Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana

8vo. (Light spotting to preliminaries, last page and free endpaper rehinged.) Original dark red cloth, upper cover lettered and stamped in gilt Maugham's Moroccan symbol upside down [FIRST STATE], spine lettered in gilt (spine slanted and a bit sunned, small stain on upper cover near fore-corner). Provenance: Gene Andrewski, editor of the Paris Review and off-Broadway producer (author's inscription); Leonard Meldman Collection (acquired by the present owner); Craig V. Showalter (bookplate).

FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY MAUGHAM on the front free endpaper: "For Gene Andrewski, this very indifferent book, W. Somerset Maugham." In the RARE FIRST STATE BINDING: "The Hero is the author's first book to have his well known Eastern symbol on the cover, and it is the book in which it appears in this position—upside down!" In the second state, the symbol is correctly oriented, as seen on all his later books. This copy has the dropped “g” from “game,” which Stott notes as having no priority. However, Maugham collector Hans Thrap-Olsen owned a proof copy of The Hero that also had the dropped “g,” suggesting that copies retaining the “g” may be later in the print run. Stott A4a.