Waiting for Godot.: Tragicomedy in 2 Acts.
by BECKETT, Samuel
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
London, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Grove Press,, 1954. Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes First edition in English, first impression, of Beckett's most famous work, originally published in France as En attendant Godot in 1952, with the full text translated into English by Beckett himself for this edition. The play premiered in French on 5 January 1953 at the Théâtre de Babylone, Paris; "the extraordinary success of this first production in French was responsible for Beckett's rise to worldwide fame, as the play rapidly became an object of intense international interest and controversy" (ODNB). Productions followed in English on 3 August 1955 at the Arts Theatre, London, and in America on 7 May 1956 at the John Golden Theatre, Broadway. The play was not published in the UK until 1956, and then in a new expurgated translation, again by Beckett. Godot is generally agreed to be a masterpiece of existentialist and avant-garde theatre: the apparently simple plot "disguises some profound themes: life's brevity and its pain; the human need for something to confer meaning on a mysterious existence; in its absence, a compensatory need for friendship to protect and sustain, yet fail to satisfy; a Cartesian concern with the uneasy interplay of mind and body; and, above all, a radical uncertainty which characterizes every aspect of the two friends' lives" (ibid.). Octavo. Original black cloth, spine lettered in silver and gilt, covers lettered in blind, red endpapers. With dust jacket. With 4 plates from photographs. Contents lightly toned, else a fine copy in very good jacket, a little toned with minor rubbing and chipping at extremities, price intact and without repair. Federman and Fletcher 373.
Synopsis
Beckett's existentialist play portrays two men who are trapped in endless waiting for the arrival of someone named Godot. They spend their time bantering and conjecturing and trying to anticipate the time and method of arrival. "Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it's awful?"
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Details
- Bookseller
- Peter Harrington (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 155120
- Title
- Waiting for Godot.
- Author
- BECKETT, Samuel
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Place of Publication
- New York: Grove Press,
- Date Published
- 1954
Terms of Sale
Peter Harrington
All major credit cards are accepted. Both UK pounds and US dollars (exchange rate to be agreed) accepted. Books may be returned within 14 days of receipt for any reason, please notify first of returned goods.
About the Seller
Peter Harrington
Biblio member since 2006
London
About Peter Harrington
Since its establishment, Peter Harrington has specialised in sourcing, selling and buying the finest quality original first editions, signed, rare and antiquarian books, fine bindings and library sets. Peter Harrington first began selling rare books from the Chelsea Antiques Market on London's King's Road. For the past twenty years the business has been run by Pom Harrington, Peter's son.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Chipping
- A defect in which small pieces are missing from the edges; fraying or small pieces of paper missing the edge of a paperback, or...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...