Thomas Merton / THE SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN 1st Edition 1948

Description: THE SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN Author: Merton, Thomas Title: THE SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN Publication: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1948 Edition: First Edition Description: Hardcover with Dust Jacket. First Printing with the scarce first-state dust jacket with caption stating 'The author is second from the left.” Publisher's Off White cloth with black stamped spine lettering. [10], 3-429pp. 8vo, 5.5x8.25'. Rear hinge professionally rejointed, spine moderately toned and with a very faint dampstain and a few small ink marks to spine, very light rubbing to tips. Owner's inscription to FFEP d. 12-'48. Otherwise a sound, unmarked copy. DJ was kept folded and tucked in the book so with a noticeable crease but the red spine for that reason not faded as they often are; spine with a small chip to head and larger to tail, chip to front fore tail corner, snagged at front head with tear through author's name at front head, dampstain to lower rear; flaps bevelled as issued and with price of $3.00 intact. Three days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Thamas Merton entered a Trappist monastery at the age of 26. The Seven Storey Mountain the story of how a brilliant literary mind left behind a promising career as a writer and professor in New York to join the Cistercian brothers of Gethsemai, Kentucky. Evelyn Waugh, the first and most prominent champion of the book, writes in the foreword to the British Edition, 'Here in fresh, simple, colloquial American is the record of a soul experiencing, first, disgust with the modern world, then Faith, then a clear nozion to the way in which Faith may be applied to the modern world ... The Seven Storey Mountain came as a startling revelation to most non-Catholic Americans who were quite unaware of the existence in their midst of institutions which seemed a denial of the American 'way of life'. The book suddenly made remote people conscious of warmth silently generated in these furnaces of devotion. To one observer at least it seems probable that the USA will shortly be the scene of a great monastic revival.' Waugh's prediction would prove prophetic, as Merton's spiritual autobiography did indeed prove to be a catalyst for a great mid-century monastic revival in America. The true first edition is quite uncommon. Patricia Burton in the authoritative Merton bibliography, *More Than Silence', writes that of the stated first edition '6,000 were printed, of which most were black cloth. A limited number were in off-white cloth. (A pirated edition of the white cloth ... has unnaturally bright paper).' In addition to the 'author on left' statement on the back of the DJ, Burton notes a number of other peculiar points for the first, including the error 'Ex Parte Ordnis' on the imprimautur page. [Dell'Isola A7a; Breit & Daggy 1.88; Burton p. 31-32]. GOOD / Good. Seller ID: 505888 Subject: Fine and Rare Arches Bookhouse is a brick & mortar bookshop in North Portland, Oregon. We carry good books of all kinds with an emphasis on scholarly humanities books. We are open for browsing Monday-Saturday, 10–5:00. Terms All orders ship within two business days, packaged professionally with care. We offer combined shipping on multiple orders. All items are guaranteed to be as described or they may be returned within 30 days of receipt for a full refund.This listing was created by Bibliopolis.

Price: 1800 USD

Location: Portland, Oregon

End Time: 2025-01-31T00:54:23.000Z

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