Song Without Words; A Book of Engravings on Wood

New York: Random House, 1936. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Very good +. Ward, Lynd. One of 1250 copies, small quarto size, [48] pp., signed by Lynd Ward, in the publisher's slipcase. American artist Lynd Ward (1905-1985) demonstrates his masterful storytelling in "Song Without Words", a wordless novel made with wood engravings, depicting a woman's psychological journey after she conceives a child. Created when fascism was at its height in Europe, the book reflects Ward's own concerns about the birth of his second child into a world full of economic and political conflict.

Ward's wood engravings are rich in detail and emotion, and the story has a rhythm as the reader follows the character through dark, forbidding corridors and uncaring urban streets; his wordless novels are often seen as precursors to the graphic novel in their ability to convey character and feeling through the use of image alone.

___DESCRIPTION: Quarter white paper with reflective copper-coloured foil boards, red lettering on the spine, fore- and bottom edges uncut, French-folded pages, title page in red and black, twenty-one black-and-white wood engravings by Lynd Ward; small quarto size (10" by 6 1/2"), 48 unnumbered pages, one of 1250 copies, this number 1146, signed by Lynd Ward on the limitation page following the title page. In a slipcase covered in white paper with band of the copper-coloured foil wrapping around the boards and spine and the number 1146 written in (faint) pencil on the spine.

___CONDITION: Volume is better than very good, with straight corners (which are very slightly rubbed), a strong, square text block with solid hinges, and the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; boards are clean with some wear to the copper-coloured foil paper, sunning and a few spots of soil to the spine, some offsetting from the red ink on the title page to the opposite page, and very light soiling to the margins of a few interior pages. The slipcase is a bit better than good, strong and sturdy, with overall soiling and wear to the band of copper-coloured foil, some edge wear, and the edges of the boards are beginning to split at the opening.

___CITATION: Dance, no. 009.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note the following: (i) additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs, please inquire for details; and (ii) any taxes, duty, or tariffs charged by your country will, of necessity, be your responsibility.

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