Williwaw Vidal, Gore Andrew Hoyem and Arion Press (New),Modern Literature

Octavo, 11 5/8" by 8 1/4", 132 pp. The types for the text are Hess Bold and Caslon Bold for italic, in Monotype composition by Mackenzie & Harris, with larger sizes of Hess handset for display. The photographs were printed by offset lithography and are tipped onto the pages. The paper is Schiller, a German mould-made sheet. The binding, done in-house, is machine-sewn and bound in full dark blue cloth, with a paper spine label. The endpapers are printed with the plans of the ship in the novel. The dust jacket is cover weight paper with strips of dark blue cloth along the top and bottom edges, and printed with the review quotations on the back panel that were printed on the dust jacket of the first edition, conventional promotional copy on the flaps, and a drawing of a freight-supply ship on the front cover, beneath the title, set in ascending sizes of Futura Bold type. Edition of 250 numbered copies, plus 26 lettered copies hors de commerce, signed by the author. Gore Vidal (1925-2012) wrote a new introduction for this fiftieth anniversary edition of his first novel, composed during World War II, when he was a nineteen-year-old first mate on an Army supply ship in the Aleutians. The battles are far removed, but nature becomes the enemy in the form of a storm at sea, and the psychological subject is the tedium of waiting for the war to end. Reproduced are plans for the type of freight-supply ship Vidal was assigned to and that he used as the setting for the novel. The drawings were found by Hoyem, with assistance from the San Francisco Maritime Museum and the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington. They show the outboard profile, deck plans for the navigation bridge, and main- and below-deck arrangements. Stephanie Dal Porto, who answered the Press's telephone, was terribly worried that Gore Vidal would call from Italy and that she would impulsively imitate the voice of the comedienne Lily Tomlin playing a receptionist by responding: "Yes, Mr. Veedle!" When he did call, Hoyem answered, and the author said that he had not replied to emails because his Internet connection and computer had been zapped by lightening. __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.