Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy (2 volumes). Boni and Liveright, 1925.
Price: US$19.95 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: 2 volumes complete. Original black cloth stamped in gilt (cloth rubbed with some fading and wear - spine titling flaked; old ink name and price in each volume; inner hinges weak). [8], 431; [8], 409 pages.First edition of Dreiser's naturalistic magnum opus; the story of one Clyde Griffiths, his youthful transgressions and his trial for murder. Originally published in 1925; basis of the 1931 Paramount motion picture, written and directed by Josef Von Sternberg, starring Phillips Holmes and Sylvia Sidney; also the basis of the 1951 Paramount picture 'A Place in the Sun', directed by George Stevens, starring Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor (not to mention Charlie Chaplin's parody version in his 'Monsieur Verdoux', plus the more recent American operatic adaptation).B/w Decorative Title Pages.
Seller: Arundel Books, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, theodore;. An American Tragedy (2 volume set). BONI & LIVERIGHT, NEW YORK, 1925.
Price: US$20.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: 2 volume set no printing stated Spotting to boards. Small gilt design to front cover. Spine fadded. Front and back hinge crack. Browning to edges, previous owners book plate on inside of front covers DATE PUBLISHED: 1925 EDITION: FIRST ED 431+408
Seller: Princeton Antiques Bookshop, Atlantic City, NJ, U.S.A.
Theodore Dreiser. An American Tragedy Vol 2. Boni & Liveright, 1925.
Price: US$27.26 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 1st edition, 8th Printing. Edge-wear, heaviest at spine top and bottom. Looseness a back cover. Brown cloth cover with gilt lettering on spine, emblem on cover. Ex-library.
Seller: The Sun Also Rises, El Paso, TX, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy (2 volumes). Boni and Liveright, 1925.
Price: US$30.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" 2 volumes complete. Original black cloth stamped in gilt (cloth rubbed with some fading and tears to spine; front inner hinge of volume II split; bookplate in each volume). [8], 431; [8], 409 pages.First edition of Dreiser's naturalistic magnum opus; the story of one Clyde Griffiths, his youthful transgressions and his trial for murder. Originally published in 1925; basis of the 1931 Paramount motion picture, written and directed by Josef Von Sternberg, starring Phillips Holmes and Sylvia Sidney; also the basis of the 1951 Paramount picture 'A Place in the Sun', directed by George Stevens, starring Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor (not to mention Charlie Chaplin's parody version in his 'Monsieur Verdoux', plus the more recent American operatic adaptation).B/w Decorative Title Pages.
Seller: Arundel Books, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore (1871-1945). An American tragedy: Volume 1. New York : Boni & Liveright, 1925.
Price: US$32.89 + shipping
Description: Good copy in the original title-blocked pictorial cloth. Slightest suggestion only of dust-dulling to the spine bands and panel edges. Remains preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description; volume 1 (only): 431 p. ; 20 cm. Subjects; Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945). American fiction. 19th-20th century fiction. 1 Kg.
Seller: MW Books Ltd., Galway, Ireland
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$39.50 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 840 pages; 1925 Boni & Liveright. Two volumes HC 1st trade edition. Soundly bound in original thatch patterned black cloth; titles at spine rubbed faded and indistinct. Contents clean and unmarked. Prior owner's pictorial bookplate to the front pastedown of both volumes. A clipped flap from a dust jacket and some related news clippings liad in at front. Usual light general toning to page stock. G+ only
Seller: DogStar Books, Lancaster, PA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore (1871-1945). An American tragedy: Volume 1. New York : Boni & Liveright, 1925.
Price: US$46.00 + shipping
Description: Good copy in the original title-blocked pictorial cloth. Slightest suggestion only of dust-dulling to the spine bands and panel edges. Remains preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description; volume 1 (only): 431 p. ; 20 cm. Subjects; Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945). American fiction. 19th-20th century fiction. 1 Kg.
Seller: MW Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy (complete in 2 volumes). New York: Boni & Liveright, 1925.
