WATKINS, Maurine (1896-1969). Chicago. New York: Alfred

WATKINS, Maurine (1896-1969). Chicago. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1927. 8vo. Original publisher’s patterned boards with label; original dust jacket (chipping along extremities, sunning). FIRST EDITION of the first book printed in the Theatre of Today series. Scarce with dust jacket. Based on the 1924 Chicago murder cases of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, Chicago was adapted into a silent film in 1927, a Broadway musical in 1975, and a 2002 movie musical starring Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Gaertner, who was a partial inspiration for Roxie Hart and whose story was later used to flesh out the character of Velma Kelly, even attended the original film’s 1927 opening.