The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1974.
First edition, first printing. Signed by Richard Brautigan on the title page and inscribed to his friend and future biographer, William Hjortsberg, "This copy is for the Hjortsbergs: Gatz, Marian, Lorca / and Max with Love from Richard Brautigan / August 11, 1974 / Pine Creek, Montana." 216 pp. Bound in publisher's brown cloth stamped in gilt. Near Fine with minor soiling to textblock edges. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket, small stain to top edge of front flap, corner crease to rear flap. A nice copy of Brautigan's Western parody (one of his best later works) inscribed to the fellow writer who decades later penned the massive, 600,000 word biography, Jubilee Hitchhiker: The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan. Hjortsberg was a fellow member of the Montana Gang, to which this novel is itself dedicated. Inscribed copies are quite scarce.
Price: $3,000