Description
For sale: a Rare and Exceptional first trade Paperback edition, first printing of The Subterraneans by Jack Kerouac. First Paperback Edition described, 1958 Grove. First Printing with E-99 issue and a $1.45 cover price. First state paperback with the word “by” on the cover and spine titles all in white. Front cover design by Roy Kuhlman.
The exterior of this paperback edition is in Good condition, with clean, lightly faded covers with two seam tears mended with pH-neutral tape on the spine and front cover and the word “identity” inked on the lightly soiled back cover. Also with strong title ink on a heavily rubbed spine, three corner creases, lightly foxed page blocks, moderate surface wear, a tight binding with no spine cracks, heavily rubbed spine edges and ends, moderate edge wear and lightly rounded corners. The interior of the book is in Very Good condition with no marks, inscriptions, or other signs of ownership inside. The end papers and the interior pages are clean and lightly toned.
The Subterraneans is a 1958 novella by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. It is a semi-fictional account of his short romance with Alene Lee (1931-1991), an African-American woman, in Greenwich Village, New York. Kerouac met Alene in the late summer of 1953 when she was typing up the manuscripts of William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, in Allen’s Lower East Side apartment. In the novella, Kerouac moved the story to San Francisco and renamed Alene Lee “Mardou Fox”. She is described as a carefree spirit who frequents the jazz clubs and bars of the budding Beat scene of San Francisco. Other well-known personalities and friends from the author’s life also appear thinly disguised in the novel. The character Frank Carmody is based on William S. Burroughs, and Adam Moorad on Allen Ginsberg. Even Gore Vidal appears as successful novelist Arial Lavalina. Kerouac’s alter ego is named Leo Percepied, and his long-time rival Neal Cassady is mentioned only in passing as Leroy.
Ships promptly in a secure mailer with the book wrapped in both craft paper and bubble wrap.
