Vertigo: A Novel in Woodcuts

New York: Random House, 1937. First edition. Hardcover. Lynd Ward. [490 pp. 230 wood engravings.] Octavo [21.5 cm]; full dark blue cloth with spiral and star illustrations. Small bump to top corner of the rear board. Some light toning around edges of the pastedowns and flyleaves (as is commonly seen in this work). Lacking the rare dust jacket. Nice period era bookplate affixed to front pastedown, corresponding previous owner's name and date neatly written in black ink on the front flyleaf. A Very Good copy; clean, square, and tightly bound. Considered one of Lynd Ward's finest works, "Vertigo" is the sixth and final of his “wordless novels,” and is told in 230 beautiful and striking woodcut images. The narrative takes place during the Great Depression and explores themes of greed, love, despair, and death, through the progression of three characters: a young woman, a young man, and an ailing capitalist. Ward produced his six wordless novels (proto-“graphic novels”) between 1929 and 1937, and although he continued to be an in-demand illustrator for the rest of his life, these early works show him at the height of his creative powers. Dance 10.