THE LAST THIRTY DAYS OF CHRIST. [Inscribed Copy]

Privately printed: NY. Poor. 1920. 1st edition. Inscribed by Hartmann to minister/writer Paul Jord . 1st ed. 8vo, brown boards, 109 pp, No. 53 of 3000 numbered copies . With an inscription by Hartmann to Paul Jordan Smith -- “from [as Bernard Shaw expressed it] ‘the man who writes about the l ast 30 days of Christ when the first day Him has not yet dawned u pon Earth.” Smith was an American Universalist minister who als o worked as a writer, lecturer and editor. However, he is most we ll known for originating the hoax art movement Disumbrationism. G iving himself the Russian-sounding pseudonym Pavel Jerdanowitch, Jordan-Smith painted a small group of crudely Postimpressionist c anvases that he then entered in art exhibitions around the countr y as exemplars of a new art movement known as Disumbrationism (i. e. painting without shadows). His canvases were well received on the whole until he got tired of sustaining the role and outed him self to a Los Angeles Times reporter in 1927. Condition: poor. The text block is sound, generally clean and tight with no tears or markings. However the front cover is partially detached with several large chips out of the spine; some wear to corners and li ght soiling. .