Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Kerouac, Jack. THE SUBTERRANEANS. Evergreen/Grove Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Description: 1st edition, 2nd printing (stated), same year as 1st printing. Original color illustrated paper wrappers. 8vo, 111 pages. Evergeen E-99. The third of Kerouac's novels. "The Subterraneans is a 1958 novella by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. It is a semi-fictional account of his short romance with Alene Lee (1931-1991), an African-American woman, in Greenwich Village, New York. It was the first work of Kerouac's to be released following the success of On the Road. The Subterraneans and its following novel,The Dharma Bums, both proved to be popular when released in 1958, and are now seen as important works of the Beat Literature. A Hollywood film adaptation would be released in 1960" (Wikipedia). Owner's bookplate inside front cover. Smal scratch and light wear to cover, about Very Good- Condition. (KH-10-14).
Seller: Dan Wyman Books, LLC, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. THE DHARMA BUMS. The Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, first printing. The Dharma Bums, at once an exploration of Buddhist spirituality and an account of the Bay Area poetry scene, is notable for its thinly veiled portraits of Kerouac's acquaintances, including Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Kenneth Rexroth. Octavo: 244 p. Original black cloth binding, with silver and gilt titles. A bit of wear to the corners and tips, with some rubbing to the silver stamping in the author's name on the spine; else very good.
Seller: johnson rare books & archives, ABAA, Covina, CA, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$375.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Black cloth, lettered in green foil and silver foil. 1st ed. Top text block edge dulled and showing very slight moisture spotting near corners. Lacking both flyleaves, with former owner's signature stamp on front blank preceding half-title. Foxing to fixed endsheets. Firm binding, clean interior. Dust jacket still quite decent, VG with mild surface rubbing to both panels and joints, mild foxing along flap folds, now in mylar. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
Seller: Saucony Book Shop, Kutztown, PA, U.S.A.
Jack Kerouac. The Dharma Bums. Viking Press, 1958.
Price: US$379.95 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: VERY GOOD condition DUST JACKET: Wear & tear to top and bottom edges of spine, panels, folds and flaps. Minor chipping to top and bottom of spine and corresponding corners. Closed tears, top of spine. Minor chipping to all outside corners, except bottom left, back panel. Shelf rubbing/discoloration, front and back panels. Tears mended on reverse with archival tape. BOARDS: Very good condition. BOOK: Very good condition. Topstain. Slight lean to spine. Please inspect photos closely for condition details.************************************************** Here on offer is a very nice copy of Jack Kerouac's fourth published novel, The Dharma Bums, published just one year after "On the Road", and another success for Kerouac, becoming one of his most popular books. This copy is a 1st trade edition, 1st printing of the work published by Viking Press in 1958. The dust jacket is protected from further wear by a Mylar sleeve. ************************************************ "A story of the quest for truth, The Dharma Bums is one of Jack Kerouac s most powerful and influential novels. Two ebullient young men search for Dharma the Zen way, heading off to the high Sierras to seek the lesson of solitude. But in wildly Bohemian San Francisco, with its marathon drinking bouts, poetry jam sessions, and yabyum experiments, they find the ascetic route hard to follow. Full of brilliant descriptions of nature, a cast of refreshingly naïve and sophisticated characters, and the classic wit and philosophy of Kerouac, The Dharma Bums is a heroic odyssey for the Beat generation." /////////////////////////////////////////////////// Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (March 12, 1922 October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. ///// . . . Kerouac is recognized for his style of stream of consciousness spontaneous prose. Thematically, his work covers topics such as his Catholic spirituality, jazz, travel, promiscuity, life in New York City, Buddhism, drugs, and poverty. He became an underground celebrity and, with other Beats, a progenitor of the hippie movement, although he remained antagonistic toward some of its politically radical elements. He has a lasting legacy, greatly influencing many of the cultural icons of the 1960s, including Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Jerry Garcia and the Doors. ///// In 1969, at the age of 47, Kerouac died from an abdominal hemorrhage caused by a lifetime of heavy drinking. Since then, his literary prestige has grown, and several previously unseen works have been published. ********** The above text was taken from, respectively, McClelland & Stewart (via Google Books) and Wikipedia.
