Robert Emmet SHERWOOD / Abe Lincoln in Illinois A Play in Twelve Scenes Signed

Description: Abe Lincoln in Illinois: A Play in Twelve Scenes Author: SHERWOOD, Robert Emmet Title: Abe Lincoln in Illinois: A Play in Twelve Scenes Publication: New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1939 Description: Hardcover. Foreword by Carl Sandburg. Small 8vo. Burgundy cloth with gilt lettering, pictorial price-clipped dust jacket. xii, 250pp. Near fine/good plus. Jacket quite age toned and edgeworn, with a few tiny edge chips -- but complete and overall quite presentable. A tight and quite attractive early printing of this Pulitzer Prize winner by the American playwright and screenwriter (1896-1955). Pages vii-viii list the original stage cast from the Playwrights' Company production of 1938, with of course Raymond Massey leading the way as Lincoln -- which leads to this copy's fun autograph addition: Tipped to the front flyleaf is an Autograph Note Signed by the third and last wife of Massey, Dorothy Whitney Massey (1902-82). 1p, 6" X 7", New York, NY, 13 December 1939. Addressed to Arnold Gates (1914-93, noted Lincoln scholar). Near fine. Single original horizontal fold. On "Raymond Massey" letterhead, she notes: "Mr. Massey has asked me to thank you for your kind letter, and for sending him a copy of 'Amberglow.' He hopes that you will enjoy Mr. Sherwood's fine play," boldly penned in black ink and signed by the brand-new Mrs. Massey. Here's the fun part: When Massey and his second wife, actress Adrienne Allen, divorced early in 1939, they used husband-and-wife attorneys Whitney and Dorothy Whitney. The Whitney's then divorced and, within two weeks in July, Massey married Dorothy Whitney and Adrienne Allen married William Whitney! If this plot sounds familiar, that's because Massey's friend Ruth Gordon joined with Garson Kanin and used this as the basis for their script "Adam's Rib," filmed in 1949 with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Canadian-born Raymond Massey (1896-1983) excelled at portraying American historical figures in films, and is justly regarded for his portrayal of the 16th president; a film version of "Abe Lincoln in Illinois" was released in 1940 and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Laid into this copy is a 3¼" X 8½" stiff green promotional leaflet for the December 12th, 1939 showing of "Abe Lincoln in Illinois" in Cleveland -- the very performance attended by Arnold Gates that prompted him to write Massey and give him a copy of his just-published booklet mentioned by Dorothy Massey in her letter, "Amberglow of Abraham Lincoln and Ann Rutledge." Seller ID: 47885 Subject: Books Main Street Fine Books & Manuscripts Main Street Fine Books & Manuscripts deals in out-of-print and antiquarian books, autographs and historic documents, ephemera, maps and pre-1900 newspapers. We operated as an open shop from 1991-2014 in historic Galena, Illinois, and have transitioned to by appointment, mail order and book fairs. Member: ABAA, MWABA, The Manuscript Society. We take great pride in the quality of our stock and clean and cover all hardbound books in dust jacket sleeves or mylar. Every effort has been made to describe each item and any defects accurately. Terms & Shipping All orders ship within two business days. We offer combined shipping on multiple orders. In order for the shipping discount on combined purchases to be applied, please wait for our invoice before making your payment. Books ship via USPS Media Mail with tracking. Expedited shipping via USPS Priority Mail can be requested. Please contact us for a quote before making your payment. Autographs, Maps and Ephemera always ship via USPS First Class or Priority. The default shipping charge is for Priority Flat Rate. For reduced shipping on very small items, please wait for our invoice before making your payment. Large or heavy items may require that additional charges be invoiced separately. INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING We ship internationally using eBay's International Shipping Program. Autographs Guarantee We are professional, full-time autograph dealers with nearly 30 years' experience buying and selling, authenticating and providing appraisal services. All autographs are guaranteed authentic without time limit to the original purchaser. William Butts, co-owner, apprenticed under a well-known Chicago dealer in the 1980s. For years he authored two columns in Autograph Collector magazine and after more than 25 years remains book reviewer for Manuscripts (quarterly journal of The Manuscript Society), in which capacity he stresses autograph education and reference works as the cornerstone of any serious dealer or collector. He has lectured on autograph authentication and contributes reviews and articles to publications such as Fine Books and Collections.This listing was created by Bibliopolis.

Price: 114 USD

Location: Galena, Illinois

End Time: 2025-01-23T21:21:01.000Z

Shipping Cost: 5 USD