103 résultats
19611607New York: The Living Theatre 1961. First Edition First Printing. <br /><br />Oblong 16mo 6 1/2 x 5 1/8 inches; 165 x 130 mm 4 pages in stapled red white and blue wrappers. <p>Invitation for a Champagne party and auction at the studio of artist Larry Rivers on May 2 1961 to raise money for the Living Theatre and its forthcoming European tour. The auction included art works and manuscripts most notably the entire manuscript of Allen Ginsberg's "Kaddish" as well as works by John Cage Louise Nevelson Robert Rauschenberg Grace Hartigan Jasper Johns Willem De Kooning Helen Frankenthaler Franz Kline and others.<br /></p><p>Rivers's studio was at 102 West Third Street in the West Village. The invitation requested a contribution of $25 per couple and assured attendees that the evening was "informal." The guests of honor were Eva Gabor Denise Darcel Arlene Francis Shelley Winters and Kim Stanley.<br /></p><p>The evening was a huge success according to The New York Times raising about $20500 equal to around $180000 in 2021. Foundations had promised an additional $5000 while $18000 had already been raised in previous months thus assuring that the Living Theatre's European trip would go ahead.<br /></p><p>The Living Theatre planned to perform in Paris Rome London Turin Milan Amsterdam Glasgow and Florence with plays by Bertolt Brecht In the Jungle of Cities William Carlos Williams Many Loves Jack Gelber The Connection and Luigi Pirandello Tonight We Improvise.<br /></p><p>An interesting snapshot of the New York art literary and entertainment worlds of 1961. And of course a rare piece of Living Theatre ephemera. <b>RARE</b>.<br /></p><p>CONDITION: Near Fine with trivial hints of edge wear. Sharp clean and fresh.<br /></p><p><br /></p> The Living Theatre books
19321480New York: United Workers Theatres of New York 1932. First Edition. 4to 11 inches / 280 mm tall 2 41 1 mimeographed pages in side-stapled pink and black wrappers. Contents clean and unmarked wrappers edge worn with several diagonal creases to the corners wrappers splitting along spine fold loose but holding and a bit of soiling. A Very Good copy of a scarce fragile publication.Monthly publication promoting left-wing theatre in the U.S. during the Depression; it appeared from 1931 to 1933 and was closely associated with the Communist Party. The United Workers Theatres of New York the publisher worked in conjunction with the Workers Laboratory Theatre and the German agitprop troupe Prolet-Buehne. Contents here include an announcement for a First National Workers Theatre Conference and Spartakiade to be staged April 16-17 1932 in New York. The Spartakiade required contestants to act "with proletarian responsibility with great energy with full speed" to make the conference and Spartakiade "a great event in the history of the workingclass in this country!"Also included is an article on scene design by Mordecai Gorelik; three plays two of them by the Prolet-Buehne and the other by Tom Lewis; an article on Soviet movies by Harry Alan Potamkin; an article on children's theatre by Kay Rankin as well as reviews and a listing of forthcoming events.A fascinating look at the state of "workers' theatre" in New York during the Depression. SCARCE. <br /><br /> United Workers Theatres of New York books
19681219New York: Alfred A. Knopf 1968. First Edition First Printing. Joseph Heller's second book an antiwar play following Catch-22. The play debuted at the Yale School of Drama and then opened on Broadway in October 1968. 8vo 8 1/2 inches / 22 cm. Several small stains to the cloth small bit of offsetting to the rear end paper from the red cloth. A Very Good copy in a price-clipped dust jacket that has some soiling and slight wrinkling to the crown of the spine. <br/><br/> Alfred A. Knopf hardcover books
199621122Los Angeles: Voctoria Dailey 1996. First edition. One of 1000 unnumbered copies. Inscribed by Martin on the illustrated front free endpage. "To Rob Best Wishes Steve Martin." Illustrations by Martin Mulll. Cloth-covered boards with illustrated lable on front board. Boards bowed; tiny foxed spot on topedge. Clean copy in Very Good condition. Inscribed by Author. First Edition. Hardcovers. Very Good/Not Issued. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Voctoria Dailey Hardcover books
197714355Boston: Little Brown & Co 1977. First edition. Hardcover. Fine/fine. Stated first edition of Duberman's biographical dram of the life of Jack Kerouac. A superb copy in dustwrapper. <br/><br/> Little, Brown & Co hardcover books
