Description
For sale: a rare and exceptional, first edition, second printing hardcover copy of The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer. First Edition unstated, 1948 Rinehart. Presumed Second Printing without the Rinehart colophon and no subsequent printing on the copyright page. Includes an interesting provenance: an unevenly toned Calendar Book Mark with the July 1948 Calendar and fifteen titles listed as Popular New Books including the Mailer debut.
The book exterior is in Very Good condition with strong, black boards with a strong sheen and quite a few smudges. The title ink is strong on a convex spine, light spotting on the top page block, tight binding, mild spine tilt, lightly rolled spine ends, mild edge wear, and lightly rounded corners. The interior of the book is also in Very Good condition with the ghost of an erased price on the first free end paper. No other marks, inscriptions, or other signs of ownership. The end papers and the interior pages are clean and lightly toned, making this an excellent addition to any collection.
The dust jacket is in Very Good condition with moderate surface wear, heavy edge wear, chips and a rubbed spine with title clearly visible. Second issue jacket, with $4.00 on front flap, and without the Stanley Rinehart review. Looks great in a new Brodart archival wrap.
Hailed as one of the finest novels to come out of the Second World War, The Naked and the Dead received unprecedented critical acclaim upon its publication and has since enjoyed a long and well-deserved tenure in the American canon. Written in gritty, journalistic detail, the story follows a platoon of Marines who are stationed on the Japanese-held island of Anopopei. Composed in 1948 with the wisdom of a man twice Mailer’s age and the raw courage of the young man he was, The Naked and the Dead is representative of the best in twentieth-century American writing.
Ships promptly in a corrugated mailer with the book wrapped in both craft paper and multiple layers of bubble wrap.
