No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories

New York: Harper & Row, 1968. First Edition, as stated. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition (so stated) of the author's first book published in English translation, a novella and eight short stories. 8vo: [4],170pp. Publisher's quarter-bound brick-red cloth stamped in burgundy, mustard paper-covered boards, fore-edge untrimmed, boldly patterned end papers, illustrated dust jacket priced $5.95. Virtually pristine, an exemplary example, apparently unread, showing all first-issue points ('H-S' code on copyright page, without number line on terminal leaf), in a bright, nearly flawless first-issue jacket (Jerry Bauer credited for photograph of the author on the back panel, date code 0968 on front flap), with just mild toning to top of back panel and minute, nearly unnoticeable rub at the front spine-panel fold. Truly a collector's copy. Written between 1956 and 1957 and first published in 1961, the title novella (the book also includes a second, longer novella, Big Mama's Funeral) tells the story of an impoverished, retired colonel, a veteran of the Thousand Days' War, who still hopes to receive the pension he was promised some fifteen years earlier. In his memoir Vivir para contarla (Living to Tell the Tale, 2002), García Márquez explained that the story was inspired by his grandfather, who was also a colonel and who never received the pension he was promised. But it's also possible he drew inspiration from his experience of unemployment in 1956 after the newspaper he had been working for shut down, when he witnessed the lives of the many destitute around him. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).