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THE E. E. CUMMINGS COLLECTION

OF JOHN T. ORDEMAN

“ . . . the enclosed is what I happen to believe.” --E. E.Cummings (see page 22)

Patricia and Allen Ahearn 1137 Sugarloaf Mountain Road, Dickerson, MD 20842

When I was a graduate student at Columbia in the mid-1950s, I had the good fortune to choose as a topic for my master's thesis a comparison of E. E. Cummings' painting and his poetry. Perhaps because few people were, at that time, much interested in Cummings' work in the visual arts, which he considered to be as significant as his literary work, he granted my request for an interview. I was invited to tea–laced with rum–at Patchin Place.

I returned several times as work on my dissertation progressed, and I was tremendously pleased when both Cummings and his wife Marion offered to read the first draft of An Author of Pictures, A Draughtsman of Words. They made several useful suggestions for the text, Cummings corrected a few spelling and punctuation errors and Marion took photographs of several paintings for me to use as illustrations.

I began collecting Cummings' books and pictures as soon as I was gainfully employed, and I have continually added to my collection as I have been able to find and afford new acquisitions. I was particularly glad to be able to purchase some books that had been inscribed as gifts to his great friends Sibley and Hildegarde Watson and a few pictures that he had given to other friends. Throughout a fifty year career as an English teacher, I have particularly enjoyed introducing my students to the delights of Cummings' poetry. As a member of the editorial board, I have contributed articles from time to time to Spring, the journal of the E. E. Cummings Society.

Having experienced the challenges–the joys and the frustrations–of accumulating a respectable, if not distinguished, collection of Cummings' books and paintings, I am now prepared to make them available to others who share my appreciation of the work of this remarkable "author of pictures [and] draughtsman of words."

– John T. Ordeman

2 Note: Nearly all of the “A” items in the following catalog are preceded by a brief write-up culled from an article in The E. E. Cummings Society Journal, Spring 9, as is the explanatory introduction below.

CUMMINGS’ TITLES

Titles of literary works may serve any or all of several purposes: to identify the work, certainly: perhaps also to arouse the interest of potential readers or to indicate the nature of work, its subject or theme. Some of E. E. Cummings’ titles are purely factual; such as 50 Poems or Santa Claus. Others possess a measure of obscurity, the meaning becoming clear only after the reader has acquired familiarity with the work, The Enormous Room and Tulips and Chimneys, for examples. The most intriguing convey virtually no idea of the nature of the work, Eimi and & and Xaipe being of this sort.

For the benefit of those who may find some of Cummings’ titles bewildering, I have prepared this catalog. It is not a piece of original research but merely a compendium of information available in various sources; the writings, for the most part, of George Firmage, Norman Friedman, Richard Kennedy, and Charles Norman. The catalog lists all of the books that are covered in Firmage's bibliography, which was published in 1960, as well as books which were published after that date which contain previously unpublished Cummings writings. – John T. Ordeman, in consultation with George J. Firmage Spring 9 (2000)

CONTENTS

Books, Pamphlets, etc.………………………………………………………………………..……4 Correspondence, & a Contract.………………………………………………………………..….22 Art…………………………………………………………………………………………….…..25 Miscellaneous………………………………………………………………………………….…27 Duplicates, Later Printings, etc…………...………………………………………………………28 Contributions to books and magazines………………………………………………………..….33 Books and articles about Cummings; & reviews..…………………………………………….….35 Recordings………………………………………………………………………………………..39 Exhibition Catalogs……………………………………………………………………………….41 Musical Settings of Poems…………………………………………….………………………….42

3 HARVARD CLASS ALBUM

(Edward Estlin Cummings). 1915 HARVARD CLASS ALBUM: Volume XXVI. Cambridge: The Andover Press, 1915. Cummings is pictured on page 143. Writers John Dos Passos and John Phillips Marquand are listed but not pictured. (Cummings’ Harvard friends and compatriots Scofield Thayer and James Sibley Watson were a few years behind Cummings.) Large, pebble- cloth boards stamped in gold on front and spine. Binding a little shaken, otherwise very good or better. [Book Id # 42548] $250.

EIGHT HARVARD POETS

Cummings’ poems had been printed in publications of Cambridge Latin School and in both The Harvard Monthly and The Harvard Advocate over the years, but Eight Harvard Poets, which contains eight of his poems, was the first book in which his work appeared. The anthology was published in 1917 by Laurence J. Gomme, the expenses being, for the most part, underwritten by the contributors. Cummings was in very good company, for among the other young poets whose work was included in Eight Harvard Poets were S. Foster Damon, John Dos Passos, Robert Hillyer, and Dudley Poore.

E. Estlin Cummings. EIGHT HARVARD POETS. New York: Laurence J. Gomme, 1917. First edition. Eight poems by Cummings, his first appearance in print. Also includes poetry by John Dos Passos, S. Foster Damon, et al. This copy inscribed by Damon in the year of publication, and with the recipient's bookplate on the front pastedown. Spine darkened, touch of light dampstaining along lower and fore edge of front cover, endpapers mildly foxed, otherwise about very good in the remnants of the original glassine dust jacket. [Book Id #41674] $300.

THE DIAL MAGAZINE “On page 22 of The Dial for January 1920. E. E. Cummings virtually inaugurated his career as a professional poet. Although he had published some two dozen poems in Harvard periodicals during his student days, and although he had made some reputation as a contributor to the 1917 anthology entitled Eight Harvard Poets, the seven pieces that appear in The dial were of another order.” --Rushworth M. Kidder “Buffalo Bill’s—an Early E. E. Cummings manuscript” Harvard Library Bulletin, October 1976

4 EDITOR'S OWN COPIES Cummings, E. E. Contributions to THE DIAL: Six issues. New York: 1920 -- 1924. First editions. Dial editor and publisher Scofield Thayer's own copies of these issues containing contributions by Cummings, with Thayer's editorial markings in pencil, and his personal bookplates laid in to each. Includes the January 1920 issue, the first with Thayer as editor, and the first to include Cummings, who contributes seven poems and four "burlesque" drawings. Also included are May 1920, January 1921, April 1922, January 1924 and March 1924; all with Cummings' poems and some with his artwork. Earliest issues darkened and lightly soiled, all issues chipped and worn at overlapping edges, as usual. Together with five issues, also from the ‘20s, with Cummings contributions; the Havard Library Bulletin quoted from above; and SCHOFIELD THAYER AND THE DIAL: An Illustrated History by Nicholas Joost. [Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois Univ. Press (1964), fine in dustwrapper.] [Book Id #42148] $1,000.

THE ENORMOUS ROOM

Cummings’ first book was The Enormous Room, published by Boni & Liveright in 1922, an account of his incarceration in a French detention camp for actions which had put his loyalty to the Allied cause in question while he was serving as an ambulance driver with the French army. The title refers to the 80 by 40 foot room at La Ferté Macé, where Cummings spent three months in the fall of 1918 in the company of his friend Slater Brown and sixty or so men of various nationalities.

When the author had completed work on the book, he sailed for Europe, leaving the as yet untitled manuscript with his father, who had agreed to deal with the publisher. The publisher’s suggestion of Hospitality as a title was rejected by Dr. Cummings as too cynical. His own choice was Lost and Found, reflecting, perhaps his efforts to locate his son and negotiate his release form La Ferté Macé. He sent Cummings a list of possible titles for consideration; the author settled the matter conclusively by cable: “TITLE OF BOOK THE ENORMOUS ROOM.”

THE ENORMOUS ROOM. New York: Boni and Liveright (1922). First edition, first state with “Shit!” in last line, p.219. Covers slightly soiled and a little darkened, one corner lightly bumped, few spots, some light rubbing, and touch of fraying at spine ends; altoghether better than good. Remnant of front panel of the dust jacket pasted to a plain sheet of white paper and laid in. [Book Id #41676] $350. THE ENORMOUS ROOM. London: Jonathan Cape (1928). First U. K. edition. Introduction by Robert Graves. Tiny nick in cloth at tip of rear spine gutter, moderately light foxing to page edges and prelims, otherwise a bright copy, better than very good in dust jacket with spotting and soiling, tips nicked, spine ends frayed, spine and flap folds darkened, split at front flap and one at spine fold extending across the spine (neatly repaired with tape on verso). A scarce dust jacket, in any condition. [Book Id #41678] $750. THE ENORMOUS ROOM. London: Jonathan Cape (1930). First U. K. edition. An early, scarce reissue, volume 2 in “The Life & Letters Series.” Introduction by Robert Graves. Spine ends sunned, otherwise near fine in dust jacket with ¼ to ½-inch chipped from spine ends, shallow chipping to edges, and neatly mended 2-inch tear at bottom of the front panel with a few light, extending creases. [Book Id #41679] $100.

