OUR TOWN Inscribed to Billy Wilder

New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., (1938). First Edition. Hardcover. Small Hollywood bookstore label pasted to rear pastedown; some sunning to edges of cloth. About Fine in a Near Fine dustwrapper with light chipping to the spine tips. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a touchstone of American theater. After reading this play, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to Wilder comparing OUR TOWN to Homer's ODYSSEY and Shakespeare's HAMLET, stating: "That an American of the present day can create with such delicacy and detachment touches the soul like a miracle." This is a wonderful Association Copy between two giants of American culture who happened to share the same last name. INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author in the year of publication on the title page to Hollywood director Billy Wilder: "For Billy/from Thornton/relative by/choice/Hollywood/Aug. 1938." Though it appears Billy Wilder (born Samuel Wilder) and Thornton Wilder never worked together, there is an interesting anecdote from very early in Billy's career. After leaving Berlin and arriving in Hollywood in 1934 with little money, he sent to his family in Europe clippings about Thornton Wilder's THE BRIDGE OVER SAN LUIS REY telling them that he had changed his first name to "Thornton." His mother learned the truth when she bought the book and saw the author's picture. According to a much later interview with Billy Wilder, she took it well and responded that she never liked that other fellow Wilder's stuff very much. Billy and Thornton would first meet shortly before inscribing this book on 7 July 1938 when they would have lunch together leaving Billy impressed by the "Aryan quality of Thornton's humor" (SLIDE, Anthony: "IT'S THE PICTURES THAT GOT SMALL": CHARLES BRACKETT ON BILLY WILDER AND HOLLYWOOD'S GOLDEN AGE, page 120). Later that year in December they would dine again, this time in Boston with Alexander Woolcott, where Billy would see Thornton's THE MERCHANT OF YONKERS. His feelings about Thornton's humor changed: "a distressing play to me, all fake naivete, too, too great a desire to be funny" (ibid, page 128).

Billy Wilder was an Austrian-born American film director and screenwriter whose career spanned more than five decades. He had his first hit when he co-wrote the screenplay for the romantic comedy NINOTCHKA, starring Greta Garbo. He won two Academy Awards for THE LOST WEEKEND (for Director and Screenplay), one for SUNSET BOULEVARD (Screenplay), and an unprecedented three for THE APARTMENT (Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay). He also received nominations for DOUBLE INDEMNITY, STALAG 17, WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, SOME LIKE IT HOT, THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH, and others.