THE GANGS OF NEW YORK, INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR HERBERT ASBURY

ASBURY, Herbert. The Gangs of New York. An Informal History of the Underworld. New York and London: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. Octavo, original half brown cloth, pictorial paper boards, original dust jacket. $2200.

Early edition of this sensationalized account of New York's 19th-century gangs, the basis for the eponymous Oscar-winning Scorsese film, inscribed to a prominent screenwriter: "For Albert S. Le Vino—with thanks for a pleasant evening—Herbert Asbury. Hollywood Nov. 16-'30," in scarce original dust jacket.

A journalist by trade and always "skeptical of any attempt to control morality by law, and very skeptical of the reformers themselves" (DAB), Asbury promises in the introduction to The Gangs of New York that "this book is not a sociological treatise," but rather "an attempt to chronicle the… spectacular exploits" of the 19th-century gangs that controlled much of the city. It features such memorable figures as Dago Frank, Gyp The Blood, Dopey Benny, and Little Augie, among others. While some historians have accused Asbury of sensationalizing the actual history of 19th-century New York's criminal underworld, the book remains an essential source for anyone studying the era. Indeed, Asbury's book was a primary source for Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, winner of nine Oscars including Best Picture. The first edition was published by Garden City Publishing in 1927; this is the first Knopf edition of the following year. This copy is inscribed to Albert Shelby Le Vino, an American screenwriter who wrote dozens of scenarios, screenplays, and adapted screenplays for Hollywood films between 1915 and 1958. "6/18/28" written on dust jacket spine in pencil.

Book near-fine, with only light wear to extremities. Dust jacket very good, with slightest soiling and wear and chipping to extremities affecting spine title. A most desirable inscribed copy.