1986734New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux 1986. First American Edition 1st Printing. A collection of three plays by the Nobel Prize winner all focused on 1945 when the Red Army advanced into East Prussia and "repatriated" former Russian POWs to the gulag. Small 8vo. 365 pages. Near Fine with slight bumping to the spine ends in a Near Fine dust jacket that has slight wrinkling where the real panel meets the spine tail. <br/><br/> Farrar, Straus and Giroux unknown books
197731999NY: Harper & Row. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 1977. Hardcover. 0060137568 . First printing. Gift inscription on front free endpaper upper corner of front free endpaper is clipped else near fine in a near fine dust jacket. . Harper & Row hardcover books
1979100217Dallas: New London Press 1979. First edition. 150 copies were specially bound numbered and signed. This copy is one of the unsigned issue that has been specially signed by Purdy on the half-title page to which he has added "all good wishes." Purdy has also written his first name on the the first page of "A Day at the Fair." Presumably he began to sign the book there and then leafed over to the half-title page where there was more room. Issued without a dustjacket. Fine condition. Signed by Author. First Edition. Hardcovers. <br />The image is of the book described and not a stock photo. New London Press hardcover books
19382287London: Faber and Faber Limited 1938. First Edition First Printing. <br /><br />Octavo 8 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches; 213 x 147 mm 115 1 pages in original pink cloth gilt titles to spine in a printed dust jacket. <br /><br />Stephen Spender's drama in verse written for the Group Theatre in London. "More readily understood than Spender's poems is this allegorical drama based on the situation in Nazi Germany. The Judge is faced with the problem of judgment on the murderers of a Polish Jew. He condemns them and is in turn himself condemned. The various factions are there -- government the people the Communists the Jews. A stirring and powerful arraignment of Nazi tyranny." Kirkus Reviews September 1 1938. <br /><br />A leaflet for the Group Theatre is laid in. Spender was the theatre's literary director. <br /><br />CONDITION: Clean and unmarked although many pages are unopened along the fore edge. The dust jacket has light edge wear and signs of a small erased number on the lower wrapper. The flap corners are slightly trimmed but the original price 5s remains intact. Very Good or better overall. <br /> Faber and Faber Limited hardcover books
193510848New York: Random House 1935. First Edition. Second issue jacket. Octavo. Cloth boards; dustjacket; 74p. Remarkable copy fully Fine in brilliant jacket with minimal evidence of use; just a small closed nick at upper corner of rear panel couple of small dust-smudges else Fine. The jacket spine which is very prone to darkening on this title is bright and unfaded. Random House unknown books
198651118NY: Grove Press 1986. First edition first prnt. Signed by Mamet on the title page. Additionally he has stamped the page with his blue name chop. Dustjacket with two short closed tears one on the front panel bottom edge and the othe on the rear panel topedge and shallow creases on the front panel bottom edge. Tight bright copy in Fine condition in a Very Good dustjacket with an archival cover. among the leat available Mamet titles especially signed. Signed by Author. First Edition. Hardcovers. Fine/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Grove Press Hardcover books
19141240Boston: The Gorham Press 1914. First Edition First Printing. <br /><br />Small 8vo 7 1/2 inches / 19 cm 168 pages. Printed paper labels to spine and front board. <br /><br />Eugene O'Neill's first book one of 1000 copies printed and featuring five plays: Thirst The Web Warnings Fog and Recklessness. O'Neill's father financed the $450 printing costs. The books didn't sell well so the publisher Richard G. Badger sold the remaining volumes to Frances Steloff who became the owner of the Gotham Book Mart in New York. <br /><br />Eugene O'Neill 1888-1953 won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1936.<br /><br />CONDITION: Spine darkened some light wear to spine edges soiling to top edge and fore edge. A Very Good or better copy lacking the rare dust jacket. The Gorham Press hardcover books
