The Lonely Ones
New York: Duell Sloan and Pearce, 1942. Octavo, original pictorial grey paper boards, original unclipped pictorial dustjacket. Item #100106
First edition of Steig's darkly comic portraits of eccentrics and loners, the second collection of what Steig called his "symbolic drawings," considered too personal for publication in the New Yorker. Each drawing is captioned with the subject's private obsession, from "Very Few Understand My Works" to "I Want Your Love But Don't Deserve It" to "I Know My Rights." With an introduction by his colleague Wolcott Gibbs, who notes: "Steig has been a successful humorous artist for a long time, but apparently for him that hasn't been enough." From the library of New Yorker writer S.J. Perelman, with his ownership stamp. A fine copy of an elusive first edition, with wonderful New Yorker provenance.
Price: $400.00