Description
The galley copies of The Spirit of St. Louis, by Charles A. Lindbergh.
Oblong quarto, [two volumes], both with handwritten titles on brown paper covers. Each volume in brown wraps, bound with string, cloth strap along top edge. Volume I contains the galleys for page 1-82, with 83-165 in Volume II. This work does not include the Appendix or photographs. Faint dampstain to lost 20 pages of Volume I, no impact to text. Housed in custom black morocco clamshell, lined with black cloth, title stamped in gilt over black label. Scribner’s “A” sticker on front panel of Volume I. General wear to binding.
A scarce example of the galley proofs for this Pulitzer Prize winning autobiography. The original manuscripts by Lindbergh are held in the National Archives, but there are no other known copies of the Galley Proofs held in institutions or previously sold on the public market.
“He was the most fussy of authors, living or dead,” Charles Scribner remembered as Charles and his wife Anne, who “toiled over the galley proofs,” months before the publication of The Spirit of St. Louis. “To him (Lindbergh), every detail in the book has as much significance as if it were a moving part of his airplane. Despite all the tinkering, the book never lost its magic.” – Charles Scribner.
Lindbergh’s first account of his transatlantic journey, titled “We,” was published shortly after the historic flight in 1927. Lindbergh was never happy with this rushed account of his journey, written largely by the publisher. His account of the journey, The Spirit of St. Louis, was published in 1953 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography in 1954. Charles’ wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was a ghostwriter on the book, and its success is widely attributed to her writing skills.
