Ward, Lynd

GODS' MAN: A NOVEL IN WOODCUTS [Signed]

New York: Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, 1929. Limited Edition, #77/409. Octavo, unpaginated [139 illustrations, 144 leaves]. In Very Good condition. Black spine with a paper label with black text. Bound in publisher's black cloth with a woodcut illustration to the front top corner. Boards have discoloration scattered throughout, light bumping to corners, and light rubbing wear. Textblock has minor scuffing to the black end papers, pencil marks and an ink inscription from a previous owner to the front free end pages, minimal offsetting to pages, light smudge marks to occasional pages, and age toning and wear to edges. Beveled edges. Signed by Lynd Ward on the publisher's limitation page. Shelved in Case 2.

1412808

Special Collections - Upstairs

Price: $1,000

NOTES

Lynd Ward (1905–1985) was an American artist, illustrator, and writer best known for his pioneering wordless novels told entirely through sequences of woodcut prints. Influenced by German Expressionism, Ward created powerful visual narratives that explored social justice, human struggle, and the effects of industrialization.
“Gods' Man”, published in 1929 is a wordless novel by Lynd Ward, told through a series of 139 woodcut prints. The story follows a young artist who makes a Faustian bargain with a mysterious masked stranger in exchange for a magic paintbrush, leading to fame, wealth, and ultimately tragedy. Widely regarded as one of the first American graphic novels, “Gods' Man” helped establish visual storytelling as a serious literary art form and remains Ward's most celebrated work.