Operas and Plays.
Stein, Gertrude. Operas and Plays. Paris: Plain Edition, [1932]. at GHB 10/31/01
8vo.; stiff buff printed wrappers; spine darkened; front cover detached from spine about 3” up from bottom; top corners bumped; publisher’s slipcase; lightly darkened. In a specially made cloth slipcase.
First edition. 1/500 copies. Inscribed by the author on the half-title: “To Gerty from Gertrude, / As I was Gerty once / But not for long, / and now it is To Gerty from Gertrude. / Here in France / January 1945 / Gertrude Stein.” Among other plays, this anthology prints Miss Stein’s important libretto, Four Saints In Three Acts.
Four Saints In Three Acts, first printed here, is the opera that contains her famous “Pigeons in the grass alas” poem. Virgil Thomson set it to music in 1933 and the following year an all black cast performed the adaptation in Hartford and New York to great acclaim. This lead to a speaking tour in the United States for Stein. Finally she received the recognition she felt due her work. At the time of this inscription (January, 1945), Stein had become an icon for American servicemen in Paris and a “must see” stop for Americans in Paris. The inscription, with its comic turn and play upon Stein’s reputation for repetition, and the limited publication of this title make this one of the most appealing Gertrude Stein items we have offered. Emerging Voices, 106-107. Wilson A18.
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