19381231Providence Rhode Island: The Booke Shop 1938. First Edition First Printing. INSCRIBED by the author on the front free end paper and dated Christmas 1938: "To Ruth -- / With best wishes / from her sometimes / director who knows / she is an actress still -- even tho he falls / short in these pages." The author Ben W. Brown 1897-1955 was a Brown University professor as well as a theatre critic and director. He went to the Soviet Union in 1937-38 to study the theatre scene; this book of essays is the result. 8vo 9 1/4 inches / 23.5 cm 105 4 pages. Some soiling to the orange cloth covers and discoloration to the spine. Pages very lightly toned. No dust jacket. Overall Very Good. Signed copies are uncommon to the market. SCARCE SIGNED. <br/><br/> The Booke Shop hardcover books
19352155San Mateo California: Drama Teachers Association of California 1935. First Edition. <br /><br />Small Quarto 9 1/8 x 6 1/4 inches; 234 x 157 mm 50 pages in illustrated stapled wrappers.<br /><br />Helpful hints for putting on amateur plays especially at schools. Chapters deal with such areas as costumes make-up set design playwriting acting directing dance lighting etc. Striking woodblock illustrations by Samuel W. Beeman. <br /><br />OCLC shows eight institutional holdings of this pamphlet: Skidmore California State Humboldt State Los Angeles Public Library Library of Congress Northwestern University of Washington and Waseda University. <b>SCARCE</b>. <br /><br />CONDITION: Faint creasing to upper wrapper and preliminaries from a previously removed paper clip mild creasing to lower wrapper and a few pages. Printed on high-quality paper. Very Good or better. Drama Teachers Association of California paperback books
1978755New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons 1978. First Edition. SIGNED by Tennessee Williams and Richard Leavitt the editor number 64 of 250 copies. A lavishly illustrated book on the life and work of Tennessee Williams. 4to. 176 pages. Near Fine in a price-clipped dust jacket in original cardboard slipcase. Errata slip laid in. Slipcase a bit dusty. <br/><br/> G.P. Putnam's Sons unknown books
1919293Boston: Little Brown and Company 1919. First Edition. Octavo 8 1/4 x 5 5/8 inches; 211 x 144 mm vii 298 pages in black cloth titles in gilt to spine in the scarce unclipped dust jacket. <br /><br />A collection of articles about the theatre by Edward Gordon Craig 1872-1966 a stage designer and theatrical producer and director. Although he directed only a handful of plays "his controversial theories of scene design and stagecraft gave him eminence in the European and American theater" The New York Times July 30 1966 page 25. For instance he favored three-dimensional stage effects and more innovative lighting than the traditional footlights. <br /><br />Copies of this book in the original dust jacket are scarce to the market. <br /><br />CONDITION: Rubbing to cloth fading to spine titles top edge dusty bottom edge a bit soiled. Internally a couple of stray ink marks but otherwise clean and bright. The unclipped dust jacket has some soiling nicks and chips with slight fading to text. Overall a Very Good or better copy. <br /><br /> Little, Brown, and Company hardcover books
190526104New York: Henry Holt 1905. 1st thus NCBEL I 1658. Brown full sheep binding with gilt spine lettering. Marbled eps. A VG copy bit of rubbing to the binding extremities/two small dark spots to spine. lix 3 276 pp including Index. Last 2 pages advert for the Series. Facsimile t.p. of the 1631 1st edition. 8vo. <br/><br/>A scholarly look at Jonson's work which was first performed in 1625. Submitted by De Winter as a "Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Yale University in the Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy." Henry Holt unknown books
19392040Moskvin I. <b>The Soviet Theater</b>. Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House 1939. First Edition First Printing. <br /><br />24mo 5 5/8 x 4 1/4 inches; 143 x 110 mm 30 2 pages in stapled pictorial wrappers. <br /><br />A pamphlet on the Soviet theatre by the acclaimed actor Ivan Moskvin 1874-1946. It was issued in 1939 for distribution at the New York World's Fair and features black-and-white photos of several theatre productions. As might be expected Moskvin highlights the growth of theatre in the Soviet Union and defends Socialist realism. <br /><br /> CONDITION: Some toning to wrappers a bit of creasing to a few pages and rusting of staples. Overall a Very Good copy. Foreign Languages Publishing House books
