Description
This is an exceptional First American edition set of First Printings in the exceedingly rare dust jackets, all unprice-clipped.
VOLUME I (Book 1) dust jacket is from the “New Issue” First Edition, identical to the First Printing and printed in the same year (1923) but with reviews for this volume on the front face and reviews for Volume II on the rear face. There are fractional losses to the corners and the spine head and tail but the jacket is in remarkable condition overall, quite bright and fresh. The book is in similarly very good condition, the cloth and gilt bright, though the gilt spine lettering has dulled, as per usual with this volume. The contents are fine and unfoxed.
VOLUME II (Book 2) dust jacket is uniquely bright and fresh, virtually mint, save for an inch-plus scrape on the rear face. The book is the second binding variant of the First Printing, per Cohen (A69.1[II].b).] It is in astonishing condition, virtually mint.
VOLUME III: Parts 1 & 2 (Books 3 and 4) are preserved in the rarely-seen original publisher’s slipcase, which has some separation along the seams, archival-tape-reinforced, but is perfectly intact. The dust jackets are correct and, again, unusually fresh and bright; only the faintest staining along the spine of Volume I and an infinitesimal chip at the spine head of Volume II. The books are virtually mint, with ornate vintage bookplates on each pastedown, and miniscule, vintage bookshop stickers (Robertson of San Francisco) on the rear pastedowns, else fine.
VOLUME IV: THE AFTERMATH (Book 5) dust jacket is virtually mint, with a clip to the price that is not through-cut; the printed price remains. The book is similarly mint, inside and out, with a tiny vintage bookshop sticker on the lower corner of the front free endpaper.
VOLUME V: THE UNKNOWN WAR (Book 6) dust jacket is exceptionally bright and fresh, save for a fractional chip at the spine head wrapping around to the upper left corner of the front face. The book is virtually mint.
Laid-into VOLUME I is a vintage mailer, dated 1923, from Machin’s Tailored Shirts of Los Angeles, addressed to “Mr. Geo S. Patton, San Gabriel, Cal.” General George S. Patton (Jr.) was born in San Gabriel, California and grew up there. His father was George S. Patton II, so it is more than likely that this volume (if not the entire set) belonged to the father and may well have been read by his son, a voracious student of military history at a young age.
