Jack Kerouac

A first printing review copy of Kerouac's landmark novel, and a defining work of the Beat Generation, On the Road.

• Jack Kerouac (American).
• New York: Viking, 1957. 
• 310 pages.
• Original typed Viking review slip loosely laid in, noting publication date of "September 5, 1957."
• Bound in original black cloth titled in white, in original unclipped color pictorial jacket designed by Bill English.

Kerouac's novel of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty (literary stand-ins for the author and Neal Cassady) traveling across the United States was famously written in a drug-fueled mania on a long scroll of paper and became a surprise bestseller. It quickly went through multiple printings and made Kerouac not only a celebrity (famously appearing on the Steve Allen Show), but an unwilling spokesman for a movement. His style—both literary and personal—came to influence postwar youth culture, from rock-and-roll to Marlon Brando. One of the nicest copies of this classic we've handled, and the first review copy.