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Poetry

Rare Poetry Books & First-Edition Poetry Books for Sale Online

If you’re looking for a particular rare or first-edition poetry book, you’re on the right page. Browse through our entire collection below, use the search or filters to find exactly what you’re looking for than call or email with any questions or order online.

Showing items 1-24 of 420

Milton, John.

Paradise Lost. A Poem in Twelve Books.

Kilmarnock: J. Wilson, 1789.

Early Scottish edition of Milton’s masterpiece, “one of the greatest works of the human imagination” (DNB), from the press of John Wilson of Kilmarnock, the first printer of Robert Burns. Duodecimo, bound in contemporary full calf with gilt titles to the spine in six compartments within gilt bands. In very good condition with rubbing, lossesContinue reading "Paradise Lost. A Poem in Twelve Books."

$375.00

Item Number: RRB-153502

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Frost, Robert.

A Further Range.

New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1936.

Signed limited first edition of Frost’s Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of verse. Octavo, original flecked linen with a gilt-lettered brown leather label to the spine, top edge brown. One of 803 numbered copies, this is number 237. Boldly signed by Robert Frost on the limitation page. In near fine condition. Housed in the original publisher’s paper-coveredContinue reading "A Further Range."

$975.00

Item Number: RRB-153501

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Carson, Anne.

Nox.

New York: New Directions, 2010.

First edition of this haunting and beautiful work by the Nobel Prize-winning author; a unique, illustrated, accordion-fold-out “book in a box.” Octavo, designed as a facsimile of a handmade, accordion-folded artist’s book enclosed in a grey solander box. Boldly signed and dated by Anne Carson and dated in the year of publication. This was signedContinue reading "Nox."

$2,750.00

Item Number: RRB-153812

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Graves, Robert.

The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth.

London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1948.

First edition of Graves’ classic work. Octavo, original cloth, top stain red. Near fine in a very good dust jacket.

$475.00

Item Number: RRB-153478

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Carson, Anne.

Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998.

First edition of the Nobel Prize-winning author’s magnum opus. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by the author and dated in 2001. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Carol Devine Carson.

$2,800.00

Item Number: RRB-153984

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Whitman, Walt.

Complete Poems and Prose of Walt Whitman 1855-1888.

Philadelphia: Ferguson Bros & Co., 1888.

First limited edition of Whitman’s self-described “big book essentially the book, irrespective of expensive binding: it has portraits, notes, title page, all the guarantees of my personality: it is as clearly the book as anything could make it.” Large octavo, handsomely bound in modern full brown morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spineContinue reading "Complete Poems and Prose of Walt Whitman 1855-1888."

$12,000.00

Item Number: RRB-153432

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Kipling, Rudyard.

If.

Garden City, New York: Doubleday Page and Company, 1910.

Rare limited morocco first edition of Kipling’s ever-relevant tribute to Leander Starr Jameson. Small oblong duodecimo, original crushed green morocco decorated in gilt, eight double leaves, the top edges uncut except on one, each double leaf within a dark green rule-and-dot border, the text printed in black with green initial letters. In very good condition.Continue reading "If."

$4,750.00

Item Number: RRB-153421

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Kipling, Rudyard.

If.

Garden City, New York: Doubleday Page, 1910.

First separate edition of Kipling’s most enduring poem, preceding the first British separate edition by four years. Small oblong duodecimo, original illustrated boards, eight double leaves, the top edges uncut except on one, each double leaf within a dark green rule-and-dot border, the text printed in black with green initial letters. The publisher’s note onContinue reading "If."

$2,000.00

Item Number: RRB-153422

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Gibran, Kahlil.

The Madman: His Parables and Poems.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1918.

First edition of The Madman, the first of Kahlil Gibran’s books written in English, a collection of parables and poems that first sounded the mystical, aphoristic voice of his beloved The Prophet. Octavo, publisher’s blue quarter cloth over black paper-covered boards, the spine and front cover lettered in gilt, top stain black, illustrated with aContinue reading "The Madman: His Parables and Poems."

$1,100.00

Item Number: RRB-153430

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Carson, Anne.

The Beauty of the Husband: A Fictional Essay in 29 Tangos.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.

First edition of this work by the Nobel Prize-winning author, which won the T.S. Eliot Prize. Octavo, original boards. Boldly signed by the author on the title page, “Respectfully AC.” Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Carol Devine Carson.

$1,600.00

Item Number: RRB-153915

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Silverstein, Shel.

Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings.

New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1974.

First edition of the author’s first collection of children’s poetry. Small quarto, original brown cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by Shel Silverstein on the front free endpaper to the daughter of his neighbor in the Florida Keys, “For Fain Brown – with love, Shel Silverstein.” With a large full-page original pen drawing of a tall,Continue reading "Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings."

$15,000.00

Item Number: RRB-153406

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Frost, Robert.

Collected Poems of Robert Frost.

New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1930.

First trade edition, second printing of the collection that won Robert Frost his second Pulitzer Prize. Octavo, original brown cloth lettered in gilt, frontispiece photograph of Frost by Doris Ulmann. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author with three lines from his early poem “The Tuft of Flowers” on the front free endpaper, “And I mustContinue reading "Collected Poems of Robert Frost."

$1,850.00

Item Number: RRB-153375

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Rolfe, Frederick. [Baron Corvo].

The Songs of Meleager.

