Publisher: The Press of the Readers Club (1942)., New York
Description:Good. Reprint. Green cloth. xi, 287 pp. Introduction by Clifton...Good. Reprint. Green cloth. xi, 287 pp. Introduction by Clifton Fadiman. Inscribed by the author. No dust jacket. Some wear to binding, including bump to upper board. Corner torn from front free endpaper. Contents solid.
Description:Dust Jacket Design by George Salter; Book Design By George...Dust Jacket Design by George Salter; Book Design By George Salter. Very Good in Very Good DJ in Very Good jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Signed by Author First printing of Random House hardcover edition. xii, 692pp. Gray/green cloth, gilt spine lettering, cream endpapers. Dust jacket price 3.00. Signed by Clark to title page. Book has some foxing and toning to covers [espec. to hinges], spine browning to cloth offset from dust jacket, some toning to endpapers, neat previous owner's signature and date to front endpaper, but still very tight and appears unread. Dust jacket has some small chips to spine crown and corner extremeties, spine age-toned but overall quite bright and presentable with wraparound George Salter painting. Walter Van Tilburg Clark is considered one of the most distinguished writers of the twentieth century. An author, poet, lecturer, and teacher, Clark's interpretations of the American West are his greatest legacy. " [He] has come to be known...as the essential western novelist, the one who did perhaps more than anyone else to define (in his fiction) the mode of perception, the acquisition of knowledge, and the style which we tend to call western...his prose style is imagistic, symbolic (or metaphoric), and direct, tapping the subconscious but staying in touch with the real world. [Clark felt many] critics were unable to understand what he was doing [and] he published no more novels [after 1949]. "-John Milton. 'The City of Trembling Leaves' opens over Reno, Nevada, the principal location for most of the stories. Clark describes the city as a scene, composed of several themes brought about by the physical structures of the city's districts. It is the early Twentieth Century. Reno is a bustling small town on the edge of a mountain range, with fantastic scenery all around. The vast majority of the book's elements are introduced by way of the primary character, Tim Hazard, and it is with him that the human narrative of the story begins. We find Tim in grade school and follow his adventures through childhood and adolescence until he becomes a man. It is composed of so many stories and precious elements contained within, that even if the reader knows everything about the book, its whole storyline, from beginning to end, it is possible to observe countless elements not described in terms of the master narrative. Clark's fondness for the surroundings is not surprising--he grew up in Reno, son of a University of Nevada, Reno president. This familiarity with the underlying subject matter of the setting, leads the book to evoke a sense of place not readily found in other works. The narrative touches on a variety of themes, seeming to center around the inevitability of tomorrow and the pursuit of human interests through spirituality, creativity, and friendship. It touches on ideas of inevitability of purpose and futility of wrongly-directed effort. An intricate and beautiful coming-of-age story set in Reno. The trembling leaves in the title refer to the quaking aspens that lined Reno's Court Street. In this classic novel of the American West, Clark writes beautifully of youth, love, the mountains, deserts, and lakes of the Great Basin, and of art: of being an artist, discovering one's vision, and creating art that rings true. Clark skillfully maps the emotional and physical geography of the complexities of life and of this beautiful land. "A superbly written book that compares favorably with Thomas Wolfe's 'Look Homeward Angel. '"-Library Journal. "'The City of Trembling Leaves' has something of the quality of a long and wonderful day out of doors, when you start from home early in the morning and come back late at night, tired out and full of mindless well-being. For an Easterner such days are comparatively rare, a break in the ordinary routine of life. For the Westerner they are likely to be the main substance of living."-Saturday Review.
