Silent Spring
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1962.
First edition, first printing of Rachel Carson's extremely influential work, which is credited with creating a worldwide awareness of the dangers of man-made environmental pollution. An important and fantastic association copy, signed and inscribed by Carson on the half title page dated one week before publication, "For Alfred Eisenstaedt, a fellow naturalist, with the wish that your assignments may take you always to the earth's most beautiful spots. [signed] Rachel Carson September 20, 1962."
Eisenstaedt was an extremely influential photographer who often has been called the “Father of Photojournalism." He photographed Carlson several times, taking one of what has now become the most iconic and famous images of her. He was so invested in her work as a naturalist that even some 16 years after her death he helped produce a limited edition of The Sea Around Us which was illustrated with his photographs and published by The Limited Editions Club in 1980.
Eisenstaedt was a German-born American photographer who achieved prominence working as a staff photographer for Life magazine, which featured more than 90 of his pictures on its covers, and published more than 2,500 of his photo stories. Among his most famous cover photographs was "V-J Day in Times Square," taken during the V-J Day celebration in New York City, showing an American sailor kissing a nurse in a "dancelike dip" which "summed up the euphoria many Americans felt as the war came to a close."
Bound in publisher's original dark green cloth with gilt stamping to spine and front cover. Near Fine with slight wear to cloth at extremities, pages tanned and several with browning from formerly laid in clippings, and two tiny holes to the front free endpaper. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with light rubbing and light edge wear, with a small chip along the bottom edge of the front panel near the flap fold. A beautiful copy.
Silent Spring is Carson's best-known work in which she describes the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment. It is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement. Signed copies are scarce as the author died of cancer within two years of its publication, but even more scarce is a copy with such a stellar association.
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