The Air Trust

The Air Trust is an anti-capitalist dystopian novel by George Allan England, a prolific writer and committed socialist. The premise takes the logic of the corporate trust to its extreme conclusion. A powerful industrial magnate and his associates move to monopolize the world's oxygen supply, turning the act of breathing into a metered, paid commodity. Written during the Progressive Era's battles over corporate power, the novel reflects England's belief that unchecked capitalism would inevitably reduce humanity to servitude unless resisted. The first edition includes six illustrated plates by John Sloan, the noted American Realist painter who was himself a socialist.

Presentation copy. Presentation copy signed by the author on a bookplate affixed to the front free-endpaper. On the bookplate is printed the following: "Fraternally Inscribed to My Comrade in the Social Revolution: Seth J. Hall."

Hardcover. First Edition, First Printing. Octavo, bound in green cloth, stamped in gold and blind. St. Louis, MO: Phil Wagner, 1915. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p.78. #11195.
Very good copy with some bumps to corners and slight wear to extremities.