Bring out the Hellman's Craven Proof Garlic Aioli, and Bring Out the... Best?
"Bring Out The Hellmann's, and Bring Out the Best." You've undoubtedly heard the jingle for the mayonnaise many times through the years (unless you live west of the Rockies where it's "Bring Out the Best Foods..." because the mayonnaise goes by a different brand name out west). You can put Hellmann's mayonnaise in or on practically anything and it will taste better. Slather it on your sandwiches - turkey, chicken, bacon, roast beef, etc. You can't make tuna salad or egg salad without it. Potato salad? Of course. It is essential to your coleslaw. Many of your dressings, dips and spreads use it. It's the main ingredient in tartar sauce. Many people put mayonnaise on tofu, though I would prefer the tofu-mayonnaise combo without the tofu. But for all it's many uses, here's one you probably haven't tried. Who would put mayonnaise on books? The answer - the people at Hellmann's. Are there no limits to the concoctions people can devise to sell their products? Evidently not for the people at Hellmann's.
Hellmann's makes a product called Garlic Aioli. Aioli is similar to mayonnaise and may be made with it. They would probably call it garlic mayonnaise if "aioli" weren't a classier sounding name. You can put it on lots of things, but seriously, you shouldn't put it on your books. Now you don't have to. Hellmann's will do it for you. This is not to say they will special print any book you want and infuse it with garlic aioli, nor that they have a wide range of books so produced. It is just one title, Jennifer L. Armentrout's The Primal of Blood and Bone. There is a reason they selected this one.
The Primal of Blood and Bone is a fantasy (I hope). It deals with cravens, with features similar to vampires, that is, they drink human blood. At least that's what I think they do. I'm not not tuned in to this sort of book. I like nonfiction. While this may not be true of all cravens, the ones in Armentrout's books are repelled by garlic. In this way they are similar to humans if you eat too much garlic. What all this means is if you infuse your books with garlic aoili, it should keep the cravens away. I think this is true. If you keep a copy of this book in your house, you are almost certainly not going to be invaded by cravens. It's possible you won't be anyway, but it does make good sense to take every precaution. The downside is too great to take a risk. Publisher Blue Box Press undoubtedly recommends taking this precaution.
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare. The Temple Shakespeare. Housed in Custom Bookcase. $6,365.
Sotheby’s: Frederick Douglass. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Boston: Anti-Slavery Office, 1845. $14,000.
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol. London: William Heinemann, 1915. $2,900.
Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. First Edition Set, Including This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and others. Charles Scribner's Sons. 1920 – 1941. $24,180.
Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], John Tenniel. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland First Edition. Macmillan & Co., 1866. $15,000.
Swann Autographs November 6, 2025
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 93: Autograph album containing 29 autograph letters signed by each president from Washington to Coolidge, 1785-1945.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 166: Franz Schubert, Autograph Musical Manuscript, fragment from Die Taucher, 1813.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 111: Thomas Jefferson, holograph plat drawing: map of field near Monticello, 1790s.
Swann Autographs November 6, 2025
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 208: George Sand, Autograph Manuscript Signed, draft of her one-act play, Francia, ca. 1872.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 218: Walt Whitman, Manuscript Signed, draft of three complete poems from Leaves of Grass, 1891.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 8: James Dean, Photograph Signed and Inscribed, still from Giant, 1955.
Swann Autographs November 6, 2025
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 20: John Lennon, Typescript Signed, interview discussing Paul, Linda, and Yoko, 1971.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 215: Mark Twain, engraved portrait Signed, "Mark Twain / SL. Clemens," 1890s.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 81: Vaslav Nijinsky, reproduction of an artwork by Léon Bakst Inscribed and Signed, 1916.
Swann Autographs November 6, 2025
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 73: Malcolm X, The Harvard Crimson Signed and Inscribed: his street address and phone number, 1961.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 11: Lou Gehrig, Photograph Signed and Inscribed, ca. 1939.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 153: George Gershwin, Photograph Signed and Inscribed, portrait by Renato Toppo.
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Doyle, Nov. 5: The Director's copy of the first edition of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, inscribed by Beckett. $7,000 to $10,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: Don McLean's personal test pressing of American Pie before mass production, gifted in 1971. $8,000 to $12,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: The important and extensive archive of original fashion photographs of model Dorothy Rice, 1945-58. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: A Charles Adams theater advertisement. $8,000 to $12,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: A Small Patinated Bronze Bust of Marlene Dietrich. $800 to $1,200.
Doyle, Nov. 5: Marlene Dietrich Studio Photograph. $100 to $200.
Doyle, Nov. 5: The very large and uncommon British Quad for Hitchcock's The Birds. $500 to $800.
Doyle, Nov. 5: An Original Crystal "Sputnik" from the 1966 Met Opera Chandelier. $3,000 to $5,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: The rare poster from the first American performances of Endgame, 1958. $1,000 to $1,500.
Doyle, Nov. 5: The original Coconut Grove Playhouse poster for Waiting for Godot, possibly unique. $3,000 to $5,000.