THE COMPLETE UNCOLLECTED STORIES OF J. D. SALINGER MARCH 1940 VOL. 1 and VOL. 2 (2 volume set)

(Berkeley): ("John Greenberg"), 1974. 1st Edition Thus. Soft cover. Very Good +. Unauthorized, anonymous publication, in two uniform volumes, of 22 of Salinger's early short stories written between 1940 - 1948 that originally appeared in magazines like The Saturday Evening Post, Colliers and Esquire. Two of the short stories feature Holden Caulfield, the subject of Salinger's 1951 breakthrough novel The Catcher in the Rye. After the phenomenal success of Catcher, Salinger refused to have these stories re-published in any format. A civil suit in Mr. Salinger's name was filed in October 1974 Federal District Court in San Francisco against "John Greenberg" and 17 major local bookstores, including Brentano's, alleging violation of the copyright laws. Besides the lawsuit, the appearance of the volumes in bookstores across the country prompted J. D. Salinger to come out of isolation and for the first time since 1951 break his silence and be interviewed by a reporter. He damned the illegal publication in an article that appeared in The New York Times, November 3, 1974, claiming "There is a marvelous peace in not publishing. It's peaceful. Still. Publishing is a terrible invasion of my privacy. I like to write. I love to write. But I write just for myself and my own pleasure." The NYTimes reported that the books were selling for $3 - $5. Single volumes of the pair appear on the market from time to time; a pair is hard-to-find. The glossy covers, with an image from a Collier magazine story, are lightly soiled; there is a faint stain lower right corner back cover Vol.2. The glue spine is subject to popping some leaves; both of these volumes are firmly bound. Leaves are clean throughout and neither volume has bookplates or previous ownership names or marks. A collectible pair.