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The Crying of Lot 49

The Crying of Lot 49

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The Crying of Lot 49

by Pynchon, Thomas

  • Used
  • near fine
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Near Fine
Seller
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
New York, New York, United States
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A$1,243.28
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About This Item

Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1966 First edition, first printing. Publisher’s yellow cloth-backed gray boards, with three muted post horn symbols in blind to front board, titles in black to spine, black topstain, brown endpapers with “w.a.s.t.e.” in gray lettering, book designed by William Gray; original dust jacket with muted post horn symbol to front panel, titles lettered in orange and blue, jacket designed by Milton Charles. About fine book with a tiny scratch to bottom of rear board, a hint of soiling to fore edge, and a very minor dent to tail edge of text block; near fine unclipped dust jacket with very light wear to edges and foot of spine, a hint of rubbing to rear panel, and lightly nicked bottom rear corner. Overall, a very handsome and fresh copy of Pynchon’s masterpiece. Set in 1960s California, The Crying of Lot 49 begins with Oedipa Maas learning that she has been appointed as the executor of her recently deceased ex-lover’s large estate. As Maas learns more about her ex-lover, she slips further down a conspiracy rabbit hole that centers around an underground postal service, w.a.s.t.e., whose muted post horn symbol begins popping up everywhere. The Crying of Lot 49 is Pynchon’s shortest novel and the follow-up to his debut, V., which also features a protagonist attempting to get to the bottom of a conspiracy theory. Lot 49 is filled with cultural references, including The Beatles (satirized in the novel as a band called The Paranoids) and the novel Lolita-- so many that J. Kerry Grant wrote A Companion to The Crying of Lot 49 to catalog as many of them as possible. Time magazine, which originally called the book a “metaphysical thriller in the form of a pornographic comic strip” in its 1966 review, included the book on its list of 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine.

Synopsis

The Crying of Lot 49 is a novel by Thomas Pynchon. The shortest of Pynchon's novels and often considered his most accessible, the book is about a woman, Oedipa Maas, possibly unearthing the centuries-old conflict between two mail distribution companies, Thurn und Taxis and the Trystero (or Tristero). The former actually existed, and was the first firm to distribute postal mail; the latter is Pynchon's invention. The novel is often classified as a notable example of postmodern fiction.

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Details

Bookseller
B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
TP008
Title
The Crying of Lot 49
Author
Pynchon, Thomas
Format/Binding
Hardcover
Book Condition
Used - Near Fine
Edition
First Edition
Publisher
Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company
Date Published
1966
Weight
0.00 lbs
Bookseller catalogs
Modern Firsts; American Literature; Fiction;

Terms of Sale

B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA

~ All items are guaranteed as described. We recommend requesting pictures prior to purchasing. ~ Any items may be returned within seven days of receipt and in the same condition as originally sent. ~ We ship with FedEx, UPS and USPS. Please let us know if you prefer another shipping. ~ New York State are required to add 8.875% sales tax.

About the Seller

B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2006
New York, New York

About B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA

Selling First Editions and Rare Books from all centuries. Specializing in 19th and 20th century literature, modern first editions, signed and inscribed books, early children's literature, and poetry.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Edges
The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
Fore Edge
The portion of a book that is opposite the spine. That part of a book which faces the wall when shelved in a traditional...
Rubbing
Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
Tail
The heel of the spine.
Jacket
Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
First Edition
In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
Fine
A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
Spine
The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....

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