Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$900.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First edition, limited issue. Tiny cracks on the paper over the rear hinge else very near fine in a moderately soiled, very good slipcase. Number 63 of 100 numbered copies. Signed by the author.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Price: US$950.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Number 70 of only 100 copies containing "The Kingdom of Earth." Quarter cloth; pattern painted boards. Small perforation to spine (see image) else a very good copy without slipcase. Boldly signed by Williams.; 242 pages; All shipments through USPS insured Priority Mail.
Seller: William Chrisant & Sons, ABAA, ILAB. IOBA, ABA, Ephemera Society, Fort Lauderdale, FL, U.S.A.
Price: US$1000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, slipcased hardcover, limited to 100 copies signed by Williams on the copyright page with this marked as a Presentation Copy. The book has sunning to the spine, some slight wear to the spine ends and cover corners, tiny creases to a few page corners, a touch of smudging to the edges of the text block, and a brief pencil seller's notation to the head of the rear fly leaf. Overall, a solid, tight, Very Good copy in a Good+ slipcase, which has sunning to the upper and rear panels with lighter toning to the edges of the sides, bumps with flaking to the paper at the corners, rubbing with smudges and thin scrapes to the panels, and an area of dark discoloration to the left side. Additional images are available by request.
Seller: Fahrenheit's Books, Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Description: Limited, signed edition, #85 of 100. Water damage to backstrip edge of leaves and endpapers, else good in water-stained slipcase.
Seller: Trevian Books, Piermont, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First edition. Unbound 20-page gathering (unopened) and accompanying cancel title leaf. The gathering prints the short story, "The Kingdom of Earth", including the half-title: pp. [2 (half-title)] 225-242. Fine. This unbound gathering and replacement (cancel) title leaf was printed for insertion into a limited edition of *Hard Candy: A Book of Stories*. When the first edition of *Hard Candy* was published, Williams had wanted to include "Kingdom of Earth". However, because of its provocative content (a tubercular dandy dies while his ex-prostitute wife and his Cherokee half-brother ignore his pleas for help and instead have passionate sex in the next room), the publisher New Directions convinced Williams to accept a compromise. Williams agreed to publish the first edition without Kingdom of Earth, but demanded that a signed limited edition including the story be published that same year. Thus, a signed limited edition of 100 stated copies was made up with original sheets from the first edition of *Hard Candy*, a cancel title page: "The Kingdom of Earth with Hard Candy" (with a signed limitation statement on the verso), and the story inserted at the back. This copy of the cancel title leaf is not signed by Williams. Williams later adapted the story into both a play of the same name, and ultimately into the longer play *The Seven Descents of Myrtle* (in which the half-brother is African-American rather than Native American). Rare.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Williams, Tennessee. THE KINGDOM OF EARTH WITH HARD CANDY A BOOK OF STORIES. New Directions, 1954.
Price: US$1623.20 + shipping
Description: THE KINGDOM OF EARTH WITH HARD CANDY A BOOK OF STORIES, New Directions, 1954, first edition, very fine in just about fine publishers slip-case with some professional restoration to the spine of the slip-case. Of allegedly 100 SIGNED copies, this is copy #9 with numbered copies seemingly showing up less frequently than presentation copies. This title story was not included in the original simultaneous publication entitled HARD CANDY A BOOK OF STORIES. The actual number of copies extant is unknown. Apparently, the authors scarcest book to locate in first edition.
Seller: THE FINE BOOKS COMPANY / A.B.A.A / 1979, ROCHESTER, MI, U.S.A.
Price: US$1820.00 + shipping
Description: 248 x 152 mm. (9 3/4 x 6"). 242 pp. (cancel title page tipped-in, as in all copies). Publisher's linen-backed patterned paper boards, flat spine with author's name in gilt. In original blue cardboard slipcase with paper title label on front cover. Crandell A13.I.b. âOne small, only vaguely visible discolored spot at head of spine, otherwise a mint copy, with leaves that open only reluctantly. This is one of a relatively small number of surviving copies of this limited edition, which Williams had privately printed when publishers balked at the explicit sexual content of the short stories. How many copies exist is a matter of dispute: according to Andreas Brown of the Gotham Book Market, about 80 of the 100 copies were destroyed in storage; however, Crandell indicates that as many as 136 copies may have been issued, with the extra copies available for the author's private use, but that perhaps all but about 10 numbered copies and 20 presentation copies were destroyed. (However plentiful, the copies for presentation are encountered more frequently in commerce than are numbered copies.) The stories in this collection are: "Three Players of a Summer Game," "Two on a Party," "The Resemblance between a Violin Case and a Coffin," "Hard Candy," "Rubio y Morena," "The Mattress by the Tomato Patch," "The Coming of Something to the Widow Holly," "The Vine," "The Mysteries of the Joy Rio" (an earlier version of "Hard Candy"), and "The Kingdon of Earth." Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams (1911-83) is best known as one of America's greatest playwrights, but he was a prolific writer who also penned novels ("The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone"), poetry, and short stories. Forbidden sexual desire was a recurring theme in his works, and their explicit nature often caused problems with publication or production; most film adaptations of his works have had their content altered considerably. No. 15 OF 100 COPIES SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR.
Seller: Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books (ABAA), McMinnville, OR, U.S.A.
Tennessee Williams. The Kingdom of Earth with Hard Candy. New Directions, 1954.
Price: US$1999.99 + shipping
Condition: As New
Description: Signed Limited Edition. Published by New Directions, 1954. Octavo. Brown quarter cloth over brown patterned boards stamped in gold. Signed by Tennessee Williams on copyright/limitation page (copy #73 of 100). Note: The title/copyright page is a cancel sheet. The first edition of this story collection "Hard Candy" did not include the controversial story "The Kingdom of Earth". This is the signed limited edition that Tennessee Williams insisted on publishing to include "The Kingdom of Earth". The story is not listed on the copyright or contents pages but is included at the end of the book. Book is like new; clean and crisp with no writing or names. Sharp corners and spine straight. Has a few very small cracks to front upper hinge, but binding still tight. Slipcase is very good with some handling wear and several cracks/small tears along back left vertical edge. 242 pages. A very scarce signed Tennessee Williams special edition. 100% positive feedback. 30 day money back guarantee. NEXT DAY SHIPPING! Excellent customer service. Please email with any questions or if you would like a photo. All books packed carefully and ships with free delivery confirmation/tracking. All books come with free bookmarks. Ships from Southampton, New York.
Seller: Southampton Books, Southampton, NY, U.S.A.