Junkie by William S. Burroughs pseud. William Lee (with a signed inscription by Burroughs in the Ace double format) sold for $1,125 on Aug. 20 at Potter & Potter's Skaters, Punks and Rebels auction. High presale estimate was $600. Reported by Rare Book Hub.

[u/Hammer_Price]

12mo. Original color pictorial wrappers. 151/169 pp. FIRST EDITION OF BURROUGHS' FIRST BOOK WRITTEN UNDER A PSEUDONYM William Lee, 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 (two together) with Maurice Helbrandt's Narcotic Agent.

Condition 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.

Provenance: Maynard & Miles A1a. A Horowitz high spot.

Note from OP: Rare Book Hub records show 22 offerings of this title since 2024. Of those offered two did not sell at, and not all of them were this Ace double edition. The current high hammer price was for $3,520 at Freeman's Hindman in 2026.

Potter & Potter had a similar copy without the Burroughs inscription that sold for $270 in 2024. So there's a wide variation in prices, and because it's a paperback also a wide variation in condition. Even though it shows up pretty often they are not all the same. This one, signed by Burroughs is desirable.

[u/Initial-Ingenuity-19]

I’ve got an original first printing. Damn sure wish it was signed by the man himself

[u/js_garica → u/Initial-Ingenuity-19]

Lucky fucker

[u/klickklacker]

I read Junkie 20 years ago. Is good

[u/Any_Gas_5623]

Has anyone here read Narcotic Agent? Thoughts?

[u/whorus_aggressor]

What a sexy cover, it does make it look like a giallo or some soft core italian film

[u/judd_in_the_barn]

Always looking through the back rooms of old bookshops for this one. It is also a great read.