, and Seattle mailing address.
Also included is Amazon’s decorative “Out of Print Search Service” card explaining that Amazon had located an out-of-print title for the purchaser’s personal library. Additional retained paperwork records a $39.50 Taylor Caldwell purchase price.
Together, the documents provide an unusually tangible record of how Amazon sold and sourced books during the formative years of online commerce.
Highlights include:
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Original Amazon.com order dated November 8, 1997
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Dear and Glorious Physician specifically identified as “In This Shipment”
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Original Amazon.com “Out of Print Search Service” insert
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Early Amazon.com logo and period website, email, telephone and fax information
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$39.50 Taylor Caldwell purchase documented on the retained paperwork
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Paperwork remains with the vintage book it accompanied
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1959 copyright Taylor Caldwell hardcover
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Published by Doubleday
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Original $5.95 priced dust jacket
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Dust jacket designed by Remy Charlip
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Attractive black cloth binding with green spine panel and gilt lettering
The copyright page is dated 1959 but does not state “First Edition,” so the book is not being represented as a first printing.
The hardcover remains solid and attractive overall. The original dust jacket is substantially complete and retains strong period graphics. Condition includes significant old moisture staining to the interior of the dust jacket, edge wear, chipping and areas of paper loss, along with some corresponding staining to the book’s endpaper area. The Amazon paperwork also shows normal handling and storage wear appropriate to its age.
Of particular interest to collectors of Amazon memorabilia, Internet history, e-commerce history, bookselling history, vintage computing-era ephemera, Taylor Caldwell and mid-century publishing. The combination of the dated Amazon documentation and the exact book identified in the shipment gives this group considerably more historical context than detached corporate paperwork.
Please view all the photos carefully for the complete condition and appearance of the book, original dust jacket and 1997 Amazon.com documentation.