Description:Dust Jacket Design by George Salter; Book Design By E. McKnight...Dust Jacket Design by George Salter; Book Design By E. McKnight Kauffer. Fine in Near Fine Dust Jacket in Near Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Signed by Author First printing of Random House hardcover edition. x, 406pp. Blue/green cloth, gilt spine lettering with black ink 'paw' design, gray/green top-stain, cream endpapers. Dust jacket price 3.50. Signed by Clark to title page. Book appears exceptionally fine, in tight, unread condition with a neat previous owner's book-plate to front endpaper [hidden by dust jacket flap]. The very problematic dust jacket is without the typical large chips and signs of wear; it is crisp and bright, with just a couple of small closed edge-tears and minor edge-wear to spine crown. An outstanding copy of a book and dust jacket extremely difficult to find in collectable condition, especially signed. Walter Van Tilburg Clark is considered one of the most distinguished writers of the twentieth century. An author, poet, lecturer, and teacher, Clark's interpretations of the American West are his greatest legacy. " [He] has come to be known...as the essential western novelist, the one who did perhaps more than anyone else to define (in his fiction) the mode of perception, the acquisition of knowledge, and the style which we tend to call western...his prose style is imagistic, symbolic (or metaphoric), and direct, tapping the subconscious but staying in touch with the real world. [Clark felt many] critics were unable to understand what he was doing [and] he published no more novels [after 1949]. "-John R. Milton. 'The Track of the Cat' is a symbolic story depicting the constant struggle between good and evil. The action takes place on a remote Nevada ranch. Four men who fear a marauding mountain lion that is killing the cattle must conquer their feelings and kill it before it kills them. Basis for the 1954 film directed by William A. Wellman, starring Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright, Beulah Bondi, screenplay by A.I. Bezzerides, cinematography by William H. Clothier. ""The Track of the Cat' [is] Clark's major novel [and] reveals his philosophy most clearly and makes the most effective use of his western materials. It is carefully grounded upon a western ranch with all its literal details, and yet it operates consistently upon a symbolic level....all of [the] characters are invested with symbolic significance and that Clark has worked out a careful scheme to illustrate what may be Ideal Western American Man....[the] second major theme revolves around the concept of evil and man's relationship to it and to nature...the theme itself and the accompanying images in contrasts of black and white suggest Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'."-John R. Milton.
Description:Near Fine in very good + jacket. Stated first printing. The...Near Fine in very good + jacket. Stated first printing. The author's first collection of short stories.306 pp. A bright near fine copy in blue cloth binding in bright very good unclipped dustwrapper. This copy SIGNED by the author and dated in 1951. A scarce signature. By the author of The Ox-Bow Incident.
Description:Octavo. Original blue cloth, titles to spine and upper board in...Octavo. Original blue cloth, titles to spine and upper board in gold and white, red top-stain. With the dust jacket. Very lightly rubbed at corners, loss of gilt to the spine, which is slightly tanned, top-stain faded, contents very faintly toned. An excellent copy in the rubbed and nicked jacket with tanned spine panel. First edition, first printing. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For Margaret McKearney – with every best wish – Walter V. T. Clark".
Description:Very Good in Fair jacket. Book. Signed by Author(s) This is a...Very Good in Fair jacket. Book. Signed by Author(s) This is a fifth-printing of the book which was later made into the film starring Henry Fonda, Harry Morgan, and Anthony Quinn, directed by William A. Wellman. It is inscribed to Stanley A. Maxson and signed by Walter V. T. Clark, dated May 23, 1941. The DJ is protected in a Brodart cover but has corners clipped (but NOT price-clipped), heavily chipped at spine and edges/corners. A few small bent page corners. Pictures will be sent upon request. Includes a newspaper article about the release of his second book.
Description:8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Signed & Dated by Author First edition,...8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Signed & Dated by Author First edition, first prnt. Signed and dated "Sept. 25, 1940" by Clark on the front free endpage. Previous owner name and date neatly inked on front pastedown under dustjacket front flap, faint spoting to topstain; dustjacket with chipping at corners and spine ends, two inch closed tear on front panel spine fold and two shorter tears, one on the front panel bottom edge and the other on the rear panel topedge with shallow creases, edgewear, mostly on the front panel topedge. A bright, tight copy in Very Good+ conditiuon in a Very Good dustjacket with an archival cover. Clark's first novel. Actual image of the book; not a stock photo.
