The Gods Were Promiscuous

New York: The Vanguard Press, 1937. First edition. Hardcover. Very good/good. SIGNED. 248pp. Octavo [19 cm] Orange cloth covered boards with a black ink stamped title and decorative embellishments on the spine. Publisher's red topstain. Fore-edges untrimmed. The spine is a bit rolled, and the spine ends are gently bumped. There are two minor areas of insect nibbling along the front hinge. In a brittle and fragile dust jacket, with occasional small losses from the edges, darkening to the spine, and a partially detached front inside flap (still holding). Price intact on front inside flap. Bleiler checklist. This copy is inscribed by John Held on the front free endpaper. The Utah artist, John Held Jr., was one of the best known magazine illustrators of the 1920s, and his designs for F. Scott Fitzgerald jackets became icons of the Jazz Age. In this novel, the main character has the rare ability to communicate with animals in their own tongue.