Jack Kerouac first editions
Jack Kerouac first editions for sale. Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" is one of the most famous American 20th century books in the world. Kerouac was a contemporary of many other great writers such as Ernest Hemingway and William S Burroughs. It has sold millions of copies worldwide, including plenty in the UK. Jack Kerouac is therefore highly collectable as an author and first editions of Kerouac's books, not to mention signed copies and manuscripts are always highly in demand.
Kerouacs first book was called The Town and the City and this was published in 1950 under the name "John Kerouac" and, though it earned him a few respectable reviews, the book sold poorly. Heavily influenced by Kerouac's reading of Thomas Wolfe, it reflects on the generational epic formula and the contrasts of small town life versus the multi-dimensional, and larger, city. The book was heavily edited by Robert Giroux; some 400 pages were taken out. Jack Kerouac first editions of this book are therefore extremely rare and would be highly sought after by collectors.
For the next six years, Kerouac continued to write regularly. Building upon previous drafts tentatively titled "The Beat Generation" and "Gone on the Road," Kerouac completed what is now known as On the Road in April 1951, while living at 454 West 20th Street in Manhattan with his second wife, Joan Haverty. The book was largely autobiographical and describes Kerouac's road-trip adventures across the United States and Mexico with Neal Cassady in the late-40s, as well as his relationships with other Beat writers and friends. He completed the first version of the novel during a three-week extended session of spontaneous confessional prose. Kerouac wrote the final draft in 20 days, with Joan, his wife, supplying him bowls of pea soup and mugs of coffee to keep him going. Before beginning, Kerouac cut sheets of tracing paper into long strips, wide enough for a type-writer, and taped them together into a 120-foot (37 m) long roll he then fed into the machine. This allowed him to type continuously without the interruption of reloading pages. The resulting manuscript contained no chapter or paragraph breaks and was much more explicit than what would eventually be printed. Though "spontaneous," Kerouac had prepared long in advance before beginning to write. In fact, according to his Columbia professor and mentor Mark Van Doren, he had outlined much of the work in his journals over the several preceding years.
Kerouac had a long and difficult time finding a publisher. Before On the Road was accepted by Viking Press, Kerouac got a job as a "railroad brakesman and fire lookout" traveling between the East and West coasts of America to collect money, so he could live with his mother. During this period of travel, he conspired what was to be "his life's work", "The Legend of Duluoz."
Publishers rejected On the Road because of its experimental writing style and its sympathetic tone towards minorities and marginalised social groups of post-War America. Many editors were also uncomfortable with the idea of publishing a book that contained what were, for the era, graphic descriptions of drug use and homosexual behavior—a move that could result in obscenity charges being filed, a fate that later befell Burroughs' Naked Lunch and Ginsberg's Howl. Despite many of his books selling in good numbers later in his writing career (before he died aged 47 of alcohol inflicted liver damage), Jack Kerouac first editions remain highly in demand, capturing as they do the dawning of a new era before even rock'n'roll had been "invented".
Jack Kerouac first editions for sale
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 JACK KEROUAC AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED $13,000.00 Time Remaining: 28d 13h 1m Buy It Now for only: $13,000.00 Buy It Now |
 JACK KEROUAC CHECK SIGNED 06 13 1960 $6,999.00 Time Remaining: 28d 13h 13m Buy It Now for only: $6,999.00 Buy It Now |
 SUPERB ORIGINAL ED CHAPMAN ON THE ROAD BY JACK KEROUAC MOSAIC TABLE PAINTING $6,486.20 Time Remaining: 18d 19h 8m Buy It Now for only: $6,486.20 Buy It Now |
 SIGNED the town and city john jack kerouac 1st 1st HCDJ 1950 NF harcourt 350 $4,500.00 Time Remaining: 14d 21h 37m Buy It Now for only: $4,500.00 Buy It Now |
 Kerouac Jack On The Road $4,000.00 Time Remaining: 16d 1h 38m Buy It Now for only: $4,000.00 Buy It Now |
 1968 Jack Kerouac ALS commenting on students critique of Maggie Cassidy $3,900.00 Time Remaining: 1d 2h 15m Buy It Now for only: $3,900.00 Buy It Now |
 On The Road by JACK KEROUAC Signed 1st 2nd Edition September 1957 Orig DJ $3,200.00 Time Remaining: 6d 1h 18m Buy It Now for only: $3,200.00 Buy It Now |
 SIGNED Robert Frank The Americans Jack Kerouac 1969 PB Film Frame Stills $1,999.99 Time Remaining: 1d 15h 42m Buy It Now for only: $1,999.99 Buy It Now |
 JACK KEROUACTRIPLE SIGNED CHECKAUTOGRAPHRARE ONE OF A KIND $1,400.00 Time Remaining: 4d 3h 2m |
 ON THE ROAD 1st Ed FIRST EDITION Jack Kerouac HC DJ $1,250.00 Time Remaining: 11d 20h 46m Buy It Now for only: $1,250.00 Buy It Now |
 On The Road Jack Kerouac Viking Press 1957 1st Edition 1st Printing $1,200.00 Time Remaining: 19d 14h 49m Buy It Now for only: $1,200.00 Buy It Now |
 KEROUAC John Jack The Town And the City 1950 1st $985.00 Time Remaining: 13d 19h 27m Buy It Now for only: $985.00 Buy It Now |
 On the Road by JACK KEROUAC 1st 1st Edition 1957 1st Printing $975.00 Time Remaining: 16d 20h 34m Buy It Now for only: $975.00 Buy It Now |
 JACK KEROUAC BROADSIDE SOMEDAY YOULL BE LYING 1 OF 100 $950.00 Time Remaining: 9d 6h 57m Buy It Now for only: $950.00 Buy It Now |
 The Subterraneans by JACK KEROUAC 1st Edition 1958 2nd Printing Grove Press $898.00 Time Remaining: 19d 21h 22m Buy It Now for only: $898.00 Buy It Now |
 On The Road by Jack Kerouac Signed by the screen writer $825.00 Time Remaining: 10d 2h 51m Buy It Now for only: $825.00 Buy It Now |
 1st 2nd 1957 HCDJ Jack Kerouac On The Road 395 jacket DJ VG $650.00 Time Remaining: 26d 13h 22m Buy It Now for only: $650.00 Buy It Now |
 1st 3rd 1957 HCDJ Jack Kerouac On The Road 395 jacket DJ VG $650.00 Time Remaining: 26d 20h 12m Buy It Now for only: $650.00 Buy It Now |
 On the Road by JACK KEROUAC 1st Edition March 1958 4th Printing Orig DJ $649.00 Time Remaining: 7d 16h 37m Buy It Now for only: $649.00 Buy It Now |
 WILLIAM BURROUGHS HAND SIGNED PHOTO + NOTE NAKED LUNCH BEAT JACK KEROUAC $514.15 Time Remaining: 2d 6h 5m Buy It Now for only: $514.15 Buy It Now |
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