V by Pynchon (490 results)

First edition of Pynchon's first book. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the verso of the front free endpaper in the month of publication, "Aug. 1963. To Bob & Ginny, with affection, Tom." The recipient was his Boeing colleague and close friend Bob Hillock and his wife Ginny. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Ismar David. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable signed. "V may well stand as one of the very best works of the century" (Atlantic Review). It went on to win The Faulkner Foundation Award for Best First Novel of the Year.

First edition of Pynchon's first book. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Herb Yellin- I've been reading this over. It's not such a terrific book, is it? Thomas Pynchon." Fine in a near fine dust jacket with some of the usual rubbing to the extremities. Jacket design byÂIsmar David. Books signed and inscribed by Pynchon are notoriously rare. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. After earning his Bachelorâ s Degree in English from Cornell University, Pynchon was employed as a technical writer for The Boeing Company in Seattle, Washington where he compiled safety articles and newsletters. His experiences at Boeing inspired his depiction of the Yoyodyne Corporation, the fictional defense contractor featured both in V. and The Crying of Lot 49. His debut novel, V. chronicles the exploits of discharged Navy sailor Benny Profane and his reconnection in New York with a group of pseudo-bohemians. Pynchon was critical of the 50s and 60s countercultural movements stating that they "placed too much emphasis on youth, including the eternal variety." V. won The Faulkner Foundation Award for Best First Novel of the Year upon publication in 1963. "V may well stand as one of the very best works of the century" (Atlantic Review).

Octavo, cloth. First edition. The author's first book, a major document in both modernism and literary science-fiction. Mead A1a. A fine copy in nearly fine dust jacket with touch of wear to spine ends, but no fading to spine, and with printed price of $5.95 intact on front flap. (#109097).

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First Edition, First Printing. A spectacular copy. This ORIGINAL First Issue dustjacket is vibrant in color and has the publisher's $5.95 printed price present on the front flap. The book is in excellent condition and appears UNREAD. The binding is tight with NO cocking or leaning and the boards are crisp. The pages are exceptionally clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. A superb copy housed in custom clamshell slipcase for preservation.

Octavo, pictorial wrappers. Advance readers copy of the first edition. The author's first book, a major document in both modernism and literary science-fiction. Gray background ink on spine panel sunned, else a fine copy. (#136736).

Original Violet Boards. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First Edition. First Edition, First State (no reviews on real panel). Very light fading to top and bottom edges, first state dust wrapper shows some very minor rubbing to spine panel and ends; thin wrinkle beneath front panel lettering. A very bright near fine copy. Size: 8vo.

Philadelphia and New York: J. B. Lippincott, 1963. 8vo., original publisher's lavender cloth, blindstamped with multiple 'V' designs to upper cover, lettered in silver to spine; upper edge black; mustard yellow endpapers; original pictorial dust jacket designed by Ismar David; pp. 492, [iv]; upper edge with one small damp spot and a couple of very light scratches; some marginal sunning to edges and small smudge to lower corner of text block; otherwise a near-fine example in jacket which has been been roughly price-clipped but retains much of its colour, with some light shelf wear and a few nicks and chips to head and foot of spine, a short 1cm closed tear to lower panel; spine very lightly sunned; still a very good example. First edition, in the correct first issue jacket, with chapter summaries and no reviews to the lower panel. Also laid in is a review slip, with the date of publication moved forward two days, and a new date stamp of 'Mar 18 1963' added. When Pynchon released his debut novel in 1963, it evoked much confusion among readers, with the search for the central mysterious character known only as 'V' ranging from New York to Cairo and Alexandria to Malta, and a character list including sailors, spies, priests and philosophers. The plot focuses on the lives of Benny Profane, a war veteran who wanders New York City searching for meaning, and Herbert Stencil, an intellectual on a quest to discover the mysterious woman mentioned in his fatherâ s diary. Pynchon studied engineering at Cornell University, during which time he briefly served in the U.S. Navy. While at school, his own writing was strongly influenced by Vladimir Nabokov, whose lectures he regularly attended. Pynchon is also notoriously reclusive; very few photographs of him have ever been published, and rumours surrounding his location and identity have circulated since the 1960s. The novel won The William Faulkner Foundation Award for Best First Novel of the Year upon publication, and was further nominated for a National Book Award.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First edition. Early owner signature ("Frederick J. Hoffman, Hollywood, California. March 22, 1963") and the note "Review Copy, critique")on front fly, a bit of foxing on the boards, else near fine in modest rubbed very good or better dust jacket. The author's first book. Small book label of author Larry McMurtry on front pastedown, and below Hoffman's name is McMurtry's neat pencil signature dated in 1969. McMurtry's own first novel, *Horseman, Pass By* had been published the year before *V*.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. First Edition of the renowned author's first book, one of the key titles in the postmodern literary canon an internationally acknowleged, highly acclaimed masterpiece, winner of the Faulkner Foundation Award for Best First Novel of the Year. Tight, square, very near fine copy in like, bright dust jacket, highly presentable, showing but exceedingly light wear. Housed in a matching custom clamshell box.

