Randall Jay
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randyjay.bsky.social
Randall Jay
@randyjay.bsky.social
230 followers 220 following 180 posts
Artist & online book dealer. I live near Palm Springs, California. Friend of cats, birds, nature. art, books, movies, music, history, paper...

I'm on AbeBooks as Randall's Books https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sortby=0&vci=61552643
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randyjay.bsky.social
Vintage pics of Old Hollywood & Silent Film thespians, anyone? Recent finds, now posted on #AbeBooks #PatsyRuthMiller #WalterMcGrail #GeorgeFawcett #AnitaLouise #cinema #MovieHistory #SilentMovies #actors #actresses #booksky #Hollywood
An inscribed photograph of actress Patsy Ruth Miller. An inscribed photo of silent film actor Walter McGrail An inscribed photo of silent film actor George Fawcett An inscribed photo of actress Anita Louise.
December 11, 2025 at 4:19 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
Current conditions
#PalmSprings
December 1, 2025 at 12:51 AM
randyjay.bsky.social
Photo I took through a window last night.
November 29, 2025 at 3:18 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
#ArtBooks I'm shipping to new homes this morning. 👇
#AlexanderCalder #JohnSingerSargent #MiltonAvery #TaosArtists #booksky #BookSelling
A bright yellow book cover with one of sculptor Alexander Calder's black wire pieces shaped as a trapeze artist hanging upside down. In his hands he holds the title of the book, spelled out in letters made of red wire. The title of the book is Calder's Circus. A book titled 'Sargent and Italy'. A detail from a John Singer Sargent painting shows a paved stone courtyard with a water well and several figures. A mysterious female figure dressed in white, but draped in large black shawl, appears to walk towards us. Her face is hidden. A book entitled 'Milton Avery' by Robert Hobbs. The cover is one of the artist's lyrical abstract seascapes, in shades of blue and black. A lighter blue color in the foreground suggests a shoreline. A book entitled 'Paintbrushes and Pistols: How the Taos Artists Sold the West', by Sherry Clayton Taggett and Ted Schwarz. The cover is an oil painting in warm colors of a Native American man wearing a red shirt and tall light brown hat. His left eye is only partially visible under the floppy hat's brim. A wall behind him is yellow-gold. Bright sunlight appears to be illuminating one side of his face. The other is in shadow. The shaded side shows his other eye clearly, looking straight at the viewer.
November 25, 2025 at 5:45 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
Loved this early 20th C. photo I found even before I noticed the lady in the bonnet. She makes it even better. Taken by Andrew Putnam Hill (1853-1922). His efforts to save this forest from the sawmill helped jumpstart the CA state park system. #California #photography #redwoods #BigBasinStatePark
November 24, 2025 at 3:15 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
Enjoying sorting through stacks of 20th century #photographs acquired over the weekend. Hollywood, fashion & more. #photography #bookselling #booksky #ephemera
A section of a desk showing a pile of photos. The largest shows a tall black fashion model from the 1970s wearing a mid-length white dress. Seen partially above is a photo of a blonde model wearing a puffy black hat for a hat advertisement, circa 1940s. To the left is a photo of an unidentified young movie actor whose costume is a cavalry uniform.
November 19, 2025 at 1:36 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
A couple of hours later...
November 17, 2025 at 5:02 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
First snow of the season up on Mt. San Jacinto this morning.
#PalmSprings #CoachellaValley
An iPhone camera picture of Mount San Jacinto.
November 17, 2025 at 2:44 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
#ArtBooks I'm shipping to new homes this morning. 👇
#GerritDou #RichardDiebenkorn #PaulPletka #ErnstFuchs
#booksky #bookselling #AbeBooks
An art book entitled 'Gerrit Dou 1613-1675'. A Dutch interior scene with a male musician seated in a chair holding a large stringed instrument. He is looking directly at the viewer. Light pours in from an open window on the left. The room contains books, a globe, a draped table and other objects A book entitled 'Richard Diebenkorn: Ocean Park' by Jack Flam. The cover contains one of the artist's paintings from a series named after the neighborhood where he lived at the time. The abstract work is in soft yellows and transparent blues, greens and occasionally red. A book about the art of Paul Pletka, simply titled 'Pletka' on the cover, in large letters on a black background. To the left is a painting by the artist representing a seated native American man. His unsmiling face is painted in red and white vertical stripes. This matches his trousers and appears to suggest an American flag. He wears an officer's black coat with red epaulets and a double row of brass buttons. His shoes are reminiscent of native American beaded ones, in multiple colors. In his left hand he holds a carved mace. His large right hand rests on his knee. He is looking straight ahead. An Abrams art book with an arresting image by 20th century Austrian artist Ernst Fuchs. A strange and perhaps god-like and alien figure in shades of blue, bold, green and orange. A flame-like aura flanks this personage and appears to be reflected in its surface. An intense image. The artist's name appears above it in Art Nouveau-style gold letters.
November 12, 2025 at 5:28 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
Just grabbed this pic from an email sent by #FloraGrubbGardens (San Francisco & Marina Del Rey), taken at their wholesale nursery. #Stapelia plants are pollinated by flies, so these clever froggies are making this large flower their home. #nature #frogs #plants #flowers
Photograph: looking down on a large star-shaped flower containing four small watchful frogs.
November 11, 2025 at 4:23 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
I love waking up to coffee and good news. Thank you fellow voters.
