Groucho And Me – First US Edition – 1959 – Inscribed By Groucho Marx

By Groucho Marx
New York: Bernard Geis Associates, 1959

First US edition, first printing. Inscribed by Groucho Marx.

Octavo, original publisher’s cloth-backed paper boards in the original unclipped dustwrapper. A superb inscribed first edition of Groucho Marx’s celebrated autobiography, one of the defining comic memoirs of twentieth-century American entertainment.

The book is warmly inscribed by Groucho Marx to the front free endpaper:

“Dear Jack / Thanks for the letter / and here’s the book — /  Regards / Groucho”

Published in 1959, Groucho And Me remains the quintessential Groucho Marx text: irreverent, anarchic, self-mocking and endlessly quotable. Combining autobiography, comic essays, correspondence, anecdotes and reflections on Hollywood, vaudeville and American show business, the work captures Groucho’s uniquely literate comic voice at full strength. It also stands as one of the most enduring memoirs produced by any figure from Hollywood’s golden age.

By the time of publication, Groucho Marx had already become one of the defining comic personalities of the twentieth century. Through the Marx Brothers films of the 1920s and 1930s — including Duck Soup, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers and A Night at the Opera — Groucho helped revolutionise screen comedy with his fusion of rapid-fire verbal wit, absurdity and social satire. His greasepaint moustache, cigar and stooped stance had by then become internationally recognisable cultural icons.

Unlike many celebrity autobiographies of the period, Groucho And Me possesses genuine literary distinction. The prose reflects Groucho’s lifelong admiration for writers such as George S. Kaufman, S. J. Perelman and James Thurber, all of whom are acknowledged in the dedication. The humour is densely constructed, rhythmically precise and often surprisingly sophisticated, moving seamlessly between absurd one-liners, comic digressions and moments of genuine reflection on fame, family and performance.

The book additionally provides fascinating insight into the transition from vaudeville to Hollywood and then into television entertainment. Groucho’s recollections of touring theatre circuits with his brothers before their cinematic success are among the most historically valuable sections of the work, preserving details of American popular entertainment that were already disappearing by the late 1950s.

The inscription in this copy is especially appealing for its conversational informality. Rather than a perfunctory signature, Groucho responds directly to a correspondent: “Thanks for the letter and here’s the book.” Such personalised inscriptions are highly desirable, particularly when they preserve the cadence and wit associated with Groucho’s public persona.

Condition: Binding nice and tight. Top and bottom edges of paper boards a little rubbed. Cloth nice and bright. The inscription is bold and highly legible. The dustwrapper has a little rubbing, light toning and several small chips and closed tears to the edges, particularly at spine ends and with a little sunning and fading to the spine. Overall a very good copy in very good dustwrapper.

An increasingly scarce inscribed first printing of one of the great comic autobiographies of the twentieth century, combining Hollywood history, literary wit and the unmistakable voice of Groucho Marx.

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