Marsh, Reginald. THE WILD PARTY. Sasowsky 47. Etching on old laid paper, 1928, one of only two or three impressions of this print (there was no edition). An apparent proof between Sasowsky's first and second state (Sasowsky describes the second state as having Marsh's name and the date added; this proof has only the name; there are also fewer shading lines in this impression than in the second state). 5 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches; 146 x 215 mm. Printing weakly; the sheet is trimmed irregularly along the platemark on three sides, with a narrow margin, about 1/2 in., 15 mm., on the left side. Stains in the lower corners, visble mostly verso. Very rare. An early Marsh etching, the subject is likely based on New Yorker editor Joseph Moncure March's poem "The Wild Party" (beginning: "Queenie was a blonde and her age stood still/And she danced twice a day in vaudeville"), published, and banned in Boston, in 1928. The image features bared breasts, gentlemen's hands on ladies' thighs and bottoms, passed out drunks, and ladies fondling one another while being fondled by gentlemen. A version of "The Wild Party" was produced as a musical on Broadway in 2000. Very few of Marsh's etchings were editioned, and many, like this one, never were even printed except as proofs. The plate for this print was not found in Marsh's estate, so that there were no posthumous printings, either by Jones or by the Whitney Museum.
