THE KINGDOM OF EARTH WITH HARD CANDY: A BOOK OF STORIES
WILLIAMS, TENNESSEE
Published by New Directions, New York, 1954
Used
From
Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books (ABAA), McMinnville, OR, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
AbeBooks Seller since March 21, 2000
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About this Item
Description:
248 x 152 mm. (9 3/4 x 6"). 242 pp. (cancel title page tipped-in, as in all copies). Publisher's linen-backed patterned paper boards, flat spine with author's name in gilt. In original blue cardboard slipcase with paper title label on front cover. Crandell A13.I.b. â One small, only vaguely visible discolored spot at head of spine, otherwise a mint copy, with leaves that open only reluctantly. This is one of a relatively small number of surviving copies of this limited edition, which Williams had privately printed when publishers balked at the explicit sexual content of the short stories. How many copies exist is a matter of dispute: according to Andreas Brown of the Gotham Book Market, about 80 of the 100 copies were destroyed in storage; however, Crandell indicates that as many as 136 copies may have been issued, with the extra copies available for the author's private use, but that perhaps all but about 10 numbered copies and 20 presentation copies were destroyed. (However plentiful, the copies for presentation are encountered more frequently in commerce than are numbered copies.) The stories in this collection are: "Three Players of a Summer Game," "Two on a Party," "The Resemblance between a Violin Case and a Coffin," "Hard Candy," "Rubio y Morena," "The Mattress by the Tomato Patch," "The Coming of Something to the Widow Holly," "The Vine," "The Mysteries of the Joy Rio" (an earlier version of "Hard Candy"), and "The Kingdon of Earth." Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams (1911-83) is best known as one of America's greatest playwrights, but he was a prolific writer who also penned novels ("The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone"), poetry, and short stories. Forbidden sexual desire was a recurring theme in his works, and their explicit nature often caused problems with publication or production; most film adaptations of his works have had their content altered considerably. No. 15 OF 100 COPIES SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR. Seller Inventory # ST11888
Bibliographic Details
Title: THE KINGDOM OF EARTH WITH HARD CANDY: A BOOK...
Publisher: New Directions, New York
Publication Date: 1954
Signed: Signed by Author(s)
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The Kingdom of Earth with Hard Candy: A Book of Stories
Published by
New Directions, New York, 1954
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. First edition, limited issue. Tiny cracks on the paper over the rear hinge else very near fine in a moderately soiled, very good slipcase. Number 63 of 100 numbered copies. Signed by the author. Seller Inventory # 297803
Quantity: 1 available
The Kingdom of Earth with Hard Candy; A Book of Stories. Signed, limited edition.
Published by
New Directions, New York, 1954
Used
First Edition
Signed
Seller: William Chrisant & Sons, ABAA, ILAB. IOBA, ABA, Ephemera Society, Fort Lauderdale, FL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. First Edition; First Printing. Number 70 of only 100 copies containing "The Kingdom of Earth." Quarter cloth; pattern painted boards. Small perforation to spine (see image) else a very good copy without slipcase. Boldly signed by Williams.; 242 pages; All shipments through USPS insured Priority Mail. Seller Inventory # 6563
Quantity: 1 available
The Kingdom of Earth, with Hard Candy: A Book of Stories
Published by
A New Directions Book, 1954
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Signed
Seller: Fahrenheit's Books, Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good+. First Edition, Limited, Signed. First edition, slipcased hardcover, limited to 100 copies signed by Williams on the copyright page with this marked as a Presentation Copy. The book has sunning to the spine, some slight wear to the spine ends and cover corners, tiny creases to a few page corners, a touch of smudging to the edges of the text block, and a brief pencil seller's notation to the head of the rear fly leaf. Overall, a solid, tight, Very Good copy in a Good+ slipcase, which has sunning to the upper and rear panels with lighter toning to the edges of the sides, bumps with flaking to the paper at the corners, rubbing with smudges and thin scrapes to the panels, and an area of dark discoloration to the left side. Additional images are available by request. Seller Inventory # 205363
Quantity: 1 available
The Kingdom of Earth with Hard Candy: A Book of Stories
Published by
New Directions, [New York], 1954
Used
Softcover
First Edition
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Softcover. Condition: Fine. First edition. Unbound 20-page gathering (unopened) and accompanying cancel title leaf. The gathering prints the short story, "The Kingdom of Earth", including the half-title: pp. [2 (half-title)] 225-242. Fine. This unbound gathering and replacement (cancel) title leaf was printed for insertion into a limited edition of *Hard Candy: A Book of Stories*. When the first edition of *Hard Candy* was published, Williams had wanted to include "Kingdom of Earth". However, because of its provocative content (a tubercular dandy dies while his ex-prostitute wife and his Cherokee half-brother ignore his pleas for help and instead have passionate sex in the next room), the publisher New Directions convinced Williams to accept a compromise. Williams agreed to publish the first edition without Kingdom of Earth, but demanded that a signed limited edition including the story be published that same year. Thus, a signed limited edition of 100 stated copies was made up with original sheets from the first edition of *Hard Candy*, a cancel title page: "The Kingdom of Earth with Hard Candy" (with a signed limitation statement on the verso), and the story inserted at the back. This copy of the cancel title leaf is not signed by Williams. Williams later adapted the story into both a play of the same name, and ultimately into the longer play *The Seven Descents of Myrtle* (in which the half-brother is African-American rather than Native American). Rare. Seller Inventory # 337569
Quantity: 1 available
The Kingdom of Earth with Hard Candy: A Book of Stories
Published by
New York: New Directions, (1954), 1954
Used
Seller: Trevian Books, Piermont, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Limited, signed edition, #85 of 100. Water damage to backstrip edge of leaves and endpapers, else good in water-stained slipcase. Seller Inventory # 001910
Quantity: 1 available
The Kingdom of Earth with Hard Candy. A Book of Stories.
Published by
New York: New Directions, 1954, 1954
Used
First Edition
Signed
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
First edition, first printing, signed limited issue, number 26 of 100 copies signed by the author. This copy was retained by Williams and presented to his secretary the year before his death, inscribed on the front free endpaper: "For Rosalie Thurman, best wishes, Tennessee Williams, 1982". The volume collects short stories written during Williams's "golden age", between 1948 and 1954, which together "establish his place in the tradition of the American short story" (Vannatta, p. 51). The signed limited issue was printed and bound for Williams's private distribution. It is identical to the trade issue (simply titled Hard Candy) published in August 1954, save for the cancel title page and the inclusion of the story "The Kingdom of Earth", printed on an additional gathering bound at the rear of the volume (pp. 225-242). This copy is from the theatre collection of Clive Hirschhorn (b. 1940), the film and theatre critic for the Sunday Express for over three decades, with his 1988 ownership inscription on the front pastedown. Crandell A13.1.b. Dennis Vannatta, Tennessee Williams: A Study of the Short Fiction, 1988. Octavo. Original brown quarter cloth, spine lettered in gilt, brown patterned paper sides. With the original grey card slipcase. Spine sunned, a couple of superficial splits to inner hinges; slipcase sunned and lightly worn at extremities: a very good copy. Seller Inventory # 177568
Quantity: 1 available