Mao Zhu Xi Yu Lu (Quotations of Chairman Mao). No place or date (probably Beijing, Central Intelligence Bureau of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, May 1964). MAO ZEDONG (TSE TUNG): East Asia

16mo. Size: 10 x 13,8 cm. Pp. (viii), 2, 2, 250. Including half-title, title printed in red and green, front portrait of Mao, one page with Lin Biao's calligraphic endorsement, two pages of introduction with Lin Biao's name and two pages of contents. Text in Chinese throughout. Original printed wrappers printed in red and black, spine partly gone. Some water stain on the wrappers, the preliminaries, the first few leaves and at the end of the book. Housed in a specially made red cloth box.First complete edition of Mao's Little Red Book, one of the world's most reprinted books. It is of the scarce original Chinese printing which is difficult to identify as it does not contain a dated colophon, but it can be distinguished from other editions by its slightly larger size, by containing only thirty chapters and ending on page 250. It was produced in May 1964 for internal use only, created at the suggestion of General Lin Biao to flatter Mao and contribute to his own advancement within the Chinese Communist Party. However, Lin Biao was assassinated in 1971 and then the endorsement leaf was ordered to be torn out in all copies as a sign of loyalty to Mao. Subsequently copies printed after 1971 contain no mention of Lin and most copies that survive of this first edition have the leaf removed. Cf. Justin Schiller, Quotations of Chairman Mao 1964-2014; A Short Bibliographical Study, 2014.