WILDE, Oscar.

£3,750 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

The Importance of Being Earnest. First edition, number 373 of 1,000 copies. This copy is in a contemporary vellum binding, in a style that was popular at the end of the nineteenth century, similar to those produced by both the Kelmscott Press and the Riccardi Press. This copy was part of the standard issue in cloth; a further 100 signed large paper copies and 12 signed copies on japon were produced.Wilde's last play opened to great acclaim on Valentine's Day 1895 but was withdrawn after Wilde's failed libel suit against Lord Queensbury led to his arrest in April of that year. The play was not published in book form until February 1899, after Wilde's release from prison.

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