Poetry

Blishen, Edward. Illustrated by Brian Wildsmith

Oxford Book of Poetry for Children.

London : Oxford University Press, 1963.

First edition of Blishen and Wildsmith’s acclaimed illustrated compilation of children’s poetry. Quarto, bound in full crushed red morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling and fleuron cornerpieces to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles,Continue reading "Oxford Book of Poetry for Children."

Roubayyat de Hafiz et d’Omar Khayyam. [The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám].

Paris : Francis LeBegue, [1921].

Finely bound example of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Octavo, bound in full levant morocco with gilt titles to the spine, gilt Art Deco style decorations to the front and rear panel, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, decorated borders and initials. One of 300 copies. Text in French. Translated byContinue reading "Roubayyat de Hafiz et d’Omar Khayyam. [The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám]."

Goldoni, Carlo

Nuovo Teatro Comico Dell’Avvocato Carlo Goldoni Poeta Di S. A. R. Il Serenissimo Infante di Spagna Don Filippo Duca Di Parma, Piacenza, Guastalla, ec. [New Comic Theater of the Lawyer Carlo Goldoni].

Venezi : Francesco Pitteri, 1753-1755.

Rare complete set of Pitteri’s 1757 printing of Goldoni’s works of comic theater. Octavo, ten volumes bound in full vellum with gilt tooling to the spine, engraved frontispiece portrait of Goldoni by Pitteri after Piazetta. In good condition. Armorial bookplates. A rare complete set of this scarce printing published during the author’s lifetime.

Browning, Robert

Dramatis Personae.

London : Chapman and Hall, 1864.

First edition of Browning’s popular poetry collection. Octavo, original cloth. In very good condition. Ownership inscription. Small chip to the front free endpaper. With a note from H. Sotheran & Co. laid in.

Apollinaire, Guillaume. [Pablo Picasso]

Alcools: Poems (1898-1913). Avec un Portrait de L’Auteur par Pablo Picasso.

Paris : Mercure de France, 1913.

First edition of Apollinaire’s first collection of poems, signed by him and Pablo Picasso. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles and raised bands to the spine, patterned endpapers, frontispiece portrait of the poet by Pablo Picasso. Association copy, inscribed by both Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso on front free endpaper, “A A P.N.Continue reading "Alcools: Poems (1898-1913). Avec un Portrait de L’Auteur par Pablo Picasso."

Dickinson, Emily

The Single Hound. Poems of a Lifetime.

Boston : Little, Brown and Company, 1914.

First edition one of only 595 copies of Dickinson’s fourth collection of poetry. Octavo, original cloth. The Thomas Bird Mosher copy with his bookplate. Mosher was a notable private press publisher out of Portland, Maine. In fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell and chemise case. An exceptional example with noted provenance.

Saroyan, Aram

Top.

: Lineside #1, 1965.

First edition of one of the poet’s earliest published works. Octavo, original wrappers. One of 300 numbered copies signed by the author, this being unnumbered. Additionally inscribed by the author on the limitation page, “To Tom with instant love Aram 10.12.66.” In good condition. Rare.

Abish, Walter

Duel Site.

New York : Tibor de Nagy Editions, 1970.

First edition of the award winning poet’s first book. Octavo, original pictorial wrappers, illustrated. One of 300 copies, 1 to 0 of which are signed. Signed by the author on the title page. In near fine condition. Rare.

[Dilliard, Annie]

The Poetry Collection of Annie Dillard.

: Various Publishers, .

Rare collection of dozens of volumes of poetry from the collection of American author Annie Dillard, each signed or inscribed to her and with her bookplate. Approximately 35 volumes, the collection includes inscribed first editions and early printings of Fred Chappell’s Wild Mountain, Leo Connellan’s First Selected Poems, Karen Connelly’s The Border Surrounds Us, PaulContinue reading "The Poetry Collection of Annie Dillard."

Adam, Helen

Turn Again To Me and Other Poems.

New York : Kulchar Foundation, 1977.

First edition of the first book by Adam. Quarto, original boards. Boldly signed by the author on the front free endpaper, “All good wishes Helen Adam.” In near fine condition.

Sandburg, Carl. [William Safire]

Good Morning America.

New York : Crosby Gaige, 1928.

Signed limited first edition of Sandburg’s classic poem, originally delivered at Harvard as a Phi Beta Kappa poem. Octavo, bound in full morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, topContinue reading "Good Morning America."

Kipling, Rudyard

Lettres du Japon.

Paris : Rene Kieffer, 1925.

