J.D. Salinger, 1951

SALINGER, J.D. (1919-2010). The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951.

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."

First edition, first printing, in a superlative example of the first issue dust-jacket. Salinger's timeless novel follows one of the 20th century's most enduring characters, the lonely, compassionate, and quixotic Holden Caulfield, following his expulsion from prep school. Saddened by the "phoniness" around him, he says goodbye to Pennsylvania and sets out for New York City. Caulfield is considered the embodiment of youthful confusion and frustration, making the novel, for many readers, a timeless reflection on adolescence—particularly teenage alienation and the struggle to find one's identity. The novel's themes of innocence, loss, and rebellion have resonated deeply with readers across generations. A fine and bright copy, in a pristine example of the first issue dust-jacket, without any of the usual tanning.

Octavo. Original black cloth, spine stamped in gilt (only a hint of rubbing to gilt and touch of spotting to top edge). Pictorial dust jacket printed in red, black, and yellow, with the author's photograph on rear panel (price-clipped, barely discernable 5 mm closed tear to top edge).