"AN IDEAL HUSBAND! OH, I DON'T THINK I SHOULD LIKE THAT": FIRST EDITION OF OSCAR WILDE'S IDEAL HUSBAND
WILDE, Oscar. An Ideal Husband. London: Leonard Smithers and Co., 1899. Octavo, original lavender cloth gilt, uncut; housed in a custom chemise and slipcase. $4800.
Limited first edition, one of 1000 unnumbered copies, a very nice copy in original decorative cloth designed by Charles Shannon.
Wilde's play premiered in January 1895 to an audience that included the Prince of Wales, and was an immediate success. Four months later, Wilde was in disgrace following his arrest for soliciting homosexual acts and his name was removed from the play's marquee (similarly, it appears nowhere in this edition). The play closed shortly thereafter and did not appear in print until this first edition. Mason 385.
Text about-fine, cloth spine with slight fading, small mark near base. An extremely good copy.