CATALOG SEVENTEEN ALEXANDER RARE BOOKS – Literary Firsts & Poetry 234 Camp Street Barre, Vermont 05641 (802) 476-08
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CATALOG SEVENTEEN ALEXANDER RARE BOOKS – Literary Firsts & Poetry 234 Camp Street Barre, Vermont 05641 (802) 476-0838 [email protected] AlexanderRareBooks.com All items are American or British hardcover first printings unless otherwise stated. All fully returnable for any reason within 14 days, and offered subject to prior sale. Shipping is free in the US; elsewhere at cost. VT residents please add 6% tax. Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, and checks accepted. Libraries billed according to need. 1) Aldington, Richard. IMAGES OF DESIRE. London: Elkin Mathews, 1919. First edition. 12mo, 38 pp. Red printed wrappers. Several pages not opened. Edges lightly creased, minor paper loss at corners, else about fine. Lovely copy of a fragile book. (6979) $100.00 2) Aldington, Richard. IMAGES - OLD AND NEW. Boston: Four Seas , 1916. First edition. 47 pp. Plain boards in green printed dust jacket. The poet's second book. Spine faded and with lightly chipped head and tail, else about fine. (6978) $75.00 3) Anderson, Maxwell. A STANFORD BOOK OF VERSE 1912-1916. n.p.: The English Club of Stanford University, 1916. First edition. 88 pp. Cloth-backed paper covered boards w/ paper spine label, t.e.g.; in printed dust jacket which repeats the design on the boards. With six poems by Maxwell Anderson among the contributions. An exceptional copy of Anderson's first appearance in book form; he finished his Stanford MA in 1914. End papers offset, else very fine in a faintly tone, chipped along the edges but at least very good and quite scarce dust jacket. (6953) $125.00 4) Ansen, Alan. THE OLD RELIGION. New York: Tibor De Nagy Gallery, 1959. First edition. One of 300 copies printed in Venice by Salvagno Press for the art gallery which supported many of the second generation abstract expressionists, and published early often first books by their counterparts: Ashbery, O’Hara, Schuyler and others of the New York School poets. Ansen, was close to many Beats as well as Ashbery, Auden and Merrill. A larger than life personality, reportedly Corso, Burroughs and Kerouac all portrayed him in their work: the character Rollo Greb in ON THE ROAD was based on Ansen. The poet's first book, and an uncommon one. This copy toned at edges, with moderate soiling to the back panel. Only light wear, and about very good. (6869) $75.00 3 5) Berrigan, Ted. FRAGMENT For Jim Brodey. London: Cape Goliard Press, 1969. First edition. Illustrated broadside approx. 15.5 x 11.5 inches. Number 280 of only 327 copies made (the first 60 of which were signed by artist and poet), after which "the plates were destroyed & the type dissed". Printed on Green’s English hand-made paper; illustrated with a three-color offset lithograph by Jim Dine. Dine born in Ohio spent four years in London, during which time this piece was published. Jim Brodey, to whom the 12-line poem is addressed was a poet and like Berrigan associated with the New York School in the late sixties. A wonderful collaboration of one of the foremost pop artists, with a central figure of the so called Second Generation of New York School Poets The type is printed in blue and black and the toothbrushes in black, cream and pink. The colophon and limitation details are printed on the back of the sheet. In excellent condition, with only signs of handling to the edges, and faint soiling. Wonderful avant-garde piece that is as delightful and interesting as ever. (6882) $250.00 6) Bogan, Louise. DARK SUMMER. New York: Scribners, 1929`. First edition. 72 pp. Cloth- backed linen covered boards, with spine and front paper labels, in dust jacket. Poet's second book. Minor wear to head and tail cloth, else about fine. The scarce purple dust jacket is heavily faded at the edges, missing about half the spine, the rest reinforced by tape. Eight of the twenty-four poems by Bogan chosen for the Library of America selection of 20th C poets (where she is well- represented) are from this volume. (6940) $150.00 7) Bukowski, Charles. ART. Santa Barbara, CA: Black Sparrow Press, 1977. First edition. Near miniature (2.8 in. x 4.2 in.) chapbook in sewn blue wrappers, with paper label, issued as a New Year's Greeting by the press. One of 750 copies printed (in addition there were two hard bound, signed issues). A fine copy lacking the original mailing envelope. All issues seemingly scarcer than the limitation would suggest. Morrow & Cooney 253b. (6931) $75.00 8) Bukowski, Charles . MOCKINGBIRD WISH ME LUCK. Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow Press, [n.d.]