5 TULIPS AND CHIMNEYS

Tulips and Chimneys, Cummings’ first book of poetry, was published in 1923 by Thomas Seltzer. It contained only 66 of the 152 poems in the manuscript that Cummings had submitted with the title Tulips & Chimneys. Cummings did not favour Seltzer’s elimination of more than half of the poems he intended should be included; however, he was apparently eager to have the book published and therefore willing to make concessions. He insisted only that the arrangement should not be changed and that there should be no misprints or “improvements” in the texts of the poems. Cummings had specified that the title should be Tulips & Chimneys; however, Seltzer substituted the word and for the ampersand.

Cummings’ biographer Richard Kennedy wrote that the phrase “tulips and chimneys” is an example of “the disparate pairs of words that he and [Slater] Brown enjoyed putting together: ‘lilacs and monkeywrenches,’ ‘creeds and syringes,’ ‘hangmen and tea kettles,’ and so on” (206). Kennedy characterized the poems in the book’s first section, “Tulips,” as “lyric renderings . . . in standard or free verse” and those in the second section, “Chimneys,” as “responses to the modern world . . . in sordid urban scenes or in linguistically explosive handlings of conventional poetic subjects” (238).

The 152 poems that Cummings had intended to have published as Tulips & Chimneys were eventually issued by Liveright in 1976 in an edition of the complete 1922 manuscript [edited by G. J. Firmage]. The so-called “Archetype Edition” of the same manuscript, published by The Golden Eagle Press in 1937, contains only 150 poems; Sonnets Actualities IV and XX are missing. Of the remainder, 37 poems are not in manuscript order and three, Impressions X, Post Impressions IX and Sonnets Unrealities VII, appear as Songs X, Portraits XXX and Sonnets Actualities XIII respectively.

TULIPS AND CHIMNEYS. New York: Thomas Seltzer (1923). First edition. There appears to be glue, perhaps from the binding, to a few areas near the fore edge of the front cover and one small spot on the rear cover, front corners nicked, spine label a touch frayed along one side (not affecting any lettering), and name on front endpaper, otherwise very good or better. Lacking the rare dust jacket. [Book Id #41685] $450. TULIPS AND CHIMNEYS. New York: Thomas Seltzer (1923). First edition, second printing. INSCRIBED on the front free endpaper, “mighty glad to see Mrs Lusell/ in possession of this book/ E. E. Cummings.” Front hinge starting at the half-title page, light dampstaining to lower edge of front cover, rubbed spot near base of spine and spine label darkened; overall better than good. [Book Id #41684] $400. TULIPS & CHIMNEYS: Archetype Edition of the Original MS 1922. Mount Vernon: The Golden Eagel Press, 1937. Adds 84 poems to the 1922 edition, first edition thus. Review copy, with review slip laid in. Number 248 of 629 numbered copies, the first 148 of which were signed by Cummings. Bottom front corner and top edges lightly bumped, very faint stain on front cover, otherwise a crisp, fine copy in an absolutely beautiful dust jacket, almost as new, with just one tiny nick at the head of the spine. Rare in dust jacket. [Book Id #41686] $1000.

6 XLI POEMS

Although Cummings had agreed to Thomas Seltzer’s abridgement of the manuscript of 152 poems in order to get Tulips and Chimneys published, he still wanted to see the 86 poems Seltzer had deleted in print. Lincoln MacVeagh, of The Dial, selected 41 of these poems, which were published in April, 1925, by The Dial Press with the title XLI Poems. The roman numerals are generally, but not invariably, printed as capital letters. Perhaps the poet intended that the title should be seen as an anagram of “I excel.” Then again, perhaps not.

XLI POEMS. New York: The Dial Press, 1925. First edition. Tiny spot on front boards and just a touch of light rubbing, otherwise nearly fine. A remarkably nice copy of this relatively scarce book. [Book Id #41851] $200.

& [AND]

The 45 remaining poems that had been deleted from the 1922 Tulips & Chimneys manuscript, together with 34 new poems (at least 17 of which were almost certainly part of the first 1919 version of the poet’s first book) were published privately by Cummings in 1925. He titled the collection &, using the ampersand he had wanted in the title of the earlier book; the volume is referred to as And. The book is divided into three sections, which are preceded by large block letters: A, N, and D.

&. [AND] New York: Privately Printed, 1925. First edition. Number 3 of 111 (of 333 total) SIGNED, numbered copies printed on Vidalon hand-made paper. This copy INSCRIBED by Cummings on the first blank page to Sibley Watson, “S. W. from E. E. C.” and with pencilled corrections to the text on pages 13, 29 and 36, presumably by Cummings: Pages 13 and 19 have parenthesis marks connecting 2 sentences separated by a blank line; page 36 has an elongated “S” indicating where 2 lines should be reversed. The fragile, green, gold-flecked paper covering is chipped and worn at the edges of the boards, and the spine is considerably toned and rubbed, though the title and author’s name are still clear. A scarce title, rare inscribed. [Book Id #41688] $2000. &. [AND] New York: Privately Printed, 1925. First edition. Number 259 of 222 (of 333 total) SIGNED, numbered copies printed on De Coverly rag laid paper. Gift inscription on front free endpaper, otherwise about very good with spine toned and rubbed, and spine tips and corners rubbed to boards. Still, a relatively bright, tight copy. [Book Id #41849] $1000.

IS 5

The title of the collection of 88 poems published by Boni & Liveright in 1926 is printed with the word “is” over the number 5 on the book’s cover and title page; however, in a list of Cummings’ published works on the page facing the title page, the title is given as Is Five.

The significance of the title is explained by the poet in a foreword: “If a poet is anybody, he is somebody to whom things made matter very little—somebody who is obsessed by Making.” The foreword concludes: “Ineluctable preoccupation with The Verb gives a poet one priceless advantage: whereas nonmakers must content themselves with the merely undeniable fact that two times two is four, he rejoices in a purely irresistible truth (to be found, in

7 abbreviated costume, upon the title page of the present volume).” The book is divided into five groups of poems, and it begins and ends with sets of five sonnets.

IS 5. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1926. First edition. A bright, very nearly fine copy with just one tiny gold-fleck missing from the front board, page fore edges very subtly foxed, and lower edges of boards rubbed (as usual). In the scarce dust jacket with just a touch of light soiling, shallow chipping to spine ends, and spine slightly rubbed. A lovely copy. [Book Id #41852] $900.

HIM

The title of Him, the three-act play that was published by Boni & Liveright in 1927 and produced by the Provincetown Playhouse the following year, is spelled with three capital letters on the spine and on the title page of the book, with a single initial capital letter in the list of Cummings’ works that faces the title page and with three lower case letters on the playbill. All three forms have been used by writers over the years.

Him, identified as “a would-be artist,” is the protagonist. He has much in common with the playwright, who wrote of Him in “Nonlecture 5,” “On the one hand, a complete fanatic, dedicated to values beyond life and death, he is on the other hand a profoundly alive and supremely human being.”

PRESENTATION INSCRIPTION HIM. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1927. First edition. One of a designated 160 numbered copies, this one being out-of-series. SIGNED by Cummings on the colophon page and INSCRIBED by him on the front endpaper in purple crayon, “for M. R. W. With the salutations of E. E. C. Xmas, 1927.” Newsman and biographer M. R. “Morrie” Werner was a close friend of Cummings. A drawing of Werner by Cummings is reproduced in Richard S. Kennedy’s biography of Cummings, DREAMS IN THE MIRROR; and Cumming’s oil portrait of Werner is reproduced in CIOPW. Few tiny holes in the parchment spine (at the front gutter), which also shows soiling and light rubbing, otherwise better than very good; lacking the slipcase. Nice association. [Book Id #41860] $1000. PRESENTATION INSCRIPTION HIM. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1927. First edition. INSCRIBED on the front endpaper to Hildegarde and Sibley Watson, “For Hildegard [sic] & S. W” (not signed). White paper boards with design in black on front, rear board blank; black cloth spine lettered in red. Covers soiled, spine slightly faded and somewhat mottled at base, otherwise about very good in dust jacket slightly tanned at spine with few shallow chips and one narrow, half-inch deep chip at head of spine (not affecting any lettering). [Book Id #41861] $1500.

