See if He Wins [Author's Copy, Inscribed and Signed]

New York: William Sloane Associates, 1949. Very Good/Fair at Best. New York: William Sloane Associates, 1949. First Edition. Stated First Printing. Octavo; publisher's cloth in pictorial dust jacket designed by Rafael Palacios; [8],273pp. Jacket significantly worn and chipped, spine entirely perished and crudely repaired with old brown paper, rear flap separated but present and laid in; boards a bit rubbed with some brief exposure, spine slightly cocked, else Very Good in Fair jacket at best.

Novel set around the black market underworld of 1944 Paris. Presumably the author's copy ("His copy" written in Spong's hand on title page), though also inscribed and signed on front free endpaper "For Nick [?] - In the hope that she'll never want to reread - or I to rewrite it - and with the real admiration of a guy who always bets on the champion - Dick." Most likely inscribed to Spong's copy editor at William Sloane Associates, the author having added numerous manuscript annotations addressed to her throughout the text, beginning with the opening line: "Despite Bill's [William Sloane's] cuts this is the only way it could have begun." Even more helpful is the author's note on p. 92: "Here's when he grows up - and here's where he dies. This is the whole point of the book - except for responsibility.