THE SET-UP.
Edition: Limited, signed first edition.
New York: Covici Friede, (1928). SIGNED hardcover first edition - A story in verse, set in the seamy and brutal boxing underworld, of an an aging Black boxer and ex-con, Pansy Jones, who is supposed to throw a fight, but when he realizes he has double-crossed by his manager, he revolts and wins the fight, only to be chased to a grisly end. "Pansy had the stuff, but his skin was brown; And he never got a chance at the middleweight crown." An immediate bestseller when it was first published this was also the basis of the award winning 1949 Robert Wise noir film (in fact, this book was dedicated to Sue Wise) although the impact of the film was weakened by removing the racial element and making the boxer - played by Robert Ryan - white. This limited edition, #119 of only 275 copies, is numbered and SIGNED by the author is illustrated by Alexander King. 184 pp.
Condition: Very good overall in red and black decorative paper covered boards with a beige cloth spine, paper label on spine - a bit of wear to the edges of the boards, inscription on first blank page, but a tight and sturdy copy.