Genet, Jean

The Thief's Journal

New York, NY: Grove Press, 1964. First American Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. First U.S. edition of Jean Genet's journal of his life among street outcasts in Barcelona after deserting the Foreign Legion. A classic work first published in France in 1949 by a legendary writer whose life paralleled the Beats & later intersected with them, especially when he covered the infamous 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago alongside William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg & others in the countercultural firmament. This edition of "The Thief's Journal" also contains a notable foreword by Jean-Paul Sartre, wherein Sarte calls the book a "sacred cosmogony." The publisher, Grove Press, issued the first U.S. editions of WSB's works including Nova Express during this period. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket, first edition, first printing as stated on the copyright page. A significant Genet collectible. Book in fine condition with only mild sunning to top portions & edges of front, back covers & spine; very light wear to bottom edges of same; a few narrow vertical indents in cloth from bottom edge through lower portion of front cover (which may be a flaw as issued); very mild wear along bottom & side trimmed edges of text block; more so with spotting at upper edge of same. Interior very fine. Dust-jacket in relatively near-fine condition among those we have obtained or seen with moderate browning of edges, rubbing, scratching & soiling of front, back covers & spine; minor creasing & chipping along all edges & corners; short vertical closed tears along left edges of front & back covers, upper left edge of spine. Fine / Near-Fine. [Item #4412]

Price: $60.00