Breakfast at Tiffany's: A Short Novel and Three Stories, Signed by Truman Capote, First Edition, First Printing, in First Issue Dust Jacket, 1958

Capote, Truman. Breakfast at Tiffany's: A short novel and three stories. New York: Random House, 1958. First edition, first issue printing. Signed by Truman Capote. In the original publisher’s orange first issue dust jacket and yellow cloth binding. Presented with an archival clamshell case. 

This is a signed, first edition, first issue of Truman Capote's classic novella chronicling the adventures of the free-spirited Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany's. In addition to the title novella, the book also includes three other short stories: House of Flowers, A Diamond Guitar, and A Christmas Memory. The book is offered in its first issue dust jacket with the 10/58 date code one the front flap.  "First Printing" is stated on the copyright page and the book signed by the author “Truman Capote” on the front flyleaf.

Capote originally sold his story Breakfast at Tiffany's to Harper's Bazaar for $2,000, with intended publication in its July 1958 issue. Shortly after the publication was scheduled, Harper's editor Carmel Snow was ousted by the magazine's publisher, the Hearst Corporation, and Hearst executives began asking for changes to the novella's language as there was concern that Tiffany's & Co., a major advertiser, would react negatively. The story was removed from the Harper’s Bazzar publication schedule but Capote soon resold the work to Esquire for $3,000. His novella appeared in Esquire’s November 1958 issue. 

A collection of the Breakfast at Tiffany’s novella and three short stories by Capote was published by Random House in the same year. The novella received glowing reviews. "If you want to capture a period in New York, no other book has done it so well. He could capture a period and place like few others" (Norman Mailer). The novella was quickly adapted for the 1961 hit film starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. 

Truman Capote was born in New Orleans and educated in New York and Connecticut. He worked in the Art Department of The New Yorker and as a writer on a television show before going on his own as a full-time writer. His first novel at age 24, Other Voices, Other Rooms, brought him literary fame and a strong following, which continued throughout his life, reaching a peak with the success of his "nonfiction” true crime novel In Cold Blood. Capote’s story, Shut a Final Door, won the O. Henry award in 1946.

CONDITION:

Very good condition. Octavo. Retains the original first issue orange dust jacket, now protected with a mylar sleeve. Dust jacket is price-clipped, with minimal chipping and surface wear. Some fading to the spine, but otherwise in very good color. Book is presented in original hardcover yellow cloth binding with black spine. Binding is tight with only a light slant to the spine. Signed by the author in black ink on the front flyleaf. The signature reads “Truman Capote.” Interior pages are healthy, with stated "First Printing" on the copyright page. Book Dimensions: 8 1/4" H x 5 3/4" W x 1 1/8" D. Clamshell: 9 1/2" H x 6 3/4" W x 1 3/4" D.

Book is presented with a new archival clamshell case. Case is 1/4 leather and cloth, with raised bands and girl tooling to the spine and an inlaid photograph of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly on the front.