TOO TRUE TO BE GOOD: A COLLECTION OF STAGE SERMONS BY A FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE

n.p.: Privately Printed, 1932. First Edition. wraps. Spine quite frayed with the front cover detached about halfway down. Good copy of a scarce piece with manuscript corrections by Shaw. Printed wraps. Laurence AA16d. This is one of five different states of the "ROUGH PROOF-UNPUBLISHED" of this play typically used as rehearsal or prompt copies. This particular state includes the coda written at Malvern, where the play premiered on 8 July 1932, for its star Cedric Hardwicke on the birth of his first son on 7 August 1932. According to Laurence, "No rehearsal copies of this proof state were printed. Only five copies are noted." It is not known if this is one of those five or an unrecorded copy. This copy contains numerous alterations and additions in both pencil and blue pencil to the dialogue as well as added prompts and drawn stage diagrams. There are also five clear instances of changes and/or additions made by Shaw himself in his hand including a piece of paper glued in at the margin of page 31. All of Shaw's changes are in the final printed copy of the play, though two are slightly different from what he has written. It is unclear as to whose copy this was, though if not Shaw's himself certainly that of the director or a performer. Though there is no evidence of ownership, this copy came from the collection of Harold Ackert.