Tragic America / by Theodore Dreiser.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dreiser, Theodore, 1871-1945.

Contributor:

Library of Theodore Dreiser (University of Pennsylvania)

Culture Class Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

American Culture Class Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--Economic conditions--1918-1945.

United States.

Economic conditions.

United States--Social conditions--1918-1932.

Social conditions.

Penn Provenance:

Dreiser, Theodore, 1871-1945 (autograph) (RBC copy)

Clayburgh, Alma (inscription) (RBC copy)

Smith, T. R. (Thomas Robert), 1880-1942 (autograph) (RBC copy 2)

Dreiser, Theodore, 1871-1945 (bookplate) (Culture Class Collection copies 1, 3 & 4)

Dreiser, Helen Patges, d. 1955 (autograph) (Culture Class Collection copy 1)

Dreiser, Theodore, 1871-1945 (autograph) (Culture Class Collection copy 2)

Dreiser, Helen Patges, d. 1955 (Inscription) (Culture Class Collection copy 2)

Dreiser, Theodore, 1871-1945 (donor) (Culture Class Collection copy 4)

Physical Description:

10 unnumbered pages, 435 pages, 3 unnumbered pages ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Horace Liveright, Inc., [1931]

Contents:

The American scene

Present-day living conditions for many

Exploitation: the American rule by force

Our banks and corporations are government

Our banks and corporations as government (Continued)

Our American railways: their profits and greed

Our American railways: their profits and greed (Continued)

Government operation of the express companies for private profit

The Supreme Court as a corporation-minded institution

The Constitution as a scrap of paper

The position of labor

The growth of the police power

The abuse of the individual

The church and wealth in America

Charity and wealth in America

Crime and why

Why the ballot?

Why government ownership?

A suggested phase of education

Who owns America

Is America dominant?

Suggestions toward a new statecraft.

Notes:

With half-title.

Title printed within triple-ruled border.

"Copyright 1931 by Theodore Dreiser."

"A prepublication state exists which contains a number of verbal variants from the published volume. These variants initially noted by Merle Johnson and confirmed by me are: p. 49, line 14 'filched' instead of 'pocketed'; p. 100, line 13 'fraudulent' instead of 'excessive'; p. 130, line 4 'corruption' instead of 'subservience'; p. 380, line 4 up 'pirates' instead of 'figures'."--Cf. Pizer.

Includes index.

"Jacket design by Siwek."

Price from dust-jacket: $2.00.

Mottled grey cloth with lettering on spine and front cover in gilt within black panels. Top edge stained red.

Local Notes:

RBC copy (HC106.3 D7): typed letter from Dreiser, signed, pasted in.

RBC copy 2 (HC106.3 D7) is in prepublication state with lines to be corrected marked in pencil. A paper slip (letterhead of Liveright, Inc.) with typescript note identifying this copy as "one of six copies bound up before publication distribution" (dated and signed: Dec 8/1932 Liveright Inc. T.R.S [i.e. T.R. Smith]) with a few ms. notes in pencil is affixed to front free endpaper.

RBC copy 2 (HC106.3 D7) purchased for the Penn Libraries in 1988(?) from George MacManus.

RBC copy 2 (HC106.3 D7) has laid in photoreproduction of typescript document on letterhead of Associate Library Exchange, Inc., with title: Table of changes and deletions in Theodore Dreiser's "Tragic America" 1931.

RBC copy 2 (HC106.3 D7): dust jacket retained.

Culture Class Collection copy 1 (AC9 D8144 931t) is in prepublication state. Copies 2-5 are of a mixed state. Both copies have "filched" on line 14 of p. 49, but "excessive" on line 13 of p. 100, "subservience" on line 4 of p. 130 and on line four of p. 380 "figures".

Culture Class Collection copy 1 has brown paper wrapper with the bookplate of Theodore Dreiser and autograph of "Helen Dreiser. N.Y. 1931. Studio".

Culture Class Collection copy 2 inscribed "For Helen with love from T. D. N. Y. Jan. 1932".

Culture Class Collection copy 3 has bookplate of Theodore Dreiser.

Culture Class Collection copy 4 has dust-jacket retained.

Culture Class Collection copy 4 has bookplate of Theodore Dreiser.

Culture Class Collection copy 4 is "Second printing, February 1932".

Culture Class Collection copy 5 has [1] yellow slip from the publisher "Note: Tragic America. Reviews of this book are not to be released before January 18, 1932 ..." laid in.

Dreiser copy has portions of the dust-jacket laid in.

Cited in:

Pizer, D. Dreiser, A31-2

OCLC:

332190