LaMotta, Jake – Raging Bull

Description

LaMotta, Jake ‘Raging Bull’ 1970 1st ed. 218-pages. VG in VG mylar protected dust jacket. Former owner ‘J.A. PETERSON’ book stamp on inside frontispiece and below that the INSCRIPTION from LaMotta in ink “To John, Jake LaMotta.”

Book Description:
The 1970 first edition of Raging Bull: My Story by Jake LaMotta (written with Joseph Carter and Peter Savage) is a masterpiece of gritty sports literature. Published by Prentice-Hall, this 218-page autobiography serves as a brutally candid, unvarnished look at the life of the “Bronx Bull”. Long before it was adapted into Martin Scorsese’s iconic, Oscar-winning 1980 film starring Robert De Niro, this raw memoir shocked readers by laying bare LaMotta’s street fights, reform school days, prison stints, domestic violence, and complex interactions with organized crime mobsters.
• The Jacket: The original trade printing features a distinct red pictorial dust jacket showcasing a cover illustration by legendary sports cartoonist Murray Olderman. The unclipped inner flap carries the original $6.95 baseline retail price.
• The Interior: Bound in a textured deep-red or burgundy cloth with a gilt-lettered spine, the volume features mustard-colored endpapers and contains full-page photographic plates tracking his iconic ring wars with Sugar Ray Robinson and Marcel Cerdan.

Estimated Market Value
A 1970 first printing in Very Good condition inside a Very Good, non-price-clipped mylar-protected jacket—enhanced by this specific World Boxing Hall of Fame association—holds an estimated market value of $350 to $550 USD.

Comprehensive Value Breakdown:
• The First Printing Scarcity: True 1970 first editions with the pristine, unclipped $6.95 jacket are increasingly uncommon and command a steady $200 to $300 standard baseline value on their own. Mylar protection ensures the jacket extremities avoid the heavy sun-fading typical of this title.
• The “Association Copy” Premium: A book stamp from John A. Peterson elevates this from a generic personalized copy to a verified association copy. Having the provenance of a recognized figure tied to the World Boxing Hall of Fame adds highly desirable, institutional cross-collectible value that appeals deeply to serious boxing purists.
• The Signature Layout: Inscriptions from the 1970s or 1980s written in classic fountain pen or blue ink are often preferred by antiquarian book dealers over the ubiquitous thick black Sharpie autographs LaMotta signed later in his life. The localized placement directly on the frontispiece alongside the owner’s stamp creates an integrated piece of boxing history.