Candy Hardcover - 1964

New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1964. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾"- 9¾" tall. A scarce first U.S. printing of this novel (first published under a pseudonym in Paris in the late 50s for Olympia Press, the well known erotica publisher). After its publication, someone reviewed it as a parody of Candide, at which Hoffenberg was taken by surprise. "Right away I went back to read Voltaire, to see if he was right. That's what happens to you. It's as if you vomit in the gutter and everybody starts saying it's the greatest new art form, so you go back to see it, and, by God, you have to agree." So it's got that going for it, which is nice. This is a true first printing of the U.S. edition, mostly purple cloth boards with an inch or two of black at the board edge. Gilt title on spine. Top edge stained red, with no statement of printing. Jacket is not price clipped ($5 with the code 0464 at the bottom of the flap), and is the first state, with a James Jones blurb rather than one from Nelson Algren that replaced it in later printings. Some small tears to jacket and some foxing to, primarily, the front flap. Also present is a small stain to bottom edge of text block, not affecting the pages, and a slight smudge to the copyright page. Given the age and scarcity, still describing this as Very Good. In protective mylar