New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1950. First edition. Signed "John Kerouac" to upper free endpaper – an early example of Kerouac's signature, before he began signing as Jack. The Town and the City was the only book he published under the name John Kerouac, and the only one he signed as such. A Near Fine copy in Very Good+ dust jacket. Publisher's red cloth stamped in gilt. Dark blue topstain, somewhat faded. One corner a bit bumped, some foxing to closed edges of text block, and some foxing to endpapers and preliminaries. Dust jacket with two stains to front panel and some wear and crinkling to edges. Small colored pencil numeral to front flap and some foxing to dust jacket verso. Housed in a custom clamshell case. A scarce signed copy of Kerouac's debut novel.

The Town and the City, Kerouac's first novel, is the semi-autobiographical story of a Massachusetts family in the fictional town of Galloway, inspired by Kerouac's own experiences growing up in Lowell. The novel also explores Kerouac's recollections of the Beat circle – including his friendships with Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Lucien Carr – in 1940s New York City. The Town and the City was not a major success, and Kerouac would largely abandon its conventional style for the "spontaneous writing" method he adopted for his blockbuster second novel On the Road (1957), but Kerouac's debut demonstrated literary mettle and a strong interest in the autobiographical that would remain with the author throughout his career.

"In this big, rambling first novel, Kerouac tells of a Massachusetts family that is gradually dissolved by the recent war, the forces of modern life and the passage of time...a rough diamond of a book" (contemporary New York Times review). Near Fine in Very Good + dust jacket. (Item #8066)