OP: The Ombibulous Mr. Mencken

Synergistic Press, San Francisco, 1968. Hardcover. Very Good. First printing.

Journalist and satirist H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) wrote of alcohol so prolifically, both professionally and privately, that fellow newspaperman and publisher Bud Johns (1929–2019), more than a generation his junior, had enough material to compose a biography of the former’s love affair with libations, The Ombibulous Mr. Mencken (1968).

Ignoring, perhaps, another era’s attitude toward consumption, which is not our business, we can happily enjoy the comical enthusiasm Mencken held for drink: “I’m ombibulous: I drink every known alcoholic drink and enjoy them all.” 

And if you’re paying attention to the span of his life, you’ll notice some of Mencken’s prime years were lived during Prohibition. But the Volstead Act proved to be no match, as he sold his car to invest the funds in alcohol prior to its enactment and found plenty of other means to imbibe. The cover image of the book, in fact, depicts Mencken marking the end of Prohibition by drinking the first legal glass of beer in New York’s old Rennert Hotel in 1933.

Overall, an enjoyable romp with strong, stereotypical mid-century newspaperman energy. 

The book block and case are Near Fine other than very minor shelfwear. The jacket is price clipped and generally modestly worn. Stated first edition.