Heywood Hill Rare Books are pleased to announce the sale of a selection of books from the library of legendary British publisher, Tom Maschler.
"None but I shall understand that without you it would never have been written."
Doris Lessing
"A three-gun salute to your publishing genius"
Ian McEwan
Ranging in price from £95 for Anita Brookner’s Fraud, to £35,000 for an exceptionally rare, signed first UK edition of Thomas Pynchon’s V, the books featured in this catalogue read like a Who’s-Who of literature from the second half of the twentieth century: featured authors include Ian Fleming, Ian McEwan, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, and Muriel Spark. Many of the books are first editions and contain charming inscriptions to Tom Maschler by their authors.
Each purchase will include a bookplate, exclusively designed by Tom’s friend Quentin Blake, to serve as proof of provenance. The books will be available to view at Heywood Hill, and can be purchased either in the shop, or by contacting the Rare Books department at rare@heywoodhill.com or on 020 3865 3688.
Tom Maschler is a legendary figure in British publishing, responsible for championing some of the most important writing of the twentieth century. Known as a brilliant talent-spotter, Tom launched the careers of writers as various as Ian McEwan, Edna O’Brien, Clive James and Bruce Chatwin. He famously purchased Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 for £250, and persuaded Desmond Morris, then working at London Zoo, to write The Naked Ape. In 1967, Tom conceived the idea of the Booker Prize, which launched in 1968. An incredible fifteen of his authors have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Tom was also known as an exceptional children’s publisher, especially of illustrated books: it was he who introduced Roald Dahl to Quentin Blake. This selection of items from his personal library reflects Tom’s extraordinary contribution to literary culture.
An extremely rare signed first UK edition of Thomas Pynchon’s debut novel, V. (1963). Pynchon is renowned for his reticence, rarely appearing in public or signing his books. Indeed, this is the only known example of a UK edition of V. to have been inscribed by its author. In 2012 it transpired that Pynchon’s final revisions to his novel had been made after the printing of the US edition, and as such were only implemented in the Cape edition in the UK.
The novel follows discharged US Navy sailor Benny Profane, who returns to New York with a group of bohemian artists and ageing traveller Herbert Stencil in search of the mysterious ‘V’.
"For four decades, Tom Maschler was the most important and most talked-about figure in British publishing."
Dan Franklin
Ian Fleming’s personal proof copy of Thrilling Cities (1963), which includes his own corrections and annotations.
Originally published as a series in the Sunday Times, Thrilling Cities is a highly personal travelogue which recounts trips Fleming made to thirteen cities in 1959 and 1960, namely: Hong Kong, Macau, Tokyo, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, New York, Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Geneva, Naples and Monte Carlo. The corrections detailed in this copy range from grammatical adjustments to line changes, as well as an annotation to the author’s note.
