Thomas Pynchon Signed Book

Pynchon and Gravity’s Rainbow hold a place in the pantheon of modern literature, with the author as storied as the tale itself. Considered his greatest novel, Gravity’s Rainbow is arguably the definitive postmodern literary work and has been the subject of much acclaim and controversy—in addition to receiving the National Book Award in 1974, it was selected for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction but went unawarded after objections from the board.

Pynchon famously shuns any sort of public attention and is recursively reclusive—indeed, his private private life is the most notable feature of his biography,of which little is known. Photographs of him are virtually nonexistent and his whereabouts the subject of speculation, making any autographic material incredibly rare. He made an exception in this case for a young boy with Lymphoma; click here to see a copy of the letter sent together with this inscribed book.

As an inscribed first edition of his most important book, this is undoubtedly one of the rarest and most sought-after pieces in all of literature.

Signed book: Gravity’s Rainbow. First edition, first printing. NY: Viking, 1973. Hardcover with original, first issue dust jacket, 6 x 8.75, 760 pages. Signed and inscribed on the half-title page in black ink, “10/86,To Michael Urban, Best Wishes, Thomas Pynchon.”

Autographic condition: fine. Book condition: NF/VG+.