1969: Arundel, by Kenneth Roberts, International Collectors Library. Garden City, New York. 486 pages.
Nearly as good as new. There is a very thin crack running down the spine (the entire International Collectors Library series is susceptible to this type of cracking). Otherwise in impeccable condition.
Arundel is set in the early days of the American Revolution, when Benedict Arnold drove his army of ragged colonials northward through the Maine wilderness toward the walls of Quebec. The historic facts are buttressed by Kenneth Roberts’ meticulous scholarship, and we are told that he actually travelled over the route followed by Arnold and his army to make sure of the exact location of barricades, defending forces, and houses in old Quebec at the time of Arnold’s attack. After the pleasure of the story itself, there remains the satisfying knowledge of shrewd and fresh approach to pre-Revolutionary American history.
For binding design suitable of encasing a group of modern American novels, the International Library commissioned the celebrated American artist and designer Rafael Palacios. The cover design includes original arrangements of lines and geometric forms and its almost palpable feeling of movement, reflects in a symbolic style the dynamic impact of twentieth century literature upon the culture and thinking in our times (excerpts from International Collectors Library inlay).
The volume is bound in wine red, with a pronounced grain. The clean, uncluttered design is stamped in genuine 24K gold on cover and spine. The top edges of the pages are coated with gold, and a matching ribbon marker completes the volume. Deckled fore-edges.
