Oil! A Novel by [RADICAL & PROLETARIAN LITERATURE] SINCLAIR, Upton - 1927

Pasadena: By the Author, 1935. First Edition. Red cloth boards; dustjacket; 124pp. Tight, straight copy, about Fine in the uncommon dustjacket, lightly rubbed and soiled but still attractive and free of losses, VG or better. Satirical stage drama, based on Sinclair's 1933 pamphlet "The Way Out." Produced as a fund-raiser during Sinclair's EPIC campaign, but probably never staged since. Unlike most other Sinclair works from this period, there was no simultaneous issue from a trade publisher. According to Ahouse, Sinclair had planned this as a film, and thus there are no act or scene divisions in the printed play. The film was never produced.Uncommon in jacket. AHOUSE A55a.

Pasadena: Published by the Author, 1920. First Edition. First Printing, cloth issue. Octavo (19.25cm); maroon cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine and front cover; dustjacket; 329,[1],[5]pp ads. Crown gently nudged, small circular sticker shadow to upper right corner of front endpaper, else Near Fine. Dustjacket is gently spine-sunned, showing moderate edgewear and dust-soil overall, with several small edge chips, a small puncture at mid-spine, and a handful of tears; Good to Very Good. Novel "of a man who becomes a spy upon Communist and Socialist groups during World War I. The Mooney case is part of the background" (Coan, p.128). A close companion piece to Jimmy Higgins, covering roughly the same time period. AHOUSE A27a; HANNA 3242.

New York: The Viking Press, 1945. Third Printing. Octavo (21.75cm); red cloth, with titles stamped in silver on spine and embossed onto front cover; reddish-brown topstain; dustjacket; viii,703,[7]pp. Inscribed by the author on the front endpaper to a pair of California booksellers: "For Lloyd & Gladys Severe / Best wishes / Upton Sinclair." Spine ends gently nudged, topstain a bit dulled, else Near Fine. Dustjacket is unclipped (priced $3.00), edgeworn and gently spine-sunned, with several small nicks and tears, shallow loss to lower front panel, and a longer tear along the lower front joint; Very Good+. The sixth installment in Sinclair's sweeping eleven-volume series, covering world events from World War I through the beginnings of the Cold War, and featuring his recurring character Lanny Budd. Dragon Harvest covers the period 1938-1940, where Lanny Budd travels through Munich and Dunkirk, and finds himself in Paris under the occupation. AHOUSE A74a.

Pasadena: Upton Sinclair, 1920. Two octavo volumes (18.75cm); maroon cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine and front cover; [ii],99,[11]pp. The first copy is inscribed by Eugene Debs to American film actress, screenwriter, and editor Helen Louise Gardner on the front endpaper: "To Helen L. Gardner / With love and greetings, and with deep appreciation for her beautiful character, her lofty spirit, her rare vision, courage, understanding, and her high ideals and noble aspirations - Eugene V. Debs / Terre Haute, Indiana / December, 1924." Gentle sunning to spine, oxidation to gilt, with moderate, scattered soil to covers, light wear to extremities, and heavier wear with resulting board exposure to upper right corner of front cover; mild offset to endpapers from binders glue; Good. Housed in a clamshell case. The second copy is inscribed to Gardner by Ruth Le Prade, opposite the title page: "To Helen Gardner - with cordial greetings / Ruth Le Prade." Spine-sunned, cloth edge-worn and lightly… Read More

V.p.: 1946-47. Archive of six TNS (typed notes, signed), five TLS (typed letters, signed), and one Western Union telegram from Upton Sinclair to the Paris literary agent and translator Jean-Robert Lamour (better known by his pseudonym, Yves Malartic). Together with ten of Lamour's retained carbons of communications to Sinclair and others. Correspondence spans the period January, 1946 to December, 1947, and deals with Lamour's efforts to secure publishing contracts for French-language translations of Sinclair's works including The Jungle, They Call Me Carpenter, Our Lady, and others, as well as Sinclair's ongoing work on the Lanny Budd series. Sinclair's letters range from notes of as few as four lines to letters of two pages, the entirety comprising approximately 2500 words, with numerous hand-corrections and signatures in blue or black ink. Lamour's letters to Sinclair comprise nine pieces of correspondence (of which three are partial) and one draft contract, with a total of approximately 3000… Read More