Printed in an edition limited to 250 numbered copies signed by Gore Vidal. With a new introduction by the author especially written for this edition, on the fiftieth anniversary of its first publication. Illustrations consist of three photographs of Vidal in his World War II uniform (his first novel, Williwaw is based on his experiences aboard a freight-supply ship), and endpapers with portions of the blueprints for this class of ship. Hoyem's notes on the ship follow Vidal's introduction. The text is letterpress printed on German mouldmade paper. The photographs are reproduced by offset lithography and tipped onto the pages. The binding is full dark blue cloth with gray blue-green endpapers and title label. The dust jacket is made of a heavier version of the same paper, and is trimmed in the dark blue binding cloth. The dust jacket reprints the original reviews printed on the jacket of the first edition. The fifty-first book of the Arion Press. Well preserved copy.