"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" by John le Carré

This is a most valuable and unique item so the technical description must come first. Here we welcome bids on a fine first edition of TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY by John le Carré. Published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1974. The mauve coloured top stain to the page block has not faded. The spine to the pictorial dust wrapper retains its black colour. The original price of £2.95 net appears on the unclipped dust wrapper. The binding is tight. Very minor paper loss to the unrestored dust wrapper as photographed. No internal markings. A fine copy. This is housed in a quarter morocco clamshell custom made box. Loosely inserted is a newspaper review for the 2011 film adaptation of the novel together with a promotional postcard for the same. Gary Oldman played the part of George Smiley. Of particular interest to prospective bidders will be the additional loose first page from a paperback edition of the novel. John le Carré has annotated this in black ink. The annotation and author’s signature can be clearly read from the photograph. The author does claim to have destroyed the first version of this novel (see Adam Sisman’s biography). There were in fact several initial drafts before the author was satisfied with the work that was to become his masterpiece. The book was largely written (in manuscript!) at Sancreed in Cornwall. John le Carré moved permanently to Cornwall shortly thereafter. The annotated first page of chapter one is unique. No remotely similar item has ever been offered for sale. Taken together this is an exceptionally desirable item for the astute collector of modern first edition fiction.