Lady Chatterley's Lover.

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First edition, first impression, number 596 of 1,000 copies signed and numbered by the author, here retaining the scarce plain paper dust jacket, well-preserved in a contemporary glassine wrapper possibly issued by the publisher. This copy is offered together with an unpublished autograph postcard from the author to his mother-in-law, Anna Freiin von Richthofen (1879-1930). The postcard - located and dated "Santa Fe. 18 Okt", and franked the same day - was sent by Lawrence in 1924 to "Frau Baronin von Richthofen", the title shared by Lawrence's wife Frieda, her sister Else, and their mother Anna, with whom Lawrence maintained a close correspondence. Written in German, it reads: "reisen morgen nach El Paso - ich schiche dir heute Photographien von Ranch" ["Travelling tomorrow to El Paso - I am sending you the Ranch photographs today"]. The "Ranch" refers to Lawrence's New Mexico residence, where he lived between 1922 and 1924, and where he was interred after his death. Lawrence's novel was printed in Florence by a small avant-garde publisher to circumvent British obscenity laws. "Lady Chatterley's Lover - written in the astonishing time of just five weeks, in one of Lawrence's last great bursts of creative energy - also sustained him, as he overcame the difficulties lying in the way of an individual publishing and distributing his own book. With the help of the Florentine bookseller Pino Orioli, the handsome volume was printed in and distributed from Florence, and made Lawrence more money than he had ever imagined" (ODNB). Roberts & Poplawski A42a (not mentioning the existence of paper or glassine jackets). Octavo. Original pinkish-brown paper-covered boards, paper spine label, Lawrence's phoenix device blocked in black on front cover, edges untrimmed. With original plain cream dust jacket and contemporary glassine. Housed in a custom black half morocco solander box. Minute splits to spine ends, spot of foxing to label, contents crisp, fresh, and largely unopened; hint of rubbing and toning to jacket, a few faint damp stains to spine, extremities lightly chipped with some very minor loss to spine: a near-fine copy in near-fine dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 162812

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