KANAKA MOON ~ Clifford Gessler 1927 1st Edn HB w Jacket - Signed ~ HAWAII

Description

KANAKA MOON
By
CLIFFORD GESSLER
Illustrations by
A.S. MACLEOD
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
NEW YORK                        1927
Copyright 1927
This is a 1st Edition
Signed by the Author
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“
The palm shall grow, the coral spread, and man shall be no more.”
– South Sea Proverb
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Hardbound in good condition with dust jacket, 154 pages includes a Table of Contents listing each verse and Illustrations, measures approximately 5 ¼” x 7 ½”.
The jacket features a block print of Diamond Head on the front panel with a promo by Dodd Mead to the rear.  The spine is darkened, the jacket is heavily worn with a chip to the lower spine and other minor chips and closed tears.  It has been repaired with acid-free mending tissue and placed in an Archival Quality jacket cover to better protect it in the future.
The boards are covered in tan cloth with a repeat of the jacket graphic pasted on the cover.  The surfaces are clean and straight out to the points with only very slight wear to the edges, occurring mostly at the ends of the spine but no wearing through, no tears or fraying.
The interior reveals an uncut vertical edge with contents that are clean and firmly bound, no loose or misaligned pages.  There is age toning consistent to the date of publication and foxing of the end pages secondary to jacket placement.  Mr. Gessler has signed on the fly page.  There are no further ownership indications, no marks, creases or tears.
“These poems express moods and actualities of Hawaii, with a quality that lends them a wider interest than the merely local.  In them a resident of the islands has woven into a word-music, subtle and strange, the colorful brightness and dark wonder of a lovely land—somber at times with the melancholy of winds sobbing through coco palms or waves moaning on lonely shores; again bright with tropical sunshine on red volcanic hills and the colors of hau blossoms falling on shinning beaches under the sun.  Through them all runs the human element—drama of love and life enacted against this background of tropical scene.” - Dodd, Mead and Co
This is a lovely book of Hawaiian poetry divided into 15 chapters, each pertaining to a specific subject and each being preceded by a full page woodcut-type graphic by A.S. MacLeod, well known artist/illustrator in Hawaii during the earlier 20th century.. Although many small booklet-type publications of verse were produced during this era, Mr. Gessler is one of the few that can claim credit as a true writer/poet.  Author of at least one other book of verse, Clifford Gessler, editor of the Honolulu Star Bulletin went on to publish such widely circulated books such as:  HAWAII: ISLES OF ENCHANGEMENT, ROAD MY BODY GOES, THE LEANING WIND, TROPIC LANDFALL: PORT OF HONOLULU and more.
The poems encompass every imaginable subject expressing genuine appreciation for the beauties and the uniqueness of the Islands; a scarce book rather difficult to come by, this Author Signed 1st Edition of KANAKA MOON would make a wonderful addition to a Hawaiian collection.
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Mandarin Books Hawaii
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