The Merchant of Yonkers : A Play [Hello Dolly!]

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1939. First Printing. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition (so stated) of Wilder's classic play and basis for "Hello Dolly." 8vo: [8],180pp. Publisher's peach-colored cloth, burgundy title block stamped gilt laid onto spine and front cover; illustrated end papers by Donald McKay, who also illustrated the dust jacket, which is priced $2.00. Perhaps a review copy, with date of publication (Mar. 30, 1939) rubber-stamped onto front flap. A spectacular example, square, tight ,and clean throughout; bright and brilliant jacket slightly sunned at top of spine. Goldstone & Anderson I-B-ii-5. Adapted by Wilder from Einen Jux will er sich machen (He Will Go on a Spree or He'll Have Himself a Good Time) by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy (also the source of Tom Stoppard's "On the Razzle"), which, in turn had its origin in an 1835 one-act farce, "A Day Well Spent," by the English dramatist John Oxenford. Wilder's version centers on Horace Vandergelder, a wealthy Yonkers businessman in the market for a wife. The Merchant of Yonkers was not well received in 1938, partially owing to Max Reinhardt's heavy-handed direction, but significantly revised as The Matchmaker, in 1954, for the Edinburgh Festival and directed by Tyrone Guthrie, it became a hit in London and then on Broadway. Eventually it was adapted into the extraordinarily successful musical Hello Dolly! (Literary Encyclopedia) N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable polypropylene sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).