Slow Boat Across [*SIGNED* with a letter from the author]

New York: Psychological Library. Near Fine in Very Good dj. 1952. First Edition. Hardcover. (price-clipped) [good sound copy, very light bumping to upper rear corner, faint dust-soiling to top edge; the jacket has small tears at a couple of corners with very slight paper loss, shallow chipping surrounding the top of the spine, and a bit of scuffing to the rear panel]. INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author on the ffep, to a "friend and fellow of the airwaves." (See below.) Novel about a young woman on an ocean-going freighter out of New Orleans, leaving behind "6 years among the bilge of pool room Slicks, wise-acres, vulgarities and fast living she had blundered into, and which she came to accept with resignation. On her own from Burlesque hip-whipper, wise bar-maid, coyish taxi-dancer to Hotel call girl, till that respectful old man came along just five little short days ago, trusting her, wanting her, packing her off to Venice on this 'heah' SLOWBOAT." Interesting rear-jacket blurb about the significance of "A First Novel" -- which, of course, this is. I doubt if there was a second -- but at least (as with so many one-shots) this one has the advantage of the author's authentic life-experience behind it: according to the jacket bio he had spent "12 years as Ordinary Seaman, Messboy, Waiter, B.R., Deck Steward [and] Yeoman." Laid in to this copy is a single-spaced TLS from the author to the book's inscribee, Russ Rosene, dated 2/16/56, in which he writes about his various literary efforts (including a play which had a tryout in Long Beach, California), relates meeting Eugene Zukor (son of Paramount Pictures president Adolph Zukor), and invites Rosene to "come in with me on a partnership basis" to co-finance his play. Signed by Author .