[Item #4565] Mine Enemy Grows Older. Alexander King.
Mine Enemy Grows Older
Mine Enemy Grows Older
Mine Enemy Grows Older
Mine Enemy Grows Older
Mine Enemy Grows Older
Mine Enemy Grows Older
Mine Enemy Grows Older

Mine Enemy Grows Older

New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1958. First Edition. Hardcover. "For some 30 years a few hundred selfish insiders in the world of books, art and theater have kept to themselves a secret formula for regaining the zest of living when everything is so flat and stale that even profit seems unprofitable. The procedure is to corral Alexander King and get him to talk about practically anything- preferably his own fantastic safari through the world of books, art and theater. As well as the larger world of love and trouble. With the publication of Mine Enemy Grows Older this unfair monopoly is happily broken." (from front flaps) The cult-classical memoir by Alexander King (1899-1965), the Austrian-American writer, editor (among the original of Life magazine) & raconteur. Stranger than fiction as the saying goes, this delightful & disturbing autobiographical work recounts King's bohemian adventures, his encounters with the famous & obscure, & his struggles with drug addiction. We offer a true first edition hardcover, first printing as stated on copyright page, with two clipped first-issue dust jackets- outer jacket with King's nightmarish, surreal artwork reproduced on front cover with the statement "NOTE: If this jacket (the author painted it) is too strong for you, take it off. There's a conservative jacket for conservative people underneath"; inner jacket with plain lettering on grey background. Both jackets contain the same flap copy, & reproduction of an illustration of King signed by "S. Lazarus" (probably one of King's many pseudonyms- alter egos for whom he invented backstories) on rear covers. A rich & rewarding King collectible in its rarest original (indeed) form. Book in fine condition with light rubbing & fading to front, back covers & spine (with very little dulling to quite intact gilt facsimile signature on front board, lettering on spine); mild wear, fading & some tiny bumps at thin edges & corners of same esp. upper edges of boards; mild rubbing, browning & faint scratching to edges of text block (side edge of same untrimmed as issued). Interior fine with neat, closed tearing at upper area of edge between blank black front paste-down & endpaper; a hint of light browning mostly to blank margins of page leaves; tiny bumps at mostly upper corners of a few of same. Outer dust jacket poor-fair with moderate-to-significant rubbing, browning, scratching & creasing to front, back covers, spine & flaps; mild-to-significant wear at all edges & corners incl. closed tears, loss of paper esp. at spine-edges, corners & lower right corner of front cover; front flap completely separated from rest of jacket; several thin inward folds to blank left edge-margin of rear flap. Inner jacket fair with same points as outer jacket except both flaps fully attached, no folds at rear flap as described above. We have taken pains to preserve both jackets separately so that they may be inspected & enjoyed. Fine / Poor- Fair. [Item #4565]

Price: $75.00