Living My Life [Lengthily Inscribed to Sarah Gruber]
- SIGNED
- New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1931
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. Lengthily inscribed by Goldman in the year of publication on the front endpaper of Vol.1: "Dear Sadie / You have been among the silent givers – the nameless ones never heralded or praised. Yet their arduous giving has been all through the ages the strongest leaven for societal change / Would that Living My Life might express my admiration for you and the others whose unstinted help has made my life and has enabled me to write about it / Emma Goldman / Paris / Nov. 1931."
Vol.1: Upper corners gently bumped, some sunning to spine, rear cover slightly bowed, with two small pieces of clear tape to front pastedown; Very Good and sound. Dustjacket is shelfworn, with losses to spine ends and corners, and numerous splits, tears, and losses to joints and flap folds, mended with clear tape on verso; Very Good.
Vol.2: Stray marker stripe to upper front pastedown, light wear and gentle sunning to extremities, with some offsetting to pp.970-71 from laid-in newspaper clippings; Very Good+. Dustjacket shows modest shelfwear, several small nicks and tears, with a small splash mark to lower rear joint, and a few spots of amateurish touch-up to the black portions of the jacket; Very Good or better. 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. Less common still are lengthy, contemporary inscriptions. While we count at least a half-dozen "Sadies" within Goldman's orbit, this copy was almost certainly inscribed to Sarah "Sadie" Gruber (birth and death dates unknown), a member of the editorial board of the Freie Arbeiter Stimme, who raised nearly $1,000 to help the author fund the writing of Living My Life (Goldman mentions her on p.993 in Vol.2). Gruber's relationship to Goldman stretched back more than a decade; she was known to send Goldman care packages while she was imprisoned at the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City, MO between 1918-1919. A strong, intimate association copy to a key figure who helped finance the book.
Vol.1: Upper corners gently bumped, some sunning to spine, rear cover slightly bowed, with two small pieces of clear tape to front pastedown; Very Good and sound. Dustjacket is shelfworn, with losses to spine ends and corners, and numerous splits, tears, and losses to joints and flap folds, mended with clear tape on verso; Very Good.
Vol.2: Stray marker stripe to upper front pastedown, light wear and gentle sunning to extremities, with some offsetting to pp.970-71 from laid-in newspaper clippings; Very Good+. Dustjacket shows modest shelfwear, several small nicks and tears, with a small splash mark to lower rear joint, and a few spots of amateurish touch-up to the black portions of the jacket; Very Good or better. 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. Less common still are lengthy, contemporary inscriptions. While we count at least a half-dozen "Sadies" within Goldman's orbit, this copy was almost certainly inscribed to Sarah "Sadie" Gruber (birth and death dates unknown), a member of the editorial board of the Freie Arbeiter Stimme, who raised nearly $1,000 to help the author fund the writing of Living My Life (Goldman mentions her on p.993 in Vol.2). Gruber's relationship to Goldman stretched back more than a decade; she was known to send Goldman care packages while she was imprisoned at the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City, MO between 1918-1919. A strong, intimate association copy to a key figure who helped finance the book.