Description
Signed first edition, first printing of The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin.
Octavo, 120pp. Publisher’s beige cloth, title in red on spine. The first printing, with no additional printings listed. Red top stain. Solid text block, foxing to cloth covers, slight bow to boards, internally fine. Previous ownership inscription on front flyleaf, dated the year of publication. In the publisher’s first state dust jacket, $3.50 retail price on front flap, light wear to edges, offsetting to verso. (Blockson 2829) Housed in a custom red clamshell, title in gilt on curved morocco spine.
Signed by James Baldwin on the half-title page: “For J— : Peace. James Baldwin.”
An attractive copy of this important work on racial injustice.
James Baldwin (1924-1987) was a prolific writer and activist whose works often explored themes of race, sexuality, and identity in America. His novels and essays, including “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “Giovanni’s Room,” and “The Fire Next Time” delve deep into the complexities of societal injustice. This first edition of The Fire Next Time features the first appearance in book form of Down at the Cross and My Dungeon Shook, previously serialized in The New Yorker and The Progressive
