Mao Zedong | Mao Zhu Xi Yu Lu, or Quotations of Chairman Mao ("Little Red Book"), first edition, 1964

Mao Zedong

Mao Zhu Xi Yu Lu, or Quotations of Chairman Mao (Mao's "Little Red Book"). Beijing: Central Intelligence Bureau of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, 1956

FIRST EDITION, 16mo (140 x 100mm.), text in Chinese, 250 pp. (paginated), half-title printed in red, reading in Chinese "Workers of the world, unite!", title-page printed in red and green within a double green border, plain lithographed frontispiece of a photographic portrait of Chairman Mao, rare facsimile of Lin Biao's calligraphic endorsement of Mao's writings in the uncorrected state, red vinyl cover with blind stamped title, good condition, some minor toning of edges

FIRST EDITION, COMPLETE WITH UNCORRECTED LIN BIAO CALLIGRAPHIC ENDORSEMENT LEAD. Often called Mao's "Little Red Book", the Quotations Of Chairman Mao (“Mao Zhu Xi Yu Lu”) sold 720 million copies in under four years (Oliver Lei Han), although this first edition, produced in May 1964 by Lin Biao to be circulated amongst Mao's Communist party, had a relatively small print run. Difficult to identify as there is no date, this first printing is slightly taller than later editions, and includes the error found in the earliest form of Lin's calligraphic facsimile endorsement, where a superfluous brushstroke occurred in the second vertical line from the right, second character from the top, which was corrected when the book was later printed. 

After the famous 'Lin Bao incident' in 1971, when Vice Chairman Lin died in an aircrash after he was accused of attempting to assassinate Mao as part of a political coup, people were encouraged to tear out Lin's endorsement, and subsequent editions were printed without the facsimile page. Only a small number of the original 1964 printing survive. Most of these lack Lin's endorsement, and often the preface in which his name appears. The present copy is complete, intact, and in very fine condition.

LITERATURE

Schiller, p. 27