The Mother of Us All (an opera) [limited/numbered edition, *SIGNED* by the composer]

New York: Music Press, Inc.. Fair. [1947]. First Edition. Hardcover. (grey decorated cloth, no dust jacket) [binding intact, lower tips bumped (with some exposure of boards), but the main thing to know is that the spine is severely damaged, with most of the cloth spine covering missing]. (two B&W photographs) This opera, first performed at Columbia University in May 1947, was inspired by the life and career of Susan B. Anthony, and includes a wide range of historical characters, among them Daniel Webster, Anthony Comstock, Ulysses S. Grant and Lillian Russell. This is No. 45 of 55 copies (of which only 50 were for sale) which were "printed on special paper, cloth bound and numbered ... and are signed [on the limitation page] by Virgil Thomson." (The regular trade edition was 1,000 copies in wrappers.) NOT included with this copy are the three original portrait photographs by Carl Van Vechten which were originally issued with each of the numbered copies. (However, portrait photos of Stein and Thomson form a double frontispiece to the volume.) ****NOTE that additional postage charges will be assessed for international shipping of this moderately heavy book; if this concerns you, please contact us for a shipping quote before placing your order. As always at ReadInk, domestic Media Mail shipping is free.**** .