F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925

FITZGERALD, F. Scott (1896-1940). The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925.

First edition, first printing, of Fitzgerald's 1925 masterpiece. Set on the North Shore of Long Island and Manhattan, and inspired by the extravagant social scene Fitzgerald observed during his eighteen-month residence in Great Neck over 1922-24, The Great Gatsby tells the tragic story of the American Dream gone awry as seen through the eyes of Nick Carraway. The novel went through several failed starts prior to 1924, but it was not until Scott and Zelda had escaped the New York social scene to the Riviera in May 1924, that he seriously set himself to work on what would become his masterpiece. Although the finished work was admired by virtually all the eminent literary figures of his day, sales did not meet his expectations and only barely paid off his advance from Scribner's. The present copy is with "chatter," "sick in tired," and all other first printing points. Bruccoli A11.1a.

Octavo. Half-title. Original blue-green cloth, gilt-stamp spine (slight lean, spine titles a bit rubbed, hinges starting). Provenance: Laurel Canyon Market (ink notation to front endpaper).