Margaret Fuller. A Biography
[Fuller, Margaret]. Bell, Margaret. Margaret Fuller. A Biography With an Introduction by Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt. New York: Albert and Charles Boni, 1930.
Small 8vo.; pictorial endpapers; stiff paper wrappers; slightly sunned and darkened on covers and spine; otherwise tight with sharp edges; very good. In a specially made cloth slipcase.
First edition. A presentation copy, with a lengthy, intimate inscription from Buckminster Fuller to polar explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson. In part: If thankfulness is the key to growth & the universal mind, then the consciousness of thanks developed in me through the good faith manifestations of such friends as yourself provide an unfailing and growing facility of entry to the realm of truthful reflection, . . . I am glad that I have been granted the opportunity of presenting to you so splendid a ‘Life’ as Margaret Bell has developed herein, about the life of my great Aunt Margaret, for I have found you so full a person that I had rather despaired of finding any adequate representation of my esteem. Sincerely, Buckminster Fuller.
Fuller’s early inscription, dated February 16, 1931, comes merely four years after his momentous decision to turn his life into an experiment, attempting to ascertain how far one person, by employing his own natural resources, may advance the entire species. Though little known (his first book, Nine Chains to the Moon, would not be published for seven years), he must have found in Stefansson a kindred spirit. He too would become famous for his adventures, both intellectual and practical. Though initially many would begin on the drafting table, by 1970 his domes would be located both in the arctic and Antarctica. The presentation of this particular book is fitting: Margaret Fuller traveled widely and lived adventurously. Clearly his inscription indicates that Bucky found an appropriate analogue in his great Aunt and Stefansson’s adventures. A compelling inscription linking three explorers of the human condition.
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