Mauve Gloves & Madmen, Clutter & Vine. By Tom Wolfe. First Edition, First Printing. Farrah, Strauss, Giroux. New York, 1976.

Tom Wolfe was a dynamic writer with subject interests as wide as any writer before him. His career ascended in the 1960s with The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and his other works that described in engaging detail the lived experiences of the 1960s countercultures. Wolfe quickly became associated with New Journalism, which he helped to define–a style of journalism that utilizes literary narrative techniques. In the 1970s, he also wrote The Right Stuff, a compelling description of the first American astronauts. Yet in this volume, Mauve Gloves & Madmen, Clutter & Vine, Wolfe is perhaps most himself in terms of his New Journalist style. Written through the most successful decade of his career, this collection of essays and one short story is comedic genius, factually rich, and highly engaging. It may not be his most well-known work, but it is certainly one of his best.

This first edition, first printing is in very good condition. In the original black cloth boards, near-fine with only fading to edges. Text block very good, with only former owner’s bookplate to front endpaper and foxing to edges. Dust jacket very good, only faint tape residue to flaps and minor rubbing.

A very good first edition of a Tom Wolfe classic.