The Great Gatsby

FITZGERALD, F. Scott (1896-1940). The Great Gatsby . New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925. The first edition, in Cugat's iconic dust-jacket, in the third state . Francis Cugat's haunting depiction of hypnotic eyes beaming like headlights through the cobalt sky is thought to have inspired Fitzgerald's description of the billboard for optometrist T.J. Eckleburg. An exceedingly scarce dust-jacket in any state, the present jacket is the third state. The first two included the publisher's blurb on the rear cover; this is the first state to bear excerpts from eight individual reviews and is memorably headed "Perilously Near a Masterpiece." The volume itself is a first printing, with "sick in tired" and other points. Very likely this first issue copy is one which was given an updated jacket in the second part of 1925, after initial sales of the book had proved lackluster, and particularly when compared to those of Fitzgerald's two earlier popular sensations, This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and Damned . Scribner's evidently hoped the carefully selected review excerpts would increase Gatsby 's sales as the holiday season approached. Bruccoli A11.1a. Octavo. Publisher's blue-green cloth, gilt-stamped spine. Third state dust-jacket (some restoration at top of spine panel and along edges and folds; a couple small touch-ups to author's name on front panel and border on rear; some old dampstaining to lower portion of jacket, mainly visible only on lower panel though the red above "Scott" on front panel has bled slightly onto the white lettering).

Estimate:$20,000

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