The Naked Lunch
by Burroughs, William S
- Used
- very good
- Paperback
- first
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
New York, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Paris: The Olympia Press, 1959 First edition, first issue, with original price listed as "Francs 1.500" to rear wrapper (later issues have "18NF" price sticker). Original publisher's stiff green wrappers; original pictorial dust jacket designed by Burroughs. About near fine with some slight sunning, small bookseller stamp to front endpaper; dust jacket lightly nicked with minor wear, some shallow loss to the upper spine, otherwise clean and bright. A very good copy. The Naked Lunch was first published in Paris as part of The Olympia Press's The Traveller's Companion series, which included other literary classics like Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita (1955) and Henry Miller's Quiet Days in Clichy (1956), among others. The Olympia Press was well known for its liberal selection of literature; many English-speaking authors published their books with Olympia in Paris after being rejected by other publishing houses. Even so, Olympia's publisher Maurice Girdoias did not initially want to publish the racy The Naked Lunch, but changed his mind after selections from the novel appeared in literary magazines, including The Chicago Review. The chapters in The Naked Lunch are a series of vignettes, intended to be read independently of one another, that follow drug addict William Lee as he travels to a variety of locations; each story is loosely based on Burroughs' own experiences with drugs in these locations. As John Ciardi commented in his June 27, 1959 review for The Saturday Review, "what Burroughs is writing about is not only the destruction of depraved men by their drug lust, but the destruction of all men by their consuming addictions, whether the addiction be drugs or overrighteous propriety, lasciviousness or sixteen-year-old girls." . First Edition. Original Wraps. Very Good.
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Details
- Bookseller
- B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- WB042
- Title
- The Naked Lunch
- Author
- Burroughs, William S
- Format/Binding
- Paperback
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Paris: The Olympia Press
- Date Published
- 1959
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Bookseller catalogs
- Modern Firsts; Fiction;
Terms of Sale
B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA
~ All items are guaranteed as described. We recommend requesting pictures prior to purchasing. ~ Any items may be returned within seven days of receipt and in the same condition as originally sent. ~ We ship with FedEx, UPS and USPS. Please let us know if you prefer another shipping. ~ New York State are required to add 8.875% sales tax.
About the Seller
B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA
Biblio member since 2006
New York, New York
About B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA
Selling First Editions and Rare Books from all centuries. Specializing in 19th and 20th century literature, modern first editions, signed and inscribed books, early children's literature, and poetry.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....