The Black Swan

[New York]: The Limited Editions Club (printed by Heritage Printers, Inc.), 1990. Limited Edition. Leather bound. Fine. Hejduk, John. No. 122 of 375 copies, quarto size, 193 pp., signed by John Hejduk, with LEC Monthly Letter. German writer Thomas Mann (1875-1955), a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929, is best known for his novels and short stories employing symbolism and examining the psyche of those in intellectual circles, most famously in his works "Buddenbooks" and "Death in Venice"; he wrote "The Black Swan" in 1954, and the novella revolves around an aging woman who must deal with her changing body and the expectations of an uncaring society that values youth over old age. Noted for being one of the first works to utilise hard medicine in the narrative, "The Black Swan" is here published by the Limited Editions Club, with lithographs by celebrated architect and artist John Hejduk (1929-2000), who brings an architect's eye for symmetry and simplicity in his geometric imagery.

This edition includes an afterword by David Shapiro (b. 1947), a prolific poet and literary critic, whose first book was published when he was eighteen; offering insight and a sympathetic view of the brutality and bluntness often found in Mann's prose, he writes "A master of X-ray, [Mann] leads us to the master montage of disease itself. And to the possible health of love."

___DESCRIPTION: Full brown leather, title in black on the front board, black endpapers, lithographs printed in two colours by John Hejduk throughout; Monotype Gill Sans, mouldmade Rives Buff Text paper, quarto size (12" by 9.25"), pagination: [i-vi] 1-183 [184-186] [1 colophon], one of 375 copies, this number 122, signed by John Hejduk on the colophon. With LEC Monthly Letter, a thirteen-page softcover booklet, with two staples at the spine. In a slipcase covered in black cloth.

___CONDITION: A fine copy; the covers clean, the corners straight and unrubbed, the binding tight with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and free of prior owner markings; spine is very slightly sunned, else fine. The LEC Monthly Letter is near fine, clean overall with a few stray marks, the text block is sturdy, without wear except at the corners and a small nick on the top edge of the rear cover. The slipcase is near fine, strong and sturdy, clean, with some minor fraying to the cloth, otherwise free of wear.

___POSTAGE:  Please note that this is a large and heavy book, and additional postage may apply; please inquire for details.

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