Ithaca, NY: The Dragon Press, 1932. 8vo. First edition. Original grey-blue cloth, printed paper cover and spine labels; dust jacket, a touch of toning to spine; in original glassine. Wallace A13 ("one of 500 copies").


The Knife of the Times is Williams' first book of short stories, which the author described as stories about the "people I knew in the town, portraits of people who were my friends, I was impressed by the picture of the times, depression years, the plight of the poor...I wrote it down as I saw it. The times - that was the knife that was killing them." (I Wanted, pp.49-50).