The Bluest Eye

New York: Holt Rinehart, 1970. First. hardcover. near fine/near fine. 8vo, cloth backed boards, d.w. (slightly browned). New York: Holt, Rinehart, (1970). First Edition. A near fine copy of her uncommon first book, inscribed, "To.... from Toni 11.13.1971 Thank you for all the poetry, sensibility and common sense. First issue dust wrapper, with $5.95 & 10/70 on front flap.

New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1970. First Edition of the author's first book; review copy, with the review slip and the author’s publicity photo laid in. A fine copy in a dust jacket with very slight browning; a far above average copy.

New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston, 1970. First edition of the author's first book. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by Toni Morrison on the title page. From the library of Lynn Nesbit, who served as Toni Morrison's literary agent for a number of years. In 1965, Nesbit created the literary department for what later became International Creative Management. Near fine in a near fine first issue dust jacket with the $5.95 price and 1070 on the bottom of front flap, with a single closed tear. Dust jacket design by Herb Lubalin and Jay Tribich. A superior example with noted provenance. Set in Lorain, Ohio, in 1941, The Bluest Eye is something of an ensemble piece. The point of view is passed like a baton from one character to the next, with Morrison's own voice functioning as a kind of gold standard throughout. The focus, though, is on an 11-year-old black girl named Pecola Breedlove, whose entire family has been given a cosmetic cross to bear: You looked at them and wondered why they were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that it came from conviction, their conviction. It was as though some mysterious all-knowing master had given each one a cloak of ugliness to wear, and they had each accepted it without question.... And they took the ugliness in their hands, threw it as a mantle over them, and went about the world with it. There are far uglier things in the world than, well, ugliness, and poor Pecola is subjected to most of them. She's spat upon, ridiculed, and ultimately raped and impregnated by her own father. No wonder she yearns to be the very opposite of what she is--yearns, in other words, to be a white child, possessed of the blondest hair and the bluest eye. "Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye is an inquiry into the reasons why beauty gets wasted in this country. The beauty in this case is black. [Miss Morrison's prose is] so precise, so faithful to speech and so charged with pain and wonder that the novel becomes poetry...I have said 'poetry,' but The Bluest Eye is also history, sociology, folklore, nightmare and music" (John Leonard, The New York Times).

New York: Holt Rinehart, 1970. First. hardcover. near fine/near fine. 8vo, cloth backed boards, d.w. (slightly browned). New York: Holt, Rinehart, (1970). First Edition. A near fine copy of her uncommon first book, inscribed, "To....Sincere Best wishes - Toni Nov. 1. 1972. NYC." First issue dust wrapper, with $5.95 & 10/70 on front flap.

New York: Holt Rinehart, 1970. First. hardcover. fine/near fine. d.w. N.Y.: Holt, Rinehart, (1970). First Edition. Near fine copy of the author's first novel, in the first issue dust wrapper.

Holt Rinehart andWinston, 1970 A near fine first edition in a near fine dust jacket (with the original price and date code still present on the front flap). First Edition stated on the copyright page. Publisher's bookplate signed by Toni Morrison laid in. Previous owner's blindstamp on title page. Housed in a custom-made collector's slipcase.. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine.

Holt Rinehart Winston, 1970. Blue cloth spine over grey boards, gilt titles. Stated first edition. Very good with splashed coffeestain at bottom foreedge (affecting page edges and endsheet corners), light spotting at top edge. First state DJ also very good with aging, edgewear at head of spine, 1" tear at bottom rear flap fold. Flap price of $5.95, DJ code of 1070. Rare. 164 pp.. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Book.

New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1970. First Edition of the author's first book. A fine copy in a dust jacket with slight browning; well above average.

Holt Rinehart andWinston, 1970 A near fine first edition in a near fine dust jacket (with the original price and date code still present on the front flap). First Edition stated on the copyright page. Publisher's bookplate signed by Toni Morrison laid in. Also previous owner's bookplate affixed to front pastedown. Housed in a custom-made collector's slipcase.. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine.

