Beschreibung:

"Vishnevyi sad" [The Cherry Orchard]. In: Sbornik tovarishchestva "Znanie" za 1903 god [Collection of the Association of "Knowledge" for the Year 1903]. Vol II. St. Petersburg; "Znanie," 1904. Small 8vo. 324 pp. Original gray wrappers with full margins. Overall toning with some soiling; spine rubbed and front wrapper reattached. FIRST SERIAL PUBLICATION AND EARLIEST VERSION of The Cherry Orchard, see pp 29-105. The annual also includes prose and poetry by A. Kuprin, Skitalets, E. Chirikov and S. Iushkevich. "Chekhov received an offer from [Maxim] Gorky to publish the play in the annual of his firm Znanie, at a remuneration of fifteen hundred rubles a signature, the highest Chekhov had ever received. Because of his contract with [A. F.] Marx [of St. Petersburg], which restricted publication of new works to newspapers and magazines, or to books that appeared for charitable purposes, it seemed at first that Chekhov would have to reject this alluring proposal. Violation of the contract carried a penalty at the rate of five thousand rubles for every printed signature. However, a way out was found. Both Chekhov and Gorky were interested in an appeal to aid indigent women medical students in Petersburg, and the Znanie Annual, including The Cherry Orchard, was published on behalf of this charitable purpose" (Ernest J. Simmons Chekhov, 1963, p 606). Marx issued the revised script in book form later that year. Chekhov's last great play was produced by Konstantin Stanislavskii at the Moscow Art Theatre on January 17, 1904. Although there were problems with the censors and Chekhov disapproved of the direction, the play was a hit. The official date of publication of The Cherry Orchard was June 1, 1904. Sadly, Chekhov died on July 2.