Living My Life

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1931. First Edition. First Printing. Two large octavo volumes (24.5cm); pale blue cloth, with titles stamped in navy blue on spines and front covers; charcoal gray topstains; dustjackets; xi,[3],4-503,[1]; [viii],[504]-993,xvipp; illus. Spines and upper board edges gently sunned, light wear to spine ends, upper board corners on Vol.1 gently tapped (though still sharp), with two small stains to lower corner of textblock on same, and a few faint, tiny stains to right edge of textblock on Vol.2; contemporary ink ownership signature of Gertrude Edelstein on the rear pastedown of each volume; Very Good+, lacking the dustjackets. First edition of Goldman's monumental autobiography, an undisputed high-spot of women's writing and one of a few truly important 20th-century radical memoirs. Goldman was reputedly furious with Knopf for issuing the book in two volumes at the height of an economic depression, and considered the publication price of $7.50 to be exorbitant. The book indeed sold poorly, despite strong reviews, and has never been common.