Three Lives. Stories of the Good Anna, Malanctha and the Gentle Lena.
New York: The Grafton Press, 1909. First edition. 279, [1] pp. Publisher’s navy cloth, lettered in gilt on the front board and spine. No dust jacket, as issued, per Wilson. Mild rubbing to head and tail of spine and corners, a bright, square copy.
One of 1000 copies, of which 300 were subsequently used for the 1915 first British edition. With a label to the front pastedown noting this copy is from the collection of Henry McBride. A superlative association copy of Stein’s first book, published at her own expense. The book initially sold poorly (Grafton reported sales of seventy-three copies by February 1910, of which thirty-seven were to bookstores), but had what James Mellow described as “a surprisingly durable underground reputation for years.” McBride had “read the book when it first appeared, admired it, and had become curious about its author.” McBride was one of the prime art critics of his generation, and one of the first American supporters of the avant-garde in the early twentieth century, championing Matisse, Kandinsky, Duchamp, O’Keeffe, and many others, including Stein, with whom he became warm friends. “My only dear,” she once addressed him, playfully, in later years. Wilson A1a. Item #2289
Price: $1,500.00