Wild Pilgrimage

New York: Harrison Smith & Robert Haas, 1932. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Good +. Octavo [24 cm] Full rust colored cloth with paper labels on the front board and spine, and the publisher's black top stain. Spine rolled. Extremities lightly bumped and faintly soiled. In the uncommon dust jacket, which is a bit toned - particularly at spine - and has a handful of short, closed tears and small losses. Pencil notation on front flap of dust jacket. The author and illustrator's third wordless novel explores the social and economic realities of the Great Depression. Preceded by the artist's groundbreaking first two novels: Gods' Man (1929) and Madman's Drum (1930). In this work, Ward used a a two color system - rust colored for the thoughts of the protagonist, and black for the crumbling world around him. Ward produced six wordless novels between 1929 and 1937, and although Ward continued to be an illustrator in high demand for the rest of his life, these early works find him at the absolute height of his creative and artistic powers.