The Golden Wind
New York: Charles Boni, 1929. First Edition. Octavo. (18 cm. x 12 cm.) 269 pp. Pictorial wrappers with graphics in green. Pictorial endpapers. Age toning to spine and edges. Interior clean, book remains tight. Author inscription on half title. Very Good. Item #160
"The Golden Wind" by Takashi Ohta (translated by Margaret Sperry), is the first published book by Charles Boni's "Paper Books". Ohta had been exiled from Japan because of his noble family's involvement in democratic reform in his home country. Charles Boni chose Ohta's book as the first book to be published exclusively by "Paper Books" which itself broke from the traditional publishing pack as the first trade paperbacks published in the United States. "The Golden Wind" is a quest story about a young, but exiled Japanese man's adventures in China. For Ohta, the book is close to an autobiography for as a young man, Ohta travelled extensively. Ohta settled in upstate New York after World War II to continue his writing and work as a scenery designer. The Ohta legacy of democratic, liberal-minded thinking continued through Takashi Ohta's daughter, Toshi, who along with her husband, Pete Seeger, was instrumental in the Folk movement of the early 1960s, and a founding member of the Newport Folk Festival. A rare inscription in a scarce title. Inscribed by the author, "Memories of Charles Street. Takashi Ohta"
Price: $100.00