Poetry

Heaney, Seamus

Beowulf: A New Verse Translation.

London : Faber and Faber, 1999.

First edition of this work by the Nobel Prize-winning author. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and ruling to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional example.

Heaney, Seamus

Poets from the North of Ireland.

1979 : Blackstaff Press, Belfast.

First edition of this collection of poems. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Boldly signed by Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney on the half-title page. In near fine condition. Edited by Frank Ormsby.

Shelley, Percy Bysshe

The Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley.

London : Edward Moxon, 1854.

Finely bound example of the works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Royal octavo, bound in three quarters vellum over marbled boards, elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, illustrated, tissue-guarded frontispiece. In near fine condition. Armorial bookplate.

Kipling, Rudyard

Collected Verse of Rudyard Kipling.

New York : Doubleday, Page & Co, 1910.

Signed limited edition of the collected verse of Rudyard Kipling, beautifully illustrated by W. Heath Robinson. Quarto, bound in three quarters crushed levant morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, top edge gilt with others untrimmed, illustrated by W. Heath Robinson with nine mounted color plates. One of one hundred andContinue reading "Collected Verse of Rudyard Kipling."

Tennyson, Alfred

The Works of Alfred Tennyson, Poet Laureate.

London : Macmillan and Co, 1884.

Finely bound example of the works of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Octavo, bound in a full contemporary polished emerald green calf prize-binding, gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled, tissue-guarded frontispiece. In very good condition. Presentation inscription.

Swinburne, Algernon Charles

The Poems and Tragedies of Algernon Charles Swinburne.

London : Chatto & Windus, 1904-1906.

The Large-Paper edition of the poems and tragedies of Algernon Charles Swinburne. Octavo, 11 volumes, bound in three quarter crushed levant morocco, gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt with others untrimmed, ribbons bound in. One of 110 numbered sets, this is numberContinue reading "The Poems and Tragedies of Algernon Charles Swinburne."

Gluck, Louise

The House on Marshland.

New York : The Ecco Press, 1975.

First edition of the Nobel Prize-winning author’s second book. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “For Larry Louise Gluck.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Loretta Li.

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

London : Printed for L. B. Seeley and Son, 1825.

Finely bound poetry collection decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting. 18mo, bound in full morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting. In very good condition.

Burns, Robert

The Complete Works of Robert Burns.

London : Blackie, 1888.

The works of Robert Burns, finely bound. Octavo, 5 volumes, bound in full morocco, gilt titles and elaborate tooling to the spine, front and rear panels, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, illustrated throughout. Edited by Charles Annandale. In near condition. An exceptional set.

Yeats, W.B

The Variorum Edition of the Poems of W.B. Yeats.

New York : The Macmillan Company, 1957.

Signed limited edition, one of 825 numbered copies signed by W.B. Yeats, this is number 231 of this classic collection of poetry by the Nobel Prize-winning author. Octavo, original half cloth, original slipcase. Edited by Peter Allt and Russell Alspach. Additionally inscribed by the editor on the front free endpaper, “To Bob Steele high regardsContinue reading "The Variorum Edition of the Poems of W.B. Yeats."

Collins, Billy

Pokerface.

Los Angeles : Kenmore Press, 1977.

First edition of Collins’ first collection of poetry. Oblong octavo, original wrappers. One of 400 numbered copies, this is number 302. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “To Joanne once again Billy Collins 2016.” In near fine condition.

Poe, Edgar Allan

Eureka: A Prose Poem.

New York : George P. Putnam, 1848.

First edition, first issue of Poe’s classic work. Duodecimo, original publishers blind stamped black cloth with gilt lettering to the spine. First issue, without the review for Eureka on page 2 of the 16 page catalogue at the end of the book, but reads simply: “Poe. — Eureka, A Prose Poem: Or the Physical andContinue reading "Eureka: A Prose Poem."

Willmott, Robert Aris [Editor]

The Poets of the Nineteenth Century. [Fore-Edge Painting].

London : Frederick Warne and Co, 1869.

Finely bound example of Willmott’s compilation of the great nineteenth century poets. Octavo, bound in full pebbled morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, central gilt emblem and fleuron cornerpieces within triple gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbledContinue reading "The Poets of the Nineteenth Century. [Fore-Edge Painting]."

Goldsmith, Oliver

The Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith, M.B. and Professor of Ancient History in the Royal Academy of the Arts. [Fore-edge Painting].

London : Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1846.

