FROM PLOTZK TO BOSTON
Boston: W.B. Clarke, 1899. Item #41414
2nd printing (same year as the tiny 1st printing of 50 copies), Original Paper Wrappers, 8vo, 80 pages. Singerman 5511. “From Plotzk to Boston is a memoir by author and immigration activist. It chronicles her emigration from her hometown of Polotsk in the Russian Empire (now modern Belarus) to the United States in 1894, focusing primarily on her observations of life in unfamiliar surroundings, the emotional trials endured by her family, and the hardships that accompanied their passage to and eventual settlement in Boston, Massachusetts. Her first major publication, it laid the groundwork for her later autobiography and most famous work, The Promised Land (1912). Largely marketed towards Boston's community of Jewish philanthropists, From Plotzk to Boston immediately sold out its initial pressrun in 1899, with Lina Hecht, one of Antin's major benefactors, purchasing the entire first run of 50 copies, requiring the printing of a second edition. Contemporary reviews were also generally positive, with the New York Times concluding, ‘This story, in all its guilelessness, appealing as it does to human love, will certainly please readers, irrespective of race or creed.’ Offering similar praise for her writing and the perceived authenticity of her work, the Boston Herald stated, ‘The whole narrative is very agreeably and naturally written, and nothing is introduced but what the child saw with her own eyes, endured in her own flesh and blood, thought in her own little head.’ Other publications drew favorable comparisons with Israel Zangwill, the author of the book's preface and an accomplished Jewish writer himself, with the Kalamazoo Gazette proclaiming, ‘little Mary promises to become the most forceful Jewish writer of English in the world, not excepting Zangwill himself’” (Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to Women's History).Mary Antin (born Maryashe Antin; 1881 – 1949) “was an American author and immigration rights activist. She is best known for her 1912 autobiography The Promised Land, an account of her emigration and subsequent Americanization….After its publication, Antin lectured on her immigrant experience to many audiences across the country, and became a major supporter for Theodore Roosevelt and his Progressive Party” (Wikipedia). SUBJECT(S): Jews -- United States -- Biography. Poland -- Plock -- Emigration and immigration. Ocean travel. Ethnic relations. Immigrants. OCLC: 2797453. Wrappers toned and somewhat fragile with wear, some light staining, Good Condition overall. Important work. (AMR-57-21-D+).
Price: $250.00