Poetry
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SHAKESPEARE, William. Sonnets.Leipzig : 1910
First Rowohlt edition, one of five copies printed on vellum, this copy finely bound by the influential German binder Carl Sonntag jun. (1883-1930). Sonntag jun. was instrumental in the emergence and development of the German book art movement which preceded the First World War. He trained as a binder in the early 1900s in France and the UK, including... Learn More£6,750.00Stock Code: 139564
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AMIS, Kingsley. Bright November.London : [1947]
First edition, first-issue binding, presentation copy inscribed in the month of publication "Best wishes from Kingsley Amis, November 1947" on the front free endpaper. Bright November was Amis's first published book.
The publisher Reginald Ashley Caton (1897-1971) was an elusive one-man publisher who founded The Fortune Press, based at 12 Buckingham... Learn More£975.00Stock Code: 139744
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[NEUBURG, Victor Benjamin.] Swift Wings. Songs in Sussex.Steyning : 1921
First edition, number 197 of 550 copies on antique laid paper, a notably fresh example of Neuburg's second book of pagan poetry published at his Vine Press. This copy was presented as a gift with a charmingly poetic inscription on the front free endpaper by his son, Victor Edward Neuburg (1924-1996).
This selection of Neuburg's poetry follows... Learn More£375.00Stock Code: 139457
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POUND, Ezra. A Draft of XXX Cantos.Paris : 1930
First edition, first impression, number 87 of 200 copies on Canson-Montgolfier soleil velin paper, from a total edition of 212. This publication marks the first appearance of the poems that would make up Pound's Cantos, his magnum opus.
"An epic of great vision and complexity, Pound's Cantos address the profound human issues in history... Learn More£2,250.00Stock Code: 139520
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FLORENCE PRESS: KEATS, John. The Poems.London : 1915
First edition thus, number one of 250 copies on unbleached Arnold paper, a notably attractive copy in the less commonly found deluxe vellum binding. The handsomely produced collection is edited by Sidney Colvin (18451927), a noted curator and Keats scholar, who published several editions of Keats's poem and letters, and, in 1917, his major biography,... Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 139533
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BRITISH POETS. Aldine Edition of the British Poets.London : 1831-1852
A very pretty set of Pickering's Aldine Edition of the British poets, celebrated both for the elegance of the typography and the diligence of its editors. The two-decade long publishing project brings together a vast selection of the works of British writers, including Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spencer, Milton, Dryden, Pope, Swift and Gray. Learn More£6,500.00Stock Code: 139248
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ROLFE, Frederick William, Baron Corvo. Tarcissus: The Boy Martyr of Rome,[Saffron Walden : 1880
First edition of the author's first book, a prize rarity in the Corvo corpus, this copy with a richly appropriate provenance: from the libraries of Christopher Millard, A. T. Bartholomew, and Robert Scoble. Only two other copies of this title have appeared at auction in over 35 years, one the Bradley Martin copy in 1990.
The copy is inscribed... Learn More£8,500.00Stock Code: 139376
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(MAPPLETHORPE, Robert.) RIMBAUD, Arthur. A Season in Hell.[New York] : 1986
First edition of this translation by Paul Schmidt, limited to 1,000 numbered copies signed by both Schmidt and Mapplethorpe; with the original 4-page long "Limited Editions Club Letter" loosely inserted.
