Here is a wonderful and extensive selection of the works of virtually all of the Great British Poets. The book contains over 800 pages and shows considerable wear since it was published in 1831, The first edition was published in 1820 so this is a very early printing. Each section on a particular poet is prefaced by a short biography of the man about to be read. Suffice it to say that this is a great book that has worn over time. Published in 1831 this volume is bound in full calf that is marred or scratched on both boards and the spine. Marbled endpapers are present with a small bookseller st... View More...
Mark Akenside was a British poet and Physician. He is best known for his poem 'The Pleasures of Imagination', an eclectic philosophical essay in poetic form. It was first published in 1744 in three books and a fourth book was added later. The whole poem was extensively revised and it finally appeared posthumously in 1772. These two small volumes are a later printing (1781) of this work from 1772. These books are classic 32mo in size which is quite small (3 1/4" wide by 5" tall"). They are bound in half calf over marbled boards. The spine labels are red morroco. The bindings are tight and the b... View More...
Thomas Campbell was a Scottish poet that lived from 1777-1844. He was a contemporary of Sir Walter Scott. He is known for his literary ballads as well as for some notable martial lyrics. These include 'Ye Mariners of England' and 'Hohenlinden', both of which are included in this volume. Campbell was quite influential in his time. This book is a school prize volume and it is in beautiful condition. The book is bound in full leather with extravagant gilt decorations and titling to the front board. The spine is densely decorated in gilt and all of the edges are marbled. The endpapers are also mar... View More...
This is a very nice volume from 1814. Its size is 12mo and It contains two works. The first is 'Poetical Vagaries' by George Coleman the younger, and the second is 'Vagaries Vindicated' by the same author. The second work is 'addressed to the Reviewers' so I would guess that Coleman is responding to his critics. Both works are second edition and were published in 1814. The binding is half-leather over paper boards and the binding is tight. There is an old external repair to the leather spine of the book and the boards have been professionally reattached. There is a name written on the inside f... View More...
This offering from James Dickey, the author of 'Deliverance' is the first paperback edition after the hardcover first. It is in trade paperback format and is a small quarto. The book contains many examples of Dickey's poetry. Dickey is primarily a poet and if you have only read his novel you are missing much of the power and lyricism of his writing. This book is in very near-fine conditon and is a fairly scarce offering. There is some very minor turning of the front wrap at the outside corners. They are very, very small and really do not detract. John Updike calls Dickey the "High Flier of Ame... View More...
The Enemy from Eden is written by James Dickey and Illustrated by Ron Sauter. Dickey is one of our most prolific Poets but is probably best known for his novel 'Deliverance'. This volume is written in prose but in very Poetic form. It is comprised of a series of vignettes that are beautifully illustrated. It is bound in a lovely colored pattern that is reminiscent of Marbled Antique endpapers. The title and author are printed in gilt on the front board. This First edition was limited to 275 copies of which this volume is number 183. The paper is made of Vicksburgh Vellum and the book was desig... View More...
John Dryden, the great poet and dramatist of the 17th century was born in 1631 and died in 1700 just one year before this set was published. The title page of the books read 'The Comedies, Tragedies and Operas written by John Dryden Esq., Now first Collected together and Corrected from the originals'. This is the first edition thus of the Works of John Dryden.The publisher of the books was the now legendary Jacob Tonson who is known for his sterling volumes as well as the fact that he was the first person to obtain a copyright on Shakespeare's plays. The two volumes are Folio in size and conta... View More...
This is a most interesting two volume set. It was published in 1889 and contains lyrics from all the way back to the revolutionary war. Later the two volumes were combined into one. This is the original format.This is the First edition and the two volumes are bound in a highly decorated cloth with gilt decorations both on part of the boards and on the spines. The books reside in a custom slipcase that was made for them and they make a great presentation. Each volume has its own mylar wrapper within the case. There is a previous owner's signature on the ffep (Front free endpaper) of both volume... View More...
First American edition of T.S. Eliots verse play. The book is in very good condition but the ffep is missing (blank page at the front of a book). The dustjacket is in Very Good - condition with some wear and a tear to the lower right corner of the back panel. However it is not price-clipped. This work is considered to be a masterpiece by many afficionados of poetry and drama. A nice copy. View More...
This is the First edition of this title and it is a hardcover advance review copy with a review slip from the publisher laid in. The book is in Fine condition with clean boards, bright lettering on the spine and blindstamping on the front board. The lower right corner of the front board is very slightly bumped. The dustjacket is in at least Very Good condition and it is not price-clipped. There is very light soiling to the front and rear panels and the spine panel is lightly chipped at the top and there is a chip to the bottom of the panel that is about a quarter inch. The front and rear insid... View More...
