George Bernard Shaw
Malvern, Worcestershire, England, ca. [August] 1929
G.B. Shaw Berates Reader: "please don't drive me crazy with a barrage of stupid questions" Re: "The Impossibilities of Anarchism"
ANS

An autograph note signed by Irish writer George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), as "GBS" at the conclusion of a 120+-word inscription in his hand. [August] 1929. Malvern, Worcestershire, England, site of the inaugural Malvern Festival. Shaw's signed note appears below a lengthy manuscript quote extracted from Shaw's article, "The Impossibilities of Anarchism," at top. On watermarked blue paper. The question-and-answer submission has several contemporaneous edits in the hand of Shaw and that of the unidentified reader. Flattened transmittal folds and some ink ghost impressions, else near fine. 7" x 9".

An unidentified reader wrote Shaw to ask him to elucidate a passage from the writer's 1891 essay, "The Impossibilities of Anarchism." Shaw had originally presented the piece on October 16, 1891 before members of The Fabian Society, British advocates of moderate, evolutionary socialism. The essay was later published in "Fabian Tract No. 45." In "The Impossibilities of Anarchism," Shaw provides a critique of American anarchist Benjamin Tucker, passionately contending that social democracy is a better social, economic, and political alternative to anarchism. According to Shaw, anarchism proves both unworkable and unsustainable.

The reader queried: "Can you clarify the above statement, which on the face of it appears to me to be rather loose?" The quote reproduced here appears in the first section of Shaw's essay, "Individualist Anarchism," and begins from "Under a system of occupying ownership" and ends with "In fact, the worst land would not be cultivated until the price had risen."

Shaw's response to the reader was unashamedly crusty, so much so that it is possible he knew the reader and could get away with a level of brusqueness. He writes:

"This was, in its original form, a paper which I read to the Fabian Society in 1891. What on earth do you mean by 'loose'? The statement is plain enough. In the economic sense, rent covers payment for the use of land for any purpose, agricultural or otherwise; and town rents have risen oppressively. A much more puzzling discrepancy between the facts and the theory is the apparent absence of any upwards tendency in the prices of general commodities. Go ahead with your work, and quote as much as you choose, but please don't drive me crazy with a barrage of stupid questions. Above all, don't try to explain in a halting, stumbling fashion what I have made perfectly clear already.

GBS

Malvern, 1929"

Shaw's irascibility may signal a protectiveness of his writing from 30 years earlier, or he may just have been distracted at the time of writing. Shaw replied to the reader's inquiry while attending the first season of the Malvern Festival, a theatrical festival founded by Sir Barry Jackson and held in Malvern, Worcestershire, England between 1929-1939. The Malvern Festival was inaugurated in mid-August 1929. In that season, it featured performances of several of Shaw's most famous plays, as well as the British debut of Shaw's latest play, "The Apple Cart: A Political Extravaganza". Shaw frequently attended the Malvern Festival during its brief tenure.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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