Poetry

Gifford, Barry; [Jack Kerouac]

Coyote Tantras and Other Poems.

London : Silverthorne Foundation Inc, 1968.

First edition of this compelling book of poetry; from the library of ‘On the Road’ author Jack Kerouac. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “For Jack Kerouac, Holy Teacher/Barry Gifford.” The recipient, Jack Kerouac, is generally considered the father of the Beat movement, although he actively dislikedContinue reading "Coyote Tantras and Other Poems."

Oliver, Mary

The River Styx, Ohio and Other Poems.

New York : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1972.

First edition of the author’s second collection of poems. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Robin Forbes. First editions are uncommon.

Yeats, William Butler

The Collected Works in Verse and Prose of William Butler Yeats.

London : Imprinted at the Shakespeare Head Press for Chapman and Hall, 1908.

First collected edition of the works of William Butler Yeats. Octavo, original publisher’s half vellum over cloth-covered boards with gilt lettering to the spine and front panels, top edge gilt, ribbons bound in, limited to 1060 copies, photogravure frontispiece portrait in volumes 1, 5 and 7 with tissue guards as issued, titles printed in redContinue reading "The Collected Works in Verse and Prose of William Butler Yeats."

Oliver, Mary

A Thousand Mornings.

New York : The Penguin Press, 2012.

First edition of this collection of poems. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Darren Haggar.

Crowley, Aleister

Ambergris: A Selection From the Poems.

London : Elkin Mathews, 1910.

First edition of this scarce collection of Crowley’s poetry. Octavo, original publisher’s boards lettered in gilt, rebacked, frontispiece portrait. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the rear free endpaper, “Henry Mond from Aleister Crowley.” The recipient, Sir Henry Ludwig Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett was an English politician, industrialist and Zionist. He served as MemberContinue reading "Ambergris: A Selection From the Poems."

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins [Stetson]

In This Our World.

Boston : Small, Maynard & Company, 1899.

Second edition of Gilman’s first collection of poetry, coupled with almost eighty previously uncollected pieces. Duodecimo, enclosed in a handsewn black silk cover, tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of Gilman. Inscribed by Gilman on the front free endpaper, “Charlotte Perkins Stetson Her copy!” In good condition with detached binding, some pages in the front and rear loose,Continue reading "In This Our World."

Chaucer, Geoffrey

Chaucer’s Romaunt of the Rose Troilus and Creseide and the Minor Poems.

London : William Pickering, 1846.

First edition of this exemplary collection of poems. Octavo, three volumes, bound in full contemporary tan calf with blue and black morocco labels stamped in gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled. In near fine condition, bookplate of LadyContinue reading "Chaucer’s Romaunt of the Rose Troilus and Creseide and the Minor Poems."

Merrill, James

James Merrill First Edition Collection: Scripts for the Pageant, From the First Nine: Poems 1946-1976, The Changing Light at Sandover, Late Settings: Poems, Recitative: Prose, and A Different Person: A Memoir

: Various Publishers, 1980-1986.

Collection of six first editions of the works of James Merrill; from the library of American playwright Michael Feingold. Octavo, six volumes, original cloth and wrappers, the collection includes: Stated first edition of ‘Scripts for the Pageant’ [New York: Atheneum, 1980]; Stated first edition of ‘From the First Nine: Poems 1946-1976’ [New York: Atheneum, 1982];Continue reading "James Merrill First Edition Collection: Scripts for the Pageant, From the First Nine: Poems 1946-1976, The Changing Light at Sandover, Late Settings: Poems, Recitative: Prose, and A Different Person: A Memoir"

Eliot, T.S

Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.

London : Faber and Faber Limited, 1960.

Later printing of Eliot’s beloved collection of whimsical feline poems which served as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1981 megamusical phenomenon Cats. Octavo, original yellow pictorial cloth, illustrated by T. S. Eliot. Association copy, inscribed by the author to portrait painter Sir Gerald Kelly on the front free endpaper, “For Gerald Kelly with theContinue reading "Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats."

Oliver, Mary

Blue Horses: Poems.

New York : Penguin Press, 2014.

First edition of this “lyric collection to be treasured” (The New York Journal of Books). Octavo, original boards. Boldly signed by Mary Oliver on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Darren Haggar. Rare and desirable signed.

Silverstein, Shel

The Missing Piece Meets the Big O.

New York : Harper & Row, Publishers, 1981.

First edition of this work of poetry by the author on The Giving Tree. Small quarto, original cloth, illustrated throughout. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author with a large drawing of a hand with a pen on the front free endpaper continuing to the front pastedown, “For Daniel With Love Shel Silverstein.” Near fine inContinue reading "The Missing Piece Meets the Big O."

Silverstein, Shel

Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings.

New York : Harper & Row, Publishers, 1974.

First edition, early printing of the author’s first collection of children’s poetry. Small quarto, original brown cloth, illustrated. Boldly signed by Shel Silverstein on the half-title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.

Thomas, Dylan

In Country Sleep.

New York : New Directions, 1952.

Signed limited edition, one of 100 copies of this collection of poems, including the first book appearance of “Do not go gentle into that good night,” published the year before his death,  Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Dylan Thomas. Fine in a fine slipcase. An exceptional example.

Select Poetry: Chiefly on Subjects Connected with Religion. [Fore-Edge Painting].

London : R. B. Seeley, 1830.

Finely bound poetry collection decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting. 18mo, bound in full morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, gilt fleuron cornerpieces to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting of St. Saviour’s church in London. In very goodContinue reading "Select Poetry: Chiefly on Subjects Connected with Religion. [Fore-Edge Painting]."

Lewis, C.S

The Problem of Pain.

London : The Centenary Pres, 1941.

Early printing of Lewis’s classic discussion of the nature of good and evil; inscribed by him with a quotation from Coventry Patmore’s poem The Angel in the House which had a profound influence on the development of Lewis’s Christian beliefs. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth. Signed by C.S. Lewis with a quotation from Coventry Patmore’s poemContinue reading "The Problem of Pain."

Whitman, Walt

Leaves of Grass.

Camden, New Jersey : Author's Edition [Walt Whitman], 1882.

The Author’s edition of the most important and influential volume of poetry written in America; one of probably fewer than 100 copies produced with the inclusion of the “sexual odes” at Whitman’s insistence. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth, illustrated with two full-page engraved portraits of Whitman at different ages. Boldly signed by Walt Whitman on theContinue reading "Leaves of Grass."

Stevens, Wallace

The Auroras of Autumn.

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1950.

First edition of this classic National Book Award winning collection. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell and chemise box. An exceptional presentation, rare in this condition.

Ali, Muhammad

“The President” Muhammad Ali Signed Manuscript Poem.

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Manuscript poem signed by famed American boxer Muhammad Ali. One page, the poem is titled, “The President” and reads in part, “The face of the Pres is open, The eyes of the Pres are bright, The lips of the Pres are now closed, The head of the Pres is upright, The breast of the Pres slantsContinue reading "“The President” Muhammad Ali Signed Manuscript Poem."

Lowell, Robert

History.

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973.

First edition of this classic work. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket, name to the front free endpaper. Jacket design by Charles Skaggs. Housed in a custom half morocco slipcase.

Lowell, Robert

Near The Ocean.

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1971.

First Noonday printing of Lowell’s renowned collection of poems, including his famous Waking Early on Sunday Morning. Octavo, original pictorial wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “For Sebastiano In the time of my crisis Robert Lowell Jan. 6, 1976 Greenways Nur[s]ing Home Robert.” In very good condition with  a fewContinue reading "Near The Ocean."