Details
LEWIS, Sinclair (1885-1951). Babbitt. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1922.
8o. Original blue cloth, blocked in orange; text cut from rear flap of dust jacket mounted on front pastedown and trimmed remaining portions tipped in at rear; cloth folding case.
ADVANCE COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION, stamped "Sample Copy Publication Date September 14, 1922" in red on title-page, and "Advance Copy Aug. 1922" written in pencil on front free endpaper. This appears to be an intermediate state, with p. 49 corrected, but with the errors on p. 75 ("plain" for "plane"), and on p. 271 ("Pennies" for "Pennys").
With George Follansbee Babbitt, middle aged, middle class, middle-management, and with a middling mind, Lewis identified a new American type. He also gave a new word to the American language: the name "Babbitt" is now found in most dictionaries (Webster's defines it as "a business or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to prevailing middle class standards"). Interestingly, Babbitt was not the original title. Lewis cast aside "Pumphrey" and "Fitch" before settling on Babbitt. Pastore 8.
8o. Original blue cloth, blocked in orange; text cut from rear flap of dust jacket mounted on front pastedown and trimmed remaining portions tipped in at rear; cloth folding case.
ADVANCE COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION, stamped "Sample Copy Publication Date September 14, 1922" in red on title-page, and "Advance Copy Aug. 1922" written in pencil on front free endpaper. This appears to be an intermediate state, with p. 49 corrected, but with the errors on p. 75 ("plain" for "plane"), and on p. 271 ("Pennies" for "Pennys").
With George Follansbee Babbitt, middle aged, middle class, middle-management, and with a middling mind, Lewis identified a new American type. He also gave a new word to the American language: the name "Babbitt" is now found in most dictionaries (Webster's defines it as "a business or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to prevailing middle class standards"). Interestingly, Babbitt was not the original title. Lewis cast aside "Pumphrey" and "Fitch" before settling on Babbitt. Pastore 8.