Price: US$50.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Two small octavo volumes in black cloth bindings. Condition: this set lacks the slipcase and the dust jackets. The bindings are faded with minor shelf-wear to the edges of the covers; else in good condition.
Seller: Betterbks/ COSMOPOLITAN BOOK SHOP, Burbank, CA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. New York Boni & Liveright 1925, 1925.
Price: US$56.10 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 1st Edition. 431,409pp. 2 volumes octavo with black cloth boards. Gilt decoration on front and gilt lettering on spine. Both spines have some sun fading and wear to board corners. Volume one has a bit of discoloration to one side of text block. Hinges slightly loose. very good Based off of the criminal case of Chester Gillette, the novel is known for its ambiguous narrative. It has been adapted for television, film and other media since its publication.
Seller: Aquila Books(Cameron Treleaven) ABAC, Calgary, AB, Canada
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. Boni and Liveright, 1925.
Price: US$60.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Bookplate; 2 Volumes
Seller: Ann Becker, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
Price: US$65.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Condition is good minus. Outer edge of rear cover has a rough area of approx. 3". ; Volume two of the limited edition only, out of two.
Seller: Willis Monie-Books, ABAA, Cooperstown, NY, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy (2 Volumes). Boni and Liveright, 1925.
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: FIRST TRADE EDITION. Two volumes with black cloth and gilt lettering. NY: Boni and Liveright, 1925. Split hinge and fep removed in volume one. Cloth worn. Good condition overall.
Seller: Singing Saw Books, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: 16mo, stapled green wrappers Also contributions by Edgar Lee Masters, H.L. Mencken. With a mounted frontispiece portrait of Dreiser.
Seller: Thomas J. Joyce And Company, Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy: Vol. 1, Vol. 2. Boni and Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 2vols., former owner's sign on fly leaf.
Seller: Yushodo Co., Ltd., Fuefuki-shi, Yamanashi Pref., Japan
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy, 2 Vols.. Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$90.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Spines faded; vol. 2 spine top very slightly worn; bookplate on each front pastedown.
Seller: By Books Alone, Woodstock, NY, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. American tragedy ( 2 volumes). Boni & Liveright, 1925.
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Black cloth boards w/gilt design are well-bound, sunned-obliterating titling on spine, some rubbing & soil from age & handling, a 1" slit in cloth at head of spine on Vol. 1. Previous owner's name in Vol.1. Rear endpaper is beginning to start at gutter. Pages are clean & sharp throughout.
Seller: Shaker Mill Books, W. Stockbridge, MA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy Vol 2 (Only). Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$125.00 + shipping
Description: blue cloth, red signature, grey spine, 409 pp, Near fine; Very nice copy of vol 2 limited edition.
Seller: T. A. Borden Books, Olney, MD, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy 2 Vols. Boni & Liveright, 1925.
Price: US$125.01 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Overall sharp set of the first edition but with the front end paper of both volumes excised and slight spine fade.
Seller: Kerkhoff Books DIV KSI, Warsaw, IN, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. American Tragedy, An. Boni & Liveright New York 1925, 1925.
Price: US$126.00 + shipping
Description: Good + First Edition First Printing 12mo = 7-9" No DJ unpaginated Complete in two volumes. First edition, first issue. Dark brown/black cloth covers are very worn on top/bottom of spine and corners. Top of spine is torn, frayed around spine area in general. Covers are scuffed and slightly soiled. Inside front and back hinges of both volumes are cracked and shaken. Previous owners' names appear in ink on front endpaper. none
Seller: Heritage Books, Southampton, MA, U.S.A.
DREISER, Theodore. AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY. Boni and Liveright, NY, 1925.
Price: US$134.00 + shipping
Description: Two volumes, small 8vo, pp. 431, 409. A hinge tender on each volume, spines worn at top ends, o/w VG. Johnson p. 152. One of Dreiser's most acclaimed books, about the rise and fall of a young man who pursues his ambitions for wealth, power and satisfactions in our materialistic society. First Edition, first issue with Boni & Liveright imprint (versus Horace Liveright).
