[Rarebooks] FS: First Edition of Theodore Dreiser's SISTER CARRIE, 1900
Charles Agvent
chagvent at ptd.net
Fri Nov 8 11:05:05 EST 2013
DREISER, Theodore. SISTER CARRIE. New York: Doubleday, Page & Company,
1900. First Edition. Publisher's wine-red cloth stamped in black.
Dreiser's first and most important book, both a modern classic and a
genuine rarity with only 1000 copies printed and those copies suppressed
by the publisher due to the book's unflinching depiction of an innocent
girl's spiral downward. Many believe that as few as 100 copies now
exist. An uncommon opportunity to obtain a landmark book, one of the
scarcest of the twentieth century, a book that paved the way for a host
of writers to come in dealing frankly with sexual situations that
previously were either hushed or sensationalized. Typical darkening of
the spine but the lettering is still readable. The spine tips, usually
found frayed, are rubbed and soft but intact. The text is fresh and
bright. Most importantly, both hinges--nearly always found split,
cracked, or repaired--are here completely intact and original. A Near
Fine copy and quite scarce in this condition.
After Harper and Brothers declined to print the novel, Dreiser
approached Doubleday, Page, and Co., because it had published the
writings of Frank Norris, a promising naturalistic writer whose novel
McTEAGUE had recently caused a stir. Norris was an advisor for Doubleday
and enthusiastically supported the publication of SISTER CARRIE, later
calling it "the best novel I had read in M.S. since I had been reading
for the firm." Based on Norris's favorable praise, junior partner,
Walter Hines Page, promised Dreiser that Doubleday would publish the
book. However, after reading Dreiser's manuscript, Frank Doubleday
objected to the immoral behavior of the novel's characters and urged his
firm to reconsider its publication. After finding that Doubleday and
Page was legally obligated to print the novel, he allowed its
publication but refused to promote it. As a result, the novel sold only
456 copies, and Dreiser received a mere $68.40 in royalties. It was only
after Dreiser had established his literary reputation with later novels
and after a 1912 reprint by Harper and Brothers had been published that
the story of SISTER CARRIE was acknowledged for its stark and realistic
depiction of a young woman's struggles. Though many would not think of
Theodore Dreiser as an advocate for women's rights, this novel was
enlightening in its portrayal of a young single woman's struggle to
survive in a post-Victorian urban environment. His work shortly after as
editor-in-chief of the magazine THE DELINEATOR provided further evidence
for Dreiser's concern for women's struggle to survive in early 20th
century American society. And of George Hurstwood, the well-to-do
married man who has an affair with Carrie, Joseph Epstein has said,
"Dreiser has created the most persuasive portrait in literature of a man
in social, psychological, physical, and moral decline." (#015959)
$7,500.00
http://home.ptd.net/~chagvent/015959.jpg
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