I just got a copy of this & was similarly impressed by the cover - it's beautiful, and I wish there were a credit for it. An oddity: it doesn't have Gracq's name on the front or the spine; nor is his name on the case under the cover, which is odd. Another funny thing I just noticed: the spine of both the cover & the case says "The Dark Stranger", while the interior (and the front flap) says "A Dark Stranger". No date on the book that I can find - mine has a back flap that lists Gracq's books as:
A Dark Stranger, $2.50 The Castle of Argol (1951)
so I presume this came out sometime before 1951?
It would be nice if ND took Gracq's death in December as an excuse to reprint this . . .
Eugene, this came up not long ago. The dust jacket is by (Laughlin's then-wife & in-house designer) Gertrude Huston, but Naomi Savage had a ND connection and (awesomely) appropriated the image. Check it out:
I just got a copy of this & was similarly impressed by the cover - it's beautiful, and I wish there were a credit for it. An oddity: it doesn't have Gracq's name on the front or the spine; nor is his name on the case under the cover, which is odd. Another funny thing I just noticed: the spine of both the cover & the case says "The Dark Stranger", while the interior (and the front flap) says "A Dark Stranger". No date on the book that I can find - mine has a back flap that lists Gracq's books as:
ReplyDeleteA Dark Stranger, $2.50
The Castle of Argol (1951)
so I presume this came out sometime before 1951?
It would be nice if ND took Gracq's death in December as an excuse to reprint this . . .
According to Amazon, Pushkin Press are republishing this in April '09.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Stranger-Julien-Gracq/dp/1901285820/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232206006&sr=8-1
It does not appear to be a re-publication; it appears to be a new translation.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info! I updated the post.
ReplyDeletejust stumbled on the cover art in a photography book. It's Naomi Savage's "Enmeshed Man" from 1978. [Photoengraving, etched copper plate.]
ReplyDeleteEugene, this came up not long ago. The dust jacket is by (Laughlin's then-wife & in-house designer) Gertrude Huston, but Naomi Savage had a ND connection and (awesomely) appropriated the image. Check it out:
ReplyDeletehttp://dougprinceblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/tribute-to-gertrude-huston-naomi-savage.html