The Inverted Pyramid FIRST EDITION IN SCARCE DUST JACKET

First Edition. Hardcover. Offered here is an overall still vibrant first printing in scarce dust jacket of this important novel of British Columbia by Canadian novelist Bertrand William Sinclair (1881-1972), selected as one of 10 literary works of utmost significance for the Vancouver 125 Legacy Book Collection in 2011. The Inverted Pyramid follows the fortunes of the three Norquay brothers from 1909 to 1920, pursuing their fortune in British Columbia's logging industry, finding success and forming a trust company, only to lose their wealth through greed and mismanagement. Phil Norquay is the head of the timber business and Grove Norquay is the founder of the Norquay Trust, but their brother Rod Norquay is the soul of the novel, providing a voice in support of environmental conservationism and against the unsustainability of capitalism, as well as questioning the class and racial prejudice of the time through his socially unaccepted romance with the possibly mixed-race Mary Thorn. Sinclair worked in the timber industry prior to writing this novel and here he faithfully portrays that experience, from workers' demands for improved working conditions to the environmental and finanical catastrophes that plagued the logging industry in the early 20th Century. The depiction of the ways in which greed fells the Norquest Trust is also accurate, inspired by the true story of the bankruptcy of the Vancouver-based Dominion Trust of 1903. In the beginning of The Inverted Pyramid, Rod asks himself, "Why was there no Iliad of the pioneers, no Human Comedy of men and manners peculiar to the North Coast?" The Inverted Pyramid is Bertrand Sinclair's answer to that question, still sounding after almost a hundred years since it was first published in 1924. This is a handsome copy of that first edition, in the scarce original dust jacket. 7 3/8" X 5 1/4". 339pp. Presents nicely in protective archival sleeved dust jacket. Moderate to heavy wear to unclipped dust jacket with original price of $2.00 to front flap, with 4" wide by 1" deep open tear to head of spine and top edge of front panel, heavy sunning to spine with stamp "Popular Copyright," small tears to edges and extremities, and mild soiling and toning. Bound in bright and vibrant purple cloth over boards, with inverted pyramid stamped in golden yellow and black to upper board, lettered in black to upper board and spine. Moderate wear to binding, with head and tail of spine sun-bleached, small stain to tail of spine, and some rubbing and gentle bumping to extremities. Some light staining to fore-edge. Gift inscription dated 1928 to front free endpaper. Binding is firm, sound, and square. Pages are clean and unmarked. …