Description
First edition of From Here To Eternity by James Jones, inscribed by Jones to fellow author, and art director of Look Magazine, Merle Armitage.
Octavo, [14], 861pp, [5]. Black cloth, title in gilt on spine, corners of front cover bumped. The first printing, with the “Scribner’s A” on the copyright page and publisher’s seal below. Faint tape remnant on the rear endpaper. In the publisher’s first state dust jacket, fine condition, faint spot of shelf wear on rear panel, $4.50 price on front flap, photograph of the author on the rear cover.
This copy is inscribed on the front free endpaper: “For Merle Armitage / With very best wishes / James Jones.”
Merle Armitage (1893–1975) was an American impresario, set designer, author, and book designer. After working in the design department for Packard Motor Company, Armitage became a set designer in New York City and managed tours for performers such as John McCormack, Martha Graham, and Igor Stravinsky. Armitage was also the art director for magazines including Look and Quick, and in 1951, he served as president of the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Over his lifetime, he authored and designed more than 150 books on subjects ranging from music and art to architecture.
From Here to Eternity won the National Book Award in 1951 and is widely considered one of the best novels of the 20th century. An excellent signed association copy.
