Everybody's Shakespeare--how often do these show up?

[Joshua]

Saw this on ebay last night: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=008&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=180135767571&rd=1&rd=1

I've seen the more recent "mercury" versions quite often--but not these. Is this copy really a first edition? Any other information I could get would be helpful, since I am the winner of the auction. How about price? Did I get a decent deal? Thank you in advance.

[Joshua]

anybody?

[Jeff Wilson]

Hard to say when you're dealing with eBay; you can search for the book on a site like abebooks.com, and see what used bookdealers are asking, but they often try to get ridiculous prices for stuff that doesn't merit it. The value is whatever someone will give you for it, is the easiest answer. There seem to be any number of copies out there, based on searches of places like abebooks, but it is somewhat rare, especially in the Todd edition.

[Terry]

Woah, very nice. Congrats, Joshua, you got a great deal. The Todd editions are rare.

I spent $150 for a Todd Press omnibus edition with all three plays and was happy to do so. The owner wrote his name inside apparently with an ink quill.

I would guess the Todd editions all predate 1938 or 39, which is when they were republished under the Mercury moniker. Since the Mercury editions were issued as school texts, they're easier to find.

The Mercury Macbeth doesn't seem to have been published until 1940. I don't know if it was prepared in 1934 with the others, but it's not in my Todd edition. I found the grey trade paperback issued along with the grey 78 record set. The record sets pop up from time to time on eBay as well and are uber cool.

The grey Mercury trade paperbacks accompanied the four record sets. The green hardcovers came later as school texts.

That's my understanding.

I'll post the recorded version in the Radio section.

[Joshua]

Thanks very much for the info. I'll check out that abebooks.com--the problem with getting one is now I want all three I didn't know there was a Macbeth, I'll have to look for that one too. Thanks for so generously posting the audio to those records Store Hadji, I have eagerly downloaded them and many things you have posted--very kind of you to share them with us.

[Terry]

Then there's the fifth set of 78s, actually the first to be released. It was an abridgement of Welles' Fascist Caesar adaption, which was probably his own and not Hill's. It features the cast from the stage version. There was no book issued for this set. The rehearsal recording for the radio version is over on Kim's site: http://www.mercurytheatre.info/

Actors and roles were swapped for the subsequent, longer Mercury Text Records version.

[Joshua]

Well, I received the book today, it's very interesting, but I'm pretty certain the cover is not original. Perhaps that is why it went for a good price? I'm still happy with it though, nice item.

[DrG]

Hi,
here is a full version of the 1939 Mercury Shakespeare for online reading: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=m ... 2up;seq=12

A search on the same source page for "Orson Welles" produced some more online readable related pieces:

The Cinema of Orson Welles. 1961 by Peter Bogdanovich: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=u ... =2up;seq=4
Jazz Cavalcade - The Inside Story of Jazz. With a foreword by Orson Welles, 1946: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=u ... 2up;seq=18
The Sleepy Lagoon Case / prepared by the Citizens' Committee for the Defense of Mexican-American Youth. With a foreword by Orson Welles, 1942: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=i ... =2up;seq=6
The Free company presents... a collection of plays about the meaning of America (OW: His Honor, The Mayor), 1941: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=m ... =2up;seq=6

[Le Chiffre]

Thanks much, DrG! That's quite a collection of finds. I'm especially happy to see Peter B's 1961 monograph, which I hadn't seen in a long time, and which inspired Welles to call Bogdanovich and start their friendship.