WILLIAMS, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire.... Lot 35

WILLIAMS, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. Paris], Bordas, 1949. In-16, 218 [of which the first 2 are blank]-(6 of which the last 3 are blank) pp, red half-chagrin, spine gilt, cover, spine and tape preserved, binding rubbed. Second edition of Jean COCTEAU's adaptation of Paule de Beaumont's translation. BOOKS & AUTOGRAPHS THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021 48Lithographed illustration by Jean Cocteau: two-tone cover and 4 plates out of text in black. With a double plate in color outside the text reproducing a drawing of the decor by Lilla de Nobili. DOUBLE AUTOGRAPHIC SENT FROM ARLETTY AND THE TRANSLATOR TO ANDRÉ MAUROIS and his wife Simone de Caillavet. Arletty played the character of Blanche in the French premiere of the play on October 7, 1949. ENRICHED WITH AN AUTOGRAPHIC MANUSCRIPE SIGNED BY ANDRÉ MAUROIS, entitled "À propos d'un Tramway nommé Désir". Review of the play, published on December 20, 1949 in L'Aurore: "Much has been said about this beautiful play, the best that has come from America since those of Eugene O'Neill. However, I would like to come back to it to shed light on its deep and secret meaning. The subject has a double aspect. Historically, it is the painting of the end of a civilization, that of the Old South... The second and more dramatic aspect of the subject... is the passage from lies to madness... I haven't seen the play in America. In France, ARLETTY IS ADMIRABLE. The role is one of the most difficult one can imagine. An actress who plays Blanche must wear a mask of dignity (that of the lie) and yet allow flashes of sensuality and degradation to pass through, so that the audience understands her real nature. Arletty has succeeded superbly, totally. She manages to move us to tears for a character who could be unsympathetic, and this is what the author wanted, who is careful not to judge... "(1 p. 3/4 in-folio in a fine tight handwriting, erasures and corrections). Provenance: André Maurois (ex-libris sticker).