Seller: Second Life Books, Inc., Lanesborough, MA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American tragedy- Two Volumes, 1st Issue. Boni & Liveright, 1925.
Price: US$140.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Two volume set. 1st issue with white ednpapers and Boni & Liveright imprint. Volume one is Very good- with wear to dark cloth, with some worn away, at top of front board and chipping to cloth at bottom of spine. Fraying to cloth at top of spine. Volume two is very good+ tiny bit of fraying to cloth at top of spine.
Seller: Jay W. Nelson, Bookseller, IOBA, Austin, MN, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. Boni and Liveright, NY, 1925.
Price: US$162.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Hardcover, First edition, in 2 volumes. Black covers, which are faded, No jacket. The spine is faded on both volumes to the extent that the titles are not able to be read. No writing or marks to the interior of either book. Some foxing to pages and soiling to page ends.
Seller: The Kings Word, Marietta, GA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$175.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Two volumes. No dustjackets or slipcase. Publisher's black gilt buckram with gilt author initials on cover and date in Roman Numerals on title page. Nice clean copies of a classic American novel. A clean, unmarked and tight set in bright cover gilt. Unbumped and tight bindings.
Seller: Bibliolio Books, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy -- Volume Two. Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$175.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First printing of Volume Two only. Near-fine with some fading to spine, otherwise clean and tight. In a very good minus dust jacket ($5.00 price intact) with substantial chipping to the spine ends and corners, and clear archival tape repairs to the folds on the reverse.
Seller: Magus Books of Sacramento, Sacramento, CA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy (2 Volumes). Boni and Liveright, U.S.A., 1925.
Price: US$175.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 1st Printing of the original 1st Edition of this American classic. Book are age toned and securely bound (despite gauze beginning to show at the gutters between pp400-401 of Vol I, and pp408-409 of Vol II and have slight slanting; some soiling and darker toning along the top edges. Covers show some age fading, rubbing throughout, mild bumping to the corners, headbands and tails, soil spot to Vol II front board, and fraying as well at the heads and tails; lettering along the spines has faded. (Please see Seller images). No ISBN 911824286. ShiroBooks, independent bookseller, takes pride in accurate descriptions, careful wrapping and safe shipping. ADDITIONAL CHARGE (DUE TO SHIPPING WEIGHT) WILL APPLY IF SHIPPED OUTSIDE CONTINENTAL US; CONTACT SHIROBOOKS PRIOR TO ORDERING or for more information, details or photos.
Seller: ShiroBooks, Eureka, CA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy (Two Volumes). Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Two volumes. First edition, first printing. 2 Volumes. Very Good, with spine cloths faded, bruised at tops and frayed at bottoms; Volume I shows spotted staining to edge of page block and to several pages; Volume II has a nick to the edge of the last few pages. A nice set.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. Boni and Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$299.99 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: . 2 vols. Original black cloth. First Edition, First Printing. Basis for the 1951 George Stevens film A Place in the Sun starring Montgomery Clift, Shelly Winters, and Elizabeth Taylor. Lacking the Slipcase and Dust Jackets, Very Good.
Seller: Pride and Prejudice-Books, Ballston Lake, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. 2 volumes set of the limited signed edition. One of 795 copies, signed by Dreiser. Original paper-covered boards over cloth spine, both spines sunned, a little moisture damage to rear cover of volume one. Lacking the slipcase. An important highspot of early 20th American literature. Nicely signed by Dreiser.
Seller: sonalsorises, los angeles, CA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Two volume set. 23 x 15.5 cm. 431pp, 409pp. Bound into 1/4 tan cloth and blue paper covered boards. This special edition, done the same year as the 1st, is limited to 795 numbered and signed copies of which this is copy 648 signed by Dreiser in volume 1. Bookseller's stamp in rear of each volume. Previous owner's on front free endpaper. There is some spotting/soiling to the spines. Spines are sun faded and show a bit of fraying. Lacking slipcase.
