René Belbenoit; Preston Rambo, trans. DRY GUILLOTINE: FIFTEEN YEARS AMONG THE LIVING DEAD. New York: Blue Ribbon Books, Inc., 1940. Reprint. Hardcover. Blue cloth boards, black text, top edge stained red. 8vo; 345 [9 blank]pp. with appendix. Inscribed, signed, and dated on the first free endpaper: "Dr. Chas A. Bailey, En Souvenir, René Belbenoit / Feb. 1943 / Los Angeles." With (12) "illustrations by a fellow prisoner."

8 3/8 X 5 3/4 in.

From the Collection of Professor Roberto Severino, Washington, D.C.

René Belbenoit (French, 1899-1959) was Prisoner No. 46635 on Devil's Island off the coast of South America. After numerous failed escape attempts, Belbenoit successfully left in 1936, living first in Panama and then in Los Angeles. His writings about the conditions of his imprisonment were translated by Rambo and first published in 1938. Despite the success of the book, with numerous printings, its publication led to his re-imprisonment. Belbenoit returned to California and eventually obtained his U.S. Citizenship a few years before his death. Due to his experiences as a French prisoner, Belbenoit worked as an advisor on the film Passage to Marseille starring Humphrey Bogart.

Boards with discoloration, lightly sunned spine, corner and head and tail of spine rubbed, small marks/stains on back cover, separation from textblock; toning, offsetting, cracking at rear hinge, light grime on (1) page, stain on top edge, otherwise pages clean and unmarked. About good/none (pieces of the dust jacket included).