8 CHRISTMAS TREE Christmas Tree is the title given to a separate publication of the poem “little tree,” which had been included in XLI Poems. The booklet was printed by The American Book Bindery in 1928 for use, apparently, as a Christmas gift. A number, but not all, of the copies carry the statement “Printed for National Chromium Corporation.”

PRESENTATION INSCRIPTION CHRISTMAS TREE. (New York: The American Book Bindery, 1928). First edition. INSCRIBED to Hildegarde and Sibley Watson on the front endpaper, “Happy New Year! To S H W [with the “S” over the “H,” followed by the “W”] from EEC.” Front endpaper starting, rear endpaper detached and laid in, boards rubbed and faded, silver label tarnished but readable. A very fragile production. Rare, especially inscribed. [Book Id #41864] $2000. CHRISTMAS TREE. [Mt. Vernon, NY]: (Golden Eagle Press, 1960). First broadside edition, issued as a holiday greeting. On 9 ¾ x 12 ½” cream-colored paper printed in red and green, folded. Designed and printed by S. A. Jacob, who produced the original 1928 edition. This copy with “Christmas Greetings/ From Marion and Cummings/ 1960” printed at bottom. Few tiny spots, else fine. [Book Id #41994] $150. CHRISTMAS TREE. [Mt. Vernon, NY]: (Golden Eagle Press, 1960). First broadside edition, issued as a holiday greeting. On 9 ¾ x 12 ½” cream-colored paper printed in red and green, folded. Designed and printed by S. A. Jacob, who produced the original 1928 edition. This copy with “Christmas Greetings/ From Cornelia & Waller Barrett/ 1960” printed at bottom. Few tiny spots, colophon (on verso) a little darkened on edges, else fine. [Book Id #41997] $125. LITTLE TREE. (San Diego: Twin Heart Press, 1991). First edition thus. Miniature book, illustrated by Sandra Grace. Number 90 of 100 copies. Bound in dark green pigskin, red leather spine, red felt Christmas tree on front, various Christmas-style endpapers (this copy plain red). Fine [Book Id #42004] $100.

[NO TITLE]

[No Title] is the conventional term used to identify the book of eight surrealistic prose pieces which were published first as “a kind of bagatelle” (Kennedy 316) in an anthology, The New American Caravan, in 1929. The anthology, which was subtitled “A Yearbook of American Literature,” contained stories, plays, essays and poems by 29 writers, among whom were Erskine Caldwell, Stanley Kunitz, Robert McAlmon, and Ivor Winters— whose essay on contemporary poetry mentioned Cummings as well as Eliot, Pound, Stevens, Williams, and Crane. Cummings’ contribution was published the following year as a separate book, which he referred to in the first “Nonlecture” as “an untitled volume of satire.” In neither printing was the work given a title. The title page of the book reads:

BY E. E. Cummings with illustrations by the author

9 Opposite the title page is a blank space below which is the caption “frontispiece.”

In a preface entitled “An Imaginary Dialogue between ALMOST Any Publisher And A certain Author,” the Publisher says, “By all that’s holy, THIS IS NOT A BOOK!” The Author replies, “This is a book, by all that’s not full of holes.” At the conclusion of the dialogue, the Author speaks of “infantile delusions”; “Such as the negatively fantastic delusion that something with a title on the outside and a great many printed pages on the inside is a book—and the positively monstrous delusion that a book is what anybody can write and nobody can’t publish and somebody won’t go to jail for and everybody will understand.”

The Publisher responds, “Well, if THAT’S not a BOOK, what IS?” to which the Author replies, “A new way of being alive.” The dialogue concludes with the Publisher swallowing his chequebook and saying, as he drops dead, “No thanks . . .”

[NO TITLE]. (New York: Covici Freide, 1930). First edition. Number 265 of 491 SIGNED, numbered copies. Poet and publisher James Laughlin’s copy with his pencilled signature–“James Laughlin IV/ Wallingford/ April, 1932”–on the front endpaper and his marginal notations. Laughlin, the founder of New Directions, attended the Chaote School in Wallingford, Connecticut, where he was literary editor, prior to entering Havard. Over-sized boards faded at spine and edges, top of front board lightly foxed, front top corner creased where bumped, cloth a bit ragged along back edge of the lower half of the spine. Better than good. Interesting association. [Book Id #41865] $1000.

CIOPW

The letters CIOPW, the book’s title, are the initial letters of charcoal, ink, oil, pencil, and watercolor; and the book is a collection of reproductions of Cummings’ drawings and paintings in these media. The 99 works depicted—27 drawings and 72 paintings—are reproduced in black and white.

A number of Cummings’ pictures had been printed in The Dial, but CIOPW, which was published by Covici- Friede in 1931, is the only book published in his lifetime that illustrates his work as an artist. In an untitled introduction Cummings referred to himself as “an author of pictures, a draughtsman of words.”

INSCRIBED WITH A DRAWING CIOPW. New York: Covici Freide, 1931. First edition. Number 107 of 391 copies SIGNED by Cummings in green watercolor on the title page. An art book featuring Cummings’ work in Charcoal, Ink, Oil Colors, Pencil & Watercolors, thus the title, “CIOPW.” This copy INSCRIBED, “For Sibley & Hildegarde/ E. E. C./ January 29 ‘32” with a sketch of a running elephant. Cummings’ pencil sketch of Sibley Watson at Dial Magazine is featured on p.87, “Dial–S.W.” Front hinge starting, light damp stain to upper edge throughout (not affecting any illustrations), rough cloth binding split along front and back edges of the spine, which is missing a half-inch piece at its head. Otherwise, better than good with some soiling. A difficult book to find in decent condition. Wonderful association. [Book Id #41866] $1750.

10 VV (VIVA)

ViVa, a collection of 70 poems published by Horace Liveright, Inc. in 1931, has a device of two overlapping V’s as the title. The device stands for viva, the imperative form of the verb live, and the title is always spoken as ViVa.

VV (VIVA). New York: Horace Liveright Inc, 1931. First edition. A bright copy with paper covering worn at very edges and top inch or so of boards sunned, otherwise better than very good in the fragile silver dust jacket with shallow chipping to bottom edge and half-inch to one-inch chips in top edge. Scarce book, and scarcer still in a decent dust jacket. [Book Id #41867] $750.

THE RED FRONT

The Red Front, Cummings’ translation of a poem, Le Front Rouge, by the French surrealist poet Louis Aragon, appeared first in an anthology, Literature of the World Revolution, in 1931. It was reprinted as a separate work by Contempo Publishers in 1933. A Marxist work, it does not reflect Cummings’ views of Communism, which are made clear in Eimi, which was also published in 1931; however, Cummings was apparently willing to translate it as a favor for Aragon, who was a good friend.

Louis Aragon. THE RED FRONT in CONTEMPO. Chapel Hill, NC: Contempo, February 1, 1933. First edition. Cummings’ translation from the French of Louis Aragon’s poem, in Contempo magazine (“A Review of Books and Personalities”), Volume III, Number 5. Quarto- sized sheets, self-wraps, 8 pages, stapled. Crease where previously folded, faint staining to outer pages, otherwise better than very good. Rare. [Book Id #41870] $350. Louis Aragon. THE RED FRONT. Chapel Hill, NC: Contempo Publishers (1933). First edition. Cummings’ translation from the French of Louis Aragon’s poem, originally published in Contempo magazine. One of approximately 200 copies. Edges slightly faded and very lightly creased, otherwise fine in red printed paperwraps. [Book Id #41897] $500.

EIMI

Eimi—Greek for “I am”—is Cummings’ title for the book which is an expansion of the journal he kept during a trip to the Soviet Union in the summer of 1931. Eimi was published two years later by Covici, Friede. The title, presumably, is intended to emphasize the necessity of an individual’s standing against the forces of collectivism, which he saw everywhere in the USSR and deplored.

In his introduction written for the 1934 Modern Library edition of The Enormous Room, Cummings wrote a dialogue between Author and Public which deals in part with Eimi: Public: And you have only just finished your second novel? Author: So called. Public: Entitled ee-eye-em-eye? Author: Right Public: And pronounced? Author: “A” as in a, “me” as in me; accent on the “me.”

