Second printing possible for City of Gabriels

According to an article just published in St. Louis Commerce magazine, City of Gabriels, the history of St. Louis jazz written by local DJ and historian Dennis Owsley and published last year as a joint venture between Reedy Press and the Sheldon Concert Hall, has nearly sold out its first printing and could get a second press run.

The article, which also discusses the Josephine Baker book published under a similar arrangement between Reedy Press and the Sheldon, quotes Sheldon executive director Paul Reuter as saying that talks are underway for second printings of both books. It doesn't say how many copies were printed originally, but according to various publishing industry reference sources, a typical first printing for a small press book of this sort might be somewhere from 2,000 to 5,000 copies.

As the first (and so far only) full-length book on its subject, City of Gabriels ought to be a primary text for students of jazz and of St. Louis history for many years to come, and thus really needs to be kept in print, so here's hoping that will happen. In the meantime, you can still purchase your own copy of the book here, and the Sheldon Art Galleries' exhibit of the same name on St. Louis jazz history runs through August of this year.