[Rarebooks] FS: Rare Signed Eugene G. O'Neill

[Allington Books]

*Offered*:  *The Emperor Jones, Diff'rent, the Straw by Eugene O'Neill.
Signed. *

O'Neill, Eugene G. *The Emperor Jones, Diff'rent, the Straw* *[Signed]*.
New York: Boni and Liveright, 1921. First edition. A Very Good copy of the
first edition, first printing in the Publisher's original paper-covered
boards (light handling soil, spine head pushed, light edge wear, small
cracks to paper at top leading corner of the front board and bottom leading
corner of the rear board, lacking the scarce dust jacket), SIGNED BY EUGENE
O'NEILL on the half-title; a book containing 3 of Eugene O'Neill's plays,
including his breakthrough Play, "The Emperor Jones", which received great
critical acclaim, was his first major box office success, and launched his
career. First staged on November 1, 1920, the play features Brutus Jones,
an African-American who, after being imprisoned for murder, escapes from
prison and goes to a Caribbean island where he declares himself to be
Emperor. After its opening at the Playwright's Theatre in New York, the
work met with such success that it was relocated to a larger locale and
then, after finishing its run on Broadway, went on a nationwide tour. The
Play's London production, staged in 1924 and starring Paul Robeson as
Brutus Jones, earned Robeson excellent reviews and helped ignite his
career, leading in no small measure to his casting in the London production
of "Show Boat". O'Neill's works tend to feature tragedy and pessimism,
reflecting his own life. (His Father, Mother, and brother all died within a
3-year period. His two sons, Eugene, Jr. -- an alcoholic, and Shane -- a
heroin addict, each committed suicide, and O'Neill disowned his only
daughter, Oona when, at age 18, she married Charlie Chaplin, then 54.)
Thrice married, O'Neill divorced twice and his third wife became addicted
to potassium bromide, which addiction destroyed any marital bliss they had.
O'Neill himself suffered from alcoholism and depression. Dying in a
Sheraton Hotel in Boston, O'Neill's last words were said to be: "I knew it.
I knew it. Born in a hotel room, and God damn it, died in a hotel room."
O'Neill was remarkably successful for a man of his nature and life
experience, winning 3 Pulitzer Prizes: 1920 for "Beyond the Horizon", 1921
for "Anna Christie", and 1928 for "Strange Interlude", and the 1936 Nobel
Prize in Literature for "the power, honesty and deep-felt emotions of his
dramatic works, which embody an original concept of tragedy". As no
nominees for the 1936 Prize were deemed worthy of it, the Nobel Committee,
as it was then, but is no longer, permitted by its Statutes, elected to
reserve the Prize and to select a winner in 1937. O'Neill then was awarded
the 1936 Prize, which was presented to him in 1937. (The 1937 Prize went to
Roger Martin du Gard. See our listing for his great work, "Les Thibault"
which won the Prize for Martin du Gard.) A 775-copy signed limited edition
of "The Emperor Jones" (without the other two plays) was published in 1928
and is readily obtainable, while signed copies of the Play's true first
edition, offered here, are remarkably scarce. A Very Good copy of Eugene
O'Neill's breakthrough Play, SIGNED BY EUGENE O'NEILL. QUITE SCARCE.
(#00002851)        $2,675.00

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http://www.allingtonbooks.com/shop/allington/results.html?id=gHsBK8vK

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Carolina.*

All books are subject to prior sale and to being put on hold for a
potential Buyer's consideration.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best Wishes,

Stephen
Allington Antiquarian Books, LLC

-- 
Stephen Johnson
Allington Antiquarian Books, LLC
Rare and Collectible Books, both Antiquarian and Modern
www.allingtonbooks.com
336-414-0435

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Winston Salem, NC 27104