Watt
New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1959.
First American trade edition, first printing. Signed by Samuel Beckett on the title page. [vi], 254 pp. Bound in publisher's dark grey cloth with spine lettered in gilt. Near Fine with light foxing to top edge of text block, light soiling and erased price to front endsheet. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with light rubbing and light wear. A superb copy. Written in the wake of WWII whilst hiding from the Gestapo in France, Beckett penned this absurdist novel in an effort to stay sane following a mental breakdown. Publication ceased until Olympia Press and Merlin adopted it into print in 1953. Droll, philosophical and uncompromisingly bleak, this work remains a foundation work of existential literature. While copies of the signed limited edition are common on the market, signed trade editions are not. Federman & Fletcher 32.2.
Price: $5,500