London: Victor Gollancz, 1978. First edition. 293pp. Purple textured paper over boards; dust jacket. Light bumping to bottom corners; 1/2-inch split to paper at base of spine; a few light smudges to textblock edges. Unclipped jacket with closed tear at base of spine panel, toning to flaps. Very good. Signed and inscribed by Bienek to title page: "For Ricky with love Horst 6/II/80."
Inscribed copy of the First English-language edition of this novel German writer Horst Bienek (1930-1990): a wartime human drama playing out in a town on the German/Polish border in 1939. Basis for the 1979 West German film of the same name (Die erste Polka), directed by Klaus Emmerich. Here translated by Ralph R. Read. An uncommon first, which preceded the American edition by six years.
