Scaramouch in Naxos, A Pantomime, and Other Plays.

£400 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

Sloan places this issue of Davidson’s Plays , first self-published the preceding year, in the narrative of the provincial writer recently arrived in London and beginning to understand the literary establishment. On realising that the press (then as now) tend not to notice privately issued books, he made a deal with Fisher Unwin to re-issue the sheets of Plays , with the slightly specious cancel title page stating “Second Edition”. Davidson took offence at being asked to contribute to the costs of the reissue and flounced from the negotations, leaving everything up to Unwin. He regretted that immediately when Unwin changed the title of the book (to one of its component plays), and the regret was yet deeper in later years, when he was attempting to gather back his copyrights. Spine darkened but a very good copy with the ownership inscription, dated December 1894 of St. John Adcock, the critic and writer.

• Year: 1890

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