The Peasants: a Tale of Our Own Times, in Four Volumes: Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer. Scarce Limited Edition 4 Volume Set

New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Good with no dust jacket. 1924-1925. Limited Edition. Hardcover. The complete 4 volumes, all limited editions, printed especially for bookseller friends of Mr. Knopf, this set printed for E. A. Pitman. Translated into English by Michael Henry Dziewicki. Autumn is 85/100 printed Jan 1925 of the 1924 first edition. Winter is 119/150 printed Christmas 1924 of the 1925 first edition; Spring is 105/150 printed Christmas 1925, the November 1925 4th printing; Summer is 105/150 printed Christmas, 1925, the September 1925 3rd printing. All are printed on Borzoi watermarked rag paper especially for this edition. Octavos. Matching green cloth spines with paper labels, three of the volumes have sprigged cream and green hard covers; Winter has the cream hard boards but has a different repeating green decoration (Christmas balls? ). Winter is the most worn, with some rubbing at the bottom edge, corners rubbed and covers a bit grubby. Autumn's paper spine label is chipped partly away. All of them have general wear -- they were read! -- and some pulling at the top and bottom of the spines. Interiors have owner name crossed out on first blanks, otherwise clean and unmarked. Reymont's The Peasants (written in Polish in the early 1900s) was a landmark work of its time, reflecting the social trends happening around the world -- social realism, impressionism in painting and writing. "The composition of the novel is notable for its strict simplicity and functionality. The titles of the various volumes signal a tetralogy in one vegetational cycle, which regulates the eternal and repeatable rhythm of village life. Parallel to that rhythm is a calendar of religion and customs, also repeatable. In such boundaries Reymont placed a colourful country community with sharply drawn individual portraits." A nice and very scarce limited edition set of this important 20th century work. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall .