New York: Breaking Point, 1949 (TLS 1954)

8vo, pp. 95. Original red boards, title in black to spine. Printed dust jacket, printed in red on black to front panel and black on red to spine. With 1p. TLS on plain paper, Mailer's New York address added in Legman's hand. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket.

First edition, one of 50 copies of the clothbound issue. One of the copies sent to the author on publication. WITH A TLS FROM NORMAN MAILER DISCUSSING THE BOOK AND REQUESTING A COPY.

Four polemical essays on the theme of literary censorship by the legendary Gershon Legman: folklore hostorian, erotobibliophile, origami expert and inventor of the vibrating dildo. (I'm not making this up).

Norman Mailer's letter is dated 30 December 1054 [1954]. He writes to invite Legman to visit him in the US: 'I imagine we've always had a lot to talk about, but at the moment because of certain little events surrounding my new novel, I think I'd have some interesting details for you.' (This is almost certainly a reference to Mailer's novel The Deer Park the publication of which was delayed when his publisher Rinehart declared the book obscene. It was eventually published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 1955: Mailer was writing to Legman while in the midst of the legal battle to get the book published.) Mailer goes on to discuss Love and Death: 'Also, if you get a chance and are not too over-worked on correspondence drop me a line about where I could buy Love and Death or is it Love v. Death. I started to read it once at somebody's house, got fascinated with it, and then had to leave, and I've not come across it again.'

The scarcest issue of this title, and scarcer still in this condition.