Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Abbey, Edward. Jonathan Troy (SIGNED BUT DAMAGED). Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1954.
Price: US$1010.00 + shipping
Condition: Poor
Description: This 1954 first edition (of about 5,000 copies) is pretty much the only edition -- many authors grow to regret their first novels, as they're often transparently autobiographical; Folks in Abbey's Pennsylvania home town were not terribly pleased with his scornful characterizations of some of the townsfolk, and he himself quickly renounced the work as naive and egotistical. In fact, Abbey never authorized a reprinting. This copy bears NO dust jacket but is signed "Edward Abbey" to the blank Free Front Endpaper. So is it a $5,000 book? Well, it might be, save that a previous owner did a very odd thing with this rarity. You know how it's possible to cut away the insides of a section of pages in the middle of a book, creating a hiding place for some cash, a derringer, or a document the size of a passport? Yep. pages 55-92 of this 374-page book have been "hollowed out"; the pages have not been REMOVED, but there's nothing left of them but their page numbers, a couple of lines of text at the top of each, and their outer edges. In theory one could acquire a second copy -- preferably a damaged one -- extract those sheets, and re-bind a "cannibalized" complete signed first printing. But while we have no objection to REPAIRING books, that's simply a step further than we wish to go. And so we offer this intriguing first printing "signed, damaged, as found." Reduced from $2,000.
Seller: Cat's Curiosities, Pahrump, NV, U.S.A.
Abbey, Edward. Jonathan Troy. Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, 1954.
Price: US$1400.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: VG/G. First edition. Only printing of Abbey's first book. 374 pp. DJ.colors bright, but heavy edge rubbing, creasing, short closed tears, small chips. Rear DJ panel heavily soiled. $3.50 price on unclipped flap. Board edges rubbed. Spine square, tight. Text clean, unmarked. Brodart DJ. Photos provided upon request. (Item description copyrighted by Books to Die For, selling through ABE Books since 2001.)
Seller: Books to Die For, The Woodlands, TX, U.S.A.
Abbey, Edward. Jonathan Troy. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1954.
Price: US$1750.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Black boards with yellow lettering on spine and Abbey's own 5-legged whirling log motif; pictorial dust jacket with mylar covering. Dust jacket has moderate chipping and light soiling, and 3" tear on the rear flap. Boards have light chipping at head and foot of spine, and light soiling. Previous owner's bookplate on half title page. Abbey's first novel follows our hero through romance and life and shows roots of Abbey's anarchist thinking so prevalent in his later novels. Abbey was ashamed of this novel and never allowed it to be reprinted. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 374 pp
Seller: Back of Beyond Books, Moab, UT, U.S.A.
Edward Abbey. Jonathan Troy. Dodd, Mead, 1954.
Price: US$1800.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Edward Abbey's first novel, which he hated and never allowed to be reprinted. Bright shiny black boards with light wear at head and heel of spine, tight, square, and clean- I rate very good plus to near fine minus. In a dust jacket with light edgewear and a few small closed tears, stain to front flap and darkening or staining around rear panel, dust jacket overall very good. No major tears or chips, $3.50 price intact. Nice copy.
Seller: Green River Books, Gainesville, FL, U.S.A.
Abbey, Edward. Jonathan Troy. Dodd Mead & Company, New York, 1954.
Price: US$2250.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: 374p octavo, Slightest edgewear on the binding, else fine in a slightly worn, near fine dust jacket with a trifle sunned spine and tiny nicks and tears . A very nice copy of Abbey's elusive first book.
Seller: Old New York Book Shop, ABAA, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.
Abbey, Edward. Jonathan Troy. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1954.
Price: US$2250.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Black boards with yellow lettering on spine; pictorial dust jacket with mylar covering. Dust jacket is bright and has minor chipping at head of spine and a 1/4" x 1/2" hole on rear panel; boards have light wear to edges; text block is clean. Abbey's first novel follows our hero through romance and life. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 374 pp
Seller: Back of Beyond Books, Moab, UT, U.S.A.
Abbey, Edward. Jonathan Troy. Dodd, Mead, and Company, New York, 1954.
Price: US$3000.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing. An attractive First Issue dustjacket with the $3.50 printed price present with light wear to the spine and edges. The book is in great shape. The binding is tight with minor wear to the spine. The pages are clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a sharp copy in collector's condition with the ORIGINAL dustjacket.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
Abbey, Edward. Jonathan Troy. Dodd, Mead, New York, 1954.
Price: US$4000.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: near A fine first edition in a fine dust jacket, with no later printings referenced on the copyright page. Abbey hated this book and did not let it be reprinted. Housed in a custom made slipcase.
Seller: Bookbid, Beverly Hills, CA, U.S.A.
Abbey, Edward. Jonathan Troy. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1954.
Price: US$5500.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing SIGNED by Edward Abbey on a laid in signature. This ORIGINAL dustjacket is rich in color with minor wear to the edges. The book is in excellent condition. 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 beautiful copy SIGNED by the author. We buy SIGNED Edward Abbey First Editions.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
Abbey, Edward. Jonathan Troy. Dodd, Mead & Co., 1954.
Price: US$6500.00 + shipping
Description: 8.25" x 5.75". 374pp. A SOUTHWEST RADICAL'S REJECT "I don't know where you can find one, but if you do, burn it" was Abbey's response to a searching fan looking for a copy of his first book, Jonathan Troy. His biographer, James Cahalan, recollects that, while reading the galley proofs prior to publication, Abbey thought the novel was "even worse than [he] thought.too juvenile, naive, clumsy, pretentious." Once published, it was a resounding failure. The hatred and regret that Abbey had towards the book persisted into the early 80's, once again calling it "a disgusting novel, fortunately long out of print." This vitriol followed him throughout his lifetime. Oddly, Abbey complained that the book had been "faintly reviewed, virtually ignored, generally unbought." New York Times reviewer Herbert F. West called it a "symphony of disgust." Why had he hated this work so much? The obvious answer, Jonathan Troy, a moniker he used for himself in his adolescence, obliquely referring to his difficult and painful past. 5000 copies were planned for the first printing, roughly 1400 available for sale. Whether showcased with pride or shrouded in shame, this piece is a cornerstone to an Abbey collection, it simply depends on what kind of attention one wants to draw. Signed, dated, and located on the title page just one year after publication. [Cahalan, 58-60]. Spine ends rubbed with light wear and closed tear, spine foot with small bump, overall a near fine copy in a bright, very good dust jacket with short closed tear and light chipping along top of spine and some mild foxing and soiling to rear cover and jacket verso, in mylar cover. Publisher's full black cloth, spine titled in yellow, in dust jacket
Seller: THE HERMITAGE BOOKSHOP, Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Abbey, Edward. Jonathan Troy. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1954.
Price: US$7500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, first printing. Signed by the author on the front free end paper, inscribed to former owner in "Glen Canyon 1981". Very Good with light rubbing at tips, small indent to spine near bottom, light lean to spine, previous owner book plate to front paste down. In a Very Good dust jacket with publisher's price of $3.50 intact, light rubbing, light fading to spine panel, light chipping at edges and two repairs made from the verso. The author's first published book, which after an initial publication of 5,000 copies he immediately wanted to disown. It has never been reprinted as per Abbey's request, and signed copies are extremely scarce.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.