JONATHAN TROY

New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1954. First edition. Near fine in near fine jacket.. First printing – and only edition – of Abbey's first book, talked about but rarely seen by Abbey aficionados. Abbey's biography James A. Cahalan describes how embarrassed the author would become about his first novel: "Abbey remained so unhappy with his first novel that he always refused to have it reprinted [...] and left instructions that it not be reprinted after his death. As a result, JONATHAN TROY became a very expensive collector's item." Nevertheless, he concludes: "Abbey was too hard on himself; this novel is certainly flawed, yet interesting." A truly lovely copy of a scarce book. 8'' x 5''. Original black glazed paper boards, yellow-lettered spine. In original unclipped ($3.50) color pictorial dust jacket designed by Stefan Salter. [8], 374 pages. Faint offsetting to endpapers. Jacket lightly rubbed at spine head, with foxing to top edge.