Anarchism and Other Essays (signed by Emma Goldman)
- SIGNED Hardcover
- New York: Mother Earth Publishing Association, 1911
New York: Mother Earth Publishing Association, 1911. Third edition (Second revised edition on title page). Hardcover. Good. SIGNED. 277pp. plus 8pp. of publisher's advertisements at the rear. Duodecimo [19 cm] Beige cloth over boards, with a black ink stamped title on the backstrip and front board, and black ink stamped single-ruled borders on the front board. Reproduced photographic frontispiece portrait of the author by T. Kajiwara. Prominent toning to the spine and a large section of the rear board. Cloth a bit frayed at the edges, with the underlying boards at times peeking through. Endpapers split along the hinges. Text block cracked at the title page. Name in pencil on the title page. Very occasional brief markings (mostly in the form of hatching) in pencil and colored pencil. With two newspaper clippings pertaining to Emma Goldman ("Red Emma") laid in. A classic of radical literature. Third edition printed on front cover. Emma Goldman was once viewed as "the most dangerous woman in America," and was a thinker so far ahead of her time that even today, her views seem strikingly revolutionary. This collection of essays is a magnificent introduction to her thoughts: ranging from her views on women's suffrage and emancipation, patriotism's menace to liberty, the psychology of political violence, the prison system ("a social crime and failure"), the hypocrisy of Puritanism, and the strategies of dissent. These writings all reflect her fearless joyousness, her radical dedication to the idea that life is meant to be a source of delight- and that avoiding the meaningless grind of everyday life must be achieved in any way possible.
This copy is inscribed (not to a specific person) by Emma Goldman on the front free endpaper: "Emma Goldman / Portland August / 1916."
Emma Goldman (1869-1940) was born in Kovno (now Kaunas, Lithuania). She grew up in what is now Kaliningrad, Russia, and in St. Petersburg. Her formal education was limited, but she read widely, and in St. Petersburg became involved with a radical student circle. She immigrated to the United States in 1885, first settling in Rochester, New York, then in New Haven, Connecticut, where she worked in clothing factories and came into contact with socialist and anarchist groups. Subsequently, she moved to New York City, where in 1893, she was jailed for inciting a riot when a group of unemployed workers reacted to a fiery speech she had delivered. In 1895, upon her release, Goldman began lecturing throughout Europe and the United States, and later, in 1906, Goldman founded Mother Earth, a periodical that she edited until its suppression in 1917. Goldman's naturalization as a U.S. citizen was revoked by a legal stratagem in 1908. Two years later she published Anarchism and Other Essays.
An early edition of Goldman's famous essays, signed by the much revered revolutionary activist author just under a year before she was sentenced to two years in prison for her opposition to the U.S. involvement in World War I and for agitating against mandatory military service.
This copy is inscribed (not to a specific person) by Emma Goldman on the front free endpaper: "Emma Goldman / Portland August / 1916."
Emma Goldman (1869-1940) was born in Kovno (now Kaunas, Lithuania). She grew up in what is now Kaliningrad, Russia, and in St. Petersburg. Her formal education was limited, but she read widely, and in St. Petersburg became involved with a radical student circle. She immigrated to the United States in 1885, first settling in Rochester, New York, then in New Haven, Connecticut, where she worked in clothing factories and came into contact with socialist and anarchist groups. Subsequently, she moved to New York City, where in 1893, she was jailed for inciting a riot when a group of unemployed workers reacted to a fiery speech she had delivered. In 1895, upon her release, Goldman began lecturing throughout Europe and the United States, and later, in 1906, Goldman founded Mother Earth, a periodical that she edited until its suppression in 1917. Goldman's naturalization as a U.S. citizen was revoked by a legal stratagem in 1908. Two years later she published Anarchism and Other Essays.
An early edition of Goldman's famous essays, signed by the much revered revolutionary activist author just under a year before she was sentenced to two years in prison for her opposition to the U.S. involvement in World War I and for agitating against mandatory military service.