Books about
Poets and Poetry

[Blake] Thorne Collection. The Blake Collection of Mrs. Landon K. Thorne. New York; Pierpoint Morgan Library: 1971. Catalog by G.E. Bentley, Jr., with an introduction by Charles Ryskamp.   Softcover. 8"x11", 65 pages plus 30 b/w plates. A fine copy. [00418] $30.00

[Brooke] Schroder, John. Catalogue of Books and Manuscripts by Rupert Brooke, Edward Marsh & Christopher Hassall. Cambridge; Rampant Lions Press: 1970. Edition limited to 500 numbered copies. The catalog of a wonderful, unique collection of Rupert Brooke material, augmented by the March collection of Brooke's letters and more material from the collection of Brooke's biographer, Christopher Hassall. Filled with rare books and association copies, manuscript and other material. Printed by Will and Sebastian Carter at the Rampant Lions Press, on Wookey Hole paper. Hardcover. 8"x11.5", 134 pages, b/w illustrations. Near fine in the clear plastic wrapper; with the Prospectus, which is a bit soiled. [05276] $75.00

[Browning] Hood, Thurman L. (ed.). Letters of Robert Browning, Collected by Thomas J. Wise. Edited, with an introduction and notes by Thurman L. Hood. New Haven; Yale University Press: 1933. "Mr. Wise has served as central treasurer of Browning lore, the untiring helper of Browning biographers and scholars. The factual resources of his growing store of letters from the poet to various correspondents have never been exhausted. And in its present range it provides a new approach, on the human side, to the understanding of Browning's personality. It thus becomes a tribute to the poet, in consummation of the longest, and in spite of unusual difficulties one of the most successful, bibliophile labors ever spent upon an English poet". It would, of course, have been more of a tribute had it not been revealed a year after the publication of this book that Wise had also been engaged in forging rare Browning pamphlets... Hardcover. 6.5"x9.5", 389 pages, 16 b/w plates; a very nice, clean copy. [05269] $40.00

Browning, Robert & Thomas J. Wise (ed.). Pauline: A Fragment of a Confession. By Robert Browning. A Reprint of the original edition of 1833. London; Richard Clay and Sons: 1886. Edition limited to 400 copies.

A new edition of Robert Browning's very, very rare first work, reprinted by his friend, bibliographer, and (eventually) a forger of the poet's works, Thomas J. Wise. Thurman Hood in his 1933 book "Letters of Robert Browning, Collected by Thomas J. Wise", notes-

Mr. Wise was a young worshipper at the great man's shrine. He soon became a friend, and, as a member of the Browning Society, often called on Sunday afternoons... Mr. Wise has served as central treasurer of Browning lore, the untiring helper of Browning biographers and scholars. The factual resources of his growing store of letters from the poet to various correspondents have never been exhausted... It thus becomes a tribute to the poet, in consummation of the longest, and in spite of unusual difficulties one of the most successful, bibliophile labors ever spent upon an English poet.

It would, of course, have been more of a tribute had it not been revealed a year after the publication of Hood's book that Wise had also been engaged in forging rare Browning pamphlets. But this reprinting of Pauline was before all that, so let us return to happier times... Augustus Muir, in his article in 'Strand Magazine' in September, 1929, recounts the story of Browning, 'Pauline' and Wise-

In the year 1884 Mr. Wise first met Robert Browning; and one of his visits to the poet was an exciting one. Dr. Furnivall, a friend of both, went along with him to 19, Warwick Crescent. Browning was in a front room on the ground floor destroying letters and papers. He had dragged from the top of the house an old leather trunk that had once belonged to his father, and was dipping into it. Mr. Wise, to his horror, saw letters of Carlyle go into the fire and a lot of Browning's own early verses... Out from the old trunk came two precious copies of the original edition of 'Pauline'. 'If I had asked Browning for one of them I am convinced he would have given it to me,' Mr. Wise has declared. 'But I let the chance go'.

On leaving the Browning house, he told Dr. Furnivall how keen he was to get the book. The good Furnivall was amused at the thrill his friend had got at a glimpse of such a prize in duplicate. 'Write to Browning,' he said, 'and ask him for one of the copies. Offer in return to give to a charity any sum he thinks just'.

