Synge, John M.

8vo, one of 250 copies, inscribed by elizabeth corbet ("lolly") yeats to her father, john butler yeats and further inscribed by j.b. yeats to his daughter susan mary ("lily") yeats ("J.B. Yeats | from | E.C. Yeats | 317. W 29th St. N York" in ink and additionally inscribed "+ given to Lilly Yeats | by the aforesaid J.B. Yeats | July 27. 1920. N York | J.B. Yeats" in pencil), pencil sketch of the head and shoulders of a woman, signed and titled by j.b. yeats ("Mrs Bellinger | J.B. Yeats") at rear, original linen-backed boards with paper label on spine, lily yeats' bookplate, ?original unprinted dust-jacket, minor browning to free endpapers, binding slightly soiled, minor splitting to hinges, dust-jacket slightly frayed at extremities

from the library of Lily Yeats

Miller 14; Wade 245

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

a remarkable yeats family copy with a transatlantic history.

John Butler Yeats went to New York in December 1907 with his daughter Lily, initially for a few weeks' holiday, but kept extending his stay. Members of the family, visiting New York for exhibitions or lectures, tried to bring him home to Dublin, but to no avail.

Elizabeth Yeats sent her father this copy of Synge's play and he later returned it to Lily, presumably by post, since they did not meet again after Lily sailed for home in June 1908. The inscription is dated the day after the sale of the Petitpas' boarding house, where J.B. Yeats resided in New York. At this time he was under renewed pressure to return home, and perhaps he had decided to dispose of some of his belongings. (In the event, the new owners allowed him to remain at the boarding-house, and he died there in early February 1922, aged 82, still an unrepentant exile.)

Martha Idell Fletcher Bellinger, a novelist married to a German professor at Columbia, was one of a number of women who befriended J.B. Yeats in New York. She was in regular contact with him through his final years. No other portrait of her by J.B. Yeats has so far been traced.