Description
Inscribed first edition, first printing of Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener.
Octavo, v, [3], 326pp. Orange-beige cloth, title printed in blue on spine, wear to edges, bumped lower front corner. Stated “first printing” on copyright page. Solid text block, toning to leaves as expected. Ownership notation on front pastedown endpaper. In the publisher’s first state dust jacket, $3.00 on front flap, illustrator’s name vertically on front panel (J.O’H. Cosgrave II), some light chipping to top edge of spine, faint shelf wear to rear panel, a bright and presentable example. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, with his trademark red stamp below.
Inscription reads: “To Louis Matthey, It is a pleasure to autograph this rare and valuable first edition of my first book. Congenially, James A. Michener. Doylestown, Pa. 18 Jan 1981.” An attractive and rare signed copy from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
Tales of the South Pacific is the Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories by author James A. Michener. It follows his experience during World War II while stationed at Vanuatu. It was later adapted into a Broadway Musical (South Pacific) by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Michener won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948 and would go on to write over 40 books during his lifetime.