Seller: Second-handsome Books, College Station, TX, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. Viking, New York, 1958.
Price: US$395.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: A square, solid, sharp copy with tiny blemish the size of a small nail head on flyleaf else unmarked and near fine, in a very fine FACSIMILE dustjacket. An attractive copy of Kerouac high spot. Photos available on request.
Seller: Tony Power, Books, North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Jack Kerouac. The Dharma Bums. Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Description: 21 x 14 cm. Octavo. 244pp. Black cloth in dust jacket. First edition with Published in 1958 on copyright page, same date on title and coypright page and no additional printings noted. Light rubbing to the edges of the boards. Head of spine lightly bumped. Rubbing to the jacket. Original price of $3.95 present on front flap. Several closed tears to the jacket which have been neatly repaired with tape. Ann Charters A4a.
Seller: Midway Book Store (ABAA), St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. Dharma Bums. Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$450.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First printing. Spine ends gently bumped with a few spots of light foxing to the edges of the text block. Small 'x' written on the upper corner of the front end paper. Jacket rubbed with small chips and tears, price (3.95) intact, in Brodart.
Seller: MLC Books, Northfield, MN, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. The Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$450.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Book is clean and spine is bright. No previous owner marks, no remainder marks. Spine very gently bumped at both ends, bottom rear corner rubbed. Dust jacket has its original price of $3.95. Dust jacket rubbed on front and rear covers - see our photo for the rubbing on the front cover. DJ has 1 inch tear in the top edge of the back cover near the spine. DJ has wear at both ends of spine, heavier at top edge where there are small missing pieces. Dust jacket protected in a clear plastic Brodart cover. Ships same or next business day very well protected in a box. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 244 pages
Seller: Good Books In The Woods, Spring, TX, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$480.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Kerouac's fourth novel, published a year after On the Road. Published in an edition of 13,000 copies. First edition (first printing). An attractive, square copy on the outside, but with a prior owner's name and a list of the characters and their real-life counterparts written in ink on the front free endpaper. The top edge stain is faded and the jacket has a snag along the bottom edge, with closed tears at either end. Still, a decent-looking copy. (While I'd rather the characters-real people list wasn't written in this copy, if someone had to write something, it might as well be that).
Seller: Downtown Brown Books, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Description: A very good, solid copy bound in finely woven black cloth stamped in green and silver lettering on the front boards and on the spine. Top corner lightly bumped. Internally very clean and tight throughout; virtually unread. With a touch of darkening to the top edges of the front panel. In an edge-rubbed, good plus dust jacket by Bill English with the original price of $3.95 at the top of the inside front flap. Faint ring stain touching the light area of the rectangjular painting on the front panel. Small chips at the top and bottom of the spine ends. With a black and white photo by Keith Jennison of Kerouac on the rear panel. Through Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder and Jack Kerouac came to know each other. This period provided the materials for Kerouac's novel The Dharma Bums, and Snyder was the inspiration for the novel's main character, Japhy Ryder, in the same way Neal Cassady had inspired Dean Moriarty in On the Road. As the large majority of people in the Beat movement had urban backgrounds, writers like Ginsberg and Kerouac found Snyder, with his backcountry and manual-labor experience and interest in things rural, a refreshing and almost exotic individual. Lawrence Ferlinghetti later referred to Snyder as 'the Thoreau of the Beat Generation'. Kerouac's novel On the Road is often described as the defining work of the post-World War II Beat Generation and Kerouac came to be called "the king of the beat generation," a term that he never felt comfortable with. He once observed, "I'm not a beatnik. I'm a Catholic", showing the reporter a painting of Pope Paul VI and saying, "You know who painted that? Me." The success of On the Road brought Kerouac instant fame. His celebrity status brought publishers desiring unwanted manuscripts that were previously rejected before its publication. After nine months, he no longer felt safe in public. He was badly beaten by three men outside the San Remo Cafe at 189 Bleecker Street in New York City one night. Neal Cassady, possibly as a result of his new notoriety as the central character of the book, was set up and arrested for selling marijuana. In response, Kerouac chronicled parts of his own experience with Buddhism, as well as some of his adventures with Gary Snyder and other San Francisco-area poets, in The Dharma Bums, set in California and Washington and published in 1958. It was written in Orlando between November 26 and December 7, 1957. To begin writing Dharma Bums, Kerouac typed onto a ten-foot length of teleprinter paper, to avoid interrupting his flow for paper changes, as he had done six years previously for On the Road. Kerouac was demoralized by criticism of Dharma Bums from such respected figures in the American field of Buddhism as Zen teachers Ruth Fuller Sasaki and Alan Watts. He wrote to Snyder, referring to a meeting with D. T. Suzuki, that "even Suzuki was looking at me through slitted eyes as though I was a monstrous imposter." He passed up the opportunity to reunite with Snyder in California, and explained to Philip Whalen, "I'd be ashamed to confront you and Gary now I've become so decadent and drunk and don't give a shit. I'm not a Buddhist any more." (Wikipedia) First Edition with matching dates of 1958 and with "Published in 1958 by the Viking Press" on the copyright page. No subsequent printings listed.
