Published by Hamish Hamilton, London; 1979. 8vo. 178pp. First edition, first impression. Condition: Fine/Very Good.
Bound in original red cloth boards with title in gilt to the spine. The binding is square and tight and in very smart condition, with just a touch of bumping to the spine ends and a knock to the top of the rear board. Inside, the pages are clean and bright, free from blemishes or wear.
The book is housed in its smart first issue dust jacket, designed by Craig Dodd. It is clean and vibrant, with just a little residue marking to the rear panel and some shelf wear to the edges. There is a small tear to the bottom back corner of the spine.
In all, this is a very good example of this first edition by Bruno Schulz. Schulz is largely regarded as a major author of the 20th century, due to just 2 slim books. "Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass" and "Street of Crocodiles". Though it remains a work in its own right, this novel expands on many themes and obsessions of "Street of Crocodiles". It takes the form of a series of dreamlike, poetic short stories reflecting on the death of Joseph, the narrator's, father and on life in a small pre-war Polish town.
Schulz's fantastic imagination created a child-like universe that mesmerises and alters the reader's expectations about life and the universe. In 1938 he was awarded the Polish Academy of Literature's Golden Laurel award. During the war a number of his works were lost during the Holocaust and Soviet occupation of his Polish town, including his final, unfinished, work "The Messiah". Schulz was an artist as well as a writer and in return for protection, Schulz painted a mural for Nazi Gestapo officer Felix Landau at his home. It was returning from here, through the 'Aryan' quarter of his town, that Schulz was shot by another Gestapo officer as revenge against Landau. Schulz's works form an important part of any modern European literary collection. They are a rare find and this example would sit very well on any shelf.