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THE WIDOWING OF MRS. HOLROYD
Published April 1, 1914
The Widowing of / Mrs. Holroyd / A Drama in Three Acts / By / D. H. Lawrence / (publisher’s device) / New York / Mitchell Kennerley / MCMXIV
Collation:—pp. x + 94 (preceded and followed by two blank leaves), consisting of fly-leaf, with series-title, The Modern Drama Series / Edited by Edwin Björkman at head, and The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd / D. H. Lawrence at foot of recto (verso blank), pp. (i, ii); title-page, as above (with Copyright 1914 by / Mitchell Kennerley / The (dot) Plimpton (dot) Press / Norwood (dot) Mass (dot) U (dot) S (dot) A on verso), pp. (iii, iv); table of Contents (verso blank), pp. (v, vi); Introduction, by Edwin Björkman, pp. (vii)-x; divisional half-title (with list of Persons on verso), pp. (1, 2); text, pp. (3)-93; p. (94) blank.
Crown 8vo, 7⅜ × 5; issued in red cloth; front cover has one-line border in blind, and is lettered in blind as follows: The Modern Drama Series / Edited by Edwin Björkman Backbone lettered across in gilt: D. H. / Law- / rence / (small ornament) / The / Widow- / ing / of Mrs. / Hol- / royd / Mitchell / Kennerley (The hyphens in lettering on backbone slant upward.) Back cover blank. All edges cut. End-papers white.
The first of Mr. Lawrence’s two published plays. It is not generally realized that the American issue of The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd preceded the English, which was, as a matter of fact, made from the Kennerley sheets. A not overly close examination of a Duckworth copy of this book will show that the fly-leaf with the series-title, etc. on recto, was cut out after the sheets had been sewed together. This accounts for the slight difference in the pagination of the two editions. Then, also, the matter on the reverse side of the Duckworth title-page clearly indicates that all of the sheets were American.
The first edition of The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd was one thousand copies. Five hundred of these were sent to Duckworth and Company, and were by this house bound in the dark blue “case” described below. There is no certain way of telling which of the two books is the scarcer; but I should not be surprised to find that copies of the American issue are the harder to come by—at least, in good state. The English book still performs the trick of turning up over here in quite new condition.