The Other Statue; The Secrets: Volume One

New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968 Illustrated by Edward Gorey. First edition, first printing. Publisher's black and white pictorial boards illustrated by Gorey, lettered in black; in the original black and white pictorial dust jacket, illustrated after the binding. Near fine book, with very light toning to extremities, and light soiling to front free endpaper; good or better clipped dust jacket, with some toning to extremities, a touch of staining to spine and rear panel, shallow chip to head of spine, and moderate edgewear. Overall, a sturdy copy. In The Other Statue, Gorey returns to his signature abstract style that he began with The Object Lesson in 1958. It is a non-sequitur story, which Gorey describes as "perfectly incomplete;" although they are loosely related, the reader is ultimately left to draw his or her own conclusions about the connection from one scene to another. Notably, The Other Statue is published as the first volume in a series called The Secrets, and the rear wrapper advertises "The Night Bandage" as the second installation. In a 1977 interview with Mel Gussow for the New York Times, Gorey said that The Secrets series was part of a collection of his unpublished writing that he intended to illustrate and ultimately produce. Specifically, he described The Secrets as "my equivalent of a perfectly endless movie serial." However, The Secrets was never published past this debut novel, making The Other Statue even more imbued with Gorey's alluring mystery.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included.