Delicacy held back Thomas J. Wise, but the story does not end here. A few days later, James Dykes Campbell invited him to dine at his flat in Albert Hall Mansions. Browning was the only other guest. After dinner Mr. Wise and his host sat and smoked, while Browning, who did not smoke, was making a leisurely tour of the bookshelves of the room. 'I see you have everything here of mine,' he said to Campbell. 'No,' replied Campbell, 'I still lack "Pauline".' 'Oh, that gap can soon be filled!' exclaimed Browning. 'The other morning I came across two copies of it. One of them will be sent to you tomorrow'. Here again was a god-sent chance for Mr. Wise to ask for the other. But again he let it slip.

Next day, after much wrestling of spirit, he took Dr. Furnivall's advice and wrote to Robert Browning. But he was too late. Browning had already decided to give the other copy to his son." Mr. Wise did eventually get his copy of Pauline after a long hunt, and for a considerable price. Browning inscribed it for him- "I see with much interest this little book, the original publication of which can hardly have cost more than has been expended on a single copy by its munificent Proprietor and my friend -Mr. Wise

And so Wise reprinted the poem. While having an original 1833 edition of your very own might be more satisfying it will cost you a lot of money; and so for considerably less there is this Wise edition, which has the added value of the various associations between Browning and Wise -it's almost more fun than an original! O.K., almost... Hardcover. 5"x8", 71 pages, original grey boards with a paper spine label; label rubbed, top 1" of spine covering lacking; tips bumped. [05344] $200.00

[Bukowski, Charles]. Canto. A Literary Quarterly. Los Angeles; Delphic Press: Vol.1, No.3 - Winter, 1962. Includes several poems by Charles Bukowski, and some by poets who wished they were Charles Bukowski. Softcover. 5.5"x8.5", 50 pages, several b/w illustrations; some soil. [05907] $25.00

Carleton, Will. "City Ballads" New York; Harper & Brothers: 1886. Carleton was also author of "Farm Ballads", Farm Legends", "Farm Festivals", and other books. He certainly relished the role of the city-outsider, and in his preface he notes-

"the great drama of metropolitan existence falls most forcibly upon those just from the clear streams and green meadows of the country. Their impressions are deeper, and their feelings more intense than if they were city born and bred". "the great drama of metropolitan existence falls most forcibly upon those just from the clear streams and green meadows of the country. Their impressions are deeper, and their feelings more intense than if they were city born and bred".

Carleton's form and rhyme scheme seem dated today, but he conveys an intimate, if somewhat biased, view of American city life at the turn of the 19th century. Hardcover. 6.5"x9", 180 pages, b/w illustrations; pictorial covers in gilt and black showing a gleaming city hovering surrealistically over country scene. Light soil and scuffing, spotting to the endpapers. [02592] $40.00

[Chatterton] Gregory, G[eorge]. The Life of Thomas Chatterton, with Criticisms on his Genius and Writings, and a concise view of the Controversy concerning Rowley's Poems. London; G. Kearsley: 1789.

"The following pages were composed at the request of the respectable editor of the Biographia Britannica, in order to be inserted in that valuable work. The author, however, requested leave to print off a small edition, in a separate state, for the accommodation and satisfaction of a few friends...".

George Gregory, a prolific writer and editor, claims to lay out the controversy without favor to either side, but seems to distinctly doubt Rowley's existence. Thomas Chatterton is perhaps the best known author/charlatan whose fakery turned to abject tragedy. As a 17 year-old unknown in 18th century England Chatterton thought, probably correctly, that he would not be able to get anyone to pay much attention to his poetic efforts, so he invented a 15th century monk named Thomas Rowley to whom he attributed his poems. Chatterton took a very serious approach to his work, writing his poems first in 18th century English, and then painstakingly "translating" them, with the help of several Anglo-Saxon dictionaries, into 15th century English before carefully transcribing them onto old parchment.

It was the "translating" that tripped him up, the forgery was soon detected and denounced, and a despondent Chatterton committed suicide. Since his work showed him to have had prodigious talent and promise, this final act probably robbed the literary world of a great poet; and to this day he has a devoted group of fans. This title includes a very interesting bibliography, perhaps the first ever published, of Chatterton's Rowley works and other books concerning them; it also contains what Gregory describes as a "poem from a manuscript of Chatterton, (which) the editor believes has never before been presented to the Public"...it is 'The Art of Puffing, by a Bookseller's Journeyman'.  ouch.

