Scarce first edition Chinese book: Mao Zhu Xi Yu Lu (Quotations from Chairman Mao, or "The Little Red Book"). First edition, with frontispiece portrait of Mao and Marshal Lin Bao's uncorrected printed endorsement leaf; textual error on pp. 82/83 uncorrected, and lacking the errata slip. Beijing: General Political Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, 1964. Softcover bound in red vinyl covers with embossed title and star, 4 x 5.5, 250 pages. Book condition: VG-/None, with light overall wear and dampstaining to the first several pages, affecting little of the book's text. This uncorrected example is considered the rarest of all first editions of the 'Little Red Book,' and originally came from the collection of Justin Schiller, the recognized expert on printings of Mao's works.
Widely known as Mao's 'Little Red Book,' the pocket-sized Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung was first printed in 1964 and widely distributed during China's Cultural Revolution. Its thirty chapters contain quotations from Mao's speeches and writings, organized by topic: the Communist Party, class and class struggle, socialism and communism, war and peace, imperialism, the People's Army, politics, patriotism, and culture are all touched upon in the famous work. A highly desirable first edition of this historic and influential book, which helped to shape China's cultural and political paths in the 20th century.
