Vonnegut, Kurt

Player Piano

New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1952. First Book Club Edition. Hardcover. First Edition. "Ten years after the Second Industrial Revolution the Electronic Age was in full swing. Millions of vacuum tubes hummed, millions of machines clicked as they spewed forth the requisite number of prefabricated houses and ultrasonic dishwashers, the answers to governmental and industrial questions, the impeccably correct selections of books, football teams and civil servants. Very few people actually worked; the machines picked out potential engineer material and sent it to college, and with this background a young man might hope to go to Pittsburgh eventually- the equivalent of going to the White House back in the old pre-electronic days." (from front flap) The first novel by Kurt Vonnegut (Jr., 1922-2007), the acclaimed, award-winning, prolific & still-popular American author whose works are now enshrined in the Library of America series. Vonnegut's fabled canon started off with an exemplary bang in this speculative science fiction-dystopian-satirical story of humanity's revolt against a machine-dominated & organized society which has sidelined its own inventors. Hardcover in dust-jacket (slightly clipped at each flap corner as issued), first book club edition as stated on front flap, first printing as indicated by "A" on copyright page. A foundational Vonnegut collectible in its second-rarest original form. See also our item No.s 4553, 4660. Book in fine condition with very light rubbing to turquoise-colored paper front, back covers & spine; light wear at edges & corners of same incl. very slight loss of surface paper esp. at corners & spine-edges; one very small, thin vertical area of surface paper loss near right edge of front cover; light browning to side & lower edges of text block (the former untrimmed as issued); light rubbing, a few faint scratches to yellow-brown-dyed upper edge of same. Interior very fine with only slight browning to blank paste-downs & endpapers; a touch of browning to blank margins of page leaves; tiny bumps, faint creases at corners of a few of same. Dust jacket fine with light rubbing, browning (esp. to spine), faint creasing to front, back covers, spine & flaps; mild wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; slight loss of paper esp. at spine-edges & corners, lower right corner of front cover & lower edge of front flap. Fine / Fine. [Item #4773]

Price: $200.00