J.D. Salinger | The Catcher in the Rye, 1951, first edition

J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951

FIRST EDITION, 8vo (198 x 133mm.), original black cloth, spine gilt-lettered, DUST-JACKET, illustration by Michael Mitchell on upper cover and spine, author photo by Lotte Jacobi on lower cover, extremities slightly rubbed,dust-jacket professionally restored with tissue repairs to spine and extremities and section supplied at front panel

First edition of Salinger's enduring classic. One of the great adolescent novels, it follows young Holden Cauldfield's Manhattan adventures after he escapes from Pencey Prep (modeled on the military academy attended by Salinger).

The novel originally received mixed reviews and generated controversy owing to the protagonist's "obscene" language (tame by modern standards). Such language, coupled with Holden's desire for rebellion against adult "phonies", has contributed to the novel being periodically banned from some school reading lists to this day.