California Surfriders 1946: A Scrapbook of Surfriding and Beach Stuff
Los Angeles, CA: Mountain and Sea Books, 1979.
Limited second edition, first printing without pictorial onlay to front cover which is present in later printings. Signed by Doc Ball on the dedication page and inscribed, "Yours till the surf quits rolling / Doc Ball / 29 - May '81." Bound in publisher's bright blue pebble cloth lettered in gilt. [xiv] 103pp. Very Good+ with light edge wear, minor soiling to upper board with small puncture at rear joint with light associated scratch mark at rear board, foxing to pages. The surf legend's documentation of California wave riding, the first book of its kind. John Heath "Doc" Ball, a Los Angeles based dentist and avid surfer, would use a specialized wooden camera partially made of dental tools, dubbed the "waterbox", to capture his ambitious subjects. “Surfers are nuts about pictures of themselves, especially ones that show agility in coping with the big waves. They began clamoring for the snaps I made of them with a little stinkin’ box camera.” Doc was active for almost all of his life and can be seen in videos nimbly skateboarding at age 92. Scarce. 200 Years of Surf Literature B7.
Price: $850