Kerouac's Copy of "The New Testament" from His Personal Estate

Jack Kerouac's personal copy of "The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." New York: Sheed & Ward, 1952. Octavo, 573pp. Red cloth-covered boards with gilt titling at the spine. The back pastedown has written in an unknown hand in blue ink "World with out end" with a listed column of page numbers. Throughout the bible are underlined passages and small notations. Stamped with both a Jack Kerouac Estate stamp and the raised blind seal from Executor of the Estate, John Sampus, who was the brother-in-law of Jack Kerouac and the brother of Stella Kerouac, Jack's wife. The volume has a cracked and loose spine. Wear, soiling, and dampstaining to the covers. Dampstaining and warping to internal pages. Dye bleeding to the front and end pages.

Despite Kerouac's explorations and studies into Buddhism and Eastern spirituality, he was in fact a Catholic. While he did not practice the faith, his Catholic perspective can be viewed within his texts and in his interpretations of mysticism. Friends often teased him about his Catholicism, and he frequently defended the Church to skeptics. He once retorted, “All I write about is Jesus” during a 1968 interview with "The Paris Review’s" Ted Barrigan, who had asked why he never wrote about Jesus despite his observance of Christianity. As he grew ill at the end of his short life, Kerouac attempted to return to regular prayer, and at his funeral, he was buried with a rosary clasped between his folded hands.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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