The Crying of Lot 49

New York: Lippincott, (1966). First edition (U.S.), 1st printing. 8vo. 183 pp. Original yellow cloth over concrete grey cloth covered boards, stamped in black, in original unclipped ($3.95) dust-jacket. Mild wear to corners, and edges in particular. A few trivial tears and chips to edges, particular chipping to spine. Moderate surface scratches, wrinkles and consistent handling wear. Faint tape ghosts to flaps. Protected in archival mylar. Book is tight, square and firm. Light toning and handling wear to edges. Page edges toned. Nicks to page edges, along with a series of pages with creases (pgs. 17, 34, 64, 73, 99, 104). Interior clean and unmarked.

Dust Jacket: Very Good

Hardcover: Very Good

“The Crying of Lot 49 is a 1966 novella by the American author Thomas Pynchon. The shortest of Pynchon's novels, the plot follows Oedipa Maas, a young Californian woman who begins to embrace a conspiracy theory as she possibly unearths a centuries-old feud between two mail distribution companies. One of these companies, Thurn and Taxis, actually existed, operating from 1806 to 1867, and was the first private firm to distribute postal mail. Like most of Pynchon's writing, The Crying of Lot 49 is often described as postmodernist literature. Time included the novel in its "TIME 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005".