Antiquarian Auctions

Auction #114 begins on 11 Apr 2024

Philip ROTH. Portnoy’s Complaint. New York: Random House, 1969, dj. 1st ed. Frank Dobo's copy.

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From the Dobo collection.

The first 36 lots in this sale are from the collection of Francis Dobo (1908-1998)

Philip ROTH (1933-2018). Portnoy’s Complaint. New York: Random House, 1969. Octavo (8 ¼ x 5 5/8 inches, 210 x 142mm). Pp. [i-viii; 1]-274; [i-ii]. Original dark blue cloth, blocked in gilt on upper cover and spine, dust-jacket (very light discoloration to cloth, dust-jacket is price-clipped, and with small tears and a little light soiling [see images]).

Provenance: Frank Dobo (1908-1998, inscribed in pencil on front free endpaper ‘F Dobo / 1969’).

First edition, first printing (February 1969, with ‘2/69’ to foot of rear flap of the dust-jacket). Number 52 on Modern Library’s list of ‘100 best Novels’ of the 20th century. “The publication of [this work]… caused a major controversy in American public discourse. The two aspects that evoked such outrage were its explicit and candid treatment of sexuality and obscenities, including detailed depictions of masturbation, which was revolutionary in the late 1960s, and the irreverent portrait of Jewish identiry” (wikipedia).

Francis Dobo: the “epitome of a 20th Century intellectual” Hungarian born Francis F. Dobo (1908-1998) was an important figure in the world of publishing, contemporary literature and photography for over half a century. He was lifelong friends with the renowned Hungarian masters of candid photography, Brassaï and André Kertész, first in Hungary and later in Paris in the 1930s. It was in Paris he encountered Henry Miller, Louis-Ferdinand Celine and Raymond Queneau: he corresponded and supported Miller from then on, and subsequently became Queneau’s U.S. agent.  Love of books and literature seems to have been a family trait: his uncle was Gabriel Wells (1861-1946), one of the two most important rare book dealers of his generation. The present selection includes a small number of books which belonged to Wells, with the rest being a cross section of the best of the contemporary literature which was such an important part of Francis’ life. William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Arthur Koestler, Christopher Isherwood, Norman Mailer, Franz Kafka are all here !

  • Sold By: Shadowrock Rare Books
  • Contact Person: Adam Langlands
  • Country: United States
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Telephone: 001-860-248-1547
  • Preferred Payment Methods: Paypal, US$ checks and wire transfers, major credit cards through paypal
  • Trade Associations: AA Approved


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