The Interviews collected in 'Spontaneous Mind' are indeed interviews of art and creativity. The book is in very near fine condition. It is in black boards with all corners square and no soiling or staining to the boards. At the extreme top of the spine there is a slight turning in towards the textblock but it is geometrically even and all material is present and not scratched. It is extremely minor. The dustjacket is also very near fine and if you look closely at the top of the spine panel there is a slight creasing that is virtually invisible and it does not seem to represent normal shelf-wea... View More...
Here is the first American edition of Rudyard Kiplings 'The Five Nations'. Published in 1903 by Doubleday this volume is in excellent condition. The green coloring of the boards is still rich and the gilt lettering is bright. The top edge is also gilt. There is a gift inscription on the ffep that is dated 1904. The inside front hinge is beginning to loosen but this could be easily repaired with a strip of archival tape. There is a small bit of scratching to the back board but it really is minor. This book contains many of the wonderful poems of Rudyard Kipling in their first appearance in prin... View More...
This is the last book published by Longfellow and it contains the unfinished poem ?The Children's Crusade". This is the second issue of the First edition. The book contains original poetry as well as five translated poems. This is BAL 12239. The point of issue at the bottom of page 27 has been corrected and is a cancel (replacement). There were three issues of the book and the second issue is identified by the correction as well as the replacement of page twenty seven. This was done because when the error was discovered the books were already in their bindings. The third issue was corrected by... View More...
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was one of our greatest American poets. His other works include 'The Song of Hiawatha' , 'Evangeline', and 'The Courtship of Miles Standish'. This book is a First Edition and First printing. It is BAL 12150. The book is near fine and the boards are clean and decorated in gilt. This copy contains the 'TF' device at the bottom of the spine and the pendants in the device are more or less solid. BAL says that this is one of the first copies printed. It is a very early copy of a fine First edition. There is some shelfwear to the extreme top and bottom of the spine but it ... View More...
This is a nice little book of the minor poems of the Great John Milton. There is a very informative 44 page introduction. The binding of the book is decorated cloth and the front board shows some wear from age. There are scattered light pencil marks in the book that could be easily erased. The book was meant to be read and it has been read. However the binding is still tight and there is no foxing. There are illustrative plates in the book and at the rear there are notes, a glossary, and a full index. There is moderate wear to the spine. Really a very nice book for reading. The poems included ... View More...
This is a wonderful copy of John Milton's 'Paradise Regained'. The volume also includes 'Samson Agonistes' and 'Poems upon several Occasions'. The book is bound in the original full-calf and the boards are really nice. The book has been rebacked by a professional binder. The spine is in very high quality leather and it is lettered in bright 22k gold. It has raised bands and six compartments. There is an extensive life of Milton printed immediately after the table of contents. There is some light foxing to the blank preliminary pages as well as the title page which is dated 1760. Apart from a l... View More...
This is one of the volumes that was published in the late Victorian period and had no date attached to it. Given the nature of the ornate binding and its decorative flourishes I would estimate that the publication of this beautiful book occurred in the period from about 1880 - 1900. The volume is in Near Fine condition. All of the edges are gilt and the spine and front board sport gilt highlights. The amazing design on the binding is clear and crisp with no evidence of rubbing. The textblock is absolutely clean with no writing or foxing to detract from its beauty. There are fine illustrations ... View More...
For those who are interested in the works of Sir Walter Scott, this set is a real find. The poetical works of Scott are more important than those of many authors because poetry is how he began his career and he never really stopped telling stories in verse. His fascination with his own country's native poetry led him to compile and publish his first work, The Minstrelsy of the Southern Border. After this he began to write full length books in verse such as The Lay of the Last Minstrel and The Lady of the Lake. Scott was a true scholar of literature as well as poetry and these twelve volumes co... View More...
This is a very nice copy of the first edition of this most interesting work. Published by Dent in 1967 this volume is in very near fine condition with an almost unnoticable, very slight indentation to the top right of the front board. Otherwise the boards are absolutely clean and the silver lettering on the spine is bright and sharp. The dustjacket is in very good condition and shows moderate wear to the top of the front panel. There is also very slight chipping to the extreme top and bottom of the spine panel. The jacket is not price-clipped. There is a small closed tear to the bottom of the ... View More...
This is a 1931 Limited edition of Poetica Erotica. This title was originally published in more than one volume. Then, in 1927 the first complete edition in one volume was published. The 1931 edition is a reprint of that first edition. There were 3000 copies that were numbered and this book is number 247 of 3000. It is an old but solid book. The boards are very clean and there is no writing in the book. It contains 770 pages. There is no dustjacket but I do not know if it was issued with one. As far as I know it was not. The title, which is written in gilt on the front board, is still bright an... View More...