Seller: Midway Book Store (ABAA), St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. Boni and Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$325.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition, first issue. viii, 432; (x), 409 pp. 2 vols. 8vo. McDonald 18A Original black cloth with gold medallion on upper cover. Book label. Spines a bit dulled, headcap of vol. I rubbed, else clean, very good plus. Bookplates of Florence and Edward Kaye viii, 432; (x), 409 pp. 2 vols. 8vo
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$335.00 + shipping
Description: 2 volumes. [Vol. I- 431 pp.: Vol. II - 409 pp.] 23 cm. Hardcovers. Publisher's original quarter-cloth and blue paper with rough-cut edges. Book(s) Condition: spine lettering dulled, spines toned with assortment of small nics, chips and rips (affecting Vol. I primarily), inner hinge of Vol. I cracked though binding is sound on both volumes and interior pages bright and unmarred. From the colophon of Volume I : "This Special Edition is Strictly Limited to 795 Numbered and Signed Copies. This Copy is Number 582." Lacking the slipcase. Theodore Dreiser was nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature in 1930; though as it turned out, that was the year that the prize was awarded to Sinclair Lewis.
Seller: DuBois Rare Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. 2 volumes.. Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$360.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: One of 795 numbered copies signed by Dreiser. In battered original slipcase.
Seller: James & Mary Laurie, Booksellers A.B.A.A, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy - Volume 2 only.. Boni and Liverwright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Description: First edition first issue. Volume 2 of a two volume set. Volume 2 contains Book II continued (chapters 39-47) and Book III (chapters 1-34). 8vo. Black cloth stamped in gilt. B & L blindstamp on spine. no jacket. A little wear at bottom cover tips otherwise very nice condition. Clean and tight. Very good or better condition.
Seller: Cultural Connection, Cape Coral, FL, U.S.A.
Theodore Dreiser. An American Tragedy (2 volume signed edition). Boni & Liveright, 1925.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition of this signed limited edition - #223 of 795 issued with Dreiser signature on volume 1 limitation page. Both volumes are in very good condition with some light toning to the spines with some pages still uncut. The slipcase has come apart and only the front and back covers are included. See my photos of the books you will receive, not stock photos. More available upon request. This book is in my possession and will be packed in bubble wrap and shipped in a cardboard box. USPS tracking provided. #150
Seller: Nightshade Booksellers, IOBA member, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. Boni and Liverright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$425.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Edition limited to 795 signed and numbered copies, this being #51. Published the same year as the first trade edition. 2 vols. 431; 409pp. Half-cloth with paper-covered boards. Fine laid paper with watermark and untrimmed edges. Both volumes unopened. A bit of marking to spines, else fine. Lacks slipcase.
Seller: Sigla Books, Calgary, AB, Canada
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. Boni and Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$495.00 + shipping
Description: Two vols., 8vos, 431 & 409pp; black cloth. First edition of Dreiser's most celebrated novel, this copy with an original typed letter signed by Dreiser to a reader of the book in England who had written to him. Dreiser thanks him for having pointed out an error, presumably in the first English printing of the book, and notes that a correction will be made to future editions. Also present is a handwritten draft of the original letter to Dreiser. An American Tragedy was adapted twice for the screen, once under its original title by Josef von Sternberg and again by George Stevens as "A Place in the Sun" Tips rubbed; spines faded a shade, very good copies without jackets.
Seller: Locus Solus Rare Books (ABAA, ILAB), Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
Theodore Dreiser. An American Tragedy ( Two Volume Set ). Boni And Liveright, N Y, 1925.
Price: US$499.99 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Not Ex-Library Copy. Hardcover Edition With Dustjacket.Nice Copy. Text Unmarked.Binding Is Solid.Not Ex-Library Copy.Not A Bookclub Edition.No Remainder Mark.D.J.Not Clipped. First Edition, First Printing.Bookplates Inside Front Covers.One Dustjacket Is In Good Condition And The Other Dustjacket Is Fair With 1/4 Spine Missing.Slipcase Is In Poor Condition With Top Missing.Volumes One And Two Both Present.First Edition, First Printing.
