[McMURTRY, Larry (1936-2021), his copy]. MALAMUD, Bernard (1914-1986). The Natural. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, [1952].
8vo. Original red buckram, gilt-lettered spine (light discoloration near foot); original dust jacket (spine gently sunned, chipping at ends, light edgewear). Provenance: Larry McMurtry (his bookplate, which he designed, features the horseshoe-shaped brand his father and grandfather used on the McMurtry cattle), from his personal library at his home in Archer City; also, with McMurtry’s ownership signature on front free endpaper.
FIRST EDITION OF THE AUTHOR’S FIRST BOOK about baseball and the successes and failures of its hero, Roy Hobbs, that was adapted into the 1984 film starring Robert Redford. The book was issued in red, blue or gray cloth, without priority, although red seems to be the scarcer binding.