o1929 GM New York Trade edition

Lynd Ward’s woodcut novel (the first wordless novel in North America), Gods’ Man, came out as a Trade edition in October 1929, along with the Wall Street Crash. It went on to sell 20,000 copies with six printings in four years.

Gods’ Man New York Trade Edition – Electrotype

In an interview with Gil Williams from a special Lynd Ward issue of the Bibliognost: The Book Collector’s Little Magazine in 1976, Ward described this edition –

The trade edition was printed from electrotype. This is not a camera form of reproduction but a form that employs a mold into which first copper and then lead are poured. Thus, instead of approximating on film what has been put on paper, the block itself is reproduced by a casting process. The electrotype for this edition is believed to have been melted down in support of the war effort during the Second World War.

First edition, first printing;

• Publisher: Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, NY
• 8.25” x 5.5″
• The book is bound in pictorial paper over one-quarter black cloth.
  • A pictorial paper cover was used for printings 1 through 5.
  • In printing #6 by Peter Smith, the cover was black cloth with a small printed label on the front. #6 had a dust jacket that used the pictorial cover design from printings #1 to #5.
• Paper label with black lettering on the upper spine.
• top edge text block stained black.
• fore-edge machine deckle.
• Black endpapers
• Unpaginated.
• printed recto
• 144 images
• Slipcase or Dust Jacket?
  • Some listings suggest the Trade edition was issued with a pictorial dust jacket. Given the number of copies listed by dealers, none of which have a pictorial dust jacket, this is unlikely. The only printing that can be confirmed is the 6th printing, which did have a printed dust jacket.
  • There has been a listing suggesting the Trade edition was published with a slipcase. The Limited edition was issued with a slipcase, and several copies listed for sale have one, often in poor condition. The lack of listings for Trade editions with a slipcase casts doubt on a slipcase for the Trade edition.
  • The best guess is that the Trade edition of Gods’ Man was only issued with a glassine wrapper until the 6th printing.

Printings 2nd to 5th

6th printing published by Peter Smith

The 6th printing by Peter Smith is the first time a dust jacket was used.

• this printing has a black cloth cover with a label on the spine and a label pasted on the front cover, similar to the spine and front cover of the Limited edition.
• Peter Smith used the pictorial coverings from printings #1 to #5 for the front of the dust jacket.

NOTE: the 6th printing was printed by The Colonial Press, Clinton, Mass. Printings #1 to #5 were done by Plimpton Press, Norwood, Mass.

COMMENTS

If you disagree with something on this page, have an improvement, or have a comment please contact me
wn at wordlessnovels.com

Any information used will be given a credit line.