Intruder in the Dust
New York: Random House, (1948). E. McKnight Kauffer. First Edition. Hardcover in Dust Jacket. 8vo. Pp. 247. Title page printed in blue and black. Bound in black cloth with stylized gilt and blue lettering and rules stamped on front board and spine. With note on front free endpaper. In the E. McKnight Kauffer dust jacket. Near Fine / Fine. Item #5590 The dust jacket by E. McKnight Kauffer is exquisite, both in execution of design and condition. Of copies we've seen, the condition of this dust jacket pulls rank on all. For reference to the dust jacket in the evolution of Kauffer design, please see E. McKnight Kauffer: A Designer and His Public (Mark Haworth-Booth), p. 75. See also Martin Salisbury's The Illustrated Dust Jacket (p. 121), where the author writes "Kauffer's almost oppressive visual tension between symbolism and realism provides an appropriate way into the book." Dust jacket is now preserved in a removable, clear, archival protector.
In the first issue dust jacket, $3.00 price intact. From the library of Irving Wallace, who noted on the endpaper: "Gift from Charles Hoffman on our way to West Point in 1948. I. W." Prior to embarking on his successful career as a novelist (The Chapman Report), Wallace worked as a screenwriter, racking up writing credits on Split Second (1953), Meet Me at the Fair(1953), and The Big Circus (1959), among others. But West Point Story (1950) was his first hit; likely, the trip to West Point, referenced in his note, was to research that screenplay. Charles Hoffman, whom he credits as giving him the book, also wrote for the silver screen; besides sharing credit with Wallace for West Point Story, Fritz Lang's Blue Gardenia (1953) is perhaps his best known script.
Price: $550.00