THE GLASS MENAGERIE

Williams, Tennessee

Published by Random House, New York, 1945

Inscribed first edition, first printing of Tennessee Williams' semi-autobiographical memory play, his first stage success. GLASS MENAGERIE was a hit on Broadway, "hailed with joy from end to end" and praised as being composed of "make-believe so real it tears your heart out" (jacket). Its success rocketed Williams into the ranks of Arthur Miller and Eugene O'Neil. It has received several film adaptations, the first of which starred Gertrude Lawrence and Kirk Douglas. Based on an earlier short story "Portrait of a Girl in Glass," Tennessee Williams's GLASS MENAGERIE painfully echoes the events of his young adulthood. The play almost doesn't need the "semi-" qualifier ahead of "autobiographical," from Tom's monotonous job at the shoe factory (Williams began writing in earnest while working at the International Shoe Company factory) to his absent father (Williams' own father was a traveling salesman) and even to the lead character's name (Williams' birth name was Thomas). This copy is inscribed to Elizabeth Anne McMurray, the proprietor of McMurray's Bookstore in Dallas, Texas, and later a judge for the National Book Awards. A lovely and bookish association copy. 7.25'' x 4.75''. Original rust cloth with black spine plate and gilt lettering. Original price-clipped color pictorial dust jacket, designed by Riki Levinson. Black topstain. Fore-edge machine deckle. Black-and-white photographic frontispiece, with three black-and-white photographic plates of the stage production. 124 pages. Inscribed by Williams to front flyleaf "For Elizabeth Anne / McMurray / with sincere appreciation," dated August 1945. Jacket with mild edgewear and light foxing; some sunning to spine. Binding spine ends and corners mildly bumped. A clean, tight copy. Near fine in very good plus dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 40994

Bibliographic Details

Title: THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Publisher: Random House, New York
Publication Date: 1945
Binding: Hardcover
Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
Signed: Signed by Author(s)
Edition: 1st Edition