Seller: Brainerd Phillipson Rare Books, Holliston, MA, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Description: A very good, solid copy bound in finely woven black cloth stamped in green and silver lettering on the front boards and on the spine. Top corner lightly bumped. Clean and tight throughout with a discrete name in ink at the top of the front endpaper; a small snag and some short tears at the bottom edges of the inside hinge and adjacent endpapers. In an edge-rubbed, good plus dust jacket by Bill English with the original price of $3.95 at the top of the inside front flap. Small chips at the top and bottom of the spine ends. With a black and white photo by Keith Jennison of Kerouac on the rear panel. Through Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder and Jack Kerouac came to know each other. This period provided the materials for Kerouac's novel The Dharma Bums, and Snyder was the inspiration for the novel's main character, Japhy Ryder, in the same way Neal Cassady had inspired Dean Moriarty in On the Road. As the large majority of people in the Beat movement had urban backgrounds, writers like Ginsberg and Kerouac found Snyder, with his backcountry and manual-labor experience and interest in things rural, a refreshing and almost exotic individual. Lawrence Ferlinghetti later referred to Snyder as 'the Thoreau of the Beat Generation'. Kerouac's novel On the Road is often described as the defining work of the post-World War II Beat Generation and Kerouac came to be called "the king of the beat generation," a term that he never felt comfortable with. He once observed, "I'm not a beatnik. I'm a Catholic", showing the reporter a painting of Pope Paul VI and saying, "You know who painted that? Me." The success of On the Road brought Kerouac instant fame. His celebrity status brought publishers desiring unwanted manuscripts that were previously rejected before its publication. After nine months, he no longer felt safe in public. He was badly beaten by three men outside the San Remo Cafe at 189 Bleecker Street in New York City one night. Neal Cassady, possibly as a result of his new notoriety as the central character of the book, was set up and arrested for selling marijuana. In response, Kerouac chronicled parts of his own experience with Buddhism, as well as some of his adventures with Gary Snyder and other San Francisco-area poets, in The Dharma Bums, set in California and Washington and published in 1958. It was written in Orlando between November 26 and December 7, 1957. To begin writing Dharma Bums, Kerouac typed onto a ten-foot length of teleprinter paper, to avoid interrupting his flow for paper changes, as he had done six years previously for On the Road. Kerouac was demoralized by criticism of Dharma Bums from such respected figures in the American field of Buddhism as Zen teachers Ruth Fuller Sasaki and Alan Watts. He wrote to Snyder, referring to a meeting with D. T. Suzuki, that "even Suzuki was looking at me through slitted eyes as though I was a monstrous imposter." He passed up the opportunity to reunite with Snyder in California, and explained to Philip Whalen, "I'd be ashamed to confront you and Gary now I've become so decadent and drunk and don't give a shit. I'm not a Buddhist any more." (Wikipedia) First Edition with matching dates of 1958 and with "Published in 1958 by the Viking Press" on the copyright page. No subsequent printings listed.
Seller: Brainerd Phillipson Rare Books, Holliston, MA, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. Viking Press, New York, NY, 1958.
Price: US$557.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: DJ rubbed with minor wear, lightly chipped at the tips, top edge papers faded, otherwise very clean, tight and bright, photos available upon request.