#coffee #California #Prop50 #antifa #democracy
Image of a booklet entitled 'Fun with Coffee', showing an antique coffee pot with matching cups and saucers, on a background of coffee beans. Snacks and desserts made with coffee are also pictured.
November 5, 2025 at 4:22 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
Books I'm shipping to new homes this morning 👇
#bookselling #booksky #EdwardGorey #JacquesCousteau #oceanography #BernardRudofsky #architecture #AlbertCamus #fiction
A small square book by author and illustrator Edward Gorey entitled 'The Wuggly Ump' Cover illustration shows three children on a hill looking down into a cave where the title character lives. A slithering tail is seen receding into the darkness of the cave. The tail is curled around a closed umbrella. A yellow border surrounds the image. Book cover of 'Jacques Cousteau's Calypso'. The cover image shows the oceanographer's research ship floating on the water against a blue sky. We can see beneath the ship in this composite image; the lower portion shows hammerhead sharks swimming beneath the vessel. 'Architecture Without Architects' by Bernard Rudofsky. A square softcover book with a photo image in black & white. It shows an ancient civilization's large multi-tiered structure built into a hillside. The book 'A Happy Death' the first novel written by French author Albert Camus. The cover shows a black & white image of his face in profile. He has a cigarette in his mouth. Titles are in white, red and yellow.
October 31, 2025 at 3:02 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
Currently reading 👇
'Saul Steinberg: A Biography' by Deirdre Bair (Doubleday, New York, 2012).
#booksky #books #biography #SaulSteinberg #artistsB
Book cover with a large teal blue horizontal panel at the top, over which alternating yellow and soft red letters spell out the title. A smaller lower panel has the author's name in white against a red background. The middle section shows a black & white photograph of Saul Steinberg, seated in a chair at left, wearing one of his hand-drawn white paper masks. It has a long white beard, and the face shows a disgruntled frown. Four other of his paper masks can be seen on the wall above and to his left.
October 27, 2025 at 11:07 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
Vintage #sheetmusic shipping to new homes today.
'El Tamalero' by Principe Cubano & Luis Stalman, published in Argentina in 1931. and 'I'll Never Stop Loving You' by Sammy Cahn & Nicholas Brodszky, featured in the 1955 movie 'Love Me or Leave Me'. #bookselling #FoxTrot #Rumba #movies #DorisDay
October 23, 2025 at 7:51 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
Books I'm shipping to new homes this morning 👇
#bookselling #booksky #fiction #biography #movies #games #food&wine
A paperback of Iris Murdoch's first book, 'Under the Net'. The book 'Marvin: The Story of Lee Marvin' by Donald Zec The Japanese Game of "Go", published by the Japan Tourist Bureau Dionysus: A Case of Vintage Tales About Wine, edited by Clifton Fadiman
October 20, 2025 at 3:29 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
It’s #GlobalCatDay.
Bring back the Lolcats!
October 16, 2025 at 8:17 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
Currently reading 👇
'Bitter Crop: The Heartache and Triumph of Billie Holiday's Last Year', by Paul Alexander (Vintage Books, New York, 2024)
#books #booksky #music #BillieHoliday #singers #jazz #biography
A paperback book with a black background. The lower half shows a shaded photo of the face of Billie Holiday singing, lit from above. Her head is tilted up and her eyes are closed. She appears serene, lost in the song. Above the image are the book titles, in blue, gold, white and soft orange.
October 15, 2025 at 4:06 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
I'm a poor Paparazzo. Tried to sneak a photo of #DianeKeaton at the preview party of the 2012 San Francisco Fall Antiques Show (middle distance, brown hat). Blurry but I enjoyed catching a glimpse of her.
October 12, 2025 at 8:13 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
September 29, 2025 at 2:03 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
#caturday mood.
September 27, 2025 at 1:14 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
I'm currently reading 👇
'Beyond the Throne: Epic Journeys, Enduring Friendships and Surprising Tales', by Kristian Nairn (Hachette, 2024).
#books #booksky #memoir #actors #GOT #GameofThrones #LGBTQ #Hodor
A portrait photo of author Kristian Nairn appears against a black background. He is looking very "goth", staring straight at the camera and wearing a black and grey fur coat. Titles appear above his head in white. HIs name is above that, starting in pale green shading gradually to gold and orange.
September 24, 2025 at 8:32 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
An image from the film 'The Sound of Music' of the Trapp Family Singers. The children are seen with mouths open, singing. Maria Von Trapp (Julie Andrews) and the Baron (Christopher Plummer) look on admiringly. They were Antifa (Anti-Fascist).
September 18, 2025 at 1:41 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
Two birds I heard this morning here in the SoCal desert. I used the Merlin ID app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It identifies birds for you by their vocalizations. It can even differentiate between different kinds of hummingbirds!
@cornellbirds.bsky.social #birds #birdsky
Readout with images from the Merlin bird app showing small photos of a Bewick's Wren and a Black Phoebe. It also provided a larger photo of a Phoebe perched on a rock, with text which reads 'Merlin hears a Black Phoebe! They usually pick a low perch, often near water.'
September 12, 2025 at 10:16 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
Currently reading 👇
'The Great Hedge of India: The Search for the Living Barrier That Divided a People'. #books #booksky #india #history #BritishRaj #EastIndiaCompany
Book cover with titles in red seen over a map of India. An illustration of a large zig-zagging green hedge is atop the map casting a shadow on it and fading into the distance. A small human figure can be seen in the lower right corner.
September 1, 2025 at 3:08 PM
randyjay.bsky.social
Andy understands.
August 17, 2025 at 8:34 PM