The Sun Papers of Baltimore 1837-1937 (Signed)

Mencken, H. L. and Gerald W. Johnson, Frank R,. Kent and Hamilton Owens

NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1937

Signed by all four authors: Gerald Johnson; Frank R. Kent;  H.L. Mencken;  and Hamilton Owens. Great association copy. xii, 430, xvi p., [21] p. of plates : ill., facsims., ports. ; 24 cm. Hardcover. No dj. Good binding and cover. Shelf wear. Small tear to head of spine. Clean, unmarked pages. Spine lettering faded. 

"Mr. Johnson wrote the first six chapters; Mr. Kent wrote chapters VII-X; Mr. Mencken wrote chapters XI to XVIII; and Mr. Kent wrote the section beginning with chapter XIX and running to the end. Mr. Mencken served as general editor." - Pref.  

Gerald Johnson - a journalist, editor, essayist, historian, biographer, and novelist. Over his nearly 75 year career he was known for being "one of the most eloquent spokespersons for America's adversary culture."  During World War I he was a member of the American Expeditionary Force. He was the first professor of journalism at the University of North Carolina. While there he published the first of many books, The Story of Man's Work, a defense of liberal capitalism. He opposed the anti-evolution movement during the "monkey trial" era. He worked at the Baltimore Evening Sun from 1926 to 1943. 

H.L. Mencken was a controversialist, humorous journalist, and pungent critic of American life who powerfully influenced U.S. fiction through the 1920s. Mencken attended a Baltimore private school and the Baltimore Polytechnic. He became a reporter for the Baltimore Morning Herald in 1899 and in 1906 joined the staff of the Baltimore Sun, where he worked at intervals throughout most of his life.