Beschreibung:

ILLUSTRATION] DAVIS, HUBERT. The full published suite of original illustrations for The Symbolic Drawings of Hubert Davis for An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser . [New York: circa 1930]. Twenty original pen and ink drawings, each signed in ink within the image, each drawing mounted within a paper mat which bear pencilled numbering, titles, etc. The full sheets measuring 16 x 13 1/2 inches (41 x 34.5 cm). Some staining to mats and the occasional mark within an image, the mounts worn from handling and with some short tears, creases and small losses; Together with Davis' copy of the published book, the preface signed by Dreiser. New York: Horace Liveright, 1930. One of 525 copies signed by Davis and Dreiser. Publisher's boards, slipcased. 14 1/4 x 11 inches (37 x 28 cm); 20 plates. The boards rubbed and the backstrip and slipcase repaired with a matching cloth tape. An interesting and complete archive of original drawings pairing important moments in Dreiser's 1925 novel with Davis' symbolic drawings. Authorizing the production, Dreiser has provided a signed forward in the published book in which he praises Davis' craftsmanship and his control over the "emotional imaginings" of Clyde as they relate to Sondra in plate seven, the "futility of the Griffiths" as portrayed in plate one, and other instances of the "human misery" and "toils of circumstance" for which An American Tragedy is well remembered. Davis' drawings blend an Art Deco aesthetic with both the noir and surrealist quality of the era. This treatment of Dreiser's novel precedes both film adaptations of the work and an illustrated 1954 LEC edition. C