London: The First Edition Club, 1937.

The First Edition Club edition of the poems of the ancient Greek poet Meleager, rendered into English and adorned with striking classical designs by the eccentric author and artist Frederick Rolfe, the self-styled Baron Corvo. Octavo, original teal cloth ruled in gilt with a gilt-striped spine, top edge gilt, illustrated throughout with Baron Corvo’s black-and-whiteContinue reading "The Songs of Meleager."

$125.00

Item Number: RRB-152868

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Oliver, Mary. [John de Pol].

Provincetown.

Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell University, 1987.

First edition of this collection of poetry by Mary Oliver, the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning poet of the natural world. Octavo, publisher’s grey cloth with marbled paper sides, 46 pages. One of only 145 copies, this is number 70. Boldly signed by Mary Oliver on the colophon page to the rear. Additionally signed and dated by woodContinue reading "Provincetown."

$3,000.00

Item Number: RRB-153175

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Dryden, John.

The Poems of John Dryden.

London: Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press, 1910.

A handsome early twentieth-century Oxford edition of the poems of John Dryden. Octavo, bound in full tree calf with gilt titles and elaborate tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, red morocco lettering label, gilt roll-tooled borders to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt,Continue reading "The Poems of John Dryden."

$975.00

Item Number: RRB-153171

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Burns, Robert.

Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect.

London: Penguin Books, 1999.

A handsome presentation binding of this collection of poems from the celebrated Kilmarnock edition of 1786, specially bound to mark a Creative Scotland Award of 2001. The text is the first printing of the 1999 Penguin edition, with a note on the text by Michael Schmidt. Octavo, bound in full dark green morocco with giltContinue reading "Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect."

$650.00

Item Number: RRB-153169

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Nelson, Maggie. [Annie Dillard].

Shiner.

Brooklyn: Hanging Loose Press, 2001.

First edition of the debut poetry collection by Maggie Nelson, the celebrated writer who would go on to acclaim for The Argonauts and Bluets, here gathering luminous, closely observed lyric poems of New York City and the turning of the seasons. Octavo, original pictorial wrappers. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title pageContinue reading "Shiner."

$975.00

Item Number: RRB-152660

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Rosen, Michael; Quentin Blake.

Smelly Jelly Smelly Fish: The Seaside Book.

London: Walker Books, 1986.

First edition of this joyful collection of seaside verse, jokes, and silly sayings for children by Michael Rosen. Quarto, original pictorial wrappers, illustrated throughout. Boldly signed and dated by Michael Rosen on the title page, “Michael Rosen was here, 23 Aug 89.” In fine condition. Illustrated by Quentin Blake.

$750.00

Item Number: RRB-153117

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Cohen, Leonard.

Let Us Compare Mythologies.

Montreal: McGill Poetry Series by Contact Press, 1956.

First edition of Cohen’s first book, which explores philosophy, sexuality, death, a world of violent contrasts that would define his future literary and musical careers. Octavo, original cloth. With five full-page line illustrations by Freda Guttman. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the month of publication on the front free endpaper, “For Anton Raft,Continue reading "Let Us Compare Mythologies."

$13,000.00

Item Number: RRB-151360

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MacLeish, Archibald [Alan Schneider].

Herakles.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1967.

First edition of MacLeish’s verse drama. Octavo, original cloth-backed boards. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author to the director of the play on the front free endpaper, facing the dedication to the Greek poet George Seferis, “Dear Alan! This play (if you will acknowledge it) is so much yours that it seems ridiculous to ‘inscribe’Continue reading "Herakles."

$850.00

Item Number: RRB-152233

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Frost, Robert; Louis Untermeyer [Editor].

Modern American Poetry and Modern British Poetry.

New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1930.

An extraordinary copy of Louis Untermeyer’s celebrated combined poetry anthology, containing an original autograph riddle-poem in the hand of Robert Frost. The three-line poem, titled by Frost “My What-is-it” and signed with his initials “R.F.,” is written on pale blue paper and mounted vertically on the front pastedown. It reads, “He has dust in hisContinue reading "Modern American Poetry and Modern British Poetry."

$2,000.00

Item Number: RRB-152659

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Adonis [Ali Ahmed Said]; Samuel Hazo.

The Blood of Adonis.

Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1971.

First paperback edition of the poet’s first book to be translated into English. Octavo, original pictorial wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in English and French on the title page, “For David, Bien cordialement Adonis Paris 15.11.2008.” Additionally signed by the translator Samuel Hazo beneath his name. In near fine condition. Translated by SamuelContinue reading "The Blood of Adonis."

$700.00

Item Number: RRB-152679

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Crown, A.W.

Thoughts Written in India.

Calcutta: Mercantile Stationers Syndicate,

Rare pamphlet of this charming little volume of verse written in British India, gathering the poet’s impressions of the subcontinent in simple, songlike rhymes such as Song of the Train. Octavo, original printed wrappers. In very good condition.

$850.00

Item Number: RRB-152645

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Masefield, John.

The Dream.

London: William Heinemann, 1922.

Signed limited first edition of The Dream, a visionary narrative poem by John Masefield, one of the most beloved English poets of the twentieth century. Octavo, original paper boards backed in cream cloth, with a printed paper label to the front cover. This is copy number 379. Signed on the title page by both theContinue reading "The Dream."

$200.00

Item Number: RRB-152644

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