Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, First Edition, 1943

About the Item

Rand, Ayn. The Fountainhead. New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1943. First edition printing. Octavo. Rebound in modern half red Moroccan leather and marbled boards, with gilt tooling and titles to the spine, and the original dust jacket bound-in. Presented is a first edition printing of The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. The Fountainhead is Ayn Rand's best-selling and unforgettable celebration of the individual spirit. The book is rebound in stunning half red Moroccan leather and marbled boards, with gilt tooling and titles to the spine, and the original dust jacket bound-in. From 1935-1943, Rand worked as a secretary in an architectural firm, during which time she wrote The Fountainhead, her first Objectivist novel and her first bestseller. The book follows the protagonist Howard Roark, a young architect struggling to stay true to his own vision against more conventional and mainstream ideas. As the original dust jacket explained, "This book is based on a challenging belief in the importance of selfishness, on the provocative idea that man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress." Initially rejected by twelve publishers, and firing one over publicity plans, Rand finally found a publisher in Bobbs-Merrill. She released The Fountainhead in 1943. Just 7500 copies were initially printed. Despite harsh criticism, the book gradually found its audience and became one of the high spots of American literature. Rand later would also write the screenplay for the film version of the novel, released in 1949 and starring Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal. CONDITION: Very good condition overall. First edition. Octavo. Rebound in modern half red Moroccan leather and marbled boards, with gilt tooling and titles to the spine, and the original dust jacket bound-in. Interior pages are healthy and clean. Book Dimensions: 8 7/8" H x 6 1/4" W x 1 7/8" D.
  • Creator:
    Ayn Rand (Author)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 8.88 in (22.56 cm)Width: 6.25 in (15.88 cm)Depth: 1.88 in (4.78 cm)
  • Style:
    Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
    Leather,Paper,Embossed,Gilt
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1943
  • Condition:
    Additions or alterations made to the original: Previously rebound by past owner in quarter red leather and marbled boards, with gilt embossed titles, gilt tooling, and raised bands to the spine. Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Colorado Springs, CO
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: BK09351stDibs: LU909741061722

More From This Seller

View All
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, First Edition, First Printing, in Dust Jacket, 1957
By Ayn Rand
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. New York: Random House, 1957. First edition, first printing. Thick octavo. In the publisher’s original first issue dust jacket, green cloth boards, stamped...
Category

Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Books

Materials

Leather, Fabric, Paper

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, First Edition, 1952
By Ernest Hemingway
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Hemingway, Ernest, The Old Man and the Sea. 1952, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. First Edition. Rebound in blue Morocco leather with custom embossed stamp on the front, raised ba...
Category

Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Books

Materials

Leather, Fabric, Paper

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, First Edition, 1938
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan. The Yearling. Illustrated by Edward Shenton. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1938. First edition. 8to. Rebound in full green leather with gilt tooling, ...
Category

Vintage 1930s American Books

Materials

Leather, Paper

The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald, First Edition, 1922
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Beautiful and the Damned. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922. First edition, first state. Rebound in ¼ leather and cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt titles, and tooling to the spine. Gilded edges. New archival cloth slipcase. Presented is a first edition, first state of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and the Damned. The book was published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in New York in 1922. It is presented here, rebound, in gorgeous blue ¼ leather and cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt titles, and gilt tooling to the spine, and a new archival slipcase. The Beautiful and the Damned was Fitzgerald’s second novel, following his debut This Side of Paradise. The book is an exploration of the nouveau riche, New York City nightlife in the 1920s, and the inner dynamics of two young and reckless newlyweds. Semi-autobigraphical, Fitzgerald modeled the characters of Anthony Patch and Gloria Gilbert on himself and his new spouse Zelda Fitzgerald and the story draws circumstantially upon the early years of Fitzgeralds' tempestuous marriage. Fitzgerald started writing The Beautiful and the Damned in August of 1920, while in Westport Connecticut. Having reflected upon the criticisms of his debut novel This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald sought to improve upon the form and construction of his prose in this second book. He relied heavily on editorial suggestions from his friend Edmund Wilson...
Category

