This is one of the most pivotal and influential books of the 20th century.  This near flawless copy is hand signed to Bill Shannon, and dated May 4th, 1958 ... just over 6 months after the book was released.  Cover is in nearly perfect condition - with one small remnant of tape on one interior corner - see photos).  This is a true "First Printing."

Presented to Bill Shannon, who was an American journalist, author and United States Ambassador to Ireland under President Jimmy Carter.  The Ayn Rand Institute has copies of newspaper articles written by Shannon, which were annotated in pen by Rand, who obviously had Shannon on her radar!  On the article, Rand writes "What a mixture" and "This is what happens without the concepts of meta-physics, reason and fundamentality."  She also labels some of his writing as "Top BS" and "True and False."  Quite an interesting view from one of the world's most famous authors!

No foxing or dog-eared pages, original dust cover in near flawless condition with only trivial edge wear, unrestored.  Strong spine, no foxing or dog-earing to the pages.  Cover is protected by an archival cover sleeve - the "Signed by the Author" sticker is affixed to the plastic - NOT the cover itself!  Housed in custom box.  This example features an authentication by PSA.  The book was also personally compared by me to several signed copies in the institute's archive, and were a perfect match with respect to page position, ink, lettering and style.  Very few autographed copies exist in private collections, as most were lost to time, donated to the institute, etc.  Compared to other copies available, this example is arguably in the finest condition available.  Included is an autographed photo of William Shannon, not related to the Rand book but an excellent artifact that compliments the book nicely.  More photos available.  Includes a copy of the article "The Need for Authority" by William V. Shannon, which was hand-annotated by Rand (original is housed at the Ayn Rand Institute), the official PSA Authenticity document, a letter of transmittal from the previous owner (circa 2015).