An Extremely Scarce Copy of Manuel Maples Arce's Metropolis

Manuel Maples Arce; John Dos Passos, trans. METROPOLIS. New York: T.S. Book Company, 1929. First edition thus. In stapled printed card wraps. 4to; 36pp. With a hand-colored illustration by Fernando Leal on the third page.

12 7/8 x 9 1/2 in.

From A Private Chapel Hill Collector

Manuel Maples Arce (1900-1981) was an avant-garde Mexican poet and the leader of the Stridentism movement. This is the English translation of Arce's celebrated book of poetry, first published in Mexico in 1924 under the title Urbe (Super-poema bolchevique en 5 cantos). It is illustrated by Fernando Leal, who was part of the Mexican Muralist movement, and "its importance derives from being one of the first avant-garde Latin American books translated into English in the United States" (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston). It is extremely scarce at auction and found in a limited number of institutions worldwide.

(https://icaa.mfah.org/s/en/item/737593#?c=&m=&s=&cv=1&xywh=2121%2C1469%2C857%2C480)

Wraps with light scuffing and edge wear, and subtle toning; interior near pristine with expected offsetting from the illustration; leaves still unopened at top edge. A beautiful copy of this important book of poetry.