Williams Robert Dolly (3 results)

ILLUSTRATED BUCKRAM COVERED BO. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: NO DUST JACKET AS ISSUED. FIRST EDITION - THIRD PRINTING. THERE IS MODERATE WEAR OF THE CLOTH COVER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SPINE. THERE IS AN INK OWNER'S SIGNATURE ON THE FIRST FREE END PAGE. THE PAGES ARE ROUGH CUT ON ON THEIR LEADING EDGES. THERE IS A SINGLE LINEAR RIPPLE OF THE CLOTH OF THE REAR COVER. PERHAPS, THE MORE INTERSTING ASPECT OF THIS BOOK IS THE YOUTHFUL AUTHOR, A 17 YEAR OLD FEMALE OF A WEALTHY CHICAGO FAMILY, WHO WROTE SEVERAL OTHER BOOKS FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OF THIS, HER FIRST PUBLISHED BOOK, BUTTHE AUTHOR DIED AT AGE 30 OF A DRUG OVERDOSE. THE BOOK'S TALE IS THAT OF A NOVELIST OF THE 1890'S REALISTIC SCHOOL IN CHICAGO WHOSE ESCAPADES COME BACK TO HAUNT HIM. THE AUTHOR, MARGARET HORTON POTTER, ADOPTED THE PSEUDONYM ROBERT DOLLY WILLIAMS BECAUSE OF THE CONCERNS OF HER WELL- TO- DO SOCIETAL FAMILY TO PREVENT ANY SCANDAL BECAUSE OF THE BOOKS TOPIC. THE FAMILY ORDERED THAT THE ORIGINAL PRINTING PLATES BE DESTROYED. THERE WERE TWO ADDITIONAL PRINTINGS OF THE BOOK INDICATING IT'S SUCCESS. THE THREE PRINTINGS OF THE BOOK WERE IN 1899, 1901, AND 1903. THERE IS A FULL PAGE SEPIA COLOR ILLUSTRATION OF THE AUTHOR ALONG WITH THREE B/W ILLUSTRATIONS BY ARTIST A. S. COVEY OF THE CHARACTERS AND EPISODES IN THE BOOK. THE CHARACTERS ARE CLOTHED IN TURN OF THE CENTURY ATTIRE. INCLUDED IS ONE ILLUSTRATION OF A YOUNG FEMALE DANCING ON A TABLE IN A SALOON (?) WHILE ATTIRED IN A VERY SHORT WELL ABOVE THE KNEES DRESS. FOR THE TIME, I'M SURE THE BOOK WAS INDEED SCANDALOUS FOR THE TIME. THIS BOOK IS LISTED IN "CHICAGO IN STORY - A LITERARY HISTORY" BY CLARENCE A. ANDREWS. THIS IS NOT A "PRINT OR LATER REPODUCTION.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good -. No Jacket. Interior tight, clean, rough cut pages. Minor wear to corners & spine ends. Excerpt from Chicago Journal states, "The Potter family suppressed the book which brought such a whirlwind of criticism down upon the head of the young daughter, and it was under orders from the family that the plates were destroyed. The first ed. was sold 2 days after being placed on sale." When 'A Social Lion' made its appearance Miss Potter took as her nom de plume, Robert Dolly Williams.

432 [1] pp. 8vo, publisher's red cloth lettered in white; t.e.g. First edition. Name and date heavily effaced from the front free endpaper with black felt-tip pen which has bled through to the verso and slightly to the next blank; a few tiny light spots to the cloth; near fine; tight and sound.