Holt Rinehart Winston, 1970 A very good first edition inscribed by Toni Morrison on the front free endpaper. The inscription would appear to be to someone she knew well, since she signed it with only her first name. First Edition stated on the copyright page and jacket is first issue, with 1070 date code on bottom corner of front flap. Very good dust jacket has some small tears at corners of front panel. Housed in a custom-made collector's slipcase. We will supply a Certificate of Authenticity with this book.. Inscribed by Author(s). 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good.

Holt, Rinehart and Winton, New York, 1970 First edition, first printing Octavo. Original quarter blue cloth, grey boards, titles to spine in silver. With the dust jacket. Spine just a little rolled but a very nice copy in the mildly sunned, price-clipped dust jacket with a couple of short tears. In fact a more than decent copy of the author's landmark first book. [202]

Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970. Book. Very Good+. Hardcover. 1st Edition. Stated First Edition. Browning to top page edges. Small previous owner embossed stamp to half-title page. Word in red oil pen about three-inches long to rear end paper $5.95 price on jacket with 1070 on bottom of front jacket flap. Browning to white portion of jacket. Very shallow chip to top of jacket on spine and four short tears to jacket. Creasing to front flap of jacket..

New York: Holt. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Second printing (June 1971) of Morrison's first novel, SIGNED AND INSCRIBED by Morrison on the front free endpaper: "To Ann / from / Toni Morrison / Best always". New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971. Octavo, original half-blue cloth, original dust jacket. Owner signature and date at top of front free endpaper. Book near-fine with a little fading to edges, dust jacket very good with light edgewear and line of soiling down front panel.

New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970. Hardcover. STATED FIRST EDITION. FIRST ISSUE. 12mo. 164pp. VERY GOOD in Very Good dust jacket protected in a removable mylar cover. The book itself shows slight edge and corner wear, several pages with handling marks in the margins which are never obstructive of text or design, otherwise the binding is strong and tight, the text is clean and unmarked, and the boards remain bright and colorful. The first issue dust jacket with non-pictorial design shows some light dust markings, slight edge wear, several very small chips from the bottommost edge, a large closed tear of the back panel remains presentable underneath the protective mylar, otherwise remains bright, distinct, and with the requisite $5.95 and 10/70 present on the front interior flap.

E-29: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Very Good in Good+ dust jacket. 1970. First Edition; Second Printing. Hardcover. Hardcover. 8vo. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1971. 164 pgs. Second Printing. Signed by Toni Morrison on the FFEP. DJ has shelf-wear present to the DJ extremities (chipping present to the heel and crown of the DJ spine). No ownership marks present. Text is clean and free of marks, binding tight and solid, boards clean with no wear present. Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl, prays every day for beauty. Mocked by other children for the dark skin, curly hair, and brown eyes that set her apart, she yearns for normalcy, for the blond hair and blue eyes that she believes will allow her to finally fit in. Yet as her dream grows more fervent, her life slowly starts to disintegrate in the face of adversity and strife. A powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity, Toni Morrison’s virtuosic first novel asks powerful questions about race, class, and gender with the subtlety and grace that have always characterized her writing. E-29; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 164 pages; Signed by Author .

Picador. Paperback. GOOD. Gently used may contain ex-library markings, possibly has some light highlighting, textual notations, and or underlining. Text is still easily readable.

CHATTO WINDUS A FINE FIRST EDITION IN NEAR FINE PLUS DJ.. Book. FIRST. Hardcover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included.

Holt Rinehart Winston, 1970. Book. Fine. Cloth. Second Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Fine copy in a near fine jacket. 2nd Printing 1971.$5.95 on flap. Fresh Copy. Scarce First Book. Excellent Copy..

London: Chatto & Windus. 1979. F First English Edition. H Hard Cover. Near Fine. Exceptional copy of the first English edition of the author's first book. Nice jacket, complete with price (has only the faintest hints of wear to edges).

Chatto and Windus, London 1979. 1st ed., first printing. 8vo. Her acclaimed debut novel. A fine copy in a near fine unclipped dustwrapper