[Item #3596] Mad Ludwig of Bavaria & Other Short Plays. Robert Peters.
Mad Ludwig of Bavaria & Other Short Plays
Mad Ludwig of Bavaria & Other Short Plays
Mad Ludwig of Bavaria & Other Short Plays

Mad Ludwig of Bavaria & Other Short Plays

ISBN: 187858068X
Paradise, CA: Asylum Arts. First Edition. Softcover. Inscribed & signed by Robert Peters to Charles & Pamela Plymell. "This is a play about beauty, friendship, art, and disease, centered around one driven soul who happened to be a king, and the last absolute European monarch. With considerable flair, Ludwig II (1845-1886) cultivated the aesthetic experience and the dream world, and immersed them unabashedly in a nineteenth-century ambiance with homosexual overtones. His world was a baroque stage where he was the leading actor, as well as director, designer, and producer. One might even say that he fancied himself as the entire audience as well." (from introduction to The Picnic in the Snow: Ludwig II of Bavaria) A compilation of short one-man plays by Robert Peters (1924-2014), the great & prolific American poet, playwright & scholar. The Ludwig II play noted above is the first of seven in this collection, including such well-known & brilliantly intense works as The Blood Countess; Hawker, Vicar of Morwenstow; Snapshots for a Serial Killer & Josef Mengele's Uterus: The Sex Life of J. Edgar Hoover (gotta love that title). Peters famously performed these riveting, darkly humorous plays himself in elaborate costumes & drag. Softcover original, first edition. On shorter title page, Peters has hand-written & signed: "For Charlie & Pam/ affection always-/ Turn 77 on Sat(urday) 20 Oct(ober)!/ Hope to be around for some/ time yet.-/ (signed) Bob P./ 1(?)/19/01." "Charlie & Pam" are Charles Plymell, the great poet, printer, publisher & Legendary Literary Outlaw; & his wife-collaborator Pamela Beach Plymell. The Plymells published a separate, earlier version of the Ludwig II play in their Cherry Valley Editions imprint. Peters was indeed "around for some time" after this warm inscription from year of publication, he passed away thirteen years later at the age of 89. A very significant Peters collectible, greatly enriched with this poet-to-poet-&-publishers association & provenance. In very fine condition with only very slight rubbing, scratching & a few short, faint creases to glossy front, back covers & spine; a bit of wear & a few tiny bumps at edges & corners of same; mild rubbing & spotting to edges of text block, esp. upper edge. Interior very fine with only tiny bumps at corners of some page leaves. Very Fine. [Item #3596]

Price: $40.00