Irving Howe Inscribes To Horizon Press

Howe, Irving (1920–1993)

Strangers [Author’s Personal Presentation Copy to Publisher Ben Raeburn]

An exceptional literary association copy of Irving Howe’s landmark essay on immigrant identity, affectionately inscribed to Horizon Press founder Ben Raeburn.

Manually extracted by Howe from the complete quarterly issue, this piece features the original blue printed wrappers restapled over the article’s text block to form a personalized, self-contained presentation offprint. The inscription at the head of the opening page bridges two major forces of the mid-century New York intellectual scene.

KEY FEATURES
+++ Visuals: Features the complete front and rear printed wrappers of The Yale Review for Summer 1977
+++ Binding: Disbound from the larger journal block and neatly restapled through the original spine folds into a slim, independent pamphlet. 
+++ Content: The complete text of Howe’s seminal essay 'Strangers' (pages 481–500), dealing with the sensory reality and alienation of American Jewish writers. 
+++ Imprint: The Yale Review, Vol. LXVI, No. 4, Summer 1977
+++ Specs: 6.5 by 9.5 inches; pages 481–500, enclosed in original quarterly wraps.

INSCRIPTION: The item features a prominent, copy-specific ink inscription by the author at the upper right corner of the first page of text (page 481), 'For Ben— / As ever— / IH'

PROVENANCE: From the private estate of Ben Raeburn, founder and editor-in-chief of Horizon Press.

CONDITION: Good. The re-stapled text block is secure, square, and tight. The interior pages are clean and free of extraneous marks, showing only minimal, uniform age-toning to the margins. The original blue paper wrappers show light handling wear, a minor vertical crease along the left margin from its original extraction, and light oxidation around the three staples along the spine line.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE —
Irving Howe was among the most formidable literary critics and social historians of post-war America. As a co-founder of Dissent magazine and a centerpiece of the New York Intellectuals, his work redefined the study of Jewish-American literature, democratic socialism, and secular Yiddish culture.

This specific artifact captures Howe at the absolute peak of his cultural influence in the late 1970s. Rather than waiting for a formal book or an institutional offprint, Howe assembled this ephemeral presentation piece himself, using the printed contents page of The Yale Review as a cover sheet to highlight his leading contribution to his close associate.

The recipient, Ben Raeburn, operated Horizon Press as an intellectual sanctuary, publishing seminal works by Frank Lloyd Wright, James T. Farrell, and Edward Dahlberg. This presentation copy stands as a tangible record of the mutual respect and creative dialogue that sustained independent literary publishing in Manhattan.

SCHOLARLY FEATURES
+++ Socio-Historical Context: Published immediately following the critical and commercial triumph of Howe’s World of Our Fathers, this essay serves as a highly personal, theoretical postscript regarding the cultural friction within immigrant subcultures.
+++ Publishing History: Illustrates the intimate practices of the New York intellectual circle, where authors customized trade quarterlies to function as private presentation copies for close friends and professional peers.

SUBJECTS: Irving Howe, Ben Raeburn, Horizon Press, Jewish-American Literature, Immigrant Experience, Literary Criticism, New York Intellectuals.
GENRES: Association Copy, Ephemera, Inscribed Article, Offprint.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: For context on the essay's core themes, see Howe's collected essays in Celebrations and Attacks (1979).

Item #22082

Price: $125.00