11 Public: Signifying? Author: Am. Public: How does Am compare with The Enormous Room? Author: Favorably.

ASSOCIATION COPY EIMI. (New York: Covici Freide, 1933). First edition. Number 343 of 1381 SIGNED, numbered copies. From the library of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Paul Horgan, with his bookplates on the front pastedown and endpaper. Fine in dust jacket with only minor edgwear (a few with tape repairs on verso). Horgan’s neatly drawn initials beneath “I AM” on the front panel of the dust jacket. [Book Id #41872] $1250. PRESENTATION COPY EIMI. (New York: Covici Freide, 1933). First edition. Number 7 of 1381 SIGNED, numbered copies. INSCRIBED to Sibley & Hildegarde Watson on the day of publication, “for S. [H] W. from EEC April 3.” The “S” is written on a slight slant with a short, light line extending from the first curve and another, longer one fashioning it into an “H.” Covers lightly soiled, spine slightly darkened, few tiny nicks in cloth at head of spine, otherwise near fine, lacking the dust jacket. [Book Id #41873] $1500. EIMI. (New York: Covici Freide, 1933). First edition. One of 1,381 SIGNED, numbered copies. Bookplate on front pastedown and spine slightly soiled, otherwise very good to fine, lacking dustwrapper. [Book Id #41871] $200.

NO THANKS

Having had no success in finding a publisher for his next collection of 71 poems, Cummings had to resort to having his mother subsidize its publication in 1935 by The Golden Eagle Press. The book has no title page as such; however, the cover and the dust jacket have the words “No Thanks” printed in the author’s script, and the page that would normally be the title page has the word “TO” followed by the names are printed so as to form the shape of a funeral urn [or perhaps a loving cup —Ed.].

Cummings was obviously bitter. His most recent books, moreover, had not sold well; and at the height of the Great Depression, apparently no publisher thought that a volume of Cummings’ poems would likely prove a profitable venture. Cummings’ mother was apparently glad to put up the necessary funds for a private printing of the book, which has as a postscript: “AND THANKS TO R.H.C.” [Rebecca Haswell Cummings].

NO THANKS. New York: The Golden Eagle Press, 1935. First edition. One of 900 unnumbered copies of the trade edition printed on Ricardi Japanese paper. Very light offset to pp.[i] & [ii] from item previously laid in, otherwise fine in dust jacket with chipping to spine ends and corners and front spine fold splitting. Repaired/reinforced with paper tape on verso. [Book Id #41878] $300. NO THANKS. Exeter: Editions Poetry and Prose, 1982. First edition, wraps issue. Number 24 of 65 numbered copies. Prints “&” and “No Thanks.” Plain, sewn, stiff red wrappers, in yellow dustwrapper printed in green. Fine. [Book Id #41998] $300.

12 TOM

Cummings was commissioned in 1933 to write the scenario for a ballet, and following his wife’s suggestion, he decided to adapt Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It was intended that Tom should be staged in the fall of 1934 by the American Ballet Company with music by David Diamond and choreography by George Balanchine. Balanchine, unfortunately, was not favorably impressed by Cummings’ scenario, and the project was abandoned. The scenario was, however, published in 1935 by Arrow Editions with a noteworthy portrait of Uncle Tom by Ben Shahn as a frontispiece.

TOM. (New York: Arrow Editions, 1935). First edition. Cummings’ ballet based on “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” with color frontispiece SIGNED BY THE ARTIST, Ben Shahn. Fine in brown cloth boards, lettered in silver on front and spine, with the front and back panels and flaps of the very scarce dust jacket laid in (chipping to edges). [Book Id #41881] $300.

1/20 [ONE OVER TWENTY]

Cummings’ first book of poetry to be published in England was a selection of twenty poems, chosen by the poet from all six of his previously published collections. The title is written as the fraction one twentieth, and the book, published by Roger Roughton in 1936, is generally referred to as “One Over Twenty.”

1/20 [ONE OVER TWENTY]. London: Roger Roughton Contemporary Poetry and Prose Editions (1936). First edition. Cummings own selection of his poems. INSCRIBED on the front endpaper, “for Helen (model extraordinary) Stewart/ avec moi compliments/ E. E. Cummings/ April 13 1937.” White paper-covered boards somewhat soiled and lightly stained, covers nearly detached, but lettering in blue on front cover nice and bright. According to Richard S. Kennedy’s biography of Cummings, DREAMS IN THE MIRROR, Cummings met Stewart, then a junior at Bennington College, at a cocktail party in 1934. She subsequently invited him to do a reading at the college the following spring, and he accepted. In his UNEASY ALLIANCE, Kennedy calls her a “young disciple” of Cummings. One could easily imagine Stewart sat for a portrait for Cummings, and he inscribed this book to her in return. [Book Id #41885] $400.

COLLECTED POEMS

The title Collected Poems, which was given to the volume published by Harcourt, Brace in 1938, is in a sense a misnomer, for the book contains only about two-thirds of the Cummings poems that had been included in earlier collections. Collected Poems, a selection made by the poet and the editor, Charles A. Pearce, also contained 22 previously unpublished works, which were placed in the concluding section entitled “New Poems.”

COLLECTED POEMS. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co. (1938). First edition. Covers show light soiling, small nick in cloth at base of spine, otherwise very good; lacking the dust jacket. A review copy, stamped as such on the front endpaper with projected publication date “Feb 24 1938.” Portion of catalog indicating this copy was from the Library of poet and critic Yvor Winters, and offprint of Winters’ review of this book in American Literature (January 1939) laid in. [Book Id #41886] $100.

13 50 POEMS

Cummings’ next book, 50 Poems, contained the poems he had written since the publication of Collected Poems. A limited edition was published by Duell, Sloan and Pearce in 1940, with an ordinary edition appearing the following year.

Cummings had used the number of poems in the book as its title with his third book, XLI Poems, and he followed this practice later with 95 Poems. His executors did the same with the posthumously published 73 Poems.

50 POEMS. New York: Duell , Sloan and Pierce (1940). First edition. Number 132 of 150 copies SIGNED by Cummings. Offset from binding glue to pastedowns and spine gutters, otherwise near fine in slipcase with some light spotting and rubbing and a faint damp stain (lower edge). Prospectus card, with a few pencilled notes on verso, laid in. [Book Id #41887] $1750. 50 POEMS. New York: Duell , Sloan and Pierce (1940). First edition. Spine gutters and inner hinges slightly darkened, otherwise fine in price-clipped dust jacket with light, overall soiling, a few tiny stains, and spine somewhat darkened. Scarce in dust jacket. [Book Id #41888] $750.

1 x 1

The collection of 54 poems published by Henry Holt and Company in 1944 was titled 1 X 1, which is stated as “One Times One” when the book is mentioned. The title, according to Norman Friedman, “signifies the unity and wholeness of the transcendental vision” (133). The words of the book’s title are the last words of the book’s last poem, “if everything happens that can’t be done,” the final line being “we’re wonderful one times one.” The book bears the postscript “marion’s book,” and like many others in 1 X 1, the last poem is a love poem written to his wife.

I believe Cummings is saying that their marriage—and by extension, any very good marriage—is like the arithmetic statement 1 X 1= 1; that is, Marion and Estlin continue to be individuals, but they are united to form another entity, the one of their marriage. The analogy for a friendship might be given as 1 + 1 = 2, but the husband and wife become the one which is the “product” of their being “wonderful one times one.”

1 x 1. New York: Henry Holt and Co. (1944). First edition. INSCRIBED, “Hildegarde [Watson] – salud! – Estlin.” Light damp stain with a touch of paper offset from dust jacket extending from base of spine, otherwise very good in price-clipped dust jacket with several small rubbed tears and a little creasing. Very unusual for Cummings to sign his first name to an inscription. [Book Id #41889] $1250. 1 x 1. London: Horizon (1947). First U.K. edition, adding an introduction by Lloyd Frankenberg. Near fine in lightly soiled dust jacket with shallow chipping along top edge. Scarce. [Book Id #41890] $100.

ANTHROPOS

Cummings contributed a short one-act play entitled “Anthropos: or the Future of Art” to an anthology, Whither, Whither or After Sex, What? A Symposium to End Symposiums, which was edited by Walter S. Hankel and

14 published in 1930. Whither, Whither . . . is an anthology of thirteen humorous satirical essays by well-known writers; among the titles and their authors are; “Libido: or the Future of Debauchery,” by Corey Ford; “Gorgonzola: or the Future of Literary Criticism,” by Edmund Wilson; “Oedipus: or the Future of Love,” by Malcolm Cowley, and “Freud: or the Future of Psychoanalysis,” by James Thurber. Cummings’ contribution was published separately in book form by The Golden Eagle Press in 1944.