Hardcover. 5.5"x8.5", v + 263 pages, LACKS the engraved plate of Chatterton's handwriting, and priced accordingly; bound in nice 18th or early 19th century full leather with raised bands, floral gilt decorations on the spine, and a quilted design with gilt rules blindstamped on the front and rear boards; armorial bookplate; a fairly clean copy with sporadic light foxing and nice wide margins. [05468] $250.00

[Chatterton] Hare, Maurice Evan (ed.). The Rowley Poems by Thomas Chatterton reprinted from Tyrwhitt's Third Edition. Oxford; Clarendon Press: 1911. Thomas Chatterton is perhaps the best known author/charlatan whose fakery turned to abject tragedy. As a 17 year-old unknown in 18th century England Chatterton thought, probably correctly, that he would not be able to get anyone to pay much attention to his poetic efforts, so he invented a 15th century monk named Thomas Rowley to whom he attributed his poems. Chatterton took a very serious approach to his work, writing his poems first in 18th century English, and then painstakingly "translating" them, with the help of several Anglo-Saxon dictionaries, into 15th century English before carefully transcribing them onto old parchment.

It was the "translating" that tripped him up, the forgery was soon detected and denounced, and a despondent Chatterton committed suicide. Since his work showed him to have had prodigious talent and promise, this final act probably robbed the literary world of a great poet; to this day he has a devoted group of fans. This book is based on the third (1778) edition of Chatterton's poems compiled by Tyrwhitt, his first editor. It also includes an extensive biography and appreciation of Chatterton's work, and an interesting and opinionated bibliography. Hardcover. 5.5"x7.5", 333 pages, dj; a bright copy with only the lightest wear, in a slightly spotted and soiled jacket. [05379] $100.00

Corbin, Harold. Counting: II. Ten Poems by Harold Corbin. Salisbury; Three Ravens Press: 1987. Limited to 500 signed and numbered copies. Softcover. 5.5"x9", 16 pages, warmly inscribed on the titlepage; with a postcard promoting the chapbook laid in at the front, and a signed typescript of the poem "Concerto Scored for Spring" laid in at the back. Except for a small soil spot on the cover, a fine copy. [02239] $35.00

[Dickinson] Sewall, Richard B. The Lyman Letters. New Light on Emily Dickinson and Her Family. Amherst; University of Massachusetts Press: 1965. The story of the thirty-year friendship of Joseph Bardwell Lyman with Emily, Lavinia, and the rest of the Dickinson family, as told through period letters. Hardcover. 6.5"x9.5", 86 pages, b/w illustrations, dj; slightly dusty, a little soil, covers a bit bowed. [07802] $20.00

[Doolittle, Hilda] Guest, Barbara. Herself Defined. The Poet H.D. and Her World. London; Collins:1985. "A brilliant work of scholarship, and an intimate portrait of Hilda Doolittle and the circle of novelists, artists, and poets who were her friends..."  Hardcover.   6.5"x9.5", 360 pages, b&w illustrations, dj; a fine copy. [29529] $25.00

Fitzgerald, Edward. "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Translated into English verse by Edward Fitzgerald, reproduced from a manuscript written and illuminated by F. Sangorski & G. Sutcliffe" London; Siegle, Hill & Co.: 1914. With an introduction by A.C. Benson. This is perhaps the most famous production of Fitzgerald's work, featuring the illuminations of Alberto Sangorski, brother of Francis Sangorski, who, with George Sutcliffe, founded the famous British bookbinding firm Sangorski and Sutcliffe. The Rubaiyat was one of the most famous works by this firm, and one early copy was bound in green levant morocco with sunken panels, elaborate giltwork, thousands of pieces of leather inlay, and 1050 gems, including rubies, garnets and topaz; the lower front cover was decorated with an image of a mandolin created with inlays of mahogany, satinwood, ebony and ivory. This binding, which took craftsmen two years to produce, was lost on the Titanic; another version of it was lost during World War II. This trade edition of their work is beautiful enough, with 12 color plates, decorated initial letters, and printed in red and black with a finely caligraphed text.

