As I Lay Dying [First Edition, Second Printing] [Fine Binding]

New York: Jonathan Cape: Harrison Smith, 1930. First Edition, Second Printing. Fine Binding. Fine/No Dust Jacket.
A LANDMARK OF AMERICAN MODERNISM, FAULKNER'S STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS MASTERPIECE IS HERE PRESENTED IN A SOPHISTICATED FINE BINDING.
Published in 1930, this volume represents the second state of the first edition, featuring the corrected 'I' initial on page 11. Through the fragmented perspectives of fifteen narrators, Faulkner reconstructs the Bundren family's grueling journey to bury their matriarch, creating a 'Total Work of Art' that redefined the Southern Gothic genre.

KEY FEATURES
+++ Binding: Later quarter morocco over tan cloth; spine features raised bands with dark brown lettered and decorated compartments.
+++ Bibliographic State: First edition, second printing. Features the corrected initial 'I' on page 11; part of the initial 2,522-copy run produced before the firm of Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith dissolved. [only 750 copies were printed in the first state]
+++ Content: A foundational work of 20th-century literature, utilizing a complex narrative structure to explore grief, poverty, and the human condition.
+++ Rarity: Uncommon in any early printing; the original 1930 run was relatively small for a major American novel.
+++ Imprint: New York: Jonathan Cape : Harrison Smith, 1930. [First Edition / Second Printing].
+++ Specs: 7.5 inches tall / [4], 252 pages.

CONDITION: Fine -- A handsome, well-preserved copy in a superior binding. The bindings are tight and square with only minimal shelf handling. The text is clean with light, even age-toning consistent with the paper stock of the era. Gift quality. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE --
'As I Lay Dying' is arguably Faulkner's most technically daring work, famously written in a six-week burst of creativity while he worked nights at a power plant. By employing fifteen different narrators, Faulkner moved beyond traditional Southern regionalism into the realm of high Modernism. The novel's influence on the structure of the American novel cannot be overstated, serving as a primary text for the study of narrative perspective and psychological realism.

The publication history of this Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith edition is particularly notable for bibliophiles. The 'dropped I' on page 11 occurred in only the first 750 copies, making the corrected second state (this copy) part of the final, successful collaboration of the publisher before it was reorganized. This copy, preserved in morocco, is an ideal specimen for a collector seeking a durable and elegant copy of a quintessential American classic.

SUBJECTS: American Literature, Southern Gothic, Modernism, Mississippi History, Psychological Fiction, The Bundren Family, Modern Firsts, Fine Binding, Southern Literature, Literary Masterpiece.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE:
Peterson A7c; Howard A7.1b; Massey 16; Brodsky, 63ff.