The Caine Mutiny
Garden City: Doubleday, 1951. First Edition. Basis for the great 1954 film of the same title. A near fine copy in a first issue, generally presumed second state, “City Boy”dust jacket, with minor wear and soiling and some short chips and tears. This is nearly always incorrectly referred to as a second issue. Clearly, those copies of the jacket mentioning the Pulitzer Prize are later, more likely to be later printings rather than later issues (a jacket “issue” would have been supplied on first printings of the book. Possibly? Yes. Likely? No.). However, it appears to this cataloguer that the attribution of “The City Boy” as opposed to “City Boy” on the back panel preceding relies on conjecture and supposition, a belief apparently based on those copies noting the Pulitzer Prize dropping “The.” This conclusion is possible, even logical, but hardly definitive. It is useful to keep in mind that publishers had and have little reason to consider the future concerns of bibliographers. Publishing practice and the demands of commerce do not necessarily follow logic closely. One thing is certain however: these are variants, and another thing appears equally true: copies with “The City Boy” are scarcer. A valid, but self-serving bit of advice suggests the wisdom of acquiring both. Here endeth the lesson, but probably not the headaches.
[Book #32369J]
Price: $1,750.00