The River [ARC, association]

New York: Stackpole Sons, 1938. ARC Advance Review Copy . Cloth. Very Good. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Very Strong Very Good. See scans and description. New York: Stackpole Sons, 1938. ARC [Advance Review Copy]. Quarto, unpaginated, no dustjacket as issued; jacket accompanied final first editions, which were of course subsequent to this ARC. Black and white photographic illustrations from Lorentz' film, The River. Corners and spine ends show moderate wear; some age toning at endpapers; no salient faults. Better than Very Good. Scarce review copy - sent to famed novelist Bernard Devoto for his review - of The River, with the review request slip laid in. "Bernard and Avis DeVoto" rubber stamp appears twice within. Lorentz, a poet and filmmaker, was retained by the Farm Security Administration / Resettlement Administration to honorably and forthrightly promote Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal with a series of documentary films. The first, dealing with the dustbowl, was The Plow That Broke the Land. The River was his second opus, a trenchant documentary about "The American River", for the promotion of the TVA. Perhaps the more critically acclaimed of the two titles in the "Films of Merit Series" which he directed, its script won Lorentz a Pulitzer Prize nomination. Other films in the series - which he oversaw - included Ecce Homo, The Fight For Life, and The City. A piece of American history, and a very scarce ARC in a collectible copy owned by Bernard Devoto. In sealed archival storage, on premises. Ships in a new, sturdy, protective box, of course; not a bag. L-32