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Go Tell It On the Mountain
by Baldwin, James
- Used
- near fine
- first
- Condition
- Near fine/very good
- Seller
-
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Michael Joseph, 1954. First English Edition, First Impression. Cloth. Near fine/very good. First English edition of Go Tell It On the Mountain by James Baldwin.. Octavo, 256pp. Full black cloth, title in gilt on spine. Stated "First published... 1954" on copyright page with no additional impressions listed. Solid text block, bumped corners, foxed endpapers, otherwise bright. In the publisher's dust jacket, 12s 6d retail price on front flap. Some chipping to top edge and corners, lightly sunned spine, faint soiling to rear panel. A few tape repairs to verso, reinforcing chipped edges. A very good example of Baldwin's first published novel. This rare first UK edition is preceded by the first US edition, also published in 1954.
Synopsis
Written over a span of ten years, Go Tell It on the Mountain is James Baldwin’s first completed novel. The story follows John Grimes, a bright teen living in Harlem in the 1930s, as he explores relationships with his family and his church. On a basic level, Go Tell It on the Mountain is a coming of age story, yet the novel gains complexity as the omniscient narrator interweaves John’s story with the stories of his mother, father, and aunt. In addition to the Grimes family, a main focus of the text is the function of the Christian Church in the lives of African-Americans, which Baldwin argues to be a source of moral hypocrisy and repression. And with a title like Go Tell It on the Mountain , it is no surprise that the novel contains has many biblical references throughout. The novel is generally accepted as semi-autobiographical. Like the protagonist, Baldwin grew up in Harlem. Neither had a relationship with their biological fathers and both resented their religious fanatic stepfathers. Also like John, Baldwin underwent a religious awakening as a young adult. Go Tell It on the Mountain is ranked 39th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century and is also listed on TIME’s “100 Best Novels” (since 1923). In 1984, ABC produced a made-for-television movie based on the novel. -
Read More: Identifying first editions of Go Tell It On the Mountain
Reviews
On Aug 5 2012, JasonCampbell said:
Great book
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Details
- Bookseller
- The First Edition Rare Books, LLC
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 15329
- Title
- Go Tell It On the Mountain
- Author
- Baldwin, James
- Illustrator
- First English edition of Go Tell It On the Mountain by James Baldwin.
- Format/Binding
- Cloth
- Book Condition
- Used - Near fine
- Jacket Condition
- very good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First English Edition, First Impression
- Publisher
- Michael Joseph
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1954
- Keywords
- Go Tell it on the Mountain, Notes of a Native Son, Giovanni's Room, James Baldwin first edition, Remember This House, If Beale Street Could Talk
Terms of Sale
The First Edition Rare Books, LLC
- Items are guaranteed as described on the company website.
- Items lost or damaged during shipping will be refunded by the shipper.
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- Items lost or damaged during shipping will be refunded by the shipper.
- Please notify us before returning merchandise by email or phone.
- Sales tax will be added to purchase price where applicable and noted on your invoice.
- Deferred billing available upon request.
About the Seller
The First Edition Rare Books, LLC
Biblio member since 2017
Cincinnati, Ohio
About The First Edition Rare Books, LLC
The First Edition offers collectors the finest assortment of rare and notable books from around the world.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Chipping
- A defect in which small pieces are missing from the edges; fraying or small pieces of paper missing the edge of a paperback, or...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Foxed
- Foxing is the age related browning, or brown-yellowish spots, that can occur to book paper over time. When this aging process...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- 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....
- Copyright page
- The page in a book that describes the lineage of that book, typically including the book's author, publisher, date of...
- 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....
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Sunned
- Damage done to a book cover or dust jacket caused by exposure to direct sunlight. Very strong fluorescent light can cause slight...
- 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...
- 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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