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Auchincloss was widely travelled, journeying to “more continents while stricken with cancer than most people do in a lifetime of good health” (Gordon). He and Lee evidently met Calvino in Rome, one year after the author’s move to Piazza Campo Marzio near the Pantheon, where he was occupied editing the work of Tommaso Landolfi for Rizzoli. Octavo. Original yellow cloth-backed red boards, titles to spine in black, ISBN and star to rear cover in black, red endpapers. With dust jacket. Head of spine and tips slightly bumped, a few trivial marks to lower edge, else bright and firm. A very good copy indeed, in the sharp jacket, spine panel sunned, top edges a little toned, nicks to head of spine and one tip, lower tips a little rubbed and creased. ¶ Devin Gordon, “Remembering Ken Auchincloss”, Newsweek , 3 April 2003, available online; John Randle, “Kenneth Auchincloss Obituary”, Independent , 14 March 2003. £3,000 [153781] 24 CAPOTE, Truman. In Cold Blood. New York: Random House, 1965 Inscribed to a Guest of his famous black and White Ball First edition, first printing, inscribed by the author on the half- title, “For Jane and John, with all my love, Truman”. The recipients were the best-selling author and journalist John Gunther and his wife Jane. Gunther was one of the guests at Truman Capote’s famous Black and White Ball, an extravagant masquerade held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The ball took place in November 1966, not long after the publication of In Cold Blood , and many celebrities attended, including Andy Warhol, Frank Sinatra, and Harry Belafonte. John Gunther (1901–1970) had been a fixture on best-seller lists since his publication of Inside Europe (1936), the first of his “Inside” books, a series of popular socio-political works that allowed him to abandon journalism and pursue writing as his full- time job. His work as a journalist for Daily News had allowed him to work in almost every European city; his New York Times obituary
states that he had “travelled more miles, crossed more borders, interviewed more statesmen, wrote more books and sold more copies than any other single journalist of his time”. Gunther’s most well-known book, Death Be Not Proud (1949) was a memoir describing the decline and death of his son, Johnny. Prior to its publication, memoirs about illness and grief were not common: Deborah Cohen, writing for The Atlantic , dubbed it “the book that unleashed American grief”. Octavo. Original reddish-brown cloth, spine lettered in gilt and silver, author’s initials on front cover in gilt, red endpapers, top edge blue, fore- edge untrimmed. With supplied jacket. Foot of spine just sunned, tiny
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splash mark to top edge. A fresh, near-fine copy in very good jacket indeed, lightly toned, spine ends and corners a little chipped, short closed tear to head of rear panel, edges a little nicked and rubbed, not price-clipped, sharp and striking. ¶ Deborah Cohen, “The Book that Unleashed American Grief”, The Atlantic , 8 March 2022; Albin Krebs, “John Gunther Dead; Wrote ‘Inside’ Books”, The New York Times , 30 May 1970, available online. £5,000 [155789]
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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