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The Unstrung Harp; or, Mr Earbrass Writes a Novel
by Gorey, Edward
- Used
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Very Good+/Very Good
- Seller
-
Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1953. First Edition. Hardcover in DJ. Very Good+/Very Good. 12mo. Unpaginated [64 pp]. Pictorial boards in clipped dust jacket. First edition. Signed by Gorey on title page. Light edgewear to dj, w/ two small [< 1cm] closed tears to rear panel. Rubbing to board edges. Bookseller's label to rpd from "The Holliday Bookshop, 119 East 54th ST, New York 22, N.Y." Tight, sound copy of Gorey's first independent work.
Synopsis
On November 18th of alternate years Mr Earbrass begins writing 'his new novel.' Weeks ago he chose its title at random from a list of them he keeps in a little green note-book. It being tea-time of the 17th, he is alarmed not to have thought of a plot to which The Unstrung Harp might apply, but his mind will keep reverting to the last biscuit on the plate." So begins what the Times Literary Supplement called "a small masterpiece." TUH is a look at the literary life and its "attendant woes: isolation, writer's block, professional jealousy, and plain boredom." But, as with all of Edward Gorey's books, TUH is also about life in general, with its anguish, turnips, conjunctions, illness, defeat, string, parties, no parties, urns, desuetude, disaffection, claws, loss, trebizond, napkins, shame, stones, distance, fever, antipodes, mush, glaciers, incoherence, labels, miasma, amputation, tides, deceit, mourning, elsewards. You get the point. Finally, TUH is about Edward Gorey the writer, about Edward Gorey writing The Unstrung Harp. It's a cracked mirror of a book, and it's dedicated to RDP or Real Dear Person.
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Details
- Bookseller
- small volume
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 257
- Title
- The Unstrung Harp; or, Mr Earbrass Writes a Novel
- Author
- Gorey, Edward
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover in DJ
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good+
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Duell, Sloan and Pearce
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1953
- Keywords
- Gorey, Illustration, Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Doubtful Guest
Terms of Sale
small volume
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
small volume
Biblio member since 2023
Providence, Rhode Island
About small volume
Small Volume is based out of Providence, RI. We buy + sell old, rare, odd, unusual, and otherwise collectible books + ephemera.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
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