Hardcover. 9.5"x12.5", about 60 pages; 12 color illustrations or plates; original grandly decorated covers with a gilt peacock swirling his tail against a green background; somewhat worn covers- spine head and tail chipped, corners abraded, some darkening and a little soil; a little shaken; a little rubbed offsetting against the plates in the margins; tipped in at the front endpaper is a sheet presenting this copy to a teacher from her class in 1914; the endpaper is signed by all members of the class. [02515] $275.00

Gray, Thomas. The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray. London; William Pickering: 1853. Hardcover. 5 volumes. 4.5”x6.5”. Bound in black half-leather and cloth, with raised bands and gilt rules and titles; bindings signed “Morrell of London”. Marbled endpapers. Top edges gilt. Engraved portrait in Volume 1. Some very slight marginal water staining along the base of some pages in several volumes, moderate but very light staining along the bottom of most pages in Volume One, and a pronounced “tide line” stain on the portrait. Light soil throughout, light wear to the covers, but overall a very handsome set. [07315] $150.00

Imagist Anthology 1930. New Poetry by the Imagists. New York; Covici, Friede:1930. Poetry by Richard Aldington, John Cournos, Hilda Doolittle, Ford Maddox Ford, James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, William Carlos Williams, John Cournos, and F.S. Flint.  Hardcover.  5.75"x8.5", 226 pages, spine soiled, spine head a bit frayed, a bit of other cover soil. Former owner's rather handsome signature on the front endpaper. [28864] $85.00

Lang, Andrew. "XXXII Ballades in Blue China" London; Kegan Paul, Trench & Co.: 1885. First published in 1880. Lang was a popular journalist and scholar with many books and publications to his credit. The title and one of the poems of this work reflect the interest of the day in blue & white "willow" china. An interesting little offshoot for the china collector. Hardcover. 4"x6.5", 112 pages, blue decoration on the title page; covers with a little light wear, rear endpaper browned where a newspaper was evidently stored at some time; a few pencil notes. Overall a very nice copy. [02490] $45.00

[Lowell]   Kunitz, Stanley. Robert Lowell: Poet of Terribilita. New York; The Pierpoint Morgan Library: 1974. The text of the introduction given by Kunitz before Lowell's reading at the Library. Softcover. 6"x9", with an insert explaining the booklet and presenting it to Fellows of the Library. Red wrap-around wrappers over white paper covers, as issued. Fine. [03660] $20.00

[Milton] Byron, May. A Day with John Milton. London; Hodder &Stoughton: no date (ca.1916). From the Days with the Poets” series. A meandering, lightly-written stroll through a day with John Milton with quotes from his poems and five wonderful color plates by Pre-Raphaelite artist Sidney Meteyard. The books in this series are set up with a slightly Arts & Crafts feel, and are pleasant to sit down with on a Saturday night by the fire. Hardcover. 6”x8”, 36 pages plus 5 color plates; pictorial covers with a pasted-on color plate; light wear, a little soil, tips slightly chipped. [06130] $20.00

Milton, John. The Poetical Works of John Milton, edited by Sir Egerton Brydges, with Imaginative Illustrations by J.M.W. Turner. London; John Macrone: 1835. Hardcovers. 6 volumes. 4.25”x6.5”. Bound in blue half-leather and cloth, gilt, with raised bands, medallions and rules. Marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Decorative title pages and frontispieces engraved after paintings by Turner. Decorative title page in Volume 1 detached but present; moderate water stains to the title pages and plates in all volumes; overall light wear, slight water stains to some of the boards, not extending to the spines; spines with a few very minor dings, but the overall shelf appearance of this handsome set is quite lovely. [07314] $275.00

A scarce edition by this versifying draper-

Moore, Edward. "Fables for the Ladies by Edward Moore. To which are added, Fables of Flora by Dr. Langhorne" Haverhill; Francis Gould: 1805. The first (and only) Massachusetts edition of this work by Moore (1712-1757), a linen draper who forsook his trade for "versifying", at which some of his contemporaries thought him singularly adept. This collection of verse first appeared as "New Fables Invented for the Amusement of the Young Ladies" in London in 1749. The title appears to have been changed when Thomas Dobson brought out his first American edition in Philadelphia in 1787. The book was quite a hit in Philadelphia, with several editions, but the only other American printings were single editions in Exeter, New Hampshire (1794), Lexington, Kentucky (1815), and this Haverhill edition of 1805, of which OCLC locates only 9 copies. Hardcover. 3.5"x5.5", 119 pages; bound in period marbled paper over boards, with a leather spine; Covers worn, with the paper worn completely off the boards along the outer front edge and on the rear top; contents with some soil and browning, but not bad. A pleasant period-bound copy with some character to it... [02901] $75.00

