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USA Trilogy: The 42nd Parallel; Nineteen Nineteen; and The Big Money [3 Vol]

USA Trilogy: The 42nd Parallel; Nineteen Nineteen; and The Big Money [3 Vol]

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USA Trilogy: The 42nd Parallel; Nineteen Nineteen; and The Big Money [3 Vol]

by Dos Passos, John

  • Used
  • near fine
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Near Fine/No Jacket as Issued
Seller
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
SANDY, Oregon, United States
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About This Item

Houghton Mifflin, 1946. Limited Numbered First Illustrated Edition. Cloth. Near Fine/No Jacket as Issued. A handsome 3-volume set of John Dos Passos' classic trilogy in the scarce Limited Numbered First Illustrated Edition signed by the author and the artist, Reginald Marsh, on the limitation page in the first volume ["The 42nd Parallel"] and numbered 370 of 375 [Original issue of 365 plus 10 additional for family and friends]. Bound in cream buckram with pictorial "USA" endpapers, gilt titling on leather labels on the front and spine, with rough cut pages and gold gilt on the top edge of each volume. Overall each is a very solid and square book, with touches of soil and darkening to the spine and pages, a previous owners blue stamp on an early page in each volume (but not the limitation page] but with clean interiors. A stunning and scarce set.

Synopsis

John Dos Passos’s USA Trilogy covers the historical development and evolution of American society during the first three decades of the twentieth century. Originally published individually, the trilogy includes The 42nd Parallel, covering the period from 1900 up to World War I; 1919 (or Nineteen Nineteen), dealing with the war and the critical year of the Treaty of Versailles; and The Big Money, which moves from the boom of the 1920s to the bust of the 1930s. Dos Passos uses an experimental technique in portraying the everyday situations of the characters around WWI with special attention to the social and economic forces that drive them. In a complex format, he incorporates four narrative modes: fictional narratives with free indirect speech telling the life stories of the twelve main characters; fragments of Dos Passos’ own autobiographical stream-of-consciousness (often referred to an “The Camera Eye”); collages of blaring newspaper headlines and article clippings along with some song lyrics  (“The Newsreel”); and biographies of various public figures of the time, including Woodrow Wilson and Henry Ford. The 42nd Parallel, what would become part one of the trilogy, was first published by Harper and Brothers in February 1930. Dos Passos intended for Harper to publish 1919 as well; however, the publisher rejected the book when the author refused to cut a satirical portrait of J.P. Morgan, who had recently financially assisted Harper. Thus, Harcourt, Brace published 1919 in March 1932 and The Big Money in August 1936. The next summer, Harcourt, Brace agreed to published Dos Passos’s three works in a single volume edition, for which the author selected the name USA. The USA Trilogy is ranked 23rd on Modern Library’s list of the “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century.

Read More: Identifying first editions of USA Trilogy: The 42nd Parallel; Nineteen Nineteen; and The Big Money [3 Vol]

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Details

Bookseller
Parrish Books US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
3438
Title
USA Trilogy: The 42nd Parallel; Nineteen Nineteen; and The Big Money [3 Vol]
Author
Dos Passos, John
Format/Binding
Cloth
Book Condition
Used - Near Fine
Jacket Condition
No Jacket as Issued
Quantity Available
1
Edition
Limited Numbered First Illustrated Edition
Publisher
Houghton Mifflin
Date Published
1946

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About the Seller

Parrish Books

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2006
SANDY, Oregon

About Parrish Books

Parrish Books is a full-time on-line dealer in fine collectible books in business since 2002. With specialities in signed limited editions and many favorite authors including Ray Bradbury, Richard Bach, Tom Clancy, John Updike, Kurt Vonnegut, Edward Gorey and Maurice Sendak. We specialize in exceptional customer service and quality packaging of all orders.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Jacket
Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
Gilt
The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
Spine
The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
Cloth
"Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
Buckram
A plain weave fabric normally made from cotton or linen which is stiffened with starch or other chemicals to cover the book...

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