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The Moon Is Down (Unrecorded Variant)
by Steinbeck, John
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Very Good/Near Very Good
- Seller
-
Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Garden City, NY: Sun Dial Press, 1943. Photoplay Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Near Very Good. Light blue cloth over boards, title and decorations printed in black onto spine, top edge stained blue, 12mo (7-3/8 inches tall), pp. 188, title page with the permission notation present, illustrated with 9 B&W stills from the movie. Volume with light edge wear and some fading to top edge stain, spine ends frayed with spotting to spine cloth, toning to text, ink gift ins. ffep and vintage bookseller's tag at foot of front pastedown. Price-intact DJ with rubbing, edge wear, a few creases and closed tears, small nicks to spine ends and flap folds. The Moon Is Down was the Scandinavian "samizdat" of it's day, where "Possession of a copy in occupied Europe was a death sentence." Firsts, Jan. 2007. An early reprint, taken from the first state plates, with the misplaced period on p. 112 still uncorrected. Meets all the points in the Holmes Catalogue, with the following differences: page 140, line 17 has "," not "." after "said" ; the DJ front flap lacks the identities of the actors in the film, while the rear flap does have the Book/Bonds comparison paragraph present. "Copies of this edition are scarce" Harmon, 31h. Ref. Goldstone & Payne, A16f ; Morrow, 154; Davis, p. 153; U of T cat. (1963), no. 15. An Unrecorded Variant, not found.
Synopsis
In this masterful tale set in Norway during World War II, Steinbeck explores the effects of invasion on both the conquered and the conquerors. As he delves into the emotions of the German commander and the Norwegian traitor, and depicts the spirited patriotism of the Norwegian underground, Steinbeck uncovers profound, often unsettling truths about war—and about human nature. Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck’s self-described “celebration of the durability of democracy” had an extraordinary impact as Allied propaganda in Nazi-occupied Europe. Despite Axis efforts to suppress it (in Fascist Italy, mere possession of the book was punishable by death), The Moon is Down was secretly translated into French, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, German, Italian and Russian; hundreds of thousands of copies circulated throughout Europe, making it by far the most popular piece of propaganda under the occupation. Few literary works of our time have demonstrated so triumphantly the power of ideas in the face of cold steel and brute force. This edition features an introduction by Donald V. Coers.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Harropian Books, IOBA
(CA)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1656
- Title
- The Moon Is Down (Unrecorded Variant)
- Author
- Steinbeck, John
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Near Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Photoplay Edition
- Publisher
- Sun Dial Press
- Place of Publication
- Garden City, NY
- Date Published
- 1943
- Bookseller catalogs
- Modern First Editions; Books into Film;
Terms of Sale
Harropian Books, IOBA
- Items are subject to prior sale.
- Canadian sales are subject to 5% GST.
- Items may be returned within 30 days. Please contact us first.
- Institutions and individuals known to us will be billed according to their needs.
- Traditional courtesy to the trade.
About the Seller
Harropian Books, IOBA
Biblio member since 2006
Nelson, British Columbia
About Harropian Books, IOBA
Harropian Books is an online bookseller offering a diverse selection of antiquarian, collectible, rare and out of print items. Our focus is on the interesting & unusual, covering all fields. ***** We are a member of the IOBA (Independent Online Booksellers Association) and have attended the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar (2011), Rare Book School in Virginia (2014 - Developing Collections ; 2016 - The History of Printed Book Illustration in the West), London Rare Book School (2021 - The History of Maps and Mapping) and Gwain Weaver Art Conservation (2019 - Care and Identification of Photographs).
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- 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...
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- First State
- used in book collecting to refer to a book from the earliest run of a first edition, generally distinguished by a change in some...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- FFEP
- A common abbreviation for Front Free End Paper. Generally, it is the first page of a book and is part of a single sheet that...
- Reprint
- Any printing of a book which follows the original edition. By definition, a reprint is not a first edition.
This Book’s Categories
- Bindings & Editions Modern First Editions
- Fiction & Literature Fiction by Region American Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Classic Literature
- Fiction & Literature Individual Authors John Steinbeck
- Fiction & Literature Literary Studies
- Fiction & Literature Modern Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Vintage Fiction
Positive Representation Matters
Books transmit cultural values and can shape the views of society. Learn more about the history of American literature in Collecting Children’s Literature by Writers and Educators of the Harlem Renaissance.
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