19792305New York: I. Reed Books 1979. First Edition First Printing. Small Octavo 7 3/4 x 5 1/8 inches; 195 x 130 mm 106 pages in illustrated green wrappers. <br /><br />SIGNED by Amiri Baraka on the title page and dated 04. A play about a West Indies actor who comes to America and how he deals with a very different society from what he's accustomed to. With appearances by such notables as Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Cover art by C.K. Conridge. <br /><br />CONDITION: Some scuffing and creasing to the wrappers. Internally tiny creases to a couple of page corners but otherwise clean bright and unmarked. Very Good or better. <br /><br /><br /> I. Reed Books paperback books
19791000160NY: I. Reed Books 1979. First edition. Printed glossy wraps. Inscribed by Baraka on the title page. "__ Unity & Struggle A. Baraka 94." Touch of shelfwear; otherwise an unread copy in Fine condition. Baraka's ninth published play. Inscribed & Dated by Author. First Edition. Soft Cover. Fine/Not Issued. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. I. Reed Books Paperback books
1962828New York: Grove Press Inc. 1962. First American Edition 1st Printing. Jean Genet's last play set during the Algerian war and featuring more than 50 characters in 17 scenes. The play was first published as "Les Paravents." It was produced for the first time in June 1961 at the Schlosspark State Theatre in West Berlin. 8vo. 201 pages. Very Good a bit dusty on the top edge in a lightly toned dust jacket with a few closed edge tears light rubbing and a small chip in upper edge of rear panel. Translated from the French by Bernard Frechtman. <br/><br/>This first American edition precedes Faber & Faber's first U.K. edition by a year. Grove Press, Inc. unknown books
195100006582New York: New Directions 1951 1951. First edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. 8vo. 6 vii-xiii 144 pp. Pink cloth with black lettering on the spine. Price of $3.00 on front flap of jacket. First issue as per Ahearn APG 011a. Signed by the author on the title page. A Near Fine book with mild rubbing to the edges of the boards and light age toning to the top of the textblock; dust jacket is Very Good with the front fold discreetly split spine panel shows mild fading. New Directions (1951) hardcover books
19881976New York: Playbill Incorporated April 1988. First Edition First Printing. 8vo 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches; 215 x 140 mm 73 1 pages in stapled wrappers. INSCRIBED by Athol Fugard to novelist Peter Matthiessen 1927-2014 on the front cover: "For Peter / Athol" with an additional unidentified inscription. Fugard directed and starred in the play which also featured Yvonne Bryceland and Amy Irving. In the play an elderly South African widow works obsessively on a sculpture garden that represents a pilgrimage to Mecca. The play opened at the Promenade Theatre in New York on April 12 1988 and closed in September after 172 performances. "The Road to Mecca" won the New York Drama Critics' Circle for Best Foreign Play while Yvonne Bryceland won on Obie Award. The Playbill includes a small loose label "From the library of PETER MATTHIESSEN." Signed copies of the Playbill are scarce; there were no other signed copies in commerce as of July 28 2019. SCARCE. <br/><br/> CONDITION: Edge wear light soiling to wrappers. A Very Good copy. Playbill Incorporated unknown books
1992845No place listed: C.P. Stephens 1992. First Edition First Printing. <br /><br /><b>SIGNED</b> by Arthur Miller on the limitation page one of only 150 copies. There was also a trade edition. A bigamist has an accident and his two wives show up at his hospital bedside. <br /><br />Small 8vo. 14 142 7 pages. Near Fine with front board turned slightly outward. No dust jacket was issued. <b>SCARCE</b>. <br /><br />The Ride Down Mt. Morgan received its world premiere at Wyndham's Theatre London in October 1991 with Tom Conti as Lyman Felt Gemma Jones as Theo and Clare Higgins as Leah. Directed by Michael Blakemore and produced by Robert Fox. C.P. Stephens hardcover books
19131590London: Constable and Company Ltd. 1913. First Edition Thus. 12mo 7 1/8 x 5 inches; 180 x 125 mm xix 210 2 pages in yellow-green cloth. Modest rubbing to boards page edges lightly toned small "First Edition" stamp on front paste down some dusting to top edge numerous pages unopened small closed tear to page xix. The dust jacket is darkened along the spine and has a few small chips. Overall a Very Good or better copy.George Bernard Shaw's 1891 essay on the plays of Henrik Ibsen presented here with a new preface for this edition as well an analysis of plays that Ibsen wrote after 1891. The book is an important expression of Shaw's theories about theatre in which he contrasts Ibsen's vibrant social realism with a more formal and stagnant Victorian theatre. A lovely collectible copy in the scarce dust jacket. <br /><br /> Constable and Company Ltd. hardcover books