Seller: Thomas Savage, Bookseller, Krotz Springs, LA, U.S.A.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall; 840 pages; [SIGNED Limited Edition] 1925 Boni & Liveright. Two volumes. Soundly bound in original beige qurter cloth backed spine and french tips with blue paper covered sides. Signed by Dreiser in an edition limited to 795 copies; this copy is numbered 379. Title pages printed I blue and black. Pictorial bookplate of Annette Roberger to the front pastedown of both volumes. Solid clean set lacking the slipcase. VG++; Signed by Author
Seller: DogStar Books, Lancaster, PA, U.S.A.
DREISER, THEODORE. American Tragedy. , 1925.
Price: US$517.50 + shipping
Description: DREISER, THEODORE. An American Tragedy. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1925. 2 vols. Cloth (a bit discolored). In a dust jacket chipped around the extremities and with a few small gaps, slightly darkened at the spine. Without the box. First edition of Dreiser's most famous novel, and his first commercial success.
Seller: Joseph J. Felcone Inc., ABAA, Princeton, NJ, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. Boni & Liveright, NY, 1925.
Price: US$612.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 2 volumes , with white endpapers. First issue, with Boni & Liveright imprint. In dustjackets, which are a bit darkened, both show the price at " 2 Vols. $ 5.00". Tops and bottoms of DJ spine are chipped, with spine ends / edges missing chips of the DJ. Volume 2 has a larger piece of the front DJ missing a 1.5" x 1" piece. NO marks in or on either book, though some foxing is evident to FEP and REP as well as page edges. Inner hinge of Volume 1 is split at Title page. Nice set of this American classic by Dreiser.
Seller: The Kings Word, Marietta, GA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY. Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$625.00 + shipping
Description: First edition. Two volumes. The trade edition, preceding the limited. One of Dreiser's most acclaimed books: a Haycraft-Queen title; on the Time 100 list; and made into a film in 1931 under this title and again in 1951 as "A Place in the Sun" with Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor and Shelley Winters. Gold stamped spine lettering a little dull but both volumes otherwise good to very good with small stain to fore edge volume one; in fair to good dust jackets badly browned on the fragile spines but with less browning to the panels which are about very good. Both jackets have been repaired with archival tape on verso of spines, and volume 1 is missing large chips on each end. Still, scarce in any semblance of the jackets. In custom cloth slipcase with facsimile of the original printed label laid on. Provenance: Clive Hirschhorn's name dated June 1986 and bookplates of G. Catalani on front pastedown of each volume. Hirschhorn is known for his long tenure as film and theater critic for the British Sunday Express newspaper and as the author of several well-received books about the film industry and its stars. Catalani's bookplates were etched by John Bullock Souter with his initials in the plate. The 4.25 x 5.5" bookplates bear the image of a naked woman at play with two dogs on a platform at the edge of the sea with sailboat in background. Furthermore, with a postcard from the The Alcove in Cambridge, Mass., from December 1925 quoting these volumes to a "Mr. B. Rowland."
Seller: Quill & Brush, member ABAA, Middletown, MD, U.S.A.
DREISER, Theodore. An American Tragedy [Limited Edition]. Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$750.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Limited edition. Two volumes. Half cloth gilt and printed papercovered boards, page edges untrimmed. Neat pictorial bookplate ("Robert Thien") on the front pastedown of each volume. Spines modestly toned, a bit of light wear and soil, a near fine set with a bit of light sunning on the cover and a bit of modest staining (or offsetting) on the upper shoulder of Volume II. Lacking the slipcase. Number 31 of 795 numbered copies Signed by Dreiser on the limitation page in Volume I. A scathing indictment of American materialism and our legal system based on a celebrated murder case, it was Dreiser's first novel in a decade and brought him to the zenith of his critical and commercial success.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$900.00 + shipping
Description: First edition of the limited signed issue, no. 294 of 795 numbered copies, signed by Dreiser. Title pages printed in blue and black. 2 vols. 8vo. Dreiser's classic novel of the rigidity of the American class structure, filmed in 1951 as A Place in the Sun, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift. FPAA, IV, p. 160; Pizer, et al., A25-1; Smith D548 Cloth backed boards, french tips. Toning to first leaf from newspaper clipping. Very good set, partly unopened, in original slipcase with printed label (some rubbing and splitting) Title pages printed in blue and black. 2 vols. 8vo First edition of the limited signed issue, no. 294 of 795 numbered copies, signed by Dreiser.
