Samuel Beckett
Samuel [Barclay] Beckett, poet, novelist, and dramatist was born in Foxrock, County Dublin in 1906. He was educated at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen and later at T.C.D. In 1928 he taught French at Campbell College, Belfast, before moving to Paris as a lecteur d’anglais at the Ecole Normale Sup‚rieure. It was here that he met through his friendship with Thomas MacGreevy, James Joyce. One of the major figures of modern Irish literature, Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1969. He died in Paris in 1989.
Samuel Beckett’s family home was in Foxrock Co. Dublin near the Leopardstown race cource. His parents were both 35 when he was born. Beckett was a member of the Church of Ireland but later became agnostic, clearly shown in his writings.In 1920, he attended Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, also attended by Oscar Wilde. In 1923 he entered Trinity College in Dublin and studied literature and excelled playing cricket, later playing for Dublin University.
Samuel Beckett’s notable works include Murphy, Watt, Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable, Waiting for Godot, Endgame, Krapp’s Last Tape, How It Is, Happy Days. Beckett won the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature, While not rejecting the prize, Beckett did not attend the prize ceremony, nor did he deliver a Nobel lecture. His wife described his reaction to the news that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature as a “catastrophe”. He donated the prize money, much of it to Trinity College, Dublin.
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Samuel Beckett died on the 22nd of December 1989 in Paris. In 1983, the Samuel Beckett Award was established for writers who, in the opinion of a committee of critics, producers and publishers, showed innovation and excellence in writing for the performing arts. On 10 December 2009, the new bridge across the River Liffey in Dublin was opened and named the Samuel Beckett Bridge in his honour. The Central Bank of Ireland launched two Samuel Beckett Centenary commemorative coins on 26 April 2006: €10 Silver Coin and €20 Gold Coin.
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 | BECKETT, Samuel: Eh Joe BECKETT, Samuel. Eh Joe and Other Writings. 904 London: Faber and Faber, 1967. pp. 44. Burgundy cloth, titled in gilt. A fine copy in lightly frayed price-clipped dust jacket. €165.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. Autograph Letter Signed from Beckett to Deryk [Mendel] (1920-2013), a British ballet dancer, choreographer, actor and director, and friend of Beckett. “Prepare yourself for a handkerchief in the desert. Sorry. Indispensable. Shall explain” Headed “Ussy-sur-Marne / 29.9.56.” One page, quarto, written in blue ink on thin laid paper. Beckett wrote the short play Act Without Words I in 1956 for Mendel and the dancer first performed the mime at the Royal Court Theatre in London on […] €3,500.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. Collected Shorter Plays. London & Boston: Faber and Faber, 1984. First edition. .pp. 316. Publisher’s green cloth, titled in gilt to spine, in the original pictorial dust jacket. A fine bright copy. An excellent first edition of one of the most important collected dramatic works of the twentieth century, bringing together Samuel Beckett’s shorter theatrical, radio and television […] €125.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. Come and Go. A Dramaticule. [SIGNED LIMITED EDITION] Illustrated. London: Calder and Boyars, 1967. Demy octavo. First edition. pp. 10. Grey buckram, upper cover ruled in gilt with title and author. Edition limited to 100 copies (64) signed by the author. A fine copy in slipcase. Illustrated with photographs from the performance; written for, and dedicated to, John Calder, the publisher. €1,250.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. Company (First edition) London: John Calder, 1980. Octavo. pp. 89. Black cloth. Title in silver golt on spine. In fine condition, priced-clipped dust-jacket in fine condition. [L1 8F] €175.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. Company. [SIGNED LIMITED EDITION AS NEW] London: Calder, 1980. Medium octavo. pp. 89. True first edition, first printing. Quarter vellum on brown linen, title and reproduced signature of Beckett in gilt. Deluxe first edition, limited to 100 copies, signed by Samuel Beckett on titlepage. This copy signed but not numbered on the titlepage. Browning to the spine. All edges gilt. Housed in matching publishers slipcase. […] €1,450.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. Eh Joe and Other Writings. London: Faber and Faber, 1967. pp. 44. Burgundy cloth, titled in gilt. A fine copy in lightly frayed price-clipped dust jacket. [L1 8F] €85.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. Eleutheria: a Play in Three Acts New York: Foxrock, 1995. pp. 156. Octavo. Blue cloth. Title in gilt on spine. Fine in fine dust-jacket. [L4 3F] €45.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. La Manivelle The Old Tune. By Robert Pinget. Texte anglais de Samuel Beckett. French and English text. Paris: Les Éditions de Minuit, 1960. pp. 62. White wrappers printed in blue and black. A fine copy. [L4 8E] €95.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. More Pricks than Kicks. BECKETT, Samuel. More Pricks than Kicks. London: Calder & Boyars, 1970. pp. 204. Original printed frayed wrappers. A very good copy. [L1 8 Beckett] €65.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. Nohow On. Company. Ill Seen Ill Said. Worstward Ho. London: John Calder, 1989. Octavo. pp. [iv], 128. Black papered boards, title in gilt along spine. A fine copy in fine dust jacket. These three short novels, the most celebrated of Samuel Beckett’s later works, are published here in one volume for the first time. [C161] €285.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. Signed Photograph. Original black-and-white photographic portrait (90 v 145mm) of Samuel Beckett, boldly signed in blue ink across the lower white margin. A striking head-and-shoulders image of the Nobel Prize-winning Irish playwright, novelist and poet, whose sparse, existential works, including Waiting for Godot, Endgame and Krapp’s Last Tape, transformed twentieth-century literature and theatre. Beckett was famously reserved […] €875.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. The Unnamable. London: Calder & Boyars, 1975. pp. 132. Green papered boards, title in silver on spine. A fine copy in lightly frayed dust jacket. [L4 8E] €75.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. Waiting for Godot (Rare first edition second issue) London: Faber and Faber, 1956. First English edition, second issue, in same year as first. pp. 94. Original yellow cloth, titled in red along spine. Intermittent foxing; jacket spine toned, spine head a little worn, rubbing and a few nicks to edges, unclipped: a very good copy in like jacket. Ownership signature. A very good […] €385.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. Waiting for Godot a Tragicomedy in Two Acts. Preface by Edward Beckett, Illustrated by Tom Phillips. Folio Society, 2000. Super royal octavo. pp. 110. Pictorial boards. A fine copy in slipcase. €65.00 TVR 6D With colour and black & white illustrations by Tom Phillips. [L4 8E] €95.00 |
 | BECKETT, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. [FIRST EDITION] London: Faber and Faber, 1956. First English edition. First printing. Octavo. pp. 94. Original yellow cloth, titled in red along spine. Publisher’s note for the play, transferred from the Arts Theatre to the Criterion Theatre tipped in. A very good copy in lightly frayed dust jacket, with a few nicks. “The first production of Beckett’s own English translation, […] €950.00 |
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