Up Front (Signed)

Bill Mauldin

Published by Henry Holt And Company, New York, 1945

About this Item

Here is a rare signed copy of a very famous book. I bought it a good number of years ago from the home of former New York Congressman Peter A. Peyser. The inscription is accompanied by a drawing. The inscription reads 'For Peter with regards from a tardy friend, Bill Mauldin.' I haven't identified this book as a First Edition. I'm a little confused on the matter. My copy shows no additional printings. Henry Holt changed from NAP to stating first edition around 1944-1945. But only one first edition seller is referencing that his book has a statement. That would be enough, but other sellers are referencing statements of second and third and fourth printings, so I'm wondering why my copy doesn't have a later printing statement. Moving along, Bill Mauldin and Peter Peyser may have become friends through politics. In 1956, Mauldin ran unsuccessfully for the United States Congress as a Democrat in New York's 28th congressional district. Peyser's entry into national politics did come fifteen years later. It is also possible they knew each other as early as World War II. Mr. Peyser served in an Army infantry unit and took part in the Battle of the Bulge and the battles of Hurtgen Forest and Remagen. He received the Bronze Star Medal and later commanded a National Guard unit in New York. Mr. Mauldin 'was an American editorial cartoonist who won two Pulitzer Prizes for his work. He was most famous for his World War II cartoons depicting American soldiers, as represented by the archetypal characters Willie and Joe, two weary and bedraggled infantry troopers who stoically endure the difficulties and dangers of duty in the field. His cartoons were popular with soldiers throughout Europe, and with civilians in the United States as well. But Mauldin was not without his detractors. His images--which often parodied the Army's spit-shine and obedience-to-orders-without-question policy--offended some officers. After a Mauldin cartoon ridiculed Third Army commander General George Patton's decree that all soldiers be clean-shaven at all times-- even in combat-- Patton called Mauldin an "unpatriotic anarchist" and threatened to "throw [his] ass in jail" and ban Stars and Stripes from his command. General Dwight Eisenhower, Patton's superior, told Patton to leave Mauldin alone. He felt the cartoons gave the soldiers an outlet for their frustrations. "Stars and Stripes is the soldiers' paper," he told him, "and we won't interfere." GIs often credited Mauldin with helping them to get through the rigors of the war. By the end of the war he received the Legion of Merit for his cartoons. Mauldin wanted Willie and Joe to be killed on the last day of combat, but Stars and Stripes dissuaded him. The film Up Front was based on Mauldin's Willie and Joe characters. However, when his suggestions were ignored in favor of making a slapstick comedy, he returned his advising fee.' Getting around to condition: you can see the covers in the photos. They are mostly clean. There are two small thin spots on the front and a couple more spots on the spine. The rear cover has very little soiling. There's also a light discoloration off the middle edge of the front cover and there's a little toning at the covers margins. The book is pretty square and it is very solidly bound from cover to cover with nicely tight pages throughout and nicely tight covers. The page edges are very clean. And that is the case with the pages themselves. I scrolled through them a number of times without finding any instances of soiling. That includes the inside covers and end papers. The pages are generally in very good condition. There are a group of them that have a tip of the top corner crease from getting squinched. There is no loss of paper. There are also three consecutive pages that have a top to bottom crease. There are no markings. No attachments. And with the exception of the signed inscription, no one has written their name or anything else anywhere in the book.

Seller Inventory # 003205

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Up Front (Signed)
• Publisher: Henry Holt And Company, New York
• Publication Date: 1945
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Bill Mauldin
• Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Crème de la crème
  • Signed Artists
  • World War II