"Anna of Havana." The original holograph manuscript of a humorous poem, written over 2 pages, with extensive revisions and alternative verses.
NP, ND (ca. 1915). Written in ink on the rectos of two sheets of plain quarto (10 x 8 inch) note paper. The poem begins "A cigar is like a wife" and in its published form ran to some 8 lines. It was first published in Vanity Fair (USA),for January 1916 (p.43), under the title "Anna of Havana" and was reprinted shortly after, in "A Dictionary of Similes" (Boston, 1916) compiled by Frank J. Wilstach where it appears twice, first under the heading "Cigar" (p.54) and then under the heading "Wife" (p.475). The manuscript is untitled, but does have the word "Peach" scrawled at the top of the page which might have been a working title. This is almost certainly the first draft, as it has been extensively altered with numerous corrections and alternative verses, some of which are considerably more misogynistic and risqué than the published version. A shabby ex-library copy of the book is included gratis as a curiosity. The manuscript itself is a little darkened, but overall VG+ condition. Item #66316
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