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy (Presentation copy). Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$950.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Two volumes in original publishers' boards. One of 795 deluxe copies, this one marked for Presentation, signed on the limitation page and additionally inscribed on the title: "For Mary Gold, who slaved on this. Theodore Dreiser." An excellent copy in all, with an important association. "Dreiser is widely regarded as the strongest of the novelists who have written about America as a business civilization. No one else confronted so directly the sheer intractibility of American social life and institutions, or dramatized with such solicitousness and compassion the difficulty of breaking free from social law. Dreiser had a genius for factuality: he recreated the inner workings of a factory, a stock exchange, a luxury hotel; he was definitive" (The New Yorker). Among the greatest of his works stands An American Tragedy, with its emphasis on sexual obsession and unquenchable desire. Indeed, the despair that characterizes the novel seems to stem from Dreiser's own troubled Catholicism and fascination with true crime. "The germ of the novel was a newspaper story of 1906: A young man was convicted of drowning a pregnant girl in Upstate New York.Dreiser clipped accounts of the case and brooded over it for years" and in the end he hoped to create "a crime sensation of the first magnitude, with all those intriguingly colorful yet morally atrocious elements -- love, romance, wealth, poverty, death" (The New Yorker). Very Good +.
Seller: Whitmore Rare Books, Inc. -- ABAA, ILAB, Pasadena, CA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY. Boni and Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Description: First Printing. Two octavo volumes (19.5cm); black cloth, with titling and author's stylized initials stamped in gilt on spines and front covers; dustjackets; [viii],431,[1]; [x],409,[1]pp. Upper text edges lightly dust-soiled with a few tiny scuffs, a handful of tiny punctures along rear joint on Vol.2, else contents are fresh, with hinges sound; Near Fine. Dustjackets are unclipped (priced $5.00), gently spine-sunned and lightly dust-soiled, with a few tiny nicks and tears to extremities, shallow loss to spine ends on Vol.2, and a neat 2" split at upper flap fold of Vol.1; unrestored, Very Good+ examples. Lacking the publisher's cardboard slipcase. A presentable copy of Dreiser's most enduring novel, in which a young man makes a tragic and ill-fated attempt to break from his lower-class background. Fleeing Kansas City from a crime he didn't commit, he settles in a fictional New York town, where torn between a farm girl he impregnates and a socialite he becomes infatuated with, he unintentionally kills his pregnant girlfriend, is arrested, tried, and ultimately sent to the electric chair. A Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone title, and basis for two film adaptations Josef von Sternberg's pre-Code film An American Tragedy (1931), and George Stevens's 1951 film noir A Place In The Sun, starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters. McDonald 18A; Hubin, p.123; Selby 308.
Seller: Captain Ahab's Rare Books, ABAA, Stephenson, VA, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY .. Boni and Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, two volumes: pp. [1-8] [1-2] 3-431 [432: blank]; [1-10] [1-2] 3-409 [410: blank] [note: first leaf in volume 2 is a blank], original black cloth, front and spine panels stamped in gold. First edition. "The story of a youth of unstable character trapped by circumstances that lead to his execution for murder . The plot is based on an actual New York murder case" (OCAL). A Haycraft-Queen title and a Time 100 book. A fine copy in nearly fine dust jackets. The spine panels of both jackets are lightly tanned and there are several tiny nicks and shallow closed tears along the top and bottom edges. Volume one's jacket has a bit of wear with shallow loss at the upper spine end; volume two's jacket has a shallow tear with associated crease and shallow loss at the bottom edge of the rear panel near the fore-edge. This copy is lacking the paper slipcase. Overall, a very nice copy. (#154536)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
Theodore Dreiser. An American Tragedy. Boni and Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 2 volumes. 8vo. 1st edition. Light bumping to ends of somewhat tanned spine. Very mild rubbing to boards. Toning to leaves and text block. Some wear to edges of toned dust jacket, especially to tail of spine of volume 1 with puncture to fore edge of spine. Heavy wear to edges of slipcase with some tearing to lower margin of spine of slipcase. VG/VG in VG slipcase.