Deluxe limited edition of Kipling’s collected letters written during his 1889 travels in Japan. Octavo, original wrappers, decorated by H. Tirman. One of 50 copies printed on Japan paper. Translated into French by Louis Fabulet and Arthur Austin-Jackson. Very good in the rare original richly decorated dust jacket. Rare.

Causley, Charles

Farewell, Aggie Weston.

Aldington : The Hand and Flower Press, 1951.

First edition of Causley’s first collection of poems. Octavo, original wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “for Philip Abrams from Charles Causley November 1953.” With the original autograph transmittal letter signed by and entirely in the hand of the author tipped in. In very good condition. Rare, particularly inscribed.

Hughes, Langston

The Dream Keeper.

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1949.

First edition of this classic collection of poems. Octavo, original cloth, illustrations by Helen Sewell. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Helen Sewell. First editions are uncommon.

Sassoon, Siegfried

Satirical Poems.

London : William Heinemann Ltd, 1926.

First edition of Sassoon’s classic collection. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by Edmund Blunden on the front free endpaper, “A.F.W. with E.B.’s undying affection, Cowlinge, Nov. 10, 1927.” English poet, author and critic Edmund Blunden was one of Sassoon’s closest friends and, like him, wrote of his experiences in World War I in bothContinue reading "Satirical Poems."

Arnold, Matthew

New Poems.

London : Macmillan and Co., 1867.

First edition of Arnold’s 1867 book of poems. Octavo, original cloth with gilt titles to the spine, double gilt ruling to the panels. In near fine condition. Rare with only a handful of examples appearing at auction in the last 80 years.

Johnson, James Weldon

Fifty Years and Other Poems.

Boston : The Cornhill Publishing Co., 1921.

Early printing of Johnson’s first collection of classic poems. Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “For Mrs. Edward Lee McCatgin with the sincere regards of James Weldon Johnson.” With an introduction by Brander Matthews. In very good condition, with an inscription below “To August Meier withContinue reading "Fifty Years and Other Poems."

Herder, Johann Gottfried

Herder’s Ausgewahlte Dichtungen.

Stuttgart : J. G. Gotta'sche Buchhandlung, 1874.

Rare 19th century printing of Herder’s selected poems. Small octavo, original cloth. Text in German. In good condition.

Kipling, Rudyard

Ford O’Kabul River. No 2. Of the Second Series of Barrack-Room Ballads. Words by Rudyard Kipling. Music by Gerard F. Cobb.

London : Cas. Sheard & Co, 1895.

Rare sheet music printing of Rudyard Kipling’s Ford O’Kabul River, a song from Barrack-Room Ballads. Folio, bound in one quarter morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine. In good condition. Bound with several other pieces including Ciro Pinsuti’s Bedouin Love Song.

Bly, Robert

The Kabir Book: Forty-Four of the Ecstatic Poems of Kabir.

Boston : The Seventies Press, 1977.

First edition, review copy with the publisher’s review slips laid in. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “For Regan, Robert Bly.” Bly has added a drawing. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

Tennyson, Alfred Lord

Idylls of the King [Fore-Edge Painting].

London : Edward Moxon & Co, 1869.

Finely bound example with a fore-edge painting of Tennyson’s “long-meditated great task” which brought him to fame (Baugh, 1388). Octavo, bound in full red pebbled morocco, spine stamped in gilt in compartments, all edges and turn ins gilt, fore-edge painting with view of The Market Place, Cambridge. In very good condition.

Corso, Gregory

The Vestal Lady on Brattle and Other Poems.

Cambridge, MA : Richard Brukenfeld, 1955.

First edition of the poet’s first book one of 500 copies printed though about half of which were lost in the mail. Octavo, original wrappers. Signed by Gregory Corso. In near fine condition. Rare and desirable signed.

Norton, Charles Eliot. [Rudyard Kipling]

Rudyard Kipling A Biographical Sketch.

New York : Doubleday & McClure Co., 1899.

First separate edition of Charles Eliot Norton’s concise sketch of Kipling’s early life, written for the new popular edition of his writings and prepared with his approval. Octavo, original boards, tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece portrait of Kipling. One of one hundred numbered copies, this is number 52. In near fine condition. Scarce.

Kipling, Rudyard; Lewis Carroll; Norman Gale; Mary E. Manners et al

Tommy and Other Poems For Recitation.

London : James Clarke & Co., 1895.

First edition of this humorous collection of poems for recitation including Rudyard Kipling’s Tommy and Lewis Carroll’s The Walrus and the Carpenter. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. In very good condition. Scarce.