THE BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN

New York, New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1943. First Edition, second printing, war edition. Cloth. Good/No dj. SIGNED by the Author on the half title, thick 8vo (8 3/4" x 6" x 2"), light blue cloth with gilt lettering on spine, archival mylar-jacket added, [iv] + 515 pages. Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) was an American novelist, short story writer, environmentalist and historian. Probably his most famous book is THE BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN (1943). <br /> <br /> A semi-autobiographical novel, it is Stegner's attempt at the Great American Novel: the tragedy of a family striving for the American dream but ending up in shady, half-baked schemes. The novel is named after the folk song "Big Rock Candy Mountain" about a mythical paradise. <br /> <br /> SIGNED UNCOMMON WAR EDITION. Published in a slightly thicker format than other editions. Original blue covers are somewhat rubbed with wear (visible mainly along gutters, head & foot of spine); moderately faded cloth with a spot or two of discoloration, a bubble (upper right front cover), and bumping to corners (mainly the lower right front). Front hinge tender. Minor cocking. No dj. Laid in is a ticket stub from a reading given by Wallace Stegner at the Harbourfront Reading Series in Toronto. No previous owner marks. Light uniform age-toning with clean pages. According to Colberg, Wallace Stegner: A Descriptive Bibliography, the first printing was around 15,000 copies (A7.1.a).