Selecting a Pulitzer to read

Title page and illustration from my 1918 edition of The Magnificent Ambersons

In this post I am going share some of my thoughts about selecting a Pulitzer winner to read. The image above is the title page of my copy of The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington. It was written in 1918 and won the Pulitzer for fiction in 1919. It was the second novel to win the award. I have a 1st edition copy of the book, the oldest in my Pulitzer collection. The first owner, Beatrice A. McCormick, wrote her name on the inside cover in 1919. I mention all this to make a point: I find it most enjoyable to read an early edition of the Pulitzer winners. For me it needs to be hardcover and maybe falling apart a little bit so you have to be careful with it. I like the large print on the soft old paper. The old edition feels good in my hands and I feel that I am able to go back in time more completely with the antique edition. Another benefit of the older editions is that they sometimes have wonderful illustrations, as you see in image of my copy of The Great Ambersons. Some collectors would not think of actually reading their rare, old edition of a book but I like the experience. My edition of The Magnificent Ambersons also has the original dustjacket and that is quite rare. The dustjacket adds greatly to the value of the book. However, when I read my old editions, I always remove the dustjacket, if my copy of the book has one. If you are interested in finding and possibly buying an old, rare edition of the early winners of the Pulitzer, my advice is to hurry. They are truly rare and often hard to find, especially if you want one in good condition with a dustjacket.

How do you find an old edition of a Pulitzer winner? I have spent many happy hours poking around in used bookstores across the U.S. I have found some treasures that way but the bookstore owners usually know what the book is worth. So, you don't often pick up an early edition for less than it is worth. However, I have been lucky to buy some early editions for a low price. I paid only $25.00 for my 1st edition of The Magnificent Ambersons. I love finding used bookstores in the cities I visit, from Boston to Jacksonville, Florida and New York to San Francisco and Los Angeles. The French Quarter in New Orleans may be my favorite book hunting grounds because there are 8 to 10 used bookstores within easy walking distance of each other in the Quarter. Some of my best bargains have been in used bookstores in Utah and I think it's because fewer collectors have been there before me.

The other way I have acquired many of my old and rare editions is through online sales. I recommend going to the AbeBooks.com website at http://www.abebooks.com/
AbeBooks.com lists used and new books that can be ordered online from bookstores across the U.S. You can search for the book you want and specify an early edition and a dustjacket. But don't be surprised if the list price is $1000 or more. You pay more for a 1st edition of a book with a dustjacket that is in mint condition. I saw listed a copy of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck for $10,000. It was tempting but I knew I couldn't explain the purchase or hide it from my wife, so I settled for a lot less expensive edition.

If you don't feel that you can purchase a copy of an early edition of one of the Pulitzer winners, don't let this keep you from reading them. I recommend trying your local library. I actually got started reading older editions of older novels by borrowing an early edition of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a novel written by Betty Smith in 1943. My daughter had checked it out from the library and I read it while I was visiting in her home. The look and feel of this old edition of a great novel that probably should have won the Pulitzer but did not gave me my start in reading and enjoying the old editions. By the way, I now have my own 1st edition copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn that I found in a used bookstore for $5.00. So check the library if you want a reading experience that is, in my opinion, better than reading a new paperback edition of a great old novel. And if you can, try finding your own copy of an old edition of a Pulitzer winner. I haven't found and bought all of them.