The play consists of dialogue between Man and three “infrahumans,”—subhumans or inferior beings. Anthropos is, of course, Greek for “Man” in the sense of “mankind” or “humanity.”

ANTHROPOS: The Future of Art. (Mt. Vernon, NY: Golden Eagle Press, 1944). First edition. One of only 222 copies of Cummings one-act play. Black cloth, white paper spine label, white paper front cover. Glossy paper-covered slipcase. Printed on white paper, with blank black pages between. Handsome production. Near fine in slightly soiled slipcase splitting at corners (one small piece missing) and with a few small tape repairs. Scarce. [Book Id #41891] $400.

SANTA CLAUS Santa Claus, which Cummings subtitles “A Morality,” has been likened to a children’s pantomime, a puppet show, and a medieval morality play. It is a one-act piece with Santa Claus, as the protagonist, contending with the antagonist, Death. The play was included in The Cummings Number of The Harvard Wake in the spring of 1946, and it was published in book form by Henry Holt and Company later that year.

PRESENTATION COPY SANTA CLAUS: A Morality. New York: Henry Holt and Co. (1946). First edition. Number 50 of 250 copies SIGNED by Cummings on the front endpaper. This copy ADDITIONALLY INSCRIBED, “to Sibley & Hildegarde [Watson]/ [inverted exclamation point] Merry Christmas!/ from/ Estlin & Marion.” It appears that Marion has signed her own name. A touch of minor damp staining to the front cover, and few light scratches to the rear cover, otherwise bright and fine; lacking the plain glassine dust jacket and slipcase. [Book Id #41894] $1500. SANTA CLAUS: A Morality. New York: Henry Holt and Co. (1946). First edition, second printing. INSCRIBED on the first blank page, “Wishing Lillian Grencher/ a Merry Christmas and a/ Happy New Year/ E. E. Cummings/ 1948.” Light offset from item previously laid in affecting small portion of the inscription, few small damp stains to covers, otherwise bright and about very good in chipped and rubbed dustwrapper (wear not affecting any lettering). [Book Id #41892] $300. SANTA CLAUS: A Morality. New York: Henry Holt and Co. (1946). First edition. Light offset to rear pastedown from item previously laid in, otherwise bright and fine in dust jacket with few tiny nicks and tears, a few spots of rubbing, and inch-long chip to top edge, rear panel (only a ¼- inch deep). [Book Id #41893] $175.

15 PUELLA MEA

“Puella Mea,” the longest poem Cummings ever wrote—290 lines—appeared first in The Dial (January, 1921) and then in Tulips and Chimneys. The title, “my girl” in Latin, refers to Elaine Orr Thayer, the mother of Cummings’ daughter Nancy and his first wife. It was published as a separate book by the Golden Eagle Press in 1949 with illustrations by Cummings, Klee, Modigliani, Picasso, and Roesch.

PUELLA MEA. [Mt. Vernon, NY]: (The Golden Eagle Press) 1923 [1949]. First edition. The first separate printing of this poem, which originally appeared in TULIPS AND CHIMNEYS. Includes an original illustration by Kurt Roesch and drawing by Cummings, plus reproductions of drawings by Klee, Valentin, Modigliani, and Picasso. Blue-gray paper covered boards stamped in gold on front and spine; in matching paper dust jacket and gold paper covered slipcase. Hinges darkened very slightly, still fine in dust jacket with light wear to overlapping top edge; in slipcase rubbed at corners. Scarce in both dust jacket and slipcase. [Book Id #41895] $300. PRESUMED VARIANT PUELLA MEA. [Mt. Vernon, NY]: (The Golden Eagle Press) 1923 [1949]. First edition. The first separate printing of this poem, which originally appeared in TULIPS AND CHIMNEYS. Includes an original illustration by Kurt Roesch and drawing by Cummings, plus reproductions of drawings by Klee, Valentin, Modigliani, and Picasso. Brown paper covered boards stamped in yellow on front and spine; yellow dust jacket printed in blue. Scattered foxing, spine slightly cocked, otherwise fine in very slightly darkened dust jacket with shallow chipping to head of spine and few small scrapes. Attractive copy. [Book Id #41896] $150.

XAIPE

The third book to which Cummings, who had majored in Classics at Harvard, assigned a Greek title was Xaipe, a collection of 71 poems that was published by the Oxford University Press in 1950. The title—pronounced “ky re e,” with the accent on the first syllable, a near rhyme with “fiery”—is a greeting traditionally translated as “Rejoice!” It is the imperative form of the verb. The publishers tried in vain to dissuade Cummings from using as his title a word that few potential purchasers would understand, and when he insisted on Xaipe, they added the subtitle “Seventy-one Poems.”

XAIPE: seventy-one poems. New York: Oxford University Press, 1950. First edition. Spine ends very slightly sunned, still fine in dust jacket with just one small tear (not immediately noticeable). [Book Id #41898] $125.

I: SIX NONLECTURES

The texts of the six presentations which Cummings made at Harvard in the 1952-53 academic year, during which he held the Charles Eliot Norton Professorship, were published with the title i: Six Nonlectures by the Harvard University Press in 1953.

In line with a suggestion given by Norman Friedman, a Harvard graduate student at the time, Cummings’ talks were essentially autobiographical. They were, furthermore, in his opinion and at his insistence, not really

16 lectures. He began the first with the announcement, “Let me cordially warn you at the opening of these so-called lectures, that I haven’t the remotest intention of posing as a lecturer.” Hence his title.

I: SIX NONLECTURES. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1953. First edition. Number 52 of 350 copies SIGNED by Cummings. Black linen boards, white linen spine. Hinge just starting at the colophon page, otherwise near fine in price-clipped dust jacket with few tiny creases and tears, edges and folds lightly rubbed, and corners nicked. Few small tape repairs/reinforcements on verso. [Book Id #41900] $650.

POEMS 1923-1954

The collection which was called “the first complete edition” of Cummings’ poetry was Poems 1923-1954, published by Harcourt, Brace in 1954. It brought together all of the poems that had appeared in Tulips and Chimneys, &, XLI Poems, is 5, ViVa, No Thanks, the “New Poems” section of Collected Poems, 50 Poems, 1 x 1, and Xaipe. The dates in the book’s title may be meant to refer to the years in which the first and the last of those earlier collections had been published. Many of the poems had, in fact, been written before 1923, and none of the poems Cummings had written after the publication of Xaipe in 1950 were included, the date 1954 notwithstanding.

POEMS 1923-1954. New York: Harcourt, Brace (1954). First edition. Fine in lightly rubbed dust jacket with a touch of minor soiling, red panel on spine faded to dark pink, and a tiny spot of off- white paint on spine (not immediately noticeable). A nice copy. [Book Id #41902] $150.

A MISCELLANY

A collection of Cummings’ writings that had not previously appeared in a book was published by The Argophile Press in 1958. Its contents were listed by Cummings in his foreword. “This book consists of a cluster of epigrams, forty-nine essays on various subjects, a poem dispraising dogmata, and several selections from an unfinished play.” The task of compiling and editing was performed by George J. Firmage, who was assisted by Cummings and his wife. Firmage had intended to title the collection “Et Cetera”; however Cummings insisted on A Miscellany.

Cummings was obviously pleased to have the various pieces, which date back as far as 1915, re-discovered and brought together. His forward concludes: “Taken ensemble, the forty-nine astonish and cheer and enlighten their progenitor. He’s astonished that, as nearly as anyone can make out, I wrote them. He’s cheered because, while re-reading them, I’ve encountered a great deal of liveliness and nothing dead. Last but not least: he’s enlightened via the realization that, whereas times can merely change, an individual may grow.”

E.E. Cummings: A Miscellany Revised was published by October House in 1965. In his introduction, editor George Firmage wrote that the revised edition provided an opportunity to correct typographical errors that had crept into the original text, to arrange the pieces in chronological order and, most importantly, to include numerous line drawings and seven prose pieces that had not appeared in the earlier book, and most significantly Cummings’ translation of Louis Aragon’s Le Front Rouge.