Seller: Strand Book Store, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. Boni and Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$2200.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Two volumes. First edition, first printing. Publisher's black cloth binding, stamped in gilt, in dust jackets and publisher's slip case. Cloth with light stains, edge of page block a bit dust soiled. Dust jackets are lightly edge worn, toned at the spine and with a faint evidence of erased pencil mark to each, in a poor slip case, which is heavily worn, split at two seams and amateurishly repaired elsewhere.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Description: First edition. Fine copies in two very good dust jackets with some light chipping to the edges, corners, and spine ends primarily at the top of the spine with the loss of the word "An" in volume two, and some loss to the upper left hand corner of the rear panel of volume one. Housed in a near fine publisher's slipcase with one seam professionally repaired. One of the best examples of the very fragile publisher's slipcase that we have ever seen. Encyclopedia of Mystery & Detection, page 130 says, "His major contribution to the crime genre is AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY (1925), a realistic study based on the real-life murder of Grace Brown at Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks by Chester Gillette in 1906. Clyde Griffiths, the protagonist, seduces a factory worker but wants to marry Sondra Finchley, a wealthy member of the town's aristocracy. When the factory girl tells him that she is pregnant and expects him to marry her, the social-climbing Griffiths fears that his relationship with Sondra will end; he plans to murder the girl. He takes her rowing but lacks the courage to implement his plan; ironically, she is drowned accidentally. He is arrested, tried, and convicted of murder. Somehow, Dreiser believed that he had written an indictment of American capitalism." In 1951, the story was made into the Paramount movie film A PLACE IN THE SUN, directed by George Stevens and starred Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters, Anne Revere, Raymond Burr, and others. A Haycraft/Queen Cornerstone.
Seller: BUCKINGHAM BOOKS, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA, GREENCASTLE, PA, U.S.A.
Price: US$2850.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition, in two volumes with dust jackets, housed together as issued in the publisher's illustrated slipcase. Basis for the stunning, bleak 1951 film noir "A Place in the Sun," directed by George Stevens and starring Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor. Theodore Dreiser's first novel in a decade at the time, a scathing indictment of the American dream, bringing him to the zenith of his critical and commercial success. Both volumes Near Fine. Dust jacket for Volume 1 is Very Good, bright and clean but with a chip at the top of the rear panel. Dust jacket for Volume 2 is Near Fine. In a lightly worn, Very Good plus example of the original slipcase. Dust jacket of the first volume has small chips on the rear panel and spine ends, but is otherwise intact. All told, an exceptional set. Johnson, The Dark Page, Volume 1, pp. 44-45.
Seller: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
DREISER, Theodore.. An American Tragedy.. Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925.
Price: US$10000.00 + shipping
Description: 2 vols. 8vo, publisher's cloth-backed boards, lacking the scarce paper slipcase. Enclosed in a custom quarter morocco slipcase with chemise. Special edition; No. 2 of 795 copies, signed by Theodore Dreiser. Haycraft-Queen cornerstone. Good to very good; spines fairly dull. A tight and sound set. Signed and inscribed by Dreiser to his publisher" "For Donald Sergy Friede from Theodore Dreiser. Jan - 1926. Friede, who joined Boni & Liveright as part owner in 1925, personally sold a copy of "An American Tragedy" ("banned in Boston") to the Boston Police in a seminal censorship test case. Friede's bookplate appears in each volume.
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.