West David Introduction (13 results)

Condition: As New. Unread copy in mint condition.

Condition: New. Brand New.

Condition: Very Good.

Condition: New.

Paperback. Condition: Brand New. reissue edition. 368 pages. 7.75x5.25x1.00 inches. In Stock.

Paperback. Condition: Brand New. reissue edition. 368 pages. 7.75x5.25x1.00 inches. In Stock.

Paperback. Condition: Brand New. illustrated edition. 277 pages. 8.25x5.50x0.75 inches. In Stock.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. Black cloth with gilt title and decoration on front and spine; 680 pp. Endpaper maps. No ownership or other markings. Tight binding, clean book. Dust jacket has only a touch of wear at top of spine and presents beautifully in mylar. SHips within 24 hours.

hardcover. Condition: New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title!

Mass Market Paperback. Condition: New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title!

Hard Cover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. The first single-volume illustrated retrospective of the dynamic individuals, stunning technology, and dramatic events that put us on the Moon. INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR: "To -- with best wishes! David West Reynolds." A fine copy in price-intact dust jacket with one neatly mended closed tear. Now in archival mylar cover. Signed.

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Hardcover. Number 84 of 400 numbered copies signed by the photographer, Lucy Gray. There were also 26 lettered copies for complimentary distribution. The author of this pivotal work died at the age of 37 along with his wife in a car crash in 1940, a year after this book was published. It took years for the book to become recognized as an American classic and for critics to agree now that it is the best novel ever written about Hollywood. In his introduction, the film critic and historian David Thomson discusses the novel and its relationship to Hollywood and the movies in the Golden Age of the late thirties and its importance to American fiction. The twenty photographs were taken by Lucy Gray, an award winning photographer and film maker. She and David Thomson, writer of the introduction, are married. The book was designed and produced by the Press under the direction of Andrew Hoyem. It is bound in a chartreuse cloth with green titling to the spine, and the word "Locust" on the cover with what appear to be a swarm of locusts. It is letterpress printed in Monotype Bodoni Book type on Italian Mouldmade Magnani Velata paper, lighter for the text and heavier for the photographs that are tipped into die-stamped recesses. The photographs are done in the manner of stills as if taken at night. They were printed in duotone over a metallic silver ground, overlaid with varnish. Housed in a green paper covered slipcase, edged in the chartreuse cloth. Accompanied by two copies of the prospectus, one of which has a slip stating that it is a revised prospectus. The first prospectus has a sample photograph from the book. In fine condition. Measures 7 x 9.75 inches. 180 numbered pages plus twenty unnumbered pages for the photographs. Signed.

Hardcover. Condition: New. Lucy Gray (illustrator). 9-3/4 by 7 inches, with 180 numbered pages plus twenty unnumbered pages for the photographs. The paper is Italian mouldmade Magnani Velata, in two weights, lighter for the text and heavier for photographs which are tipped into die-stamped recesses. The text and photograph captions were printed by letterpress from Monotype Bodoni Book. The photographs were printed in duotone over a metallic silver ground, overlaid with varnish. The binding is full cloth, in a chartreuse color, over boards with titling and the image of a rising cloud of locusts on the cover. The book is presented in a cloth and paper covered slipcase. The edition is limited to four hundred numbered copies for sale. All copies are signed by the photographer. When Nathanael West died, in a car crash that also killed his wife Eileen, on December 22, 1940, he was not a well-known author. In 1939 his novel "The Day of the Locust" was published. F. Scott Fitzgerald, who died the day before the Wests, had written: "The Day of the Locust has scenes of extraordinary power. Especially I was impressed by the pathological crowd at the premiere, the character and handling of the aspirant actress, and the uncanny almost medieval feeling of some of his Hollywood background set off by those vividly drawn grotesques." Despite this appreciation, it took years for the book to become recognized as a modern American classic and for critics to agree that "The Day of the Locust" is the best novel ever written about Hollywood. The novel is pivotal in literary history. It is by turns surreal, revealing of the shams of the motion-picture business, seedy, sinister, macabre, doped-up, sexy, funny, and tragic. As David Thomson states in his introduction: "Nathanael West was one of the first writers to feel that disappointment in America, and to relate it to the false promises, the shine of advertising, and the cult of being good-looking and happy, that had come with the movies. . . . This is the classic American dream slipping over into nightmare; it is the locusts eclipsing the sunlight". The introductory essay by the distinguished film critic and historian David Thomson elucidates the novel and its relationship to Hollywood and the movies in the Golden Age of the late thirties, its importance to American fiction, and its continuing relevance today. Without giving too much away, it provides the reader with an outline of the story and a guide to an appreciation of its broad and subtle effects. The twenty photographs are done in the manner of movie stills, as if taken at night. Discrete captions below the photographs identify the subjects. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.