Library Addition: Ward Moore’s Breathe the Air Again

If these seems like a rerun to you it’s because I bought another copy two years ago. However, this copy has a dust jacket:

Moore, Ward. Breathe the Air Again. Harper & Brothers, 1942. First edition hardback (stated), a Near Fine copy with dust staining at top and bottom page blocks and slight bend at head and heel in a Near Fine, price-clipped dust jacket with price stamp of “2.95” next to clip, slight grubbiness (most noticeable to back rear cover), plus shallow closed tears at head and heel; despite that, it’s a bright, vibrant example of a dust jacket for which I can find no other scan on the Internet. Interestingly, this copy has a different binding, and even appears to be a different trim size, than my other copy. I now believe my earlier copy is not only a library rebind, but one for which the page blocks were trimmed as part of the rebinding process. Reportedly a Picaresque mainstream novel of labor organizing. Bought off an Internet dealer for $265.50.

Current copy on the left, older copy on the right

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One Response to “Library Addition: Ward Moore’s Breathe the Air Again”

  1. William Richards says:

    Hi,
    I really appreciate the photos and information you share here. I’ve been hoping to find a copy of this book for some time, and I imagine that I’ll need to read a copy in a university library. I first read about this book in the article that Mike Davis published in The Nation, and I currently live in the town where Moore is buried. Anyway, thank you again for sharing from your collection. Best, William Richards

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