MAIN STREET With a Special Introduction by the Author

LIMITED EDITION, SIGNED BY THE ILLUSTRATOR. This is one of 1500 hand-numbered copies signed by Grant Wood. With nine colour plates printed in soft hues and sepia tones from drawings by Grant Wood. 4to, in the original flexible gray-blue linen, the spine and upper cover stamped in yellow and blue, in the original rarely retained glassine wrapper and publisher's tan paper-covered slipcase with gray paper label printed in blue. xvii, 367, [1] pp. The book is in very fine condition, essentially pristine and as new, the slipcase solid and strong and nearly without wear though there is a bit to the paper label and some fading to the blue-on-gray lettering as is always the case, only the rare glassine wrapper has wear and this includes chipping to the edges and some loss to the glassine.

Edizione: limited edition of sinclair lewis' masterpiece, with nine provocative illustrations by grant wood, who has signed the edition of only 1500 copies.<br> main street is a highly important american novel satirizing small-town life in the early 20th century. it is important for a number of reasons — among them is the portrayal of a strong female protagonist, and what one might now call feminist themes. highly acclaimed upon publication, it led (in part) to lewis' eventual 1930 nobel prize for literature. main street was also awarded the 1921 pulitzer prize for literature, but was rejected by the board of trustees, who overturned the jury's decision. the prize went, instead, to edith wharton for the age of innocence. in 1926 lewis refused the pulitzer when he was awarded it for arrowsmith.<br> grant wood was an exceptional choice to provide illustrations for main steet, being best known for his paintings depicting the rural american midwest, such as "american gothic", an iconic work of early 20th-century american art and one of the most famous american paintings of all time. several of the illustrations are portraits of gopher prairie's inhabitants.