RICHARD BRAUTIGAN'S TROUT FISHING IN AMERICA, THE PILL VERSUS THE SPRINGHILL MINE DISASTER, AND IN WATERMELON SUGAR

New York: Seymour Lawrence / Delacorte Press, 1969. First Combined Edition. Attractive copy of this omnibus collecting three titles originally published by the Four Seasons Foundation between 1967-68. This edition is also the first trade hardcover edition for all three titles (all published separately as hardcovers by Jonathan Cape in 1970). Provenance: From the collection of Montana author, screenwriter, and outdoorsman William Hjortsberg (1941-2017), a central figure in the Montana Gang, and Brautigan's long-time friend and neighbor in Pine Creek. He spent two decades researching and writing Jubilee Hitchhiker: The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan, published in 2012 to great acclaim. Barber 196. First Printing. Octavo (21.5cm); pictorial paper-covered boards; dustjacket; [xx],112,[4]; [xvi],108,[4]; [x],138,[2]pp. Laid into this copy is a contemporary black & white photo of Brautigan (measuring 3.25" x 4.5"), along with a cancelled check for $500 made out to Enrico's Coffee House. Spine ends gently nudged, trivial wear to lower board edges, with lower corners gently tapped (though still sharp); Near Fine. Dustjacket is unclipped (priced $6.95), light wear to extremities, with some corresponding wrinkling to lower corners, and a tiny split at lower rear flap fold; Near Fine.