Finely bound example of Goldsmith’s complete poetical works, decorated with a fore-edge painting of a golfing scene. Octavo, bound in full pebbled morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt scrolling and fleuron cornerpeices to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, illustratedContinue reading "The Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith, M.B. and Professor of Ancient History in the Royal Academy of the Arts. [Fore-edge Painting]."

Wilde, Oscar

Ave Imperatrix! A Dirge of Empire by Oscar Wilde.

Washington : Snohomish, 1902.

First edition of Wilde’s classic Hellenic poem. Octavo, original boards, illustrated with engravings and hand painted initials embellished in gilt, frontispiece by John Dennis Clancy. In very good condition.

Thomas, Dylan

The Map of Love: Verse and Prose.

London : J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd, 1939.

First edition, first issue of Thomas’s third book with “Dent” blind-stamped on spine. Octavo, original purple cloth with gilt titles to the spine and front panel, with the frontispiece portrait of Thomas after the painting by Augustus John. Presenation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “Leo & John… From Dylan Thomas OxfordContinue reading "The Map of Love: Verse and Prose."

Rodd, Rennell. Introduction by Oscar Wilde

Rose Leaf and Apple Leaf.

Philadelphia : J. M. Stoddart & Co, 1882.

First edition of Rodd’s first book of verse which was published with the assistance of Oscar Wilde. 12mo, original publisher’s vellum with gilt inner dentelles, silk watered endleaves, top edge gilt with others untrimmed, illustrated. In near fine condition. Neat ownership inscription. Rare.

Wilde, Oscar. With Woodcuts by Frans Masereel

The Ballad of Reading Gaol.

London : Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1925.

First illustrated edition of this rare Wilde title. Royal octavo, original half cloth, illustrated with woodcuts by Frans Masereel. One of 450 numbered copies, this is number 16. Fine in the rare original dust jacket which is in very good condition.

Wilde, Oscar

Oscar Wilde: Recollections by Jean Paul Raymond & Charles Ricketts.

Bloomsbury : The Nonesuch Press, 1932.

First edition of Ricketts’ recollections of Wilde, published posthumously with a design reminiscent of the Vale Press. “The only Nonesuch book linked in a personal way with the private press movement of those years” (Dreyfus, 81). Royal octavo, original publisher’s cloth decorated in gilt, top edge gilt with others untrimmed. One of 800 numbered copies,Continue reading "Oscar Wilde: Recollections by Jean Paul Raymond & Charles Ricketts."

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. Signed by the author in the month of publication on the front free endpaper, “Leonard Cohen May 1956.” NearContinue reading "Let Us Compare Mythologies."

Whittier, John Greenleaf

Snow-Bound. A Winter Idyl.

Boston : Ticknor and Fields, 1866.

First edition, first issue of this poetic description of the pleasant isolation of “the inmates of the family at the Whittier homestead” with the final page properly numbered 52. Octavo, original cloth with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, pale yellow endpapers, tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait and title page vignette, headpiece and initial letter byContinue reading "Snow-Bound. A Winter Idyl."

William, Oscar [Editor]; Dylan Thomas; Wallace Stevens; W.H. Auden; Marianne Moore; Robinson Jeffers; Randall Jarrell; Delmore Schwartz; Conrad Aiken; Muriel Rukeyser; Stephen Spender; Robert Penn Warren

New Poems 1942: An Anthology of British and American Verse.

Mount Vernon, N.Y : Peter Pauper Press, 1942.

First edition, signed limited issue of the second in a series of wartime poetry anthologies selected by Oscar Williams, this being the first to be issued as a signed limited edition. Octavo, original three quarter buckram over marbled boards, top edge gilt. One of 26 lettered copies available for sale and signed by 31 ofContinue reading "New Poems 1942: An Anthology of British and American Verse."

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Cambridge : Riverside Press, 1903.

The Autograph Centenary edition of the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of 600 numbered copies containing a double sided manuscript in Emerson’s hand bound into volume one. Octavo, 12 volumes, publisher’s original three quarter morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, top edgeContinue reading "The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson."

Whitman, Walt

Leaves of Grass.

Boston : James R. Osgood and Company, 1881-82.

The “suppressed Boston edition” (seventh edition overall) of the most important volume in American poetry, one of 1,010 copies printed. Octavo, original publisher’s mustard cloth with gilt titles and tooling to the spine and front panel, tissue-guarded engraved portrait of the author by Hollyer after the daguerreotype by Gabriel Harrison opposite page 29. BAL 21418.Continue reading "Leaves of Grass."