A Confederacy of Dunces

Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 1980. 1st. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. First Edition. Foreword by Walker Percy. One of 2,500 copies. A Confederacy of Dunces seemed destined for obscurity until Walker Percy championed the manuscript, introducing readers to Toole's indelible character, Ignatius J. Reilly, more than a decade after the author died of suicide. Its unlikely trajectory - from overlooked regional writing to Pulitzer Prize winner - has made the first edition one of the most coveted works of modern American literature. Bound in publisher's original tan cloth with spine stamped in black. Book is tight, bright, and clean. Striking dust jacket has very minor rubbing to head and heel of spine; a single quarter-inch closed tear to top edge of front cover, scarcely noticeable. Faint spot on cover illustration. Looks great. 5 7/8 x 8 7/8 inches. 338 pages plus foreword.