Back to Methuselah A Metabiological Pentateuch by SHAW, [George] Bernard - 1921-01-01

London: Constable and Company Ltd, 1921. First edition. Very good.. Thick octavo. Pale green cloth, gilt spine. xci,[1],267,[1] pp. Light shelf wear at lower spine, endsheets toned, else a very good copy, without a dust jacket.
This title has a lengthy preface by Bernard Shaw entitled "The Infidel Half Century," followed by a series of five plays "In the Beginning: B.C. 4004" (In the Garden of Eden); "The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day"; "The Thing Happens: A.D. 2170"; "Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman: A.D. 3000"; and "As Far as Thought Can Reach: A.D. 31,920". The plays were first performed in 1922 by the New York Theatre Guild at the Garrick Theatre.
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London: Constable and Company, 1921. Cloth. Very Good. 1st thus, for Constable & Co.. 12mo., lxxxvii, 267pp. Bound in light green cloth with title, year and author on spine in gilt. Edges untrimmed. Rear hinge starting. Boards and pages with minor finger soiling. Spine top & bottom rubbed. A Very good copy.

London, (Clark, Edinburgh, for) Constable & Company, 1921. XCI, 267 pp. 8vo. Half dark blue morocco, spine in 6 compartments with gilt lettering, top edge gilt, lower edge partly uncut (by Riviere & son). London, (Clark, Edinburgh, for) Constable & Company, 1921. First English edition, the American edition published by Brentano was issued shortly before. Shaw's ( 1856-1950) play was first produced at the Garrick Theatre in New York in 1922, the first English performance was given in Birmingham in 1923. "Back to Methuselah" consists of five parts, in fact individual dramas, entitled: At the Beginning: 4004 B.C.; The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day; The Thing Happens, A.D. 2170; Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman: A.D. 3000; and As Far as Thought Can Reach: A.D. 31920. The cycle is considered Shaw's main philosophical work, interpreting the history of mankind from the Garden of Eden to the present, with visions of things to come in the far future. It is based on… Read More