Books

Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press, 1980. True first edition; 1980 at title page and copyright pages without additional printings stated. One of only 2,500 first printings. Tan full cloth boards, black stylized spine titles, light shelf wear, moderate discoloration at back board. Pages generally near fine, clean; moderate discoloration to apprx. 1" of lower exterior text block corner. Classic vintage inscription at front endpaper: "Mardi Gras 1982, Dear Claudia and Bob, This is very appropriate to the season. A crazy read! Rich." Bind fine, square; hinges intact. Dust wrapper, moderate edge wear, rub, chip, crease; clipped, protected in new clear sleeve. First edition wrapper without Chicago Sun-Times blurb at back panel. Rare near very good first edition in same matching wrapper. "A masterwork of comedy... pungent slapstick, satire and intellectual incongruities... make for a grand comic fugue!" - NYT. Presented here is "a great slob of a man…

A Confederacy of Dunces is a picaresque novel by American novelist John Kennedy Toole, published by Louisiana State University Press in 1980, 11 years after Toole's suicide. The book's title refers to an epigram from Jonathan Swift's essay, 'Thoughts on Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting': 'When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.' Set in New Orleans, the novel bursts with rich and vivid characters, especially the protagonist, Ignatius J. Reilly, whose comedic misadventures are a highlight of the narrative.

First editions of 'A Confederacy of Dunces' can be identified by the lack of mention of the Pulitzer Prize on the cover and the presence of editorial reviews. Additionally, the correct ISBN number and the date of the print run also help to verify the first edition.