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The Benefactor [Inscribed to Hilton Kramer]
by [LITERATURE] SONTAG, Susan
- Used
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Winchester, Virginia, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Farrar, Straus & Co, 1963. First Edition. First printing. Octavo (22cm); Black cloth over black paper-covered boards; dark gray topstain; titles in white and green on spine; xii,274pp. Inscribed on verso of front free endpaper: "For Hilton Kramer - Regards," signed by Sontag, undated but contemporary with publication. Laid-in is a Farrar, Straus & Cudahy "compliments of the author" card. Tight and straight, with topstain unfaded; endpapers have faded unevenly, as usual; few spots of soil to text block edges, still Near Fine. In the original dustwrapper, unclipped (priced $4.50 on front flap); toned and slightly soiled on lighter portions, with toning a shade deeper on spine panel; still quite presentable, easily Very Good. A tremendous association copy of Sontag's uncommon first book, inscribed at the beginning of her fiction-writing career to the critic who would become her greatest and most persistent adversary. Kramer (1928-2012) and Sontag worked together on the staff of Commentary. What was probably a cordial relationship with Kramer seems to have gone sour after the publication of her 1964 essay "Notes on Camp," which was her first contribution to the Partisan Review. "Hilton Kramer felt this did nothing less than open the floodgates to the "spiritual bankruptcy of the post-modern era." He thundered that Sontag "severed the links between high culture and high seriousness that had been a fundamental tenet of the modernist ethos. It released high culture from its obligation to be entirely serious, to insist on difficult standards, to sustain an attitude of unassailable rectitude...." He never forgave her" (Moser, Benjamin. Sontag: Her Life and Work, pp.232-233). He found her statements like "The white race is the cancer of human history" especially inflammatory, and continued to criticize her work and her politics for decades. [61639].
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Details
- Bookseller
- Lorne Bair Rare Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 61639
- Title
- The Benefactor [Inscribed to Hilton Kramer]
- Author
- [LITERATURE] SONTAG, Susan
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Farrar, Straus & Co
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1963
- Bookseller catalogs
- Modern Fiction; Women; Sixties;
Terms of Sale
Lorne Bair Rare Books
All items are offered subject to prior sale. Orders must be prepaid, though billing may be arranged for institutions and customers with established credit. Payment may be made by Check, Money Order, Paypal or by valid credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover). Any item may be returned within 10 days of receipt for full refund. Signed and manuscript items carry an unlimited guarantee of authenticity.
About the Seller
Lorne Bair Rare Books
Biblio member since 2006
Winchester, Virginia
About Lorne Bair Rare Books
Lorne Bair Rare Books specializes in books, mansuscripts, and printed ephemera relating to American Social History, with an emphasis on radical and utopian movements of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. We are available in our showroom by appointment, at shows, and on-line through various booksellers' sites or at our website www.lornebair.com.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Laid-in
- "Laid In" indicates that there is something which is included with, but not attached to the book, such as a sheet of paper. The...
- Text Block
- Most simply the inside pages of a book. More precisely, the block of paper formed by the cut and stacked pages of a book....
- Dustwrapper
- Also known as book jacket, dust cover, or dust wrapper, a dust jacket is a protective and decorative cover for a book that is...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Association Copy
- An association copy is a copy of a book which has been signed and inscribed by the author for a personal friend, colleague, or...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
- Soiled
- Generally refers to minor discoloration or staining.
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
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Signed vs. Inscribed
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