STERN, Philip van Doren.

£15,000 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

The Greatest Gift. First edition, first printing, one of 200 copies privately printed for the author, inscribed on the imprint page, "For the Alperns - this small booklet, this fable, which made our home, and then theirs, possible. With the author's best wishes. Philip van Doren Stern, 88 Remsen Street, October 30, 1963. Our last day in the house". This is an exceptionally rare pamphlet.Stern (1900-1984) first worked in advertising before becoming a publishing editor. Between 1939 and 1943, he worked on a short story, reminiscent of Dickens's A Christmas Carol, but was unable to secure a publisher. The author therefore privately printed the story in 1943 for distribution to his friends at Christmas. One of those copies came to the attention of a producer for RKO Pictures and the motion picture rights were purchased for $10,000 in April 1944. After a number of scripts had been rejected by RKO, the rights were sold to Frank Capra. It's a Wonderful Life, starring James Stewart and directed by Capra was released in 1946.The film adaptation is now widely recognized as one of the most popular films ever made, the American Film Institute placed it 11th in its listing of 100 great American films and first in its list of inspirational films. Both Stewart and Capra identified it as their favourite film, with Stewart paying homage in a letter to Stern to the deceptively simple fable that created a worldwide phenomenon, describing it as "an inspiration to everyone concerned with the pict

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