GEORGE BERNARD SHAW - AUTOGRAPH 01/20/1936 CO-SIGNED BY: H. G. WELLS - HFSID 89769

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW and H.G. WELLS
The pair well-known for their humorous debates signs this album leaf
Signatures: "G. Bernard Shaw/ 20th Jan. 1936." and "H.G. Wells/ Nov. 7. 36", 5x3½ album leaf. Both GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (1856-1950) and HERBERT GEORGE "H.G." WELLS (1866-1946) signed this autograph book page in 1936, ten months apart. That year, Wells celebrated his 70th birthday in September with the help of his 33-year compatriot, Shaw, at an event sponsored by the P.E.N. Club, to which they both belonged. Their relationship had begun in 1903, when Wells joined the Fabian Society, a British socialist group and forerunner of the modern Labor Party, of which Shaw had been a member and officer since 1884. The two literary greats were famous for their humorous "arguments" and ongoing debates over Wells being a meat-eater and Shaw being a vegetarian. Wells told Shaw he would be more creative if he would "dull yourself with meat and then you'd be vast". Shaw, on his part, never missed a chance to make caustic remarks about Wells being a lusty meat-eater, and he would often champion obscure subjects just to irritate Wells. Irish playwright Shaw had begun his theater craft in 1892. His first play, Widowers' Houses, voiced his opinion on society and world reform. Shaw's pieces were characteristically humorous and instructional, such as the popular Pygmalion (1913), which featured teacher Henry Higgins. Throughout his 58 years as a playwright, Shaw fictionalized many topics in a humorous way. He was a prolific writer, producing 25 major works, including You Never Can Tell (1895), Man and Superman (1902), Major Barbara (1905), The Doctor's Dilemma (1906) and St. Joan (1923). He won the 1925 Nobel Prize for Literature. Wells had taught science before poor health forced him to pursue his writing hobby. His first major work has become the classic science-fiction tale, The Time Machine (1895), severely criticized by Shaw as futuristic fiction sapped by amorous sentimentality. Unlike Shaw, who maintained a basic formula, Wells ventured into romance, science, history and political essays as well as science-fiction. His works in the latter category included The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds (1898), First Men on the Moon (1901) and The Food of the Gods (1904). More prolific than Shaw, who busied himself with Fabian Society and P.E.N. activities, Wells produced, during a shorter writing span, more than 100 books, including his The War in the Air (1908), The New Machiavelli (1911), inspired by Shaw's personality, Outline of History (1920), The Shape of Things to Come (1933), Experiment in Autobiography (1934) and The Croquet Player (1936). Slightly soiled. Glue stain at blank left edge. Otherwise, fine condition. Framed to an overall size of 35¾x19½.