The Bridge Crane, Hart; Cowley, Malcolm (Introduction) Limited Editions Club,Photography,Poetry

One of 2000 copies, folio size, 97 pp., signed by Richard Benson, with LEC announcement and slipcase. Hart Crane (1899-1932) tragically died by committing suicide at the age of 32. Today, Crane is considered by many to be "one of the finest modern poets in our language"; he derived much of his inspiration from T.S. Eliot, although he attempted to express "a more optimistic view of modern, urban culture than the one that he found in Eliot's work". This work, "The Bridge", is Crane's longest and perhaps best-remembered work, and although not well-received upon its initial publication, has more recently been hailed as "one of the 20th century's 'Groundbreaking Books' " (n.b., above quotes from Wiki). The first edition of the work was published with photographs by a friend of Crane's - Walker Evans. The Limited Editions Club paid homage to that edition by pairing this publication with photographs by Richard Mead Benson (1943-2017), whose work earned him two Guggenheim Fellowships and a MacArthur Fellowship. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full silver-grey Dutch natural-finish cloth, blind-debossed lettering on the front board, blue lettering stamped onto the spine, paste-paper endpapers reproduced from a design by Carol Blinn, the frontispiece and other photographs reproduced in a tritone 300 line screen process by The Meridan Gravure Company, there being a total of one double-spread and four single-page photographs; text Monotype Dante printed on soft-white Mohawk smooth wove paper, folio size (12.25" by 9.25"), pagination: [i-vi] vii-xx [xxi-xxiv], [1-4] 5-70 [71-72, two blanks] [73, colophon], signed by Richard Benson at the colophon; limited edition of 2000 copies, this no. 1834. With the LEC announcement loosely laid in, housed in a slipcase with matching paste-paper on the three sides and matching silver-grey cloth on the top and bottom. ___CONDITION: Fine, with clean boards free of any marks, straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; clean, crisp, as new. The LEC announcement fine, clean and without wear; the slipcase near fine, strong and sturdy, with a few spots of light wear to the paste-paper and some light dustiness to the bottom edge. ___CITATION: LEC Bibliography no. 520. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.