Fitzgerald, F. Scott

Flappers and Philosophers. New York: Scribner's, 1920

8vo (7 1/2 x 5 1/4 ins; 190 x 135 mm). Publisher's green linen-like cloth with gilt-lettered spine; cloth remarkably clean, unrubbed with gilt particularly bright.  Original pictorial dust-jacket by W. E. Hill;  very nearly completely intact and without any need for substantial restoration,  front and rear panels unchipped, the rear panel only slightly rubbed with very minor soiling along flap fold,  spine panel with two small holes in the center along lower fold, two minor chips at top corners spine head, creased fraying at ends but all lettering intact, 3 inch closed tear without loss along lower front fold that has been backed on verso with easily cleaned old tape repair, more than presentable, wholly unrestored and truly scarce as such. Half morocco gilt slipcase and chemise.



 

Bruccoli  A6.1.a

"The black tulip" of Fitzgerald first editions in jacket and the sole example to appear at auction in decades.

The success of This Side of Paradise prompted a print run of 5,000 copies for Fitzgerald's second book, a collection of short fiction that originally appeared in magazines.  "The Ice Palace" and "The Offshore Pirate" are herein as is "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" (which inspired Hill's jacket illustration). Published in September, 1920, such was demand that  it went through six printings in two years, sold over 15,000 copies and established Fitzgerald as a generational voice and celebrity. 

Few jackets from any early printings survive in honest and unrestored condition as here and unsophisticated first editions are almost unknown.  One has to go back to the 1977 Goodwin sale for another copy in the correct jacket at auction (described as "slightly frayed").   No copy was offered in the  modern literature collection sales of Falktoft, Rechler, Neville or Bibliophile II, demonstrating that the scarcity in jacket of Flappers... is unrivalled by any Fitzgerald title.