ALGREN, Nelson - The Man with the Golden Arm

Garden City, Doubleday & Company, 1950. Hardcover. 8vo. Tan cloth with red and green spine lettering, pictorial dust jacket. 343pp. Very good/very good. Spine slightly age toned; jacket (mildly edgeworn, with a few edge chips) has been expertly, professionally mounted to heavy archival stock, thus sturdy. The very first National Book Award given went to the Chicago novelist's best-known novel, and this nice fifth printing is inscribed and signed by him in blue ink on half-title page "With golden good wishes / to Greta and / Herb from / Nelson." (Their identity remains unknown, though clearly they were friends of the author since he signs first name only.) This unique copy has been extra-illustrated, for a special leaf tipped in before the title page bears choice autograph additions: Signatures of the three primary stars of the 1955 film version: Facing the title page like a frontispiece is a 4" X 5" 1955 fan magazine black-and-white magazine photograph of tuxedo-clad Frank Sinatra crooning onstage, and across this is a large secretarial signature of him in green ink; verso of this sheet, top to bottom, bears an oddly-trimmed (roughly 3" X 2½", with tape stains along four edges) slip bearing a boldly penned inscription and signature of Kim Novak ("To Donald -- / Best wishes! / Kim Novak"), and below this a fine heavy stock 5" X 3" card boldly signed by Eleanor Parker and dated by her 19 February 1988 at upper right. Sinatra (1915-98) portrays lead character Frankie "Dealer" Machine, Novak (born 1933) portrays Molly Novotny and Parker (1922-2013) portrays Sophia "Zosh" Machine. Novak and Parker are authentic, but to repeat, Sinatra is a secretarial signature. Jacket is a later state, identical but for "National Book Award 1950" at top of front panel. Laid in is the ideal bookmark: Parker's original transmittal envelope. Quite an interesting copy. BRUCCOLI A 4.1.e. .

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