Tropic Of Cancer
by Miller, Henry
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
Bordentown, New Jersey, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Medusa, 1940. First American edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Hardcover. Octavo in original pale green cloth. The first American edition, privately printed in this pirated edition of 1000 copies by Jacob Brussel (the imprint "Medusa" is assumed ficticious). 323 pp. A tight, internally bright example, spine strip somewhat embrowned and with some modest rubbing to the spine lettering. Precedes the authorized (Grove Press) American edition by more than two decades. (Shifreen & Jackson A9).
Synopsis
Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer is one of the most notoriously and frequently censored books in the history of American literature. In a combination of autobiography and fiction, the novel centers of Miller’s own life as a struggling writer in Paris in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Tropic of Cancer is written in the first person and lacks linear organization, two of Miller’s most favored techniques. Some chapters are narratives about Miller’s friends and workplaces, and others are stream-of-consciousness-style reflections, but all of the chapters touch on the sexual exploits and general low-life ruthlessness in which the author had engaged at the time. Tropic of Cancer was first published by Obelisk Press, a French publisher of soft pornography, in Paris in 1934. Shortly thereafter, the novel was banned in the US and later tried for charges of obscenity, a trial that challenged American pornography laws at the time. In 1961, the ban of Tropic of Cancer was lifted, and later that year, Grove Press published the first US edition of the novel, but only after the firm’s Barney Rosset offered Miller a sizeable advance and promised to defend the author in any future legal battles regarding the publication. Grove Press’s edition of Tropic of Cancer sold over 1 million copies by the end of 1961… and was the subject of about 60 lawsuits as well, one of which involved the American Civil Liberties Union. All of this hullabaloo makes one wonder what the reactions might have been if Miller had decided to go with the novel’s working title, Crazy Cock — which was, ironically, far more modest than the published version. Regardless, the novel’s 1970 film adaptation, directed by Joseph Strick, received an X rating (meaning no one 17 and under admitted). Today, Tropic of Cancer finds itself ranked 50th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century and 59th on The Guardian’s list of the 100 best novels.
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Details
- Bookseller
- The Old Book Shop of Bordentown (ABNJ)
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- E16736
- Title
- Tropic Of Cancer
- Author
- Miller, Henry
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First American edition
- Publisher
- Medusa
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1940
- Keywords
- literature, banned books, pornography,
Terms of Sale
The Old Book Shop of Bordentown (ABNJ)
TRACKING AND INSURANCE AT OPTION OF BUYER. ON UNINSURED ITEMS, OUR RESPONSIBILITY ENDS WITH PROOF OF SHIPPING---NO EXCEPTIONS! Books are returnable if misdescribed; we must be notified within 48 hours of receipt if making a return. We conform to accepted ABAA grading. "First edition" means "first printing" unless noted; if it doesn't say it has a jacket then it doesn't; faults such as ownership signatures, price clipping, etc. will be noted in the listing. Member ABAA, ILAB, ABNJ.
About the Seller
The Old Book Shop of Bordentown (ABNJ)
Biblio member since 2005
Bordentown, New Jersey
About The Old Book Shop of Bordentown (ABNJ)
The Old Book Shop of Bordentown is a general used/rare bookshop open to the public Tues.-Sunday 11AM to 5PM (8 PM on Fridays). 10,000 books on premises with another 25,000 in stock. Areas of speciality include baseball, New Jersey, American literature, mysteries. Member, ABAA, ILAB,Antiquarian Booksellers of New Jersey. Located in historic Bordentown City, New Jeresy (est. 1682).
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine Strip
- The material covering the spine, or the rear portion of the outside of a book.
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
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