Preliminary identification
Photo reference
3 uploaded photos
Overview
This is the first American edition of Boris Pasternak's masterpiece, bound in its original red cloth with the author's facsimile signature stamped in gold. Translated by Max Hayward and Manya Harari, this edition brought the forbidden Soviet novel to the English-speaking world for the first time.
Story
Banned in the USSR, the manuscript was smuggled to Italy in 1957. The CIA later covertly funded a Russian-language printing to distribute as a propaganda tool. Pasternak won the 1958 Nobel Prize but was forced by the Soviets to decline it.
Maker / Origin
Boris Pasternak was a renowned Russian poet who spent decades on this, his only novel. Pantheon Books, founded by European exiles, became the brave American home for this controversial work when other publishers feared political blowback.
Condition & Value
The red cloth shows some light fading and shelf wear consistent with its age. The gold stamping remains bright and legible. The absence of the dust jacket is the primary factor limiting its collector value. Condition is good for a 65-year-old volume.
Full Research
Sold comps, value drivers, and venue guidance pulled from recent auction results.
Build on this identification
Layer in sold comps, value drivers, and venue guidance.
Comparable demand stays strongest where maker, originality, and venue confidence line up. Broader examples still trade, but the range tightens quickly when provenance, condition, or selling lane fit is missing.
Best Venue
Specialty auction or a focused dealer with buyers already in this lane.
Signed example with light edge wear and original frame.
Comparable format with stronger provenance and cleaner surface.
Smaller related piece with visible craquelure and trimmed margins.
Period match with softer condition and weaker subject matter.
Close market lane comp with similar material and presentation.