NY: The Viking Press, 1967. First Edition. 304pp. Octavo; brown boards backed with black cloth stamped in brown and gilt; red topstain; dust jacket. Moderate shelfwear (board just showing through at bottom front tip); a few spots of soiling to textblock base. Unclipped jacket with numerous chips, weakened hinges, closed tears (tape-repaired to interior); toning to rear panel; sticker-removal abrasion to front flap. Very good in a good only jacket. Signed and inscribed by Conroy to half-title: "Marion- if you dig this half as much as I've dug your music all these years, then you dig it a lot. With my very best wishes Frank Conroy."
Presentation copy of Conroy's celebrated first book--a coming-of-age memoir--with an intriguing if mysterious association. The nature of the inscription, as well as Conroy's own status as an accomplished jazz pianist, leave us inclined to believe that his recipient may have been a fellow jazz musician. We venture to hypothesize that it may have been saxophonist Marion Brown, who was noted for his connections to the mid-60s New York literary scene, and whom Conroy would very likely have crossed paths with musically. At any rate, a compelling copy of Conroy's prose masterpiece, priced to reflect its somewhat shabby condition.
