About this Item
Thames Williamson was born and raised in Idaho, where his parents scraped out a working class living (His father was a stock drover). He attended the University of Iowa, and after graduation attended Harvard where he received his MA. He traveled, taught Economics, and proceeded to author a string of serious novels, the most famous of which is "Woods Colt". "Hunky" is what might be considered a proletarian, or emigration working class novel. This is the 1929 First Edition, with the Coward McCann colophon complete with torch. The dust-jacket has a great poster-style proletarian woodblock illustration by K. S. Woerner which is very much of the times. The end-papers, also, have a decorative pattern that is of the times, and quite handsome.
Here is the jacket blurb, which speaks to the class consciousness of the time, and the ethnic attitudes toward emigrants: "This is the story of the fierce and beautiful Teena, and the story of Krusack, the great friend, but mostly it is the story of Jencic, the big slow man who was a Croat, or a Pole, or perhaps a Hungarian. No one ever knew, he least of all. He came to America as a boy. An immigrant. Somehow he got lost, and when he had grown up he found himself in the midst of the sea which is the City, swamped by its mysteries, and hopelessly behind its swift tempo. In the beginning Jencic was only a worker, struggling in the mist of confusion, until by and by a friend rose on one side of him, and on the other side a girl , and then with blows and sighs and many wonderings he inched beyond the fog and came to see his life as it was meant to be. In the end he was content. HUNKY is a refreshingly different tale, vital in theme, and written with impressive simplicity. Said Christopher Morley of this novel, 'This is a book of singular vigor and freshness with a whiff of good, gross reality . A book of power and patience, a book of understanding tenderness and I wish it good luck' "
TITLE : Hunky
AUTHOR : Thames Williamson (1894 - 1961)
IMPRINT : Coward McCann
PLACE : New York
DATE : 1929
EDITION : First Edition ( Coward McCann colophon includes the torch)
ILLUSTRATION : Jacket wood-cut by K. S. Woerner
STATUS : OP - Out of Print
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION : Trade hardcover; 312 pages; approximately 5 1/4" x 7 1/2"; decorated terra-cotta cloth-covered boards, with title and decorative motif stamped in slightly metallic, dark green on spine and front board; pictorial dust-jacket.
CONDITION -- BOOK : VERY GOOD -- JACKET : GOOD PLUS ONLY -- This is a previously owned book which remains clean and attractive, with the following particulars noted:
EXTERIOR - Spine extremities are mildly compressed - else spine is bright and clean; Boards are crisp and fresh with negligible wear; top text-block edge is weathered and has a touch of spotting - fore-and bottom edges display foxing.
BINDING - Solid
INTERIOR - Scattered , near-negligible foxing - else clean and presentable.
DUST JACKET - Jacket is a bit rough - with chipping, tears and loss about edges - - moderate surface rub and abrasion with front displaying a bit of smudging - reverse displays modest wear - the front flap still has the original 1929 price. The whole looks decent under a protective mylar cover.
Seller Inventory # 800
Contact seller
Report this item