Seller: Book Grove, RMABA, Glenwood Springs, CO, U.S.A.
Jack Kerouac. The Dharma Bums. Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$575.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First Edition/First Printing Hardcover. Near fine book in a very good unclipped dust jacket. The black cloth book has eEvidence of erasure used at the top of the front flyleaf and softening to the spine ends. The jacket has rubbing to the front panel and wear to the edges. Priced at $3.95 to the front flap. The novel written and published after the success of On the Road, set in the American West.
Seller: MDS BOOKS, Mississauga, ON, Canada
Jack Kerouac. The Dharma Bums. Viking, 1958.
Price: US$630.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Viking Press, New York 1958. First Edition / First Printing. Published in 1958 by the Viking Press stated on the copyright page. Book Condition: Near Fine, a few light spots, light shelf wear. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good-, price clipped, tears, shelf wear. Wrapped in a mylar cover.
Seller: 1st Editions and Antiquarian Books, Opelika, AL, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. The Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$750.00 + shipping
Description: First edition, first printing. [vi], 244 pp. Bound in publisher's black cloth lettered in metallic green and silver, green topstain. Near Fine with a few small stains to cloth, typical fade to topstain, in a Very Good+ with rubbing, no fading to spine panel, unclipped ($3.95). A nice copy.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. The Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$750.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First edition, first printing. [vi], 244 pp. Bound in publisher's black cloth lettered in metallic green and silver. Near Fine with a few small stains to cloth, former owner's stamp on top edge and title page. Contents slightly tanned. In a Very Good+ unclipped dust jacket with rubbing and slight wear at spine ends with short tears at the folds; extremities worn. A nice copy.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Jack Kerouac. The Dharma Bums. Viking, NY, 1958.
Price: US$785.47 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: The follow-up to and set in the immediate aftermath of the authors groundbreaking On the Road, the Dharma Bums is a semi-autobiographical account of the author/ protagonists attempts to reconcile his love of the natural world (hiking etc.) with jazz clubs and drinking and parties in the city in the context of the Zen Buddhism that Kerouac had become interested in. This is the first edition, published by Viking, New York, in 1958, and is in Very Good condition, with just the dust jacket a bit scuffed but otherwise clean and tight throughout.
Seller: CASSIUS&Co., London, United Kingdom
KEROUAC, Jack. The Dharma Bums. The Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$850.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 8vo. Pp. [3], 4-144, [4]. Bound in full black cloth with green lettering stamped on front board and green and white lettering stamped on spine. Light soiling to cloth with lettering moderately flaked; top edge a tad dust-soiled. In the illustrated dust jacket that shows light rubbing; price of $3.95 intact on front flap. As with On the Road the black dust jacket has been notoriously prone to evidence of wear. Here we present a bright example. Dust jacket is now housed in a removable, clear archival protector.
Seller: Long Brothers Fine & Rare Books, ABAA, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
KEROUAC, Jack (1922-1969). The Dharma Bums. New York, NY: The Viking Press, 1958, 1958.
Price: US$883.65 + shipping
Description: [Beat Novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.[8]; 244; [4]. Publisher's black cloth with titles in green and silver. Top edge light green. With the dust-jacket designed by Bill English, priced at $3.95. With occasional light marginal pencil marks. Light bumping to cloth. Jacket rubbed, with bruises and chips to edges, as well as a few creases and closed tears. Very good. Published a year after 'On the Road,' Kerouac's 'Dharma Bums' continues in the same vein of 'Kerouac-ian' existentialism, as the semi-autobiographical characters climb mountains in search of truth.
Seller: Adrian Harrington Ltd, PBFA, ABA, ILAB, Royal Tunbridge Wells, KENT, United Kingdom
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. The Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$990.00 + shipping
Description: Nice copy of first printing. Unmarked, tight and square. Handsome copy of his best book after "On the Road". Price intact jacket has light rubbing to some of front panel but more to front fold with some on rear panel as well. Light creasing to small part of rer panel. Tiny bit of paper loss to jacket at spine ends and bottom of rear panel. In mylar. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
Seller: Timothy Norlen Bookseller, Santa Barbara, CA, U.S.A.
