Lynd Ward’s wordless novel, Prelude to a Million Years, is rumoured to have used real gold dust for the patterns on the covers.
- Title: Prelude to a Million Years: A Book of Wood Engravings
- Equinox Cooperative Press, Inc.
- Book Design by Lewis F. White
- 23 x 14 cm. (8.75 in x 5.5 in)
- [3] p., [30] leaves of plates
- illustrated title page
- 30 original wood engravings printed on the rectos only
- Stabbed and sewn with black string (this string is frequently broken)
- uncut fore edge
- soft wave & star decorated black boards. Rumour has it that real gold dust was used for the pattern
- 1/4 foil spine
- title impressed sideways on the spine in a copper/gold foil
- Matching inner board star decorations
- a limited edition of 920 copies numbered and signed by Ward.
- There was no trade edition.
- Has anyone seen a reference to a slipcase??
NOTE: It is common to have broken string ties and/or the decoration on the cover smudged as per the following examples:
Prelude to a Million Years: A Book of Wood Engravings
is also decorated with gold dust.
Logo on right hand page is for Equinox Cooperative Press.
co-founded by Ward and his wife,
May McNeer Ward.
