I have been in the rare and antiquarian book business for over forty years; my family has been in the rare books business since 1876. Rare books are in my blood.
Woman of Andros, The
New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1930. Item #06532
“Can You Identify It at Sight?”
Thornton Wilder’s Musical Inscription and Letter - A Playful Presentation to Ingle Barr, K.C.
WILDER, Thornton. The Woman of Andros. New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1930.
First edition. Octavo (8 1/16 x 5 inches; 206 x 127 mm.). [1–6], 7–162, [2, blank] pp. Title printed in black and red.
Publisher’s light gray cloth, front cover decoratively stamped in red and lettered in gilt, spine lettered in gilt, orange endpapers, top edge stained red. In the original pale gray dust jacket printed in red, spine slightly darkened with minor wear at extremities. A fine copy in an excellent dust jacket. Housed in a quarter pale gray calf over red cloth boards clamshell case, spine richly decorated in gilt, three red leather labels lettered in gilt.
A Musical Presentation Copy with Autograph Letter
Inscribed on the half-title: “Ingle Barr —” followed by a hand-drawn musical staff with notation, signed: “Thornton Wilder / Hamden, Conn. / Jan. 1957.”
Together with:
An autograph letter signed by Thornton Wilder, dated January 26, 1957, on his Hamden, Connecticut letterhead, addressed to Mr. Ingle Barr in Pacific Palisades, California, with the original stamped mailing envelope.
In the letter, Wilder writes with characteristic wit and informality, humorously describing the effort of packing and returning books: “Well, my sister and I have wrestled with all this paper and tape and excelsior… If I took my books as seriously as that, there’d be no more writing by me.” He goes on to explain his reluctance to accept reimbursement for postage - despite handling “about 30 or 40 books a year” - lest it burden his sense of obligation: “…then I’d start feeling put upon, and I’d begin getting soured—so I’d better do the mailing voluntarily for all.” Most significantly, he refers directly to the present inscription: “I’ve put a quotation on the title-page of The Woman of Andros. In your circle of friends can you find five persons who can identify it at sight?” Signed: “With regards, Thornton Wilder.”
The Inscription as Intellectual Jeu d’Esprit. The musical notation - rendered as a simple, hymn-like melodic phrase - appears to allude to the well-known Protestant tune Old Hundredth (“All People That on Earth Do Dwell”), one of the most universally recognized melodies in the English-speaking world. Wilder presents the phrase in abbreviated form, not as a literal quotation but as a recognition puzzle, inviting identification.
Such musically notated inscriptions are exceedingly rare in Wilder’s hand, and the deliberate pairing with a written challenge transforms the book into an interactive object - part gift, part game, part demonstration of shared cultural memory.
The recipient, Ingle Barr (1908–1974), was a distinguished British barrister (King’s Counsel), active in commercial and civil law in London and a member of the upper tier of the mid-twentieth-century legal profession. A noted book collector, Barr moved within cultivated professional and intellectual circles rather than the public literary sphere. His presence here is telling. Barr represents precisely the kind of highly educated, culturally literate recipient to whom Wilder’s playful musical challenge would be naturally directed. The inscription assumes a reader capable not only of appreciating Wilder’s work, but of recognizing a musical quotation “at sight” - a small but revealing testament to the shared cultural vocabulary of the period’s Anglo-American intellectual elite.
This is not merely an inscribed copy, but a constructed exchange. The inscription and letter operate together as a parlor challenge, reflecting Wilder’s lifelong interest in: shared cultural knowledge, classical and musical reference, and the pleasure of recognition.
It is precisely this blending of intellect and play that animates Wilder’s greatest works.
First published in 1930, The Woman of Andros is Wilder’s second novel, inspired by the comedies of Terence and set in the classical world. Subtle and reflective, it anticipates the themes - human connection, moral grace, and the continuity of cultural tradition - that would later define The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Our Town.
A notably well-preserved example, retaining its original dust jacket in excellent condition. The inclusion of the original mailing envelope further enhances the archival completeness and desirability of the piece.
A highly unusual and intellectually playful presentation copy—linking author, recipient, and a shared cultural code, preserved with its revealing correspondence.
Price: $5,500.00