THE ABYSMAL BRUTE.
[fine in fine jacket] New York: The Century Company, 1913. 1 page undated ads. Original light green cloth decorated in dark green and black, with dust jacket.
First Edition of London's prizefighting tale about "a white backwoods giant who would rather read Browning than slug his opponents" [Sinclair], prompted by London's coverage of the Johnson-Jeffries fight in Reno. The very title of this book indicates London's preoccupation with the concept of the "brute" which underlies the social behavior of men and animals alike. London had recently left Macmillan in a dispute over royalties, but would find Century to be much less patient or understanding; he ultimately had to beg his former publisher to take him back. This tale twice made it onto the big screen -- as "The Abysmal Brute" in 1923 starring Reginald Denny, and as "Conflict" in 1936 starring 29-year-old John Wayne. THE ABYSMAL BRUTE includes a frontispiece by Gordon Grant.
This copy is in the second binding state, which is identical to the first except for color, and is in remarkably fine, bright condition. The 1913 three-color pictorial dust jacket shows a man carrying a rifle with a buck slung over his shoulder; quite scarce, the jacket is just about fine as well, with only the merest hint of edge-wear. Sisson & Martens p. 70; Blanck 11945. Housed in a morocco-backed clamshell case. Item #15227
Price: $975.00