Road of Ages by Robert Nathan (1935 First Edition) - Pre-WWII Prophetic Novel 🇮🇱📜🕊️

This volume is an authenticated First Edition, First Printing of Road of Ages, the haunting and historically significant 1935 novel by Robert Nathan. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, the book is a powerful piece of pre-World War II literature.

The novel’s collectible status is secured by its definitive First Edition statement and its prophetic content—detailing a future mass exile of the Jewish people from Europe. The book's unique illustrated endpapers by Boris Artzybasheff further enhance its Aesthetic Premium. This volume is a strong acquisition for collectors who prioritize verifiable artifacts of 20th-century history that document cultural and political foresight.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨

Road of Ages is a satirical, yet deeply somber, novel that imagines the final, colossal exile of the Jewish people from all Western countries. The narrative begins with the line: "The Jews were going into exile. Eastward across Europe the great columns moved slowly and with difficulty toward the deserts of Asia".

The plot follows the slow, weary journey of millions, led by their rabbis, as they search for a final haven. The novel serves as a powerful allegory of exile and the eternal wandering of the Jewish diaspora, mixing pathos with gentle satire. The book’s endpapers are a non-replicable artistic feature, with an illustration by Boris Artzybasheff depicting the long column of refugees, using both carts and modern automobiles to emphasize the novel's commentary on historical persecution across time.

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️

Robert Nathan (1894–1985) was a prolific American novelist and poet known for his fanciful, philosophical, and often gently satirical writing style. A graduate of Harvard, Nathan's work typically utilized allegory and fantasy to comment on social and moral issues.

His novels, such as One More Spring and Portrait of Jennie, were widely read and often adapted for film, establishing him as a distinctive American literary voice. Road of Ages is a unique work in his career, as its serious, prescient subject matter stands in stark contrast to his usual whimsical style. The book represents Nathan's direct and urgent literary response to the rising tide of anti-Semitism and fascism in Europe in the 1930s, making it a critical political statement disguised as a novel. The book was published by Alfred A. Knopf, a firm renowned for its dedication to publishing high-quality, serious international fiction.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

This book was published in 1935, a pivotal and terrifying year in world history. In Germany, the Nuremberg Laws were passed, officially stripping German Jews of their citizenship and forbidding marriage between Jews and non-Jews.

Nathan’s novel, written and published at this moment, is therefore an act of profound literary prophecy, anticipating the mass displacement and persecution that would become the Holocaust. The book’s depiction of columns of Jews moving "toward the deserts of Asia" directly reflects the chilling sense of inevitability felt by those watching the political situation in Europe. This volume is a time capsule of the fear and early awareness of the coming catastrophe, providing a direct record of American intellectual anxiety during the pre-WWII crisis.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

This volume is tailored for a Curator of 20th-Century Jewish History and a Scholar of Interwar Political Fiction. The Ideal Collector seeks early literary responses to the rise of fascism.

The book belongs in a collection that focuses on Prophetic Literature and the Alfred A. Knopf publishing history. The First Edition status and the stunning endpaper illustration by Boris Artzybasheff make it a visually and intellectually rich asset, appealing to a buyer who values artifacts documenting a key moment of American moral reckoning.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

This book is an authenticated First Edition, First Printing from 1935, making it 90 years old. Its rarity is defined by its First Edition status as a pre-WWII novel of unique political content.

The value is secured by its high Aesthetic Premium—the gorgeous decorative Art Nouveau spine stamping and the dramatic Artzybasheff endpapers. The book’s clean presentation, despite lacking the original dust jacket, is a major asset. The lack of the jacket mandates a mandatory deduction, but the verified First Edition status and unique content ensures its premium market position.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

This is an authenticated First Edition hardcover lacking the original dust jacket. The binding is a beige-tan cloth with black and gilt stamping.

• Positive Qualities:

  • The binding is tight and square, providing excellent structural integrity.

  • The gilt stamping on the front board and the Art Nouveau spine are clean and aesthetically strong.

  • The Artzybasheff illustrated endpapers are vivid and intact.

  • The "FIRST EDITION" statement is clearly legible on the copyright page.

• Imperfections:

  • The cloth boards show moderate rubbing and shelf wear, particularly at the extremities.

  • The pages are uniformly age-toned, consistent with the paper quality of the mid-1930s.

  • The absence of the original dust jacket mandates a significant deduction.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• The book was published only a few months after the Nuremberg Laws were first introduced in Germany, making its content an almost immediate artistic response to the legal persecution of Jews.

• The illustrated endpapers by Boris Artzybasheff, a Russian-American artist, are highly detailed, showing a caravan of refugees moving by motorcar, bicycle, carriage, and foot, symbolizing the displacement across all social strata.

• The publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, used the motto "NON-INFERIOR AQVAM EENTES," meaning "Not inferior to those who follow," reflecting their commitment to high-quality international publishing.

• The narrative highlights the diverse origins of the exiled people, noting they carried their fires along the Danube and spoke "in all the languages of the world," emphasizing the universality of their displacement.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Title: Road of Ages

• Author: Robert Nathan

• Illustrator: Boris Artzybasheff (Endpapers)

• Year of Publication: 1935

• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

• Place of Origin: New York, Manufactured in the United States of America

• Format/Binding: Hardcover, Beige Cloth Boards with Gilt Stamping

• Edition: First Edition, First Printing

• Rarity: Moderate Scarcity (First Edition), Content Scarcity (Pre-WWII Prophetic Novel)

• Verbatim Transcription of Inscription/Marking: None.