A selection of portraits of world-famous figures, from the portfolio of one of the masters of 20th century photography, is included in this month's silent auction of books at the South Pasadena Public Library. Also among the eight items up for bid is a copy of Leo Politi's first book written for adults. The sale is sponsored by the Friends Bookstore volunteers, who operate a bookstore on the library's second floor. Bidding is open until noon on Saturday, August 28, 2010, when winning bidders will be notified by telephone. Auction items are located in a display case near the library's entrance, with bidding cards nearby. Items up for bid are:   Karsh Portraits by Yousuf Karsh. University of Toronto Press, Toronto. 1976. Contains 48 full-page black-and-white portraits including those of Muhammad Ali, Joan Baez, Fidel Castro, Churchill, Einstein, Hemingway, Pope John XXIII, JFK, Khrushchev, MLK Jr., Picasso and many more. Accompanying text describes Karsh's recollection of the moment each picture was taken.   Bunker Hill Los Angeles by Leo Politi. Desert-Southwest, Inc. Palm Desert, California. 1964, 1965. Politi's first book for adults, "a work of love and protest", calls attention to the need to preserve the grace and heritage of the declining central city. Vivid full-page illustrations by the Caldecott Award winning author.   Animal Stories by P.T. Barnum. The Saalfield Publishing Co., Akron, Ohio. 1926. Part of Every Child's Library series. "An Account of the Author's Famous Expedition in Search of Wild Animals for the Circus Presenting Natural History from a New Standpoint." Contains 17 black-and-white illustrations by Florence White Williams.   Christopher Isherwood, A Bibliography 1923-1967 by Selmer Westby and Clayton M. Brown. The first published bibliography of one of the first self-consciously gay writers to be read extensively by a wider audience. A listing of works by and about Isherwood.   Richard Carvel by Winston Churchill. The Macmillan Company, NY. 1899. This romantic historical novel of the Revolutionary period by the American "naturalist" novelist (not to be confused with the English statesman) was a phenonemon, selling 2 miilion copies in a nation of 76 million. Contains black-and-white illustrations by Carlton T. Chapman and Malcolm Fraser.   Glimpses of Old English Homes by Elizabeth Balch. Macmillan and Co., London. 1890. History of estates including Penhurst, Arundel Castle, Hinchingbrooke, Erich Castle, Chiswisk House, Berkeley Castle, Highclere Castle, Osterley Park. Contains 51 black-and-white illustrations.   The Trojan Gallery by John H. Reynolds. University of Southern California, Los Angeles. 1980. A pictorial history of the first 100 years of USC personalities and events.   Golden Tales of Anatole France by Anatole France. Dodd, Mead and Company, New York. 1928.   A collection of short stories. Decorative endpapers, 14 black-and-white engraved full-page plates plus other illustrations by L.A. Patterson.

Auction items are located in a display case near the library's entrance, with bidding cards nearby.

The South Pasadena Public Library, at 1100 Oxley Street, is open Monday through Wednesday from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm; Thursday and Friday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm; Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm; and Sunday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. •