New York: Press of the Woolly Whale, 1932

10 silver pp. in stiff silver wrappers, the whole in the design of a cocktail shaker, hinged at the bottom. Front wrapper lettered in black and red. A fine copy.

First and only edition, made for Mr. and Mrs. Melbert B. Cary Jr., at Cary's own press, as a Christmas gift for friends.

Melbert Brinckerhoff Cary Jr. [1892-1941] was a graphic artist and founder of the Press of the Woolly Whale, which published this poetic cocktail shaker. Cary's father was Chairman of the Connecticut Democratic Party; his wife was a Standard Oil heiress. His prodigious collection of playing cards is in the Beinecke Library; his collection of books about printing and graphic arts -- more than 2,000 volumes -- is in the Rochester Institute of Technology. He was a member of the Grolier Club, an enthusiastic consumer of cocktails, and produced this exquisite Christmas gift, which rewrites Clement Moore's famous poem for the amusement of his fellow inebriates, while Prohibition was still in force in the US.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with Melbert B. Cary Jr.

A beautiful example, and extremely scarce.