Vintage 1920s American Art Deco Books

Materials

Leather, Paper

The Flag of the United States by Milo Milton Quaife, First Edition, 1942
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Quaife, Milo Milton. The Flag of the United States. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1942. First edition. Octavo. Rebound in ¼ leather and cloth boards, with raised bands and gilt embossed titles to the spine. Illustrated. Presented with a matching archival slipcase. Presented is a first edition printing of The Flag of the United States by Milo Milton Quaife. The book was published in New York by Grosset & Dunlap in 1942. It is presented here rebound in ¼ leather and cloth boards, with raised bands and gilt titles to the spine, and a matching archival slipcase. Quaife wrote The Flag of the United States in order to present “the true and authentic history of the United States.” Wading through the myths and stories surrounding the flag, he details the origins and evolution of the American flag, using careful research to determine fact from fiction. There are several chapters on the early flags of Spain, France, and Holland in America and Quaife traces the development of the American flag from its English predecessor. He articulates the twenty-nine word resolution of the Second Continental Congress that made the flag of the United States, then outlines the changes to the flag’s design made in 1795, 1818, and 1912. He has a chapter on Civil War flags, a chapter on flags of the Army, and several debunking the many myths surrounding the American flag. This book was very well received upon its publication. “Quaife is entitled to a good deal of praise for having written a straightforward, and very readable, history of our flag” (Ralph W. Steen, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 1943). “To read this history of our flag is to read the history of these United States, not only in the years when we became an infant nation, but also in those later years variously devoted to territorial expansion, extending our commerce, and fighting other wars.” (Ardelia Olden Koch, Wisconsin Magazine of History, 1943). Milo Milton Quaife (1880–1959) was a historian and writer, born in Nashua, Iowa. He received his education at Grinnell College, the University of Missouri, and the University of Chicago. Quaife was a published historian of the Great Lakes region, the Mississippi River valley, the Gold Rush, and President Polk...
Category

Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Books

Materials

Leather, Paper

Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Mark Twain, First Edition
By Mark Twain
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Twain, Mark. Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World. Hartford: The American Publishing Company, 1897. First Edition. Rebound in publisher’s blue cloth laid down, with colo...
Category

Antique 1890s American Victorian Books

Materials

Leather, Fabric, Paper

You May Also Like

The Rock, by T. S. Eliot – FIRST EDITION
Located in Middletown, NY
Eliot, T. S. The Rock; A Pageant Play Written for Performance on Behalf of the Forty-Five Churches Fund of the Diocese of London London: Faber and Faber, 1934. FIRST EDITION, Thir...
Category

Early 20th Century English Books

Materials

Paper

The Hudson by Carl Carmer, First Edition
Located in valatie, NY
The Hudson by Carl Carmer. Farrar & Rinehart, New York:, 1939. First edition hardcover with dust jacket with Brodart cover. Best of the Rivers of America series. The Hudson is less a...
Category

Vintage 1930s American Books

Materials

Paper

The Plutocrat by Booth Tarkington, First Edition
Located in valatie, NY
The Plutocrat by Booth Tarkington. Doubleday, Page and Co. Garden City, New York 1927. First Edition hardcover with dust jacket. The adventurous roman...
Category

Vintage 1920s American Books

Materials

Paper

TOLKIEN, J. R. R. - The Hobbit - 1937 - FIRST EDITION - FIRST PRINTING !
Located in Hillsborough, NJ
AUTHOR: TOLKIEN, J. R. R. TITLE: The Hobbit or There and Back Again. PUBLISHER: London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1937. DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION FIRST PRINTING. 1 vol., 7-11/16...
Category

Vintage 1930s British Books

Materials

Fabric

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald – FIRST EDITION, First printing
Located in Middletown, NY
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922. First Edition, First Printing. 8vo, 7 1/2 x 5 1/4 inches (190 x 132 mm); pp. x + 449 + 2, one unopened at the front of the book; 2-page adve...
Category

Early 20th Century American Books

Materials

Gold Leaf

The Seven Seas by Rudyard Kipling First Edition
By Rudyard Kipling
Located in Dallas, TX
Presenting an extremely rare first edition hardback copy of The Seven Seas by Rudyard Kipling from 1897. This rare book is in fair to good condition for ...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century American Art Nouveau Books

Materials

Paper

Recently Viewed

View All