First published in 1873, this prose poem was finished in a frenzy after the break-up of Rimbaud's relationship with Verlaine who shot him with... Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 139013
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TENNYSON, Alfred, Lord. The Works.London : 1884 & 1893
An attractive early set of Tennyson's works in a Zaehnsdorf exhibition binding. Collected editions of Tennyson's works began to appear in 1870; the canonical complete works was published in the 1907 to 1908 Eversley edition, edited by the author's son Hallam. Learn More£2,250.00Stock Code: 139099
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JOHNSON, Samuel, ed. The Works of the English Poets.London : 1779-1780
A superb set of this vast compendium of English poetry, here uniformly bound in an elegant contemporary French morocco binding. The set is complete in 68 volumes, with the 56 poetry volumes, two volumes of index, and the further ten volumes of Johnson's biographies of the poets, published separately and not always accompanying the set. This was the... Learn More£7,500.00Stock Code: 138778
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HUGHES, Ted. Gaudete.London : 1977
First edition, first impression. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For Stephanie and Jimmy, and Michael in good time, with love, from Ted, July 1977". The recipients, Stephanie Bennett and James Mervis, hosted Ted Hughes during the New York blackout in July of that year, which resulted in city-wide looting. Stephanie... Learn More£475.00Stock Code: 119994
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HUGHES, Ted. Tales From Ovid.London : 1998
First edition, signed limited issue, number 155 of 300 copies signed by Ted Hughes on the limitation leaf. This work was the winner of the 1997 Whitbread Book of the Year award. Learn More£750.00Stock Code: 135386
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FREEMAN, Kathleen. The Work and Life of Solon.Cardiff : 1926
First edition, first impression. Presentation copy of the author's first book, inscribed by the author to her long-term partner, at the very start of their acquaintance, on the front free endpaper, "Lilian M.C. Clopet, from Kathleen Freeman July 14th, 1926". This work, "considered essential reading", is uncommonly found in the jacket or inscribed, this... Learn More£500.00Stock Code: 142281
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DANTE ALIGHIERI. A Translation of the Inferno, in English Verse.Dublin : 1785
First edition, rare, of the first appearance of Boyd's translation of Dante, considered superior to the blank verse translation of 1782 by Charles Rogers, and preceding by 17 years Boyd's own completion of the Divine Comedy (1802), which would be the first published completion in English. This Dublin edition is the true first, preceding the London edition... Learn More£5,000.00Stock Code: 136911
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WHITMAN, Walt. Leaves of Grass.Brooklyn : 1855
First edition of one of the central works of American poetry. Much has been written of the significance of this first edition"America's second Declaration of Independence" to quote PMM. "The slender volume introduced the poet who, celebrating the nation by celebrating himself, has since remained at the heart of America's cultural memory because in the... Learn More£60,000.00Stock Code: 135889
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OMAR KHAYYAM; FITZGERALD, Edward. Rubaiyat.London : [1911]
First edition thus, number 79 of 550 copies signed by Francis Sangorski and George Sutcliffe and printed on handmade paper (a further 25 were printed on japon), in a striking binding by Bayntun-Riviere, one of the most lavish editions of the Rubáiyát.
The prestigious London bindery Sangorski and Sutcliffe made a speciality of fabulous bindings.... Learn More£5,750.00Stock Code: 142428
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STEVENS, Wallace. Notes toward a Supreme Fiction.Cummington, MA : 1942
First edition, number 111 of 190 numbered copies on Dutch Charcoal paper (a further 83 copies were issued signed and lettered), of "the central poem of the middle period, 'Notes toward a Supreme Fiction', dedicated to his closest friend, Henry Church. The three sections of 'Notes' - 'It must be abstract', 'It must change', and 'It must give pleasure'... Learn More£600.00Stock Code: 142340
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BERRYMAN, John. Poems.Norfolk, CT : 1942
First edition, first printing, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper "to Allan Covici with the best regards of John Berryman Berkeley 1 June '60". The recipient was a California-based writer, librarian, and bookseller based at UC Berkeley.
Poems was Berryman's first separately published book, preceded only by his inclusion in the... Learn More£1,350.00Stock Code: 142347
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PAUL, Eden & Cedar. The Appreciation of Poetry.London : 1920
First edition, first impression. Presentation copy inscribed to the publisher Stanley Unwin on the front free endpaper: "To Stanley Unwin with the writers' kind wishes. October 30th, 1920." Learn More£65.00Stock Code: 140810
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BERRYMAN, John. Poems.Norfolk, CT : 1942
First edition, first printing, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper "to the Wymans w. every good wish this old nothing - John Berryman Ann Arbor March '65".
Poems was Berryman's first separately published book, preceded only by his inclusion in the collective publication Five Young American Poets in 1940; 2,000 copies were... Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 142345
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DU FU. Wanderer and Minstrel Under Moons of Cathay.Portland, Maine : April 1929
First edition, number 30 of 50 copies printed on Japan vellum, signed by one of the translators Edna Worthley Underwood. "This is the first edition in the world of Tu Fu to be printed outside China, likewise it is the first edition of any one individual Chinese poet." (Foreword). Tu Fu, or Du Fu, who lived in the 8th century, during the Tang dynasty,... Learn More£600.00Stock Code: 142115
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GRAVES, Robert. Love Respelt Again.New York : 1969
First US edition, number 893 of 1,000 copies signed by Graves. Reproduces fifty of Graves' poems in manuscript form. Learn More£85.00Stock Code: 141047
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HARRISON, Tony. Anno Forty Two.[London] : 1987
Signed limited edition, number 25 of 50 copies signed by Tony Harrison and the printer-designer Michael Caine. Learn More£60.00Stock Code: 141041
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FENTON, James. Children In Exile.Edinburgh : 1983
First edition, first impression. Learn More£50.00Stock Code: 140846
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DANTE ALIGHIERI. The Divina Commedia,London : 1802
First complete edition in English of the Divine Comedy, and the first publication in English of the Purgatorio and the Paradiso; the Inferno here marking its fourth publication in English, following the first edition of 1782, and Dublin and London editions by Boyd in 1785. This is a notably handsome copy in lavish contemporary red morocco.
