London: Victor Gollancz, 1953. First Edition. 439pp. Hardcover: NEAR FINE. Dust Wrapper: NEAR FINE. Book has no marks or inscriptions; spine has a slight tilt, front board has some colour loss, and there is modest foxing on the text block. Wrapper has color loss on the spine and some toning on the reverse; else fine. A very nice copy. Ralph Ellison’s first novel won the National Book Award in 1953 and was named by Modern Library as one of the 100 greatest novels of the twentieth century and TIME Magazine's 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005, calling it "the quintessential American picaresque of the 20th century."