Books

True first edition, first printing, number 19 of 35 copies on vélin supérieur, here with the original wrappers bound into a particularly elegant binding by Pierre Lucien Martin, one of the best respected French binders of the century. This is only the second copy we have handled. The original French text was composed between 9 October 1948 and 29 January 1949, although the full theatrical premiere was not until 5 January 1953, at the Théâtre de Babylone, Paris. Beckett's translation into English, Waiting for Godot, premiered in London in 1955 and was published that same year. Octavo. Finely bound in blue morocco by P. L. Martin (184 x 115 mm), with the original wrappers bound in, spine and sides decorated in gilt and blue, spine lettered in gilt direct, blue endpapers, all edges gilt. In matching slipcase, morocco entry with blue paper sides. A fine copy inside and out. Federman & Fletcher 259.

One of the most important works of modernist literature, Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot is a play in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait for the arrival of someone named Godot who never arrives, and while waiting they engage in a variety of discussions and encounter several other characters.