“BIBLIOPHILE, DRUNKARD AND GOOD EGG”: WONDERFUL AND RARE PRESENTATION COPY OF THE BEAUTIFUL AND DAMNED, WARMLY INSCRIBED BY FITZGERALD IN THE YEAR OF PUBLICATION

FITZGERALD, F. Scott. The Beautiful and Damned. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1922. Octavo, original green cloth, original dust jacket. Housed in a custom clamshell box.    $75,000.

First edition, first issue, an exceptional presentation copy whimsically inscribed in the year of publication by Fitzgerald, “For Wilbur Judd, Parisien [sic], Critic, Playrite [sic], Bibliophile, Drunkard and Good Egg, From F. Scott Fitzgerald, St. Paul 1922,” in scarce second-issue dust jacket (issued within months of the first-issue jacket).

“The Beautiful and Damned brought Fitzgerald accolades from those whose opinions he valued. Mencken congratulated him for staking out new ground… Fitzgerald was aiming high; he only wanted to be the best novelist of his generation” (Turnbull, 130-31). Fitzgerald wrote to Zelda in 1930, “I wish The Beautiful and Damned had been a maturely written book because it was all true. We ruined ourselves… I have never honestly thought that we ruined each other” (Bruccoli, 180). First issue, with “Published March, 1922” on copyright page; second-issue dust jacket with letters on front panel in black and bolder orange circle, issued within months of the first issue to meet demand for the book. Bruccoli A8.1.a.

Text fine, only very light edge-wear to original cloth; slight chipping, small closed tears, mild soiling to scarce unrestored dust jacket. A wonderful extremely good unrestored copy, scarce inscribed.