BURROUGHS, William S. ("William Lee" 1914-1997). Junkie: Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict. New York: Ace Double Books, 1953. 12mo. Original color pictorial wrappers. 151/169 pp. FIRST EDITION OF BURROUGHS' FIRST BOOK WRITTEN UNDER A PSEUDONYM, INSCRIBED BY BURROUGHS ON THE TITLE-PAGE OF JUNKIE: "For Don Kaufmann for William Lee William Burroughs". Kaufmann (1927-2015) was a literary scholar and a friend of Burroughs.

Burroughs' first book (written as "William Lee") of his notorious semi-autobiographical novel of heroin addiction which "tells us more about heroin use during the wartime and immediate postwar 1940s than any other volume; millions have read it since its original publication" (Dope Menace, p. 54), Bound dos-a-dos with Maurice Helbrandt's Narcotic Agent.

Wrappers rubbed, especially at joints, spine a bit sunned, small area on the cover of Junkie filled-in with red marker near upper right (not affecting artwork or text), and a small scuff-mark on the front wrapper of Narcotic Agent in a similar place as the damaged area of Junkie. First two leaves of Junkie are loose, yet present, text toned with some occasional wear, bumping to fore-edge, front hinge near Junkie is cracking. Good.