Invisible Man (First edition with a clipped signature laid in) by Ellison, Ralph - 1952

New York: Random House, 1952. First printing. Hardcover. Very good/very good. 439pp. Octavo [21.5 cm] 1/2 tan and black boards. Publisher's black topstain. Front hinge professionally repaired. Boards just a tiny bit cocked. In a dust jacket, with restoration to the extremities, and areas of light moisture damage to the edges and folds, primarily only visible on the reverse. In a custom clamshell. The author's clipped signature is laid in. A first edition of this highly esteemed classic American novel, influenced by the Harlem Renaissance. Ellison was introduced to Richard Wright during his first trip to New York. Wright encouraged Ellison to abandon his dreams of a musical career (at the time he was studying music at the Tuskegee Institute), and instead focus his attention on writing. Ellison soon made a name for himself with the East Coast intelligentsia through his shorter works being published by the literary journals of the day. This work, Ellison's first and only novel, deals with the universal themes of man's search for identity and place in society. The book won the National Book Award for 1953.