First edition, first printing, of the author's debut novel, in the first issue dust jacket without reviews on the rear panel. V was awarded the William Faulkner Foundation Award for best debut novel; Pynchon was heralded as a "young writer of staggering promise" (Plimpton). "In this sort of book", wrote Time Magazine, "there is no total to arrive at. Nothing makes any waking sense. But it makes a powerful, deeply disturbing dream sense. Nothing in the book seems to have been thrown in arbitrarily, merely to confuse, as is the case when inept authors work at illusion. Pynchon appears to be indulging in the fine, pre-Freudian luxury of dreams dreamt for the dreaming. The book sails with majesty through caverns measureless to man". George Plimpton, "Review: V", The New York Times, 21 April 1963; "Books: A Myth of Alligators", Time Magazine, 15 March 1963. Octavo. Original light purple cloth, spine lettered in silver, 'V' design on front cover in blind, dark yellow endpapers, top edge black, fore edge untrimmed. With dust jacket designed by Ismar David. Housed in a custom brown morocco-backed brown cloth box. Head of spine and one corner just bumped, edges faintly sunned, binding a little shaken, clean and fresh; spine panel sunned, a little rubbed with a few tiny chips and nicks, short closed tear at head of rear panel, unclipped, bright and striking. A near-fine copy in like jacket.

Hardcover. First Edition; First Printing. Very Good+ in a Very Good+ dust jacket. Light shelf wear on front/rear panels. First Edition, First Printing. ORIGINAL First Issue dust jacket with the publisher's $5.95 printed price present on the front flap.

Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First edition. A Fine copy in nearly Fine jacket. Book clean and fresh. Jacket with one small tape repair on the verso (with minor offsetting to the rear panel) otherwise very clean and bright and with an unfaded spine. Pynchon's debut novel, V. "describes the exploits of a discharged US Navy sailor named Benny Profane, his reconnection in New York with a group of pseudo-bohemian artists and hangers-on known as the Whole Sick Crew, and the quest of an aging traveler named Herbert Stencil to identify and locate the mysterious entity he knows only as V" (Pynchon Wiki). Fine in Near Fine dust jacket.

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. A fine first edition in a near fine dust jacket with slight rubbing on front panel. Housed in a custom-made slipcase.

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. First Edition, First Printing First Published. A beautiful copy. This ORIGINAL dustjacket that is vibrant in color with minor wear to the edges. The book is bound in the publisher's cloth and is in great shape. The binding is tight with NO cocking or leaning and the boards are crisp. The pages are clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. A lovely copy.

Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. No Jacket. Special Edition. Advance Reading Copy of the iconic (and reclusive) author's esteemed first novel, winner of the Faulkner Foundation Award for Best First Novel of the Year. Somewhat sunned but very minimally creased, this copy in wraps is quite near fine, and certainly a decent example of this uncommon proof.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First edition. Sunned at the edges of the boards else near fine, with the topstain bright, in a modestly rubbed, near fine dustwrapper. Complimentary copy with a card from Lippincott employee Thomas C. Martin laid in. A nice copy of the author's first book.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. A Near Fine copy in a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with the slightest ear to the head of jacket spine. Enclosed in a blue cloth slipcase. Pynchon's debut novel follows discharged Navy sailor Benny Profane as he reconnects with an eclectic collection of artists in New York known as the "Whole Sick Crew" along with his sidekick Pig Bodine, and the plot of Herbert Stencil, looking to find the woman he knows only as she is described in his father's diary: "V." Brimming with madcap characters, the novel meanders from New York to Alexandria, Cairo, Paris, Florence, and Africa, and traverses generations.

Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First edition. A Fine copy in Near Fine jacket. Book clean and fresh. Jacket with spine slightly faded and a bit rubbed down the spine otherwise very clean and bright. Pynchon's debut novel, V. "describes the exploits of a discharged US Navy sailor named Benny Profane, his reconnection in New York with a group of pseudo-bohemian artists and hangers-on known as the Whole Sick Crew, and the quest of an aging traveler named Herbert Stencil to identify and locate the mysterious entity he knows only as V" (Pynchon Wiki). Fine in Near Fine dust jacket.

First edition of the author s acclaimed first novel. Trace of fading along the top edge of the covers o/w a fine copy in a price clipped d/w with light wear to the spine ends, but certainly very good.

