The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (Signed by Maria Von Trapp and Six Other Signatures.)
New York, NY: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1949. Illustrated. Fourth Impression. Hardcover. Signed by author Maria Augusta Trapp, five of the von Trapp family children, and their conductor and priest on the front flyleaf. This fourth impression tells the story of a remarkable singing family and of its devotion to an ideal. In addition to Maria, other signatures include: Agathe Trapp, Werner von Trapp, Maria Trapp, Martina Trapp Dupire, Eleonore Trapp, and Franz Wasner.
ABOUT THE SIGNATURES: Maria's signature is the most prominent, across the top of the page in bold, black ink. Agathe, Werner, Maria and Martina, born between 1911 and 1921, were four out of seven of the eldest children born to Captain Georg Johannes Ritter von Trapp and his first wife, Agathe Whitehead von Trapp, who passed away in 1922 from scarlet fever. Eleonore Trapp was the second of three children born to Captain von Trapp and his new wife, Maria. Franz Wasner was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest who served as musical director for the von Trapp Family Singers, and is loosely portrayed in the film, "The Sound of Music" by the character of Max Detweiler. Signatures are in different inks and pencil.
Bound in tan publisher's cloth, the cover bears a red oval with the title. Spine is also lettered in red. Contents are in two parts, with an accompanying list of eight illustration plate inserts, all present in black and white, printed on semi-glossy paper. 309 pp. Illustrated dust jacket shows a black and white photograph of the Trapp Family singing with their director, Franz Wasner on the cover, lettered in off white and red accents. DJ spine is red with off-white lettering. Protected by a mylar cover. Also included are clippings of numerous vintage newspaper articles and other ephemera pertaining to Maria, the Trapp Family Lodge, and their family concerts, laid in.
FROM THE DUST JACKET: "This is the adventurous story of one of the most distinguished musical families of the age, the Trapp Family Singers. It is told by the one who knows it best, the head of the family, Baroness Maria Augusta von Trapp herself - now Mrs. Trapp, for she and her family have become American citizens.
The story begins in Austria after the first World War, in which the Baron distinguished himself as a submarine commander. A widower, he had five daughters, two sons and no one to look after them; and from a neighboring convent he obtained as governess a young student - Maria.
The Baron was expected to marry a certain Princess Yvonne, but so impressed was he with Maria that he proposed to her instead, and they were married.
In the dark days of the failure of the Austrian banks which inaugurated the word-wide depression, the Baron lost most of his fortune. At that time, they met Father Wasner, who has been their musical director ever since, and they started doing professionally, and with amazing success, what they had previously done for their own amusement.
The book has much in it of the intimate complexities of life in a large family, the arduous discipline of musical training, the amusing incidents of traven en masse. But The Story of the Trapp Family Singers is more than a dramatic personal story. It is a specifically American one, since it tells of a transplantation from Old World the New."
CONDITION: Both book and DJ are very good. Book shows mild wear with slightly bumped corners. Leaves have lightly and evenly toned with very little discoloration except for the title page and it's verso. Completely unmarked except for signatures, and a previous owner's name written on the front pastedown. Hinges are strong and the binding is quite sound. Dust jacket shows moderate wear with a 1-inch open tear at the foot, and a 3/4 split starting at the head at the joint of the spine, yet held nicely together by the mylar cover and barely noticeable. Vintage newspaper clippings have toned as expected, but are legible and add significant nostalgia to the book. A wonderful, whimsical and unique copy, worthy of any collector's shelf.
PLEASE NOTE: This copy will arrive with "signature required" upon delivery. Full refund if not satisfied. Very Good / Very Good.
8vo.
Item #075264
Price: $3,500.00