CUMMINGS, E[dward]. E[stlin]. Santa Claus. A Morality.

New York: Henry Holt, 1946.

Folio. (269 x 184 mm.), pp. [10] 18 [2]. Inscribed in purple ink by Cummings on fly “inscribed, with pleasure/for Jeff Alexander/…January 31 1947”. Small light stain to blank portion of one page, otherwise internally fine in publisher’s red and black cloth, the upper cover and spine titled in gilt. Slight fading to spine and upper portion of covers, spine ever so slightly delicate. A very good copy. Provenance: Jeff Alexander (author’s inscription).

First edition of Cummings’ most successful play, a sweet allegorical fantasy on Christmas, with a contemporary inscription by the author. The Claus family deal with disfunctionality and Santa reaffirms his faith in his rejection of materialism and cold science in favour of love; and is finally reunited with his wife and child. Cummings studied English and Classics at Harvard, graduating M.A. in 1916. He was widely published in college magazines, and while there made friends with John Dos Passos. Cummings’ modernist style and typographic innovation mask a depth of traditionalism both in terms of form and his Classical inspiration.

Nevertheless, Cummings was deeply affected by the modernism of his day, especially Ezra Pound and the Surrealists (Cummings loved Paris) and has gone on to contribute to our understanding of modern poetry. He was occasionally deeply satirical in tone, and there is a good deal of humour underlying his work, which at times can, however, be purely infused by the dominance of love over all.

This play was inspired by Cummings’ own reunion with his daughter Nancy. Cummings’ only daughter was born of his affair with Elaine Orr, originally married to one of Cummings’ college friends. After the collapse of their brief marriage in 1924, Elaine took Nancy to Ireland, and Cummings didn’t see her again until 1946 (when she was 27).

Bel exemplaire d’édition originale avec un envoi autograph de l’époque de l’auteur.