KEROUAC, Jack. The Dharma Bums.. , 1958.
Price: US$1021.11 + shipping
Description: New York: The Viking Press, 1958. 8vo., original black cloth, lettered with title in metallic green to upper board, and in green, purple and silver to spine; upper edge green; with the dust wrapper ($3.95) designed by Bill English; pp. [xi], 4-244, [iv]; a fine copy, slightly pushed to spine ends and the upper edge a trifle faded; the very good, unrestored dust jacket with a couple of small nicks, lightly rubbed all over. A very nice copy of this famous work. First edition. Published just one year after On the Road, The Dharma Bums is also an autobiographical novel from Kerouac, telling the story of two ebullient young men searching for Truth the Zen way: marathon wine-drinking bouts, poetry jam sessions, 'yabyum' in San Francisco's Bohemia, and embracing solitude in the high Sierras. The main characters are narrator Ray Smith (based on Kerouac) and Japhy Ryder, based on the poet and essayist Gary Snyder, who was instrumental in Kerouac's introduction to Buddhism in the mid-1950s. The book was another huge success for Kerouac, quickly becoming one of his most popular books. It would go on to have a significant influence on the Hippie counterculture during the 1960s.
Seller: Henry Sotheran Ltd, London, United Kingdom
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. The Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$1100.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: 8vo. [9], 4-244, [4] pp. Black cloth with green lettering on the front board and silver and green lettering on the spine. Price of $3.95 on the front flap of the dust jacket. Ahearn APG 005a. Charters A4. Kerouac's classic work epitomizing the Beat movement and sensibilities. The corners and spine ends very minutely rubbed; jacket with moderate rubbing and a few traces of edge wear.
Seller: Evening Star Books, ABAA/ILAB, Madison, WI, U.S.A.
KEROUAC, Jack.. The Dharma Bums.. New York: The Viking Press, 1958, 1958.
Price: US$1112.75 + shipping
Description: First edition, first printing, this copy in a variant binding not noted by Charters, with "Dharma Bums" lettered in silver on the spine rather than metallic blue, and without the green top edge. This title outlines "the equipment and attitudes it took to live Kerouac's way, including both the spiritual equipment [Zen Buddhism] as well as ordinary equipment like prosaic tents and Oakland store sleeping bags" (Charters, p. 270). This copy has two postcards and a bookmark from Gotham Book Mart, the Manhattan cultural landmark and literary salon. Charters A4a. Ann Charters, Kerouac: A Biography, 1994. Octavo. Original black cloth, spine lettered in silver and green, titles in green on front cover. With dust jacket. Housed in a custom flat-backed folding box. With three newspaper clippings loosely inserted. Edges a little rubbed, upper outer corners bumped, slight wear to lower edges; jacket rubbed with two short closed tears, edges nicked with a few chips to foot of spine and lower corners, unclipped; a very good copy in like jacket.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. The Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing. An attractive First Issue dustjacket that is rich in color with NO chips or tears with minor repair. The book is in great shape with minor wear to the spine. The pages are clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. A wonderful copy in collector's condition.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. The Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$2200.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First edition, first printing. Bound in publisher's black cloth lettered in metallic green and silver, top edges stained green. A Fine copy with fading to green topstain in a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket, with minimal rubbing and faint wear. A fantastic copy of a book typically found in much less condition.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. The Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing with the words "Published 1958 by the Viking Press" printed on the copyright page with NO indication of later printings. A wonderful copy. This First Issue dustjacket is rich in color and has the publisher's printed price of $3.95 present on the front flap. This ORIGINAL dustjacket has light wear to the edges. The book is bound in the publisher's black cloth. The binding is tight with NO cocking or leaning and the boards are crisp with minor wear. The pages are clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. A lovely copy in collector's condition.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. Viking Press, New York, 1958.
Price: US$3000.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: 244p octavo. a fine copy in like dust jacket . The book is another roman-a-clef in which Neal Cassady, Gary Snyder, Allen Ginsberg, Philip Whalen, Kenneth Rexroth and Kerouac himself appear thinly disguised. Jacket show slight bleeding from the cloth onto the edges of the back panel
Seller: Old New York Book Shop, ABAA, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.