Pic-nic on the Battlefield (SIGNED by Sidney Chafetz)
Nomad Press, 1983. First Edition Thus, Limited to 45 copies, this being #7. Original boards. SIGNED by the artist. Oblong 4to. [31] pp. Color woodcut illustrations by Sidney Chafetz. Parallel text in English and Spanish. The English translation, by Barbara Wright, was originally published in 1967. The Spanish translation is reprinted from the author's Teatro completo, v. 1 (1979). Designed, printed on handmade paper and bound by Tracy A. Davis at The Logan Elm Press & Papermill, Ohio State University, Columbus. Publisher's pictorial green dustjacket with lettering to spine & front cover, over cream paper covered boards. A fine copy. Item #18638
The play "Picnic on the Battlefield" also known as "Pique-nique en campagne" is representative of the theater of the absurd. In a war zone setting, a scared, solitary soldier is joined by his parents to share a picnic basket. A frightened enemy soldier is captured though no one knows what to do with him. During an air raid of the battlefield, the parents continue talking and devise a way for ending the war by telling the ruling powers the ranks don't like to play at war anymore. A simple solution that could work except a machine gun suddenly silences them and their idea.
Price: $450.00