Johnny Guitar

ROY CHANSLOR

Publication: Simon and Schuster, 1953, New York

First edition. 8vo. Association copy, Inscribed on the front free fly leaf by Roy Chanslor to film director Nicholas Ray : "To Nick Ray / For a very happy and fruitful association ! / Roy." Two-tone paper over boards, titles stamped in gilt on the front cover and spine, [6], 242 pp. The inscription refers to Ray's film version of Chanslor's book, one of the strangest and most important Westerns ever filmed and a critical high spot for Joan Crawford (to whom the book is dedicated). On the outskirts of town, the hard-nosed Vienna owns a saloon frequented by the undesirables of the region, including Dancing Kid and his gang. Another patron of Vienna's establishment is Johnny Guitar, a former gunslinger and her lover. When a heist is pulled in town that results in a man's death, Emma Small, Vienna's rival, rallies the townsfolk to take revenge on Vienna's saloon ... even without proof of her wrongdoing. Basis for the groundbreaking 1954 Western directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Joan Crawford, Mercedes McCambridge, and Sterling Hayden. Page edges uniformly tanned else a very good copy in a bright dust jacket with light wear to the spine ends, corners, with a few tiny nicks and closed tears to the extremities. Extremely scarce in any condition Housed in a cloth clamshell case with leather spine labels and titles stamped in gilt. The best association imaginable between this key author of post-traditional Western fiction and the film director who famously brought that author's sensibilities into a bold new visual context.

Inventory Number: 53252