SINCLAIR, Upton — THE JUNGLE
Baltimore. Limited Editions Club. First Illustrated Edition. Tall octavo (7" x 10-7/8") bound appropriately in embossed quarter pigskin and butcher paper sides; 384 pages. The First Illustrated Edition of this modern classic with a new preface by the author. Copy #751 of 1500 with 12 full-color wash-and-ink drawings, 8 full-page and 4 two-page spreads, and 33 two-color line drawings by Fletcher Martin. SIGNED by both the artist and the author on the colophon page. An affordable way to acquire a signed copy of this important book, now somewhat uncommon in this condition.. Fletcher Martin. A few dark stains to the spine. Very Good in a Near Fine slipcase. Sinclair's powerful exposure of the Chicago meat-packing industry is still a staple on the menus of many high school reading lists. His account of the social and human abuses of the yards, where packers used "everything about the hog except the squeal," led to major reforms in the industry and, along with UNCLE TOM'S CABIN, is one of the few American novels to have a lasting impact on the way we live our lives. Indeed, when this book was published Jack London said, "What Uncle Tom's Cabin did for black slaves, The Jungle has a large chance to do for the white slaves of today." President Theodore Roosevelt was so shocked by what he read that he made sure a clean meat act, the Pure Food and Drug Bill, was signed into law, popularizing at the time the rather obscure term "muckraker." Later in life, Sinclair said of his masterpiece: "I aimed at the public's heart and by accident I hit it in the stomach."
