1957 Sarah Bernhardt The Divine First Edition INSCRIBED by Arthur William Row

Sarah the Divine. The Biography of Sarah Bernhardt. By Arthur William Row. New York: Comet Press Books, 1957. First Edition, Original dust jacket. INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR. 169 p. Light grey cloth binding measures 8.25 x 5”, 8vo. In good condition. Dust jacket exhibits the most wear: hinges creased with tearing at head of front flap’s hinge; spine tanned with dulled (but legible) red lettering; head and tail of spine chipped (loss of text at head); general soiling and toning; author’s marginalia found on rear cover: “This picture taken in 1913 when the author first met Sarah Bernhardt” and “Maurice, Ethel + John Barrymore”. Boards normally scuffed at edges and worn/bumped at corners. Head and tail of spine bumped; spine tanned; spot of staining at tail of spine. Author’s inscription, in ink, found on front end-page: “To the Gallant Company at the Forest House best wishes from Arthur William Row 1960”. Light age-staining on paste-downs and end-pages. Normal toning in margins. Binding intact. Please see photos and ask questions, if any, before purchasing. Arthur William Row (1878-1961) was a professional actor, writer, and producer with a lengthy career in the theater. Throughout his career, he associated himself with many legendary performers of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in Montreal, Canada on June 12, 1878 and moved with his family to Boston in 1893. Row attended Tufts College in Massachusetts from 1897 to 1901, majoring in English, with the intention of becoming a writer. During college, he decided instead to become an actor and applied to Boston's Castle Square Theatre Stock Company. Row achieved his first major production role in 1899 in Minnie Maddern Fiske's Becky Sharp. From that point forward, he was heavily involved with the theatre and performed with the Barrymores, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Otis Skinner, and in more modern productions such as Orson Welles' 1937 production of Julius Caesar, and A Streetcar Named Desire with Uta Hagen. In 1919, Row helped found the Afternoon Theatre and produced several plays, most notably Aglavaine and Selysette starring Eva Le Gallienne. Arthur Row's association with Sarah Bernhardt began in 1913 when he wrote an article about her for The New Age. Bernhardt enjoyed the piece and invited Row to meet her. Three years later, Bernhardt's manager William F. Connor asked Row to be the press representative for Madame Sarah's 1916-17 Farewell American tour. He published a great many articles about her and continued to do so after the tour was finished. He wrote a series called Memories of Sarah Bernhardt for The Younger Set magazine and in the late 1940's wrote a book titled Sarah The Divine. First Edition. Inscribed by author. FORN-SHELF-0667-BB-2603-HK3382.…