The 24 Hour Drink Book, Signed to and by Liz Smith
[Signed to Liz Smith and by Liz Smith] Maloney, Ralph. The 24 Hour Drink Book, A Guide to Executive Survival. First Edition. 1962. Book and dust jacket are both in very good condition—jacket shows minor soiling, a tear to the back cover, and mild rubbing. Book is inscribed by the book’s publisher, Ivan Obolensky (son of Russian Prince Serge and nephew of Vincent Astor), “To Liz Smith from Ivan Obolensky.” Smith at some point re-gifted the book, writing, “To Pro who needs it more than I do ever! Love, Liz.” Illustrated by Leo Summers.
There are countless how-to books on how to succeed in business; fewer in how to excel at drinking. This book is geared to an increasingly endangered archetype, the office lush. It comically (but not altogether fancifully) advises him on how to use every trick in his disposal to successfully hide his drinking from coworkers, and how to best manage the resulting hangovers. Includes frequent illustration.
“The Working-Lush-Executive’s telephone is a pronouncedly schizoid instrument. In the morning it is a shrill tyrant; in the afternoon it is a boon companion and a swell way to kill time.”
--Ralph Maloney