First edition of Pynchon's first book. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and ruling to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation. After earning his Bachelorâ s Degree in English from Cornell University, Pynchon was employed as a technical writer for The Boeing Company in Seattle, Washington where he compiled safety articles and newsletters. His experiences at Boeing inspired his depiction of the Yoyodyne Corporation, the fictional defense contractor featured both in V. and The Crying of Lot 49. His debut novel, V. chronicles the exploits of discharged Navy sailor Benny Profane and his reconnection in New York with a group of pseudo-bohemians. Pynchon was critical of the 50s and 60s countercultural movements stating that they "placed too much emphasis on youth, including the eternal variety." V. won The Faulkner Foundation Award for Best First Novel of the Year upon publication in 1963. "V may well stand as one of the very best works of the century" (Atlantic Review).

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. A near fine first edition in a near fine first issue dust jacket with original price of $5.95 still on front flap and barely faded on spine. Housed in a custom-made collector's slipcase.

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. Fine first edition in a near fine dust jacket (slight discoloration mark on front flap), no mention of later printings on copyright page, first issue jacket with $5.95 price still on front flap and table of contents on back panel. Comes in a custom-made collector's slipcase.

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First Edition, First Printing. An attractive First Issue dustjacket that is rich in color with minor wear to the edges. The book is in great shape and is bound in the ORIGINAL publisher's lavender cloth. The binding is tight with slight wear to the edges. The pages are clean with NO marks or bookplates in the book. A lovely copy in collector's condition.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. 492 pages. First edition, first printing. Dust jacket design by Ismar David. First issue dust jacket with $5.95 price and the table of contents on the back cover. His first book and winner of the Faulkner Foundation Award for Best First Novel of 1963. Near fine book with the spine slightly faded but the silver lettering is readable in a near fine dust jacket with the spine gold coloring at the bottom faded to light purple. A beautiful copy!.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Lippincott, Philadelphia, New York. 1963 492 pages. First edition, 1st printing in original first issue DJ with $5.95 price intact on the DJ flap and no reviews on the rear of the DJ. Binding and hinges are strong. Pages are tight and lay undisturbed; seemingly unread. Darkened topstain. Four sharp corners. Lilac cloth is bright. Endpapers are bright and clean. DJ colors are bright. This is a very attractive copy of Thomas Pynchon's first book. Flaws are faint as there is evidence of moisture clouds on cloth. Cloud on DJ is barely noticeable if at all. A tiny bit of topstain has darkened endpaper and pastedown edges but ever so slightly. A very small cloud stain to bottom page edges near binding. DJ shows minor rubbing and handling with 2 tiny edge chips. A couple of small, faint inadvertent ink marks to rear of DJ. Minor rubbing DJ edges. All flaws are noted and condition report is hyper-critical. This is a very nice tight copy with minor aesthetic flaws in unread condition. A plum for any serious book collector.

Condition: Like New. Condition: Near Fine; 1963, 8vo, 492 pgs. 1st edition, 1st state. Fullbound in purple cloth with blindstamped 'V' decoration to front, silver gilt titles to spine, yellow-orange endpapers. First edition with all points as per APG. First state dustjacket, with no reviews on rear flap. No markings in text, appears almost unread. Boards show minor sunning along top edge and spine, with very minor shelfwear along lower front edge of spine (1/8'') DJ shows very minor shelfwear along front top edge, head spine, front hinges of spine and flap hinges; very small (1/8'') scuff mark to lower corner of front; minor sunning to spine, with titles still fully legible. A clean and bright copy of this scarce 1st title of Pynchon's. Hardcover.

First Edition. First State Dustjacket. Pynchon's scarce first novel in a first state dustjacket without review blurbs on the rear panel. The rear panel lists the contents of the book from chapter one to chapter seventeen. VG+/VG A crisp copy in lavender-colored cloth stamped brightly in silver on the spine. With black top-staining. Internally, very clean, tight, with former owner's name and date in ink at the top of the front endpaper. There's a quarter inch of light sunning to the bottom front edge and the bottom of the spine where the dustjacket seems to have shifted at one point and exposed the cloth to sunlight. In a very colorful and complete dustjacket designed by Ismar David printed in blue, purple, gold, black and white with the original price of $5.95 at the bottom of the inside front flap. With rubbing and light wear to the top and bottom of the spine ends; light edge-rubbing and scattered soiling to the rear panel. Two small light brown stains about the size of a pencil eraser at the top corner of the front panel. Scarce. First Edition. First State Dustjacket.

Softcover. Condition: Very Good. Advance Reading Copy. A modest stain on the top edge, spine sunned, a very good copy in wrappers as issued. The advance copy of the author's first book, more square than usual.

Softcover. Condition: Very Good. Advance Reading Copy. Advance reading copy of the first American edition. Very Good in publisher's gray printed wraps with black topstain. Sunning to spine and edges, light edge wear to wraps with a small tear to the top of the front cover near the joint, rubbing to bottom edge of page block and two small stains to edge of page block. A rather sharp copy.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First edition. Slight sunning to the extremities of the boards, else near fine in a slightly spine-sunned and price-clipped, very good plus dustwrapper with the usual light rubbing. A nice, presentable copy of the author's increasingly scarce first book.