The Cherry Orchard and Other Plays.

CHEKHOV, Anton.

Item Number: 114379

New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1935.

First edition of this selection of plays including Chekhov’s final great work. Octavo, original cloth with ivorene inset cameo of Johann Gutenberg to the front panel. From the library of American actor Zachary Scott, the first husband of Elaine Scott who later married writer John Steinbeck. Scott is best remembered for his many roles as villains and “mystery men” in dozens of musical comedies, film noirs, and psychological thrillers throughout the 1940s and 50s including Hollywood Canteen, The Unfaithful, Shotgun, Man in the Shadow, and The Young One. In very good condition with Scott’s bookplate to the pastedown.

Chekov's final play, The Cherry Orchard, opened at the Moscow Art Theatre on January 17, 1904 in a production directed by Konstantin Stanislavski. Chekhov described the play as a comedy, with some elements of farce, though Stanislavski treated it as a tragedy. Presenting themes of cultural futility, the play is widely regarded as a classic of 20th-century theatre and has been staged by dozens of major theaters throughout the world.