Munk, Kaj. Den Skaebne ej til Os. Copenhagen; Studenternes Forlag: 1944. An early printing of a book of wartime poems of this noted Danish priest/playwright. Munk started out with sympathy for Napoleon, Mussolini and Hitler but rapidly became disenchanted and wrote a play in 1938 protesting Nazi treatment of Jews. In 1942 and 1943 he wrote plays urging Norwegians to resist Nazi occupation, and on January 4th, 1944 he was shot in the street by the Gestapo. Softcover. 6"x8.5", 60 pages, line drawings; a little dust and soil, a bit browned, especially around the edges, and printed on brittle, wartime paper. [07383] $25.00

Printed by D.B. Updike at the Merrymount Press
in an edition of 500 numbered copies-

Norton, Charles Eliot. The Poet Gray as a Naturalist. With selections from his notes on the Systema Naturae of Linnaeus and facsimiles of some of his drawings. Boston; Charles E. Goodspeed:1903. Printed by D.B. Updike at the Merrymount Press in an edition of 500 numbered copies. A hitherto undiscovered side of the English poet, showing him a keen observer, skillful sketch artist, and curious mind.   Hardcover.  6"x9", 67 pages, plus numerous facsimile pages with b&w illustrations, reproducing pages from his notebooks. Light cover soil, spine label chipped away, but contents fine and largely unopened. [29291] $75.00

Pound, Ezra (ed.). Des Imagistes. New York; Albert and Charles Boni: 1914. 1st edition. Chosen by many as the cornerstone of modern American poetry. Edited by Pound, this flimsy volume was the first collection of Imagist poetry, and included poems by Richard Aldington & Hilda Doolittle which preceded their first books. There are also poems by Pound, Joyce, Williams, Hueffer, Amy Lowell. 5"x7.5", 63 pages. In something less than prime condition; orange paper covers badly worn and chipped, trimmed at the rear so that the outer 1.5" is gone; the spine partially perished and what is there held on by two pieces of white cloth tape. Internally there is some chipping to the preliminaries fore and aft, and the bottom outer corner of pages 51-63 are creased and some are also chipped (lower corner of 63 is gone without any text loss). Not a great copy, but a scarce and important title. [28866] $200.00

Pound, Ezra. ABC of Reading. New Haven; Yale University Press:1934. 1st American edition.  Hardcover.  5.5"x8.25", 197 pages, spine lightly sunned and corner lightly bumped. Neat owner's name on the endpaper, a bit of discoloration in the gutters, but overall a clean, tight and nice copy. [28863] $85.00

Pound, Ezra. Sophokles. Women of Trachis. A version by Ezra Pound. New York; New Directions: 1957. First American edition, second state, with the complete text on page 24. Hardcover. 5.75"x8.75", 66 pages, portrait frontis of Pound by La. Martinelli. Light soil. [05910] $25.00

Pulleyn, William. Church=Yard Gleanings, and Epigrammatic Scraps: being a collection of remarkable Epitaphs and Epigrams... London; Samuel Maunder: nd (1830). An early English collection, half epitaphs and half other epigrams. The engraved frontispiece, showing the author (?) hard at work in the middle of a graveyard, is quite charming.  Hardcover.  4.5"x8", i-iv, vii-xxiii, 264 pages; engraved frontispiece. Bound in old boards with a plain leather spine, coves somewhat worn and soiled; a little internal spotting. [29768] $200.00

Scheller, K(arl) F(riedrich) A(rend). De Kronika san Sassen in Rimen, san Wedkind went up Albregt san Brunswyk 1279. Brunswyk; Drukked im Forstliken Weisenhuse: 1826. Purportedly a Saxon chronicle, translated by Scheller (1773-1843), who wrote many works on the old Low Saxon language and texts. Hardcover. 4.5"x8", xvi + 336 pages; bound in period marbled boards with a spine label; boards with some wear and rubbing; spine covering partially split; lightly browned endpapers, a little toning and a few spots. [02264] $75.00

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