The Diary of a Young Girl
London: Constellation, 1952. First Edition. Hardcover. Page proofs of the 1st edition in English (the London edition precedes the NY edition and is many times scarcer). A “rough proof” so stamped on the heretofore unseen original title page that varies from the published book’s title page having the flower turned 45 degrees, the publisher’s logo deleted, and some type reset (compare the photo of our proof title page to that in the book’s London 1st edition). Unbound sheets, without covers, but held by a plain, brown paper, securing strip to the spine (as made), with little chips at its corners. Also, the 2 end blanks are here but were not used in the published book, another unforeseeable marker. The half–title and portrait are loose, there are 3 small spots to the page edges, and the final blank is chipped, but it’s complete with the 5 printed photographs, and it is laid into a 1st printing dustjacket, chipped, and torn, with 2 tape shadows (tape is gone) else in good condition. Not many more (if any more) than this one proof were made for in–house assessment and never intended for reviewers, and it is the very first form that The Diary of a Young Girl ever took as a book in English. Further, this is the only recorded copy of the London proof, with none listed by OCLC in libraries, none listed by ABPC as sold at auction, and none we have seen, nor heard of, offered in the trade. Did we say that it is unique? Oh yah, we just did. And by the way, unique means the only one, so regardless of common usage it is remiss to modify unique with an adverb. Sumptuous half buffalo case. Very good. Item #791
Constellation Books was a fledgling, small, specialized, and inexperienced publisher in 1952 and did not know what they were doing so, their edition of The Diary of a Young Girl failed to get any attention until Doubleday published it in the U. S. later that year, where it became a bestseller and an intrinsic 20th century book distinct from any other.
On the surface it is a civilian chronicle of war that in some ways supersedes accounts written by journalists, analysts, novelists, scholars, soldiers, politicians, partisans, witnesses, judges, or historians. Look deeper and Anne’s themes of hope, confinement, fear, loss, becoming a woman, missing her childhood, and the inner and outer self, are sung in a forthright, optimistic, and moving voice of truth, only possible from an extraordinary young woman, and this provisional and inceptive copy of her book, radiating importance in the translation that made it famous, should find a home in a place worthy of, and appreciative of, its primacy over all other copies.
“At the age of 11 or thereabouts, women acquire a poise, and an ability to handle difficult situations, which a man, if he is lucky, manages to achieve somewhere in his later 70s.” –P. G. Wodehouse, Uneasy Money
No proof copy of Constellation’s The Diary of a Young Girl was known to survive or even to have been made. Now, here it is for sale obliging recognition. It serves as a reminder that we should keep our facts fluid, so they do not become corpses, and that means having an open mind. But a mind should not be so open that it keeps nothing in or keeps nothing out, and at times its doors must be closed, or it gets a little drafty. That said, every truly rare and enviable book that one sees for sale, and then does not buy, and then does not see again, becomes a nostalgic specter (Emilia Earhart books), with nothing to do about it but keep a space on the library shelf available, most often in futile hope.
Price:
$7,500.00