Poor Man's Orange (Very rare 1949 First Edition)

Ruth Park

Published by Angus And Robertson, Sydney, Australia, 1949

About this Item

First Edition ( 'First Published 1949' ). This is the earliest first edition. It was published in 1949. The English (England) edition was published a year later. This was the author's second novel. Her first novel, The Harp In The South, was published in 1948. It received the best novel award by the Inaugural Sydney Morning Herald-sponsored writers' competition. ' The Harp in the South is a graphic story of Irish slum life in Sydney, which has been translated into 37 languages. Even though it was acclaimed by literary critics, the book proved controversial with sections of the public due to its candour, with some newspaper letter-writers calling it a cruel fantasy because as far as they were concerned, there were no slums in Sydney. However, the newly married author and her husband did live for a time in a Sydney slum located in the rough inner-city suburb of Surry Hills and vouched for the novel's accuracy. It has never been out of print. Sydney slum life recurs in her novel for children, Playing Beatie Bow.' From the dust jacket of this book, Poor Man's Orange: 'Here is another Harp in the South, a brilliant sequel to a brilliant prize-winning novel. Once again we share the crowded and entertaining life of the Dorsey family of Surry Hills, a world where squalor, beauty, laughter, and misery mingle to form a rich and vital whole. Once again Ruth Park has succeeded in presenting a story of slum life that is faithful to the grind and poverty of its setting yet full of warmth and colour; at once saddening and exhilarating, tragic and comic, and altogether satisfying.' This book was purchased in Australia. There is a tiny bookstore label off the bottom edge of the blank front end paper (F.W. Cheshire, 338 Little Collins St., Melbourne). At the top edge of this blank front end paper is a penciled name which explains how the book ended up in Ridgefield, Connecticut, the town next to mine. The name is Margaret Malval. She was born in Melbourne and emigrated to the United States, settling finally in Ridgefield. She took very good care of the book. The orange covers are perfectly clean. The black lettering on the spine is nicely bright. There is some crinkling/creasing at the top and bottom edges of the spine. The cover edges and corners are in very good shape. The corners have a light bit of superficial rubbing. The page edges look perfectly clean. The book has a slight to moderate forward lean, but it is solidly bound from cover to cover. There are no cracks or spaces between any of the facing pages or between the covers and any of the pages. The pages are exceptionally clean. Scrolling through, I'm not finding any instances of soiling. I saw a number of very light, semi-creases at top corners. There are no markings in the book. The aforementioned bookstore label is the only attachment. And Ms. Malval's penciled name is the only writing to be found anywhere. You can see the dust jacket in the first three photos. It's quite clean. It does have the loss at the top edge of the spine. There is also a narrow loss at the front top corner. The top edge of the front cover appears to have a couple of thin closed tears. The flaps are in very solid condition. They are very clean. There is one tiny nick at the top edge of the front flap. The jacket is price-clipped. The clip is at the bottom corner of the front flap. I have always had the jacket in a fitted protective cover.

Seller Inventory # 005307

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Poor Man's Orange (Very rare 1949 First Edition)
• Publisher: Angus And Robertson, Sydney, Australia
• Publication Date: 1949
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Fiction, Novels, Short Stories
  • One-Of-A-Kind
  • Literature