Styron, William

The Confessions of Nat Turner with: Ephemera

New York, NY: Random House, 1967. First Trade Edition. Hardcover. "In the late summer of 1831, in a remote section of southeastern Virginia, there took place the only effective, sustained revolt in the annals of American Negro slavery...The revolt was led by a remarkable Negro preacher named Nat Turner, an educated slave who felt himself divinely ordained to annihilate all the white people in the region. THE CONFESSIONS OF NAT TURNER is narrated by Nat himself as he lingers in jail through the cold autumnal days before his execution. The compelling story ranges over the whole of Nat's life, reaching its inevitable and shattering climax that bloody day in August." (from front flap) The powerful Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novel by William Styron (1925-2006), the canonical American author & essayist. Hardcover in unclipped first-issue dust jacket (with $6.95 price & "10/67" printed at front flap), first (trade) edition, first printing as stated on copyright page. From the collection of George Bornstein (1941-2021), author, scholar, academician here at the University of Michigan- the dearly missed friend & mentor to this writer. Bornstein has hand-written his signature & the date of "October, 1967" (the very month & year of publication) in black ink on blank brown front paste-down. Additionally, we found & have retained (separately from the volume due to its bulk) a cache of important ephemera gathered by Bornstein originally between paste-downs & endpapers, including: Transcript of Turner's actual confession from his trial (copied typed pages stapled & folded once horizontally); copy of essay published in the Winter 2009 issue of the Sewanee Review titled "Styron, Ellison and/ the Difficulties of Friendship" by James L.W. West III (b. 1946, the noted American author & academician), inscribed & signed by West III to Bornstein in bold black ink, stapled & folded twice vertically; copy of a portion of the "1993 ed(ition)" of this volume with Bornstein's notes, highlighting & marginalia in pencil & ink, stapled & folded once vertically; first four pages of a contemporary (Life?) magazine article entitled "The Novelist as a Rebel Slave" including color images, removed & much-folded; a "Special Report" contemporary review of this volume entitled "Into the Mind of Nat Turner" by Raymond A. Sokolov removed from the October 16, 1967 issue of Newsweek magazine, four loose pages folded once horizontally; & the review of this volume by Philip Rahv entitled "Through the Midst of Jerusalem" removed from the October 26, 1967 issue of the New York Review of Books, three loose pages folded horizontally & vertically. All of the above ephemera is in relatively good-to-near-fine condition with mild-to-moderate browning (esp. to removed contemporary articles/reviews); some irregular edges; holes for loose-leaf insertion punched at side margins of copied trial transcript, portion of later edition. A foundational classic Styron collectible in its rarest contemporary trade form, with enriching ephemera & most-distinguished provenance. Book in relatively quite fine condition with slight rubbing, fading to black-cloth front, back covers & spine (gilt, silver & orange letters, graphics & facsimile author signature at spine & front cover appear completely bright & intact); light wear, fading to edges & corners of same; light browning to side edge of text block (untrimmed as issued); a bit of browning & occasional spot-staining, faint scratching to lower edge of same; moderate rubbing & fading to red-dyed upper edge of same. Interior very fine with only the slightest hint of browning at blank margins/edges of page leaves; "E" hand-written in pencil to right of Bornstein's ownership signature/date described above at front paste-down; very occasional marginalia by Bornstein consisting of short vertical lines in pencil at margins of a few pages. Dust jacket (again relatively) fine with mild rubbing, faint scratching & a touch of browning to front, back covers, spine & flaps; very slight wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; slight fading to red background color at spine. Fine / Fine. [Item #6430]

Price: $200.00