This... Learn More£15,000.00Stock Code: 138899
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BARRETT BROWNING, Elizabeth. Poems.London : 1850
First edition with the Sonnets from the Portuguese, handsomely bound with the original cloth preserved within, and both half-titles. EBB's Poems had first appeared in 1844, but this "New Edition" (the second overall) contains in the second volume the coveted and rare first appearance of Sonnets from the Portuguese, some of the most famous love poems... Learn More£6,500.00Stock Code: 132112
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HARRISON, Tony. The Fire Gap.Newcastle upon Tyne : 1985
First trade edition. Inscribed by Harrison on the title page: "Tony Harrison, for Christopher 29.10.91". Appealingly designed by Caine. Learn More£50.00Stock Code: 141040
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NERUDA, Pablo. Primeros poemos de amor.Madrid : 1936
First edition, one of 500 copies, of this collection of love poems by Neruda, essentially a condensed version of his famous and rare second collection Viente poemas de amor y una canción desesperada, originally published in Chile by Nascimento in 1924.
The poems included in this Madrid edition are poems 1, 4, 9, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18,... Learn More£1,750.00Stock Code: 142298
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(GONNE, Maud, illus.) YOUNG, Ella. Celtic Wonder-Tales.Dublin : 1910
First edition, first impression, signed by the illustrator on the title page, and with an original initialled drawing in black ink on the front free endpaper (and expanded version of the ornament printed on p. 20.) Edith Maud Gonne (1866-1953) was one of the boldest figures of the Irish Literary Revival; a suffragette and artist, she remains best known... Learn More£3,750.00Stock Code: 137680
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GRAY, Thomas. Designs for Mr. R. Bentley for Six Poems by Mr. T. Gray.London : 1765
Fourth edition overall, expanded from the three editions of 1753 with further Odes, of this large, elaborately illustrated publication of the best-known works of the poet Gray, including the Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. A presentation copy of H. A. J. Munro's translation of the Elegy into Latin (c. 1873) is tipped-in at the rear endpapers.
"This... Learn More£750.00Stock Code: 142136
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YEATS, W. B. The Winding Stair and other poems.London : 1933
First edition, first impression, of Yeats's follow-up collection to The Tower, containing some of his best, and most difficult, poems, such as "Blood and the Moon", "A Dialogue of Self and Soul", "Vacillation", and, of course, "Byzantium", and thus full of "those images that yet / fresh images beget; / that dolphin-torn, and gong tormented sea". A smaller... Learn More£1,375.00Stock Code: 119643
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BLAKE, William. The Note-Book.London : 1935
First edition thus, number 175 of 650 copies, with the very scarce dust jacket. This fine Nonesuch Press edition constitutes the first printing in facsimile of Blake's famous notebook, known as the "Rossetti Manuscript", after its acquisition by Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 1847. This notebook contained a number of latterly famous shorter poems left unpublished... Learn More£300.00Stock Code: 142098
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PARKER, Dorothy. The Viking Portable Library.New York : 1945
First collected edition, fifth printing, inscribed on the front free endpaper "To Ruthven Todd - with gratitude to him for wanting this miserable signature. Dorothy Parker". Todd was a Scottish poet, artist, and novelist, best known as an editor of the works of William Blake. He moved to the United States in 1947 where he lived for 13 years.