17 A MISCELLANY. New York: The Argophile Press, 1958. First edition. Number 51 of only 75 copies SIGNED by Cummings. Near fine in the original glassine dust jacket. [Book Id #41903] $600. A MISCELLANY. New York: The Argophile Press, 1958. First edition. Only 977 copies printed. First state with page 42 integral, one of only 164 copies with illustration tilting downward to the right. A fine, bright copy in original glassine with few tiny chips and tears and a little darkening. [Book Id #41904] $125. A MISCELLANY. New York: The Argophile Press, 1958. First edition. Only 977 copies printed. First state with page 42 integral, one of 400 copies with illustration printed upright. A fine, bright copy, lacking the glassine. [Book Id #41905] $100. PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY CUMMINGS WIDOW A MISCELLANY REVISED. New York: October House Inc. (1965). Revised and enlarged edition, first thus. INSCRIBED by Cummings’ widow, Marion Morehouse, “for Hildegarde & Sibley/ with love/ Marion/ April 1965.” Bump in top edge resulting in small tear to top of front pastedown, otherwise near fine in lightly soiled dust jacket very slightly tanned at spine, with just a few small nicks and tears. [Book Id #42103] $500.

95 POEMS

The last collection of Cummings’ poems that he was able to see through publication was 95 Poems, published by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1958.

95 POEMS. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co. (1958). First edition. Fine in lightly nicked and rubbed dust jacket with only minor soiling, few small tears, and chipping at spine ends (affecting publisher’s logo at base of spine). One-page contemporary review from Time Magazine which prints a few poems, laid in. Scarce in dust jacket. [Book Id #41907] $75. SELECTED POEMS 1923-1958

SELECTED POEMS 1923-1958. London: Faber & Faber (1960). First edition. Selections from POEMS 1923--1954 and 95 POEMS. No equivalent U.S. edition. One tiny edge bump and a spot of shelf wear, still fine in dust jacket with light soiling on the rear panel and one tiny tear (top edge, rear panel). [Book Id #41910] $100.

16 POEMES ENFANTINS

In 1962 Cummings asked George Firmage to arrange for the printing of a selection of his poems that would especially appeal to children, for the poet wanted to have something to send to those who wrote expressing interest in his work. Firmage, who was in charge of publications for a New York bank, published under the

18 Marion Press imprint (a tribute to Marion, Cummings' wife), 200 copies of a little paper-bound booklet of sixteen poems to which Cummings, an ardent Francophile, gave the title 16 Poèmes Enfantin.

16 POEMES ENFANTINS. New York: The Marion Press, 1962. First edition. Only 500 copies printed. Cummings' own selection for children from his previously published poems. The last work published in his lifetime. Light sunning to edges of wraps, as usually seen, still a near fine copy in pale blue, stapled paperwraps printed in black on front. [Book Id #41916] $150.

ADVENTURES IN VALUE

Cummings contributed the text for Adventures in Value, a collection of fifty black-and-white photographs by his wife, Marion Morehouse, published by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1962, the year of Cummings’ death. Definitions of value, quoted from The Concise Oxford Dictionary, give the two meanings of the word that are applicable to the book’s title: "Worth, desirability, qualities on which these depend" and "Relation of one part of a picture to others in respect of light and shade."

The text consists of subjective commentaries on the photographs and flights of imaginative fancy inspired by them; some of the pieces are as brief as a single word; whereas others fill a page.

ADVENTURES IN VALUE. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World (1962). First edition. Fifty photographs by Marion Morehouse with text by Cummings. INSCRIBED BY MOREHOUSE on the first blank page, "inscribed for Emmy/ with love/ Marion/ 1962." Fine in price-clipped dust jacket nicked and rubbed at spine ends and corners. [Book Id #41915] $350.

73 POEMS

A collection of Cummings’ last poems, 73 Poems, was published by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1963.

73 POEMS. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World (1963). First edition. A little rubbing to spine edges, otherwise bright and fine in price-clipped dust jacket very slightly sunned at spine, with only light rubbing and a few tiny nicks. [Book Id #41917] $75.

FAIRY TALES

Four children’s stories which, according to an introductory statement by Marion Morehouse Cummings, Cummings had written for his daughter, Nancy, “when she was a very little girl,” were published with the title Fairy Tales by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1965. The stories are: “The Old Man Who Said ‘Why,’” “The Elephant & The Butterfly,” “The House That Ate Mosquito Pie” and “The Little Girl Named I.” The first story had been printed in The Cummings Number of The Harvard Wake in 1946.

FAIRY TALES. New York: Harcourt, Brace (1965). First edition. Tales written for Cummings' daughter, Nancy, when she was young; illustrated by John Eaton. Base of spine lightly bumped,

19 cover edges slightly faded, otherwise near fine in dust jacket a little darkened at spine, with a few closed tears, one half-inch chip to rear bottom corner, and coffee staining at very base of spine and along the spine folds (not as bad as it sounds). [Book Id #41920] $45.

SELECTED LETTERS OF E. E. CUMMINGS

Letters which Cummings had written to relatives and friends, beginning with a note to his grandmother written in 1899 through several written in 1962, the year of his death, a total of 265 in all, were compiled by F. W. Dupee and George Stade with the title Selected Letters of E. E. Cummings and published by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1969.

SELECTED LETTERS OF E. E. CUMMINGS. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1969 First edition. Uncorrected proof in red paperwraps patterned with publisher's device. Printed label on front indicating probable publication date of May 21, 1969. Karl (?) Shapiro's copy, with his markings and a few annotations. Very good or better with foreword stapled in and review (Shapiro's?) pasted inside the front cover. [Book Id #41928] $150. SELECTED LETTERS OF E. E. CUMMINGS. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1969 First edition. Illustrated with photographs and a few of Cummings' sketches. Fine in dust jacket with light edge rubbing and one small (rubbed) tear. [Book Id #41929] $50.

ETCETERA

Etcetera, published in 1983 by Liveright, is a collection of 164 previously unpublished Cummings poems, chosen by co-editors George J. Firmage and Richard S. Kennedy “from more than 350 unpublished pieces that the search turned up,” according to Kennedy’s introduction. The earliest date from 1904, when the poet was 10.

According to the editors’ figures, there must be 200 or so still unpublished Cummings poems; however, they are essentially “works in progress,” unfinished poems that the poet had not approved for publication.

ETCETERA: The Unpublished Poems. New York: Liveright (1983). First edition. 143 previously unpublished poems. "Typescript" edition, edited by George J. Firmage and Richard S. Kennedy. Fine in lightly rubbed dust jacket with shallow chipping to head of spine, a few small (rubbed) tears and a touch of edge creasing. [Book Id #41972] $60.

COMPLETE POEMS: 1904-1962

The definitive edition of Cummings’ poetry, entitled Complete Poems 1904-1962, was edited by his literary executor, George J. Firmage, and published by Liveright in 1991. A "Centennial Edition" of this collection was published three years later to mark the anniversary of the poet’s birth.

More than a thousand pages in length, this book contains every poem that Cummings published or designated for publication as well as the additional 164 poems that Firmage and Kennedy had included in Etcetera.

20

COMPLETE POEMS: 1904-1962. New York: Liveright (1991). "Revised, Corrected, and Expanded Edition Containing All the Published Poetry," first thus. Edited by George J. Firmage. Fine in dust jacket. A hefty 1102 page-book. [Book Id #41926] $75. COMPLETE POEMS: 1904-1962. New York: Liveright (1994). "Revised, Corrected, and Expanded Edition Containing All the Published Poetry." A reissue of the 1991 edition of COMPLETE POEMS, published to commemorate Cummings birth in 1894--"Centennial Edition," first thus. Edited by George J. Firmage. Fine in dust jacket with one small tear. A hefty 1102 page-book. [Book Id #41927] $50.

POUND/CUMMINGS

A second volume of Cummings’ letters, those he wrote to Ezra Pound from 1930 to 1962, together with Pound’s letters to Cummings, was edited by Barry Ahearn and published by The University of Michigan Press in 1996 with the title Pound / Cummings: The Correspondence of Ezra Pound and E. E. Cummings.

POUND/CUMMINGS: The Correspondence of Ezra Pound and E. E. Cummings. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press (1999). Edited by Barry Ahearn. Presumed first trade edition. Reportedly originally published in a limited edition of 700 in 1996. Fine in dust jacket. Letter from a representative of the University confirming the first printing of 700 laid in. Unaccountably scarce. [Book Id #41921] $100.

COMPLETE RUN OF THE E. E. CUMMINGS SOCIETY JOURNAL SPRING: E. E. Cummings Society Journal. The Complete Run, April 1981 -- Fall 2004. First editions. 55 volumes in all: 42 volumes in the "first series," including 2 "Poetry Supplements" (poetry written in homage to Cummings) and "Contents & Index, Volumes 1--10, 1981--1990" (which is actually Volume 10, Number 4); and 13 volumes in the "new series." The initial series in folded (but, with the exception of the Index, not stapled) paperwraps, the new series perfect bound. All issues are near fine to fine. The E. E. Cummings Society and its Journal, SPRING, were established in New York City in 1980 by David V. Forrest, a psychiatrist, and Richard S. Kennedy and Norman Friedman, both English professors. Friedman and Forrest, along with Editorial Board members George J. Firmage and D. Jon Grossman, knew Cummings in the old days and enjoyed a personal / literary relationship with him. Forrest was editor of the Journal and chief organizer of the Society's meetings, and SPRING ran quarterly from April of 1981 to June of 1991. The Society met periodically and ad hoc, attended by a fluctuating membership--usually gathering around some relevant event, such as the performance of a Cummings play or the arrival of a visiting notable--who were convened in Forrest's office and then transposed to a nearby restaurant for lunch or dinner. An account of the meeting then appeared in the Journal which was produced in the manner of a typewritten newsletter, along with articles, poems, letters, and other items of interest to those who cherish Cummings and his works. In 1992, a new series of SPRING was launched, featuring a more regular journal format, and a greater selection of articles and studies of Cummings' life, works, and times. (E. E. Cummings Society Website) [Book Id #42089] $750.

21 CORRESPONDENCE

AUTOGRAPH POSTCARD SIGNED: With Photograph Patchin Place [NY]: October 4, 1944. Postcard, written wholly in Cummings' hand, "thanks heartily for your/ good wishes/ and here's wishing you/ the best of luck/ E. E. Cummings." Matted together with a photograph of Cummings by his wife, Marion Morehouse. Framed. Fine. [Book Id #42070] $1500. TYPED LETTER SIGNED Patchin Place [NY]: May 16, 1946. Two pages, 8 1/2 x 11" off-white paper. "Dear Howard [Rothschild]--the enclosed is what I happen to believe. If your friend, the South American poetess, still wishes to 'interview' me after she has read and understood it--fine and dandy; provided she'll heartily agree to [underlined] quote me (somewhere in the course of her radiotalk) as saying [underlined] exactly this and nothing else. . ." Followed on a separate sheet by "individuality always was and always will be the one and only reality: I love it./ What a loveless world calls 'publicity' is nothing but the disease of unreality; and I loathe it./ If you ask me for an individual, I give you William Shakespeare./ E.E. Cummings." Both sheets creased where folded to sixths, otherwise fine. Includes handwritten, original envelope. Together with a lengthy typewritten letter from Marion, written in 1934 during her and Cummings' stay in Tunisia at Baron Huene's villa at Hammamet, expressing disdain for the open homosexuality of the Tunisian men. Richard Kennedy, in his Cummings' biography , DREAMS IN THE MIRROR, reports that Cummings similarly expressed in his letters "amazement at the open homosexuality of the Tunisian men." Marion writes in part, "There isn't much to write about as we hardly ever leave our place. The people down here are terrible, with few exceptions. They’re all queer and such queers you have never seen." Fine. [Book Id #42063] $2,500. PATCHIN PLACE LEASE AGREEMENT. Patchin Place [NY]: August, 1951. Two-year lease agreement for the "entire ground floor" of Cummings' beloved No. 4 Patchin Place at $714 a year. Signed by Cummings and Hugh Keenan, the landlord. Matted and framed with glass on both sides, so the entire agreement can be viewed. Fine. [Book Id #42071] $1000. TYPED POSTCARD Silver Lake, NH: August 25 1962. Airmail postcard to Howard Rothschild in London, dated shortly before Cummings death: "thanks immensely for the priceless information about Norway - - & for the 2handedswordlifting Swedish hero. Let us know how you like guided tours in the proletarian paradise;& don't miss Lenin! Marion sends love." Unsigned. Fine. Together with an Authograph Letter Signed by Cummings' wife, Marion, dated June 3, 1962, also from Silver Lake: "Thanks so much for the clipping, though I'm always dismayed by the way journalists misquote. C did say to Sonia [Orwell] that artists should be in the opposition but as for saying he'd not been happy since Roosevelt was elected, not only did he not say it but it's no the sort of thing he would say." She goes on to speak of the lake and an incident with their water pump ("The country for excitement I always say.") And closes with "We, too, are happy at finding you again & from now on please send me a word from your travels & when you come to see your mother come to see us too. Love from us both, Marion." Four pages on 3 small sheets of plain stationary. Envelope included. Fine. [Book Id #42005] $1250.

22 COLLECTION OF CORRESPONDENCE WITH SHERI MARTINELLI A collection of postcards, a letter, and Christmas card from Cummings to artist-writer Sheri Martinelli. Martinelli is perhaps best remembered as mistress and sometimes muse of Ezra Pound during his stay in St. Elizabeths hospital in the '50s. Her persona, and sometimes her paintings, were subjects of several of Pound's later Cantos. She was also known as a protégé of Anais Nin-- she is described in detail in Nin's "Diary." In addition to the correspondence from Cummings, the collection includes a self-portrait by Martinelli, drawn in pastel on gold paper. The image of Martinelli is of her face tilted toward the ground, her forehead decorated with a flower curtained by her hair. Beneath the image, she has written "'when faces called flowers float out of the ground' for 'mister lowercase' (as Maestro Ez' Po' calls eec) SM." Cummings' poem "when faces called flowers float out of the ground," appeared in XAIPE (Oxford Univ. Pr., 1950), a copy of which is included herein. Cummings collected Martinelli's art, perhaps after making her acquaintance through Pound, who once wrote him for advice on her drug addiction (Pound/Cummings 356). Also included in the collection is a copy of the signed limited edition of BEERSPIT NIGHT AND CURSING: The Correspondence of Charles Bukowski and Sheri Martinelli 1960 - 1967 [Black Sparrow Press, 2001]. The fascinating introduction by editor Steven Moore sheds light on the history and reputation of Martinelli, and illuminates her talent for engaging writers: "Sheri Martinelli was one of the favored few for whom Bukowski dropped the mask and engaged in serious discussion of literature and art, and for that reason the discovery and publication of his letters to her give us a more complete picture of this complicated man." (Moore p.7). At the time of her correspondence with Buk, Martinelli was editor of the Poundian quarterly, "Anagogic and Paideumic Review," which she founded a few years after Pound departed St. Elizabeths for Italy in 1958, leaving Martinelli behind. "Dethroned," as Moore puts it, she married a fellow Pound devotee, Gilbert Lee, left Washington for Mexico, and eventually landed in San Francisco where she personally typed her literary magazine, mimeographed it in purple ink, and sold it at the City Lights book store. The collection of SIX TYPED SIGNED POSTCARDS FROM CUMMINGS, and one from his wife Marion, when dated, range from 1958 to 1960, a period just prior to the Bukowski letters, and just after Pound left for Italy. And when addressed, three are to Washington, DC, and three are to San Francisco, where Martinelli eventually published her magazine and became somewhat of a literary diva, dubbed "Queen of the Beats." Interestingly, the period of her correspondence with Cummings bridges her unceremonious dumping by Pound, and eventual success in San Francisco. It seems entirely possible she was attempting to insinuate herself into Cummings life, as she had Pound’s, even to woo him too away from his wife. The correspondence from Cummings is personal, addressing her as "La Martinelli" (as Pound had), and at one point, "Steeply Esteemed She." For the most part, it purposefully mentions his wife Marion, even adding "Marion sends greetings!" along the margin of one postcard. The LETTER is four typed paragraphs--in mostly lowercase--on one side of a single leaf, dated simply "Palm Sunday" and SIGNED BY CUMMINGS in red pencil, "EEC." The bulk of the letter seems to address comments made by Martinelli: "should be

23 much obliged if you'd explain . . . [an unkind reference to homosexuals] . . . the worst (from this ignorant correspondent's standpoint) unnews since mrs fdr outlived mr." Some of it seems downright incomprehensible: "speaking of my favorite animal, have you ever encountered Les Racines Du Ciel . . . Or fotuitously collided with a moompigsure slightly thereto related?" And it closes: "last & most, Marion joins me in CONGRATULATIONS re your HAPPINESS/ --sincerely." There is a note in the margin that appears to be in Marion’s hand, over which Martinelli has drawn one of her trademark ethereal-female images. One final piece of "correspondence" is an envelope from a Christmas card sent in 1961, addressed in Marion’s hand, which Martinelli embellished with sketches on both front and back, and with a lipstick kiss over the return address on the back, then "framed" in black construction paper with white tape. An odd ending to a brief but interesting correspondence. [Book Id #40599] $3500.