. Broadside printed on thin yellow paper in two colors. Promotional flyer no. 2. The title poem for Buk's new book issued in 1972. Folded twice as issued for mailing. Light creasing/handling to edges, else fine. Morrow & Cooney 122a. (6935) $40.00 9) Bukowski, Charles; Douglas Blazek (ed.). A BUKOWSKI SAMPLER. Madison: Quixote Press, 1969. First edition. 80 pp. Large chapbook in orange stapled wrappers. A selection mostly of Buk's poems, a few of his illustrations, with testaments from the likes of Al Purdy, Walter Lowenfels and Steve Richmond. Edited and intro. by Doug Blazek. Top tip lightly bumped, affecting about half the pages, else about fine. Nice copy of a cheaply made early selection of the poet's work. (6932) $150.00 4 10) Campbell, Roy. ADAMASTOR. London: Faber & Faber, 1930. First edition, first state dust jacket. 8vo. 108 pp. Light foxing to free endpapers only, boards bowed, blue topstain bright; very good or better in complete, spine-toned, worn at edges, very good, dust jacket. Nice copy in the very scarce first issue jacket (reportedly only 150 done) which repeats the author's name on the spine. (6987) $125.00 11) Carter, Elliott; Hart Crane. VOYAGE III. S. Hadley/Northampton: Mount Holyoke/Smith College, 1945. First edition. 7 pp. Large Quarto, sheet music; gray printed stapled wrappers. Crane's poem with the famous last line "Permit me voyage, love, into your hands..." set to music by Carter, with a full page of notes by him on the poem. Creasing and toning to the extremities, about very good. (6943) $35.00 12) Collins, Billy. QUESTIONS ABOUT ANGELS. New York: William Morrow, 1991. First edition. 105 pp. Uncorrected proof of the poet's fourth book published in The National Poetry series. A book that went into multiple printings, and first established him as one of the preeminent (and certainly most popular) poets of his generation. Fine unmarked copy in beige printed wrappers. Quite scarce. (6888) $750.00 (see also item 3 – signed) 13) Cowley, Malcolm, Norman Cabot, Grant Code, Jack Merten, Joel T. Rogers, R. Cameron Rogers, Royall Snow, and John Brooks Wheelwright (contr.). EIGHT MORE HARVARD POETS. New York: Brentano's, 1923. First edition. 130pp. With an introduction by Dorian Abbott. Eleven poems by Malcolm Cowley, published in the same year as his first book, six years before his first regularly published book Blue Juniata. Contributions from Norman Cabot, Grant Code, Jack Merten, Joel T. Rogers, R. Cameron Rogers, Royall Snow, and John Brooks Wheelwright. Touch of scuffing to edges, else very close to fine in a toned else very good only lightly worn dust jacket, which is a trifle short. Excellent copy in the scarce dust jacket. (6947) $75.00 Robert Duncan’s copy 14) Dickinson, Emily. LETTERS OF EMILY DICKINSON Vol 2 [only]. Boston: Roberts Bros., 1894. First edition. 454 pp. Light green cloth, gilt. Robert Duncan's copy of volume II of this important two volume edition edited by Mabel Loomis Todd. Duncan's name, with Dickinson's words "These behaviors of the year hurt almost like music, shifting when they ease us most. 5 November 1942" in (presumably) Duncan's early hand on the ffep. A good or better copy, front hinge cracked, trace foxing to end papers, spine darkened and gilt rubbed, bookseller ticket (Brentanos) on rep. The date of 1942 is interesting, as Duncan was only 23, a year after being discharged from military service for declaring himself homosexual, and five years before his first book publication. In a published letter from 1960 to Denise Levertov he mentions going back to Emily's letters, so they evidently meant something to him as a beginning writer, as well as at a time when he was a major figure in the literary world. (6874) $150.00 15) Eberhart, Richard. AN HERB BASKET. Cummington, MA: The Cummington Press, 1950. First edition. [8 pp.] Stitched signature in stapled illustrated wrappers. One of 155 copies; collaboration of Wightman Williams and Harry Duncan. Staples rusty, front cover with 1" tear, erasure mark, minor creasing and wear, uneven toning mostly to back panel, interior except for some staining from staples clean, thus good or better. Scarce chapbook of poems from one of the most important fine presses, many in institutions, few remaining. (6963) $125.00 16) Eigner, Larry. COUNTRY/HARBOR/QUIET/ACT/AROUND Selected Prose. n.p. {Kensington] : THIS PRESS, 1978. First edition. 159 pp. Tan cloth; One of 26 copies lettered A- Z (this is copy Z) signed by the poet. 1000 printed, of which 200 were casebound. Light soiling, else fine (issued without a dust jacket). (6966) $100.00 17) Eliot, T. S. THE THREE VOICES OF POETRY. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1954. First edition. 39 pp. Blue cloth, stamped in gilt. Shelfwear, lightly bumped tips, title page just starting, else about fine, in a fragile dust jacket with wear at the corners and an inch-long closed tear, spine-toned, else bright and at least very good.