A Walk on the Wild Side by Nelson Algren - First Edition 1956 - First Printing - Dust Jacket - Very Good
Published by Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1956
- First Edition
- Hardcover
- Used
Item image 1 of 10.
Seller: Stone Sentinel Books, Newcastle, CA, U.S.A.Stone Sentinel Books
5-star seller
AbeBooks seller since February 12, 2026
Hardcover
Condition: Used - Very good
US$ 115.00
US$ 6.00 shipping
Ships within U.S.A.
Quantity: 1 available
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Item description from seller
A 1956 first edition, first printing of Nelson Algren's groundbreaking novel "A Walk on the Wild Side," published by Farrar, Straus and Cudahy. This is Algren's follow-up to his National Book Award-winning "The Man with the Golden Arm" and remains one of the most unflinching portrayals of American lowlife in mid-century literature.
Algren's gritty, poetic prose influenced generations of writers from Kurt Vonnegut to Lou Reed (whose song "Walk on the Wild Side" took its title from this book). A cornerstone of Beat Generation literature and American noir fiction.
First edition, first printing (stated "First printing, 1956" on copyright page). Hardcover with original dust jacket featuring the iconic yellow lettering and photographic collage design by Arthur Shay. Book is clean and tight with honest age-appropriate wear—light patina to head and tail of spine (see photos). Dust jacket unclipped at $4.50 with vibrant colors intact. Pages bright and clean with no foxing, writing, or musty odor.
Seller Inventory # SSB-0001
Bibliographic details
- Title
- A Walk on the Wild Side by Nelson Algren - First Edition 1956 - First Printing - Dust Jacket - Very Good
- Author
- Nelson Algren
- Publisher
- Farrar, Straus and Cudahy
- Publication year
- 1956
- Condition
- Very good
- Dust jacket
- Dust Jacket Included
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- Printing
- 1st Printing
Stone Sentinel Books
Newcastle, CA, U.S.A.
5-star seller
AbeBooks seller since February 12, 2026
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 5 to 14 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | US$ 6.00 | US$ 10.00 |
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Store description
You're building something specific. Not just a shelf of books: a library with atmosphere. The kind of room that feels like it has a history before you walked into it.
The problem is finding the real thing. The vintage market is full of book club editions dressed up as first printings, reprints with no dust jackets, and sellers who grade "Good" when they mean "survived a flood." It's time-consuming, confusing, and easy to overpay.
That's where I come in.
I'm Rob. I worked in the archive stacks at UW's Suzzallo Library. Gothic reading rooms, stained glass, the kind of place where books feel like they matter. I've been authenticating and grading vintage editions ever since. Now I spend weekends hunting first editions at estate sales across Northern California: literary horror, classic sci-fi, and Gothic fiction from the 1960s–1980s. The books that actually built the Dark Academia aesthetic, not the modern reprints cashing in on it.
Every book in my shop has been verified for edition and graded honestly. Sometimes brutally. You'll know exactly what you're getting before it ships.
Your order arrives wrapped in tissue paper with a wax seal sticker. Because the details matter, and you're not buying shelf filler.
If you're building a library that looks like it belongs in a Victorian study instead of a big-box store, you're in the right place. Browse the collection.