24 ART

"Breton": Gouache. Original art. 7 x 9." Black and gray watercolor sketch on tan paper, signed in lower right corner, title in pencil on verso. A boldly painted man, hands in his pockets, pipe in his mouth. Given to Cummings' Harvard schoolmate and good friend S. Foster Damon, poet and teacher at Brown University, and subsequently to Ernest Costa, who, under Damon's influence became a librarian at Brown. Matted and framed. Few small spots and one tiny tear, otherwise fine. [Book Id #42067] $5000.

"Jimmy Savo Performing": Oil on Board. Original art. 8 x 10." Unsigned. Cummings' poem about vaudeville comic Savo, "so little he is" pasted to back, along with a discussion of the poem by John Ordeman (sealed in an envelope), presumably from his article in the E. E. Cummings Society Journal "Spring 6," 1997. Fine. "Although Savo was a popular and critically acclaimed performer in the decades between the two World Wars, it may well be that he will be best remembered as the subject of the poem in which Cummings described the "(childlost / so;ul / )foundclown" --John Ordeman. [Book Id #42065] $8000.

"Lovers on a Bench": Pencil Sketch on Tracing Paper. Original art. 7 1/2 x 9." Unsigned. A lovingly rendered sketch of a man and woman embracing on a park bench: he in suit and hat with his arm encircling her waist; she in clingy dress, one hand gripping his shoulder, the other relaxed. Matted and framed. Fine. [Book Id #42069] $1500.

"Marion in Blue Robe": Oil on Wood. Original art. 7 1/2 x 16," unsigned. A pensive Marion, perhaps just waking up, her hair piled high on her head and the sun lighting her face. Framed. Fine. [Book Id #42066] $5000.

25 FOR ALLEN TATE FROM E. E. CUMMINGS

"Marion": Oil Sketch on Cardboard. Original art. 8 1/4 x 12." Signed “Cummings” in pencil on back, where also very lightly noted “mmc by eec.” Matted and framed with separate inscription on plain cardboard to poet Allen Tate visible from the back, "for Allen Tate/ from/ E. E. Cummings." A shoulders- up visage of a youthful appearing Marion gazing off into the distance. Letter from Tate's wife establishing provenance of this piece and another attached to the frame's paper backing. In it, she mistakenly notes the piece as initialled “e”—Cummings customary scrawl must have caused her confusion. A color copy of the picture and xerox of the back included to show the actual signature. A little chipping to the cardboard edges--adding rather than detracting from the overall effect of the piece--otherwise fine. [Book Id #42068] $9500.

“Self-Portrait”. (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1999). First edition thus. Reproduction of the original self-portrait painted by Cummings in 1958, printed as part of a selection of works from the National Portrait Gallery. 5 x 7" color reproduction, "matted in accordance with recommended conservation." Fine. [Book Id #42064] $75.

26 MISCELLANEOUS

INSCRIBED BY CUMMINGS (Anthology) A WREATH OF CHRISTMAS POEMS: Virgil Dante Chaucer . . . Norfolk, Conn.: New Directions [1942] First edition, hardcover issue. Includes T. S. Eliot, Kenneth Pathcen, et al. INSCRIBED BY CUMMINGS, "to Sibley and Hildegarde [Watson]/ --bonne chance!/ Estlin & Marion/ Xmas 1943." It appears Marion signed her own name. Tips rubbed and edges slightly sunned, otherwise very good or better, lacking the dust jacket. [Book Id #41965] $300. Cummings, Nancy de Foret. CHARON’S DAUGHTER: A Passion of Identity. (New York): Liveright (1977). First edition. Includes eight previously unpublished poems by E. E. Cummings. Poet Richard Eberhart’s copy with his signature on the front endpaper. Fine in dustwrapper. [Book Id #42364] $40. Herriman, George. KRAZY KAT. New York: Henry Holt and Co. (1946). First edition. Introduction by Cummings. Herriman's comic strip appeared in American newspapers from 1913 to 1944. Quarto. Page edges toned, base of spine lightly bumped, otherwise near fine in dust jacket with few small tears, 1/2 inch chip (base of spine) and 1/2 inch hole (front flap fold) all backed with white paper and cloth tape. Not as bad as it sounds and, due to its large size and contents, a difficult book in any jacket. [Book Id #42109] $100. Kazin, Alfred. E. E. CUMMINGS AND THE PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. [Charlottesville, VA]: (University Press, 1951). First edition. Elaborately designed program for an address on Cummings by Kazin, "The Second Peters Rushton Seminar in Contemporary Prose and Poetry" sponsored by the Schools of English at the University of Virginia. Approximately 9 x 12" leaf, folded twice to make four 4 1/2 x 6" pages (including covers), printed in black, pink, blue, and yellow-green. Fine. [Book Id #42000] $40. Malipiero, Riccardo. IN TIME OF DAFFODILS. Milano: Edizioni Suvini Zerboni, 1964. First edition. Five of Cummings' poems set to music by Malipiero for an opera commissioned by the Elisabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation for the Library of Congress. Prints the poems and the music. INSCRIBED BY MALIPIERO, "To Harold Spivoacke [sic]/ believing in nothing/ but love . . . . Riccardo Malipiero 13.1.65." Presumably inscribed to Harold Spivacke, chief of the music division of the Library of Congress, 1937-1972. Pale gray paperwraps printed in dark red. Fine. Unusual. [Book Id #41974] $75. Stravinsky, Igor and Jean Cocteau. OEDIPUS REX. New York: Program Publishing Co. (1949). First edition thus. Cummings' English translation of the Speaker's Text for the Libretto by Stravinsky and Cocteau. Stapled selfwraps, with cover serving as title page. Fine. Rare. [Book Id #42090] $300.

27 DUPLICATES, LATER PRINTINGS, ETC.

22 AND 50 POEMS. New York: Liveright (2001). First edition. 22 poems from COLLECTED POEMS (1938) and 50 POEMS (1940). Edited by George James Firmage. Glossy, black paperwraps printed in yellow, white and red. Fine. [Book Id #42092] $15. ANOTHER E. E. CUMMINGS. New York: Liveright (1998). First edition. "A mind-bending selection of the avant-garde Cummings--poetry and prose." Edited and with an introduction by Richard Kostelanetz, with the assistance of John Rocco. Spine ends lightly bumped, still fine in dust jacket with just a touch of light soiling and spine slightly sunned. [Book Id #41961] $25. COLLECTED POEMS. Franklin Center, PA: Franklin Library, (1938). First edition thus. In the 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature. Full blue leather, stamped in gilt on all sides, raised spine bands, ribbon place marker. Fine. Includes the 22-page pamphlet “Notes from the Editors”; illustrated with photographs. [Book Id #42097] $100. COMPLETE POEMS: 1913-1935 & 1936-1962. [London]: MacGibbon & Kee (1968). First edition. Two volumes. Both volumes rubbed to boards along top edges (appears to be silverfish damage), otherwise fine in price-clipped dustwrappers, each with only one closed tear. [Book Id #41924] $175. EIMI. New York: William Sloan Associates (1933) [1949]. Second edition, first issue. Smooth yellow cloth binding, top page edges stamped in red; dust jacket with title in red on front and spine. Near fine in lightly soiled dust jacket with tape repair to head of spine and rear flap fold (tape slightly darkened). [Book Id #41875] $175. EIMI. New York: William Sloan Associates (1933) [1949]. Second edition, first issue. Smooth yellow cloth binding, top page edges stamped in red; dust jacket with title in red on front and spine. Fine in lightly soiled dust jacket with corners and base of spine nicked, shallow chipping at head of spine, and red title lettering on spine faded to pink. [Book Id #41874] $300. EIMI. New York: William Sloan Associates (1933) [1949]. Second edition, remainder binding, second issue dust jacket. Loosely woven, unpolished yellow cloth binding, