THE FATHER HUNT. A Nero Wolfe Novel.

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original quarter black cloth and red paper-covered boards, with white titles to the spine, in the Mel Williamson designed dustwrapper. Top edge dark blue. With an original typed letter signed by Rex Stout on a single leaf of the author's personal stationery, complete with the original paper envelope, loosely laid in. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth bright and fresh, with just a little rubbing to the spine tips. The contents, with light spotting to the closed text block, are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the very good, lightly rubbed, nicked and creased dustwrapper, which has acouple of small short closed tears with associated creasing to the head of the spine and lower spine folds, and a tiny chip to the bottom edge of the front panel. There is a light cup ring to the underside of the front panel (just visible to the printed side). Not price-clipped ($4.50 to the upper front flap).

Inscribed by Rex Stout in blue ink on the half title "For Sarah S. Silbiger - / more best wishes - / Rex Stout / 10.8.70". The typed letter, dated "September 21 1970" and signed by Stout in blue ink, reads "Dear Mrs. Silbiger: / Thank you for your letter. If you send / me the four books, with the material for / returning them to you, I'll autograph them. / Sincerely, / Rex Stout". Complete with the original envelope. Rex Stout was a prolific letter-writer, whose personal correspondence spanned thousands of letters addressed to friends, editors, and several famous political figures. He accrued mountains of fan mail over the years and dutifully responded to "all but perhaps the unanswerable" (The Wolfe Pack). A considerable archive of correspondence, files, records, manuscripts, certificates, artwork, radio and television recordings, first editions and ephemera, including the research files of his official biographer John J. McAleer and bibliographer Judson C. Sapp are housed at the John J. Burns Library, Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA.