Kerouac, Jack (Leech, Tom)

On the Road: The Original Scroll Bundle (with: 50th Anniversary Edition and “Kerouac is Back, Jack”)

New York, NY; Santa Fe, NM: Viking Penguin; Palace of the Governors, 2007. First Printing; First Edition Thus; First Printing. Hardcovers; Stapled Wrappers. Jack Kerouac's On the Road, along with Allen Ginsberg's Howl & William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch, ignited the Beat Generation into a popular phenomenon that in turn paved the way for the seismic literary & cultural upheavals which culminated during the 1960s. Famously written on a single roll of paper in a nonstop benzedrine-fueled binge of only several weeks during 1951, it gestated in Kerouac's rucksack until finally published in a highly edited form by The Viking Press in September 1957, heralded by an enthusiastic review by Gilbert Millstein in the trusted "establishment" New York Times. As with all of Kerouac's novels, it is really a memoir, in this case of Kerouac's ("Sal Paradise") adventures back & forth across the American continent during 1947-1950 with Neal Cassady ("Dean Moriarty") & their encounters with WSB ("Old Bull Lee"), Ginsberg ("Carlo Marx"), Herbert Huncke ("Elmer Hassel") & many other of their real-life co-founding members of the Beat Generation. The year of 2007 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the first publication of On the Road, & the successor to its original publisher issued two special editions that year, both of which are offered here in one bundle: (1) On the Road: The Original Scroll, with transcription of the text as it was originally written on the legendary single roll of paper, including the characters' actual names & structured without paragraphs. Preceding the transcription are four scholarly critical introductions by Editor Howard Cunnell, Penny Vlagopoulos, George Mouratidis & Joshua Kupetz. As written on front flap, "Here, on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, is the never-before-published original scroll edition of On the Road. It represents the first full expression of Kerouac's revolutionary aesthetic, the identifiable point at which his thematic vision and narrative voice came together in a sustained burst of creative energy. The original version...is rougher, wilder, and more sexually explicit than the published novel. Kerouac also uses the real names of his friends...and this adds to the text's powerful and intimate immediacy." Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket, first edition thus, first printing as indicated by number sequence on copyright page. (2) On the Road 50th Anniversary Edition, with the 1957 edited text still familiar to most readers, preceded by a reprint of Millstein's complete, influential review originally published as a "Books of the Times" article in the September 5, 1957 NYT issue. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket, first edition thus, first printing as indicated by number sequence on copyright page. (3) Rounding out this bundle is “Kerouac is Back, Jack” – a six-page pamphlet (with four-page essay) from the original “tour” of the Scroll, a tour financed by its famous buyer, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. The stop in question took place at what’s known as “The Palace of the Governors” in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The site, which dates back to 1610, is now part of the New Mexico History Museum. The essay, a short albeit informative piece, is the work of Tom Leech, titled “Jack Kerouac and the Writer’s Life.” A fitting final addition to this Scroll-Based, only-at-TMB OTR bundle. (1) Book very fine with only the slightest touch of wear to edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; otherwise substantially mint inside & out. Dust jacket very fine with only a few tiny bumps & short, faint creases at thin edges & corners of front, back covers, spine & flaps. (2) Book very fine, all but substantially mint Inside & out. Dust jacket very fine with only very slight wear at edges & corners of front, back covers & spine esp. upper & lower back cover spine-edges. (3) In very fine condition, still in publisher’s wrapping (itself a little worn but the pamphlet itself is unaffected). Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #4712]

Price: $125.00