Tea Party and other plays Signed by Harold Pinter first edition 1967
London: Methuen & Co Ltd, 1967
Small 8vo., black boards, backstrip lettered in gilt; in the instantly-recognisable dustwrapper showing a photograph from the B.B.C production showing a grumpy-looking Leo McKern (18s net); pp. [ix], 10-115, [v, ads]; author’s signature with faint impression onto dedication page; slightly bumped at spine ends; a fresh copy in the lightly rubbed wrapper, a few stains, and nicks/creases, most notably to head and foot of spine.
First collected edition, signed by the playwright to the title page.
In 1963, Harold Pinter had written a short story entitled ‘Tea Party’, which revolved around a middle-aged businessman named Sisson (later renamed ‘Disson’), and the inner workings of his life - both personal and professional - over the course of one day. Several years later, he decided to adapt the story into a play, which was commissioned by the European Broadcasting Union, and first transmitted in 1965. In 1968 it was performed on stage in a double-bill production with ‘The Basement’ (also printed here). A rare book to find signed.