Search This Blog

Monday, September 18, 2017

Monday's Musings: Reflecting on Leo Saltzman


The building seen in the image atop this entry, is one I've passed by on countless occasions during my years of living in NYC. Nearly each time that I do so, passersby have stopped to marvel at the sign which belonged to the sole proprietor, Leo Saltzman. I have heard the back-story regarding this sign on a number of occasions from Leo Saltzman, who passed away a couple of years ago.

No one relays the "sign story" with the same flair that Mr. Saltzman did, and, I won't attempt to do so, rather, I'll share an article that James Barron wrote for The New York Times (the NY Region section).

In his articleThe End for a Cleaners Where Little but the Name Has Changed, Mr. Barron writes the following:

"Originally, the name was 'Chanel French Cleaners,' but that first C and H had to go.

They did not go in the way some of the other letters went, later on; those were taken by gravity, after decades above the plate-glass windows. The owner took the C and the H away when the store was still new, averting a skirmish with the high-fashion company behind the 'little black dress.' He would, of course, have been happy to clean one.

The owner, Leo Saltzman, told his daughter Robin that turning the four remaining letters into a new name — Anel — had been 'genius.' It cost nothing, and it put the store closer to the beginning of the listings for dry cleaners in the Yellow Pages."

In any event, when it came to my own business endeavors, Leo Saltzman, was always encouraging to me, and during those times, he often reiterated his Chanel/Anel scenario.

Lately, I've been wondering what Leo would've had to say about the recent disappointment that I had re a book project that I will not be able to get off the ground (as of this posting) due to trademark issues, which may or may not be similar to what he experienced.

Here's my situation:

As many of you may know, the book Words In Our Beak Volume One, which is written from a female cardinal's perspective, became available in soft-cover format (as seen below),


this past March (prior to this the book was only available in digital form).


It had been my hope that once the soft-cover version of Words In Our Beak Volume One, was released, I'd be able to produce a companion book to be written in the voice of a young cardinal, the daughter of the cardinal who wrote the book I'm referencing.

I am not giving away (spoiling) the story of Words In Our Beak Volume One, by telling you that a young female cardinal named Peanut is introduced. And it is Peanut, who convinced her mother and me, that a published companion book would be a nice touch for our readers to have while we were proceeding with volume two.

Peanut wanted readers to know how she has perceived The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, comparing  the event's participant's behavior to the behaviors of her father and her mother, as I have mentioned in a fairly recent  post, where I included a number of photographs.

But, if you have read the aforementioned entry, you might recall that ultimately we were not able to go ahead with Peanut's book — if we were to include my pictures of The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade within our story (as per the answer from their executive office and their legal department), after nearly an entire summer of sending my materials.

Perhaps down the road, I can find a work around, as Leo did re using the name Anel, instead of his intended name of Chanel, which ended up working out quite well for him.

Meanwhile, my endeavors are back to finishing up volume two, where much progress has been made!


Stay Tuned!

ADENMENDUM: The digital versions of Volume One as well as the softcover version of volume one within the Words In Our Beak book series that are mentioned in this entry may only remain available for a limited time, but a hardcover version of Volume One can be found wherever books are sold.

Moreover, Volume Two of the book series is now available! Both volumes one and two are in hardcover format (as seen below) and can be purchased any place where books are sold.


Here's the purchase info for the hardcover versions of the Words In Our Beak book series:

Volume One: ISBN: 9780996378529:
Book Seller Info: http://bit.ly/2AFZDCz
Barnes & Noble On-Line: http://bit.ly/2AAnB26
book culture On Columbus: http://bit.ly/2FsC1Uf

Volume Two: ISBN: 9780996378536
Book Seller Info: http://bit.ly/2q75g8e
Barnes & Noble On-Line: http://bit.ly/2G65m6H


No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.