Description
Signed first edition of Praisesong for the Widow by Paule Marshall.
Octavo, 256pp. Purple hardcover, title in cream on spine. No additional printings on copyright page. Solid text block, rubbing to edges, a near fine copy. Previous ownership stamps of literary agent Joan Daves to top edge and title page. In the publisher’s dust jacket, $13.95 retail price to front flap, light wear to top edge. Inscribed by the author on the title page: “Paule Marshall / Dec ’83.”
Joan Daves (1919-1997) was born and raised in Berlin before escaping Nazi Germany and emigrating to the United States in 1940. Daves worked for Interscience Publishers and Harper & Brothers, co-founded a literary agency, and later established the Joan Daves Agency. She represented numerous successful authors and Nobel Prize winners, including Martin Luther King Jr., Heinrich Boll, Nelly Sachs, Rachel Carson, and more.
