Book on origin of the term "hot dog"--Query on potential interest

[Cohen, Gerald Leonard]

This is a request to see how many ads-l members would be interested in purchasing (or asking a library to purchase) the volume _Origin of the Term "Hot Dog"_ (303 pp.), which is currently in the proofreading stage. I've prepared the manuscript, but Barry Popik and OED consultant David Shulman are listed as authors too because of their important contributions to the study. (3/4 of the material in the book was ferreted out by Barry).

   I plan to have the volume printed at my campus' print shop in two to three weeks. Current plans are to print  60 copies--of which only fifty will be sold--(the other 10 will be be authors' copies). The cost will be $40 a copy plus seven dollars for mailing. With previous volumes the U.S postal service somehow lost several of my mailings, and I now tend to send volumes by Federal Express (for which my campus gets a discount) or UPS.

    The work is scholarly, representing a rather extensive compilation of material pertaining to the origin of "hot dog"--clarifying beyond any doubt its origin in college slang of the mid-late 1890s (starting specifically in Yale, 1894 or 1895).
Extensive examples are also given illustrating the 19th century popular belief that dog meat could turn up in sausages. (The college students no doubt had this in mind when they used their irreverent wit to coin "hot dog.") The TAD/Polo Grounds/Harry Stevens story is laid to rest, etc. etc. etc.

    My impression is that the book belongs primarily in libraries and on the shelves of anyone interested in the detailed study of slang. But I don't want to overestimate the sales potential of the book.

    If, by chance, a large number of people express interest in the volume, I'll have more than 60 printed off. But I'm perfectly content to go with this smaller number.
So, if anyone is interested in the volume for themselves or their public/university library, please send me an e-mail to that effect.

Gerald Cohen
gcohen at umr.edu