Faulkner, William (1932) ‘Light in August’, US first edition, first state

William Faulkner (1932) ‘Light In August’, US first edition, first printing, first state, published by Harrison Smith and Robert Haas. All first state points present: “Jefferson” for “Mottstown” on line 1, p. 340; the publisher’s first-state binding of coarsely woven oatmeal cloth, upper cover stamped in orange, spine in blue, top edge stained reddish-orange; correct dust jacket with USD 2.50 price and correct titles on the back panel starting with Boyle, Kay “Year Before Last”. One of only 8,500 copies printed of which very few have survived the passage of time with the original dust jacket.

Condition: the book is near fine. No foxing, no lean, no bumps, no previous owners’ inscriptions or bookplates of any sorts. Just some toning to the boards commensurate with age. The dust jacket is unrestored, not price clipped. It is moderately faded on the spine as pictured with usual edge wear commensurate with age. The back panel of the dj has some evidence of soiling (discolouration). The reverse of the jacket shows slight evidence of moisture on the spine as pictured. The grading of the wrapper would be something between good and very good. Now protected in removable mylar. Copies in fine dust jackets fetch easily GBP 2,000 or more these days.

William Faulkner won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949. ‘Light in August’, the author’s seventh of nineteen novels, was initially not a huge success. However, the book is now considered as one of the best of the 20th century canon and was included in the Modern Library and TIME ranking.