SLADEN, Douglas. Fair Inez. A romance of Australia. London, Hutchinson [1918]. Octavo contemporary brown cloth (spine lettered and decorated in gilt); 16 page publisher's list for spring 1918 at the end. Front fly removed and inner hinge cracked. Mild natural browning of the paper. Not a bad copy. Au$50
First edition of this futuristic fantasy which opens in the year 2000 with the great airship Murrumbidgee from London coming into land at Melbourne. Returning home is Pat Lindsay Gordon, great-grandson of Adam Lindsay Gordon II, in turn the grandson of a cousin of the revered poet. The Gordons obviously breed hard and fast. His sister Inez will doubtless be the femme fatale of the book. Read on yourself.
Was this published in wrappers? I see no other reason for replacing the binding when it must have still been new but I can't find a reference to wrappered copies.
CAPEK, Karel & Suzuki Zentaro. R.U.R [R.U.R Robotto]. Tokyo, Kinseido 1924 (Taishi 13). 18x12cm publisher's illustrated wrapper; title page with Simonson's poster design for the New York production in red and black, photo frontispiece. A nice copy. Au$800
The introduction of 'robot' to the Japanese language and they've gone mad with it ever since. It isn't, however, the first published Japanese translation or adaptation of Capek's play: in 1923 that appeared titled Jinzo Ningen - artificial human - by Uga Itsuo. He seems to have been a haiku and theatre enthusiast who was working for a Japanese company in New York when the Theater Guild did their production. He has pretty much vanished from history except as a translator of RUR. And he deserves it, discarding what might be the most evocative word of our times.
I presumed Suzuki, a writer of greater consequence, produced his version as a reaction but it seems more a matter of zeitgeist. Suzuki went on a cultural world tour in 1920 and came back armed with Capek, Molnar, Eugene O'Neill, and who knows what other stage weapons. He wrote a long article on the play in 1923 and this translation predates the first production of Uga's version. It seems neither of them knew of the other's work.
Worldcat finds no copies of this outside Japan.
Hayashi Taidichi. [Shonen Mirai Sugoroku]. Tokyo, Nihon Shonen 1927 (Taisho 16). Colour broadside 54x79cm. Rather good. Au$450
This is a future to look forward to. Mostly. The gas warfare is not so inviting but at least the horses get protective suits. And it's only fair that giant edible frogs should have a chance to eat us. This was the new year gift from the magazine Nihon Shonen - Japanese Boy.
Hayashi redesigned Tokyo after the earthquake and fire - in 1924's new year sugoroku - to be a wonderful utopia for boys of all ages. Mostly there is no Taisho 16 but this was produced the year before, before the change in emperors.
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