This... Learn More£2,250.00Stock Code: 141988
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BOWLES, Fred. G. In the Wake of the Sun: A Book of Verse.London : 1899
First and sole edition, rather uncommon. Fred G. Bowles was best known in his day as a lyricist. However, his poem "Resurrection", published here, was anthologized in The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse (1917). The Sign of the Unicorn was a small publishing house established by the "versatile journalist" and "mercurial 1890s figure" Ernest James... Learn More£50.00Stock Code: 141861
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SPARE, Austin Osman, & Clifford Bax (eds.) The Golden Hind.London : April 1924
First edition, first impression, number 32 of 75 cloth copies signed by both Spare and Bax on the front free endpaper. From the library of the artist Pickford Robert Waller (1849-1930), with his bookplate to the front pastedown, a leading member of the aesthetic movement and a prolific illustrator, producing book designs for Guthrie's Pear Tree Press,... Learn More£875.00Stock Code: 141840
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A. E. [George William Russell.] The Earth Breath and Other Poems.New York and London : 1897
First edition, dedicated to Yeats, who had encouraged Russell's first collection, Homeward (1894). An attractive little volume printed in an edition of 2, 000 copies by Will Bradley at the Wayside Press. Learn More£150.00Stock Code: 141846
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OMAR KHAYYÁM. One Hundred Quatrains from the Rubáiyát.Worcester, Mass. : 1910
First edition in Japanese, number 31 of 100 copies, and invariably scarce; this a particularly well preserved copy of a fragile publication.
In his introduction, Hikozo Kikase remarks that his translation was undertaken as the behest of "my friend Mr. F. L. Coes so as to add a new variety to his collection of seven hundred copies of the original... Learn More£300.00Stock Code: 141753
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TRANSTROMER, Tomas. Citoyens.Knotting, Bedfordshire : 1974
First English language edition, copy 100 of 150 copies, printed on Abbey Mills laid paper, this a presentation copy inscribed by Transtromer and additionally signed by the translator Robin Fulton on the colophon.
Copies numbered 1 to 50 were issued signed by Transtromer; this copy, though a later number, is presented by the poet with a lengthy... Learn More£400.00Stock Code: 141215
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TENNYSON, Alfred Lord. Poems.[London?] : 1862
First pirated edition of Tennyson's suppressed poems, taken from the Poems, Chiefly Lyrical of 1830 and the Poems of 1833, printed by J. Dykes Campbell and sold by the bookseller John Camden Hotten.
Tennyson took legal action, obtained an injunction to prevent its sale, and extracted an apology and 100 damages from Hotten. The book was issued... Learn More£300.00Stock Code: 130070
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UPDIKE, John. Facing Nature.New York : 1985
First edition, first printing, of Updike's seventh collection of poetry. Learn More£125.00Stock Code: 128336
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GRAVES, Robert. Contemporary Techniques of Poetry.London : 1925
First edition, first impression. Learn More£75.00Stock Code: 141017
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GRAVES, Robert. Poems 1930-1933.London : 1933
First edition, first impression. Learn More£125.00Stock Code: 140726
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DOYLE, Arthur Conan. The Guards Came Through.London : 1919
First edition, first impression, of this collection of poetry, comprising largely of poems relating to war. Learn More£175.00Stock Code: 140750
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MARKS, Herbert H. Pax Obbligato.London : [1937]
First edition, first impression. Learn More£60.00Stock Code: 140716
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PUDNEY, John. Beyond the Disregard.London : 1943
First edition, first impression, of the author's second collection of poetry. Learn More£40.00Stock Code: 140600
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DOUGLAS, Lord Alfred - STOPES, Marie Carmichael. Lord Alfred Douglas.London : 1949
First edition, first impression. Learn More£65.00Stock Code: 140590
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WYNDHAM-LEWIS, D. B. Ronsard.London : 1946
First UK edition, third impression, of the author's biography of the French Renaissance poet Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585). The first edition was published in the US and UK simultaneously, with the first impression appearing in 1944. Learn More£25.00Stock Code: 140591
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GRAVES, Robert. Steps.London : 1958
First edition, first impression of this collection of writings. Learn More£60.00Stock Code: 140494
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NERUDA, Pablo. The Heights of Macchu Picchu.London : 1966
First edition in English of Neruda's masterpiece, the publisher's copy signed for him by the poet on the front free endpaper, "Pablo Neruda, 1970", with the bookplate of Tom Maschler to front pastedown. Maschler was the head of Jonathan Cape, and a hugely influential figure in 20th-century literature: he had a particular genius for bringing world-class... Learn More£2,750.00Stock Code: 132730
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THOMAS, Dylan. Poems.New York : 1971
First US edition, first printing, the editor Daniel Jones's own copy with the publisher's note to that effect, inscribed by him to his wife on the front free endpaper, "To Irene, with love from Dan. 23rd November 1971". Also included are a long autograph letter signed from poet Edith Sitwell to Daniel Jones, dated 22 March 1954 and concerning the music... Learn More£1,750.00Stock Code: 140659
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![Hebrew Melodies; [bound after:] Lara, a Tale.](https://d3dzzbbvj9im7s.cloudfront.net/media/catalog/product/cache/ae0834d12b7cf129fc73bcc000ea526a/1/3/131641.jpg)
BYRON, George Gordon Noel, Lord. Hebrew Melodies; [bound after:] Lara, a Tale.London : 1815
First edition, first issue of Hebrew Melodies, marking the first appearance in print of "She Walks in Beauty", among the most famous poems in the English language. Hebrew Melodies is bound after the fifth edition of Lara, which was first published in 1814. John Murray published Byron's poems in a uniform size, and it was common for contemporary owners... Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 131641
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CRANE, Hart; EVANS, Walker (illus.) The BridgeParis : 1930
First edition, first impression, number 89 of 200 copies on Holland Paper from a total limited edition of 284 copies. The Bridge was Crane's only attempt at a long poem, inspired by his view of the Brooklyn Bridge from his apartment in Columbia Heights, and includes three plates from photographs of the bridge by his friend Walker Evans. Harold Bloom... Learn More£2,250.00Stock Code: 135122
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BEERBOHM, Max. Autograph manuscript draft poem, "To W.S."June 1914
A choice Beerbohm manuscript, a deft sonnet in honour of the painter Walter Sickert (1860-1942), invoking Whistler and other figures of Max's youth, and the music halls "The Hoxton Palace of Varieties" and reflecting upon the passage of time and enduring presence of Sickert, who was in 1914 working in experimental modes as painter and essayist. Sickert... Learn More£3,750.00Stock Code: 135882
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SPENDER, Stephen. Ruins and Visions.London : 1942
First edition, first impression, presentation copy of a work rarely found inscribed, to his lifelong friend and fellow poet W. H. Auden on the half-title, "To Wystan, with love from Stephen. March 1942".
This is a key association, inscribed using Auden's first name, which was reserved for friends. Auden was a major influence on Spender: "A pontiff... Learn More£4,500.00Stock Code: 139371
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BELBEN, May. The Singing Heart.Bournemouth : 1928
First edition, second impression, signed by the author on front free endpaper verso, "from May Belben, Dec. 1928" and with a note on her own stationery inscribed, "with all good wishes from May Belben" (letterhead Forest Hill, Corfe Mullen, Wimborne, Dorset). A charming little volume printed on enamel paper; nature poetry of "simple sentiment" illustrated... Learn More£50.00Stock Code: 141508
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ELIOT, T. S. Murder in the Cathedral.Canterbury : 1935
First edition, first impression, one of 750 copies published May 1935 for sale at the first production of the play in Canterbury Cathedral. The text of the Faber & Faber edition, which was published in June, was slightly altered. The true first edition is now quite scarce, and this is a near-fine example. Learn More£850.00Stock Code: 141449
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MILTON, John. The Poetical Works.London : 1809
Second Todd edition, here "with considerable additions", following the first of 1801, the major revision being to the "thorough biographical study of Milton" (ODNB) that appears in volume I. Todd's edition was the standard text for fifty years. A handsomely bound set. Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 137760
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JUNG, Sir Nizamat. Arabian Poems. The Land of Faith.Hyderabad : 1935
First edition, no other copy traced. Group of poems on Islamic themes dedicated to Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar - "The Premier Muslim Ruler in India". Sir Nizamat Jung Bahadur (1871-1955)was an Arab-Indian poet, lawyer and bibliophile. In 1887 he became a student at Trinity College Cambridge where he gained a B.A. and LL.B... Learn More£350.00Stock Code: 140973
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SHELLEY, Percy Bysshe. Poetical Pieces.London : 1823
First edition, an exquisite copy in a rare and highly unusual contemporary binding, of this posthumous gathering of unsold first editions of Shelley's major works, comprising Prometheus Unbound (1820), Hellas (1822), and Rosalind and Helen (1819), as well as the first London edition, second overall, of The Cenci (1821). These titles include among their... Learn More£9,500.00Stock Code: 111619
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STEVENSON, Robert Louis. A Child's Garden of Verses.London : 1885
First edition, one of 1,000 copies published. Learn More£2,500.00Stock Code: 132801
