The Bridge. A Poem.; With three photographs by Walker Evans
Paris: The Black Sun Press, 1930. Evans, Walker. First edition. Quarto, original white printed wrappers. Expert restoration to the paper on the spine, otherwise a bright, fresh copy with all tissue guards present; original glassine replaced; enclosed in a new slipcase. Copy number 30 of only 50 copies printed on Japan Vellum, signed by Crane. There were an additional 200 copies in the regular issue. One of the most important American poetic works of the twentieth century as well as a significant collaboration between writer and photographer. The Bridge, called "cubism in poetry" when it was initially reviewed in The New York Times, stands as one of the great epics of 20th-century poetry. Cyril Connolly writes that of the poems "some of them... are near perfect and the whole allegory a masterpiece of neo- romanticism" (The Modern Movement, p.62). Its publication was initiated when Crane met Harry and Caresse Crosby on his trip to Europe in 1929. After reading drafts of "The Bridge", they agreed to publish a limited edition under their Black Sun imprint. Crane took up residence in an old mill on the estate of the Conte de la Rochefoucauld which the Crosby's had made into their weekend retreat. Crane hoped to finish the poem that summer, but was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct and briefly incarcerated in July. Crosby brought Crane's return ticket to the U.S. In December, he and his wife visited Crane in New York. A few days after their visit, Harry committed suicide. Despite her husband's death, Caresse Crosby returned to Paris to see The Bridge through the press. Numerous changes, mostly minor, were incorporated in the American edition, which appeared three months after the first. [Schwartz & Schweik A 2]. Item #32557
Price: $27,500.00