Mann, Thomas

8vo (210 x 140mm.), FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR TO ERIC ESTORICK ("To Mr. Eric Estorick | with my best wishes | New York, April 37 | Thomas Mann") on the front free endpaper, original buckram lettered in maroon and ruled in green, top edge green, salmon pink dust-jacket lettered in black and gold, spine lightly soiled, dust-jacket worn at extremities with a few minor tears, dust-jacket spine darkened

Condition is as 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."

FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE NOBEL LAUREATE'S COLLECTED SHORT STORIES TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH, prefaced by Mann: "to the author this edition gives peculiar pleasure, presenting as it does a survey of his activities in this field for three decades, a whole generation, almost a whole life-span of artist and man - an autobiography, as it were, in the guise of fable."

Eric Estorick (1913-1993) was an American author and art collector. Before moving to London following World War II, he studied and later taught at New York University, becoming a lecturer in sociology in 1938. A 1937 issue of The Washington Square College Review includes an essay by Estorick entitled "Thomas Mann: The Artist as Citizen". It was perhaps this essay which brought him his inscribed copy of Stories of Three Decades.

The personal collection of Estorick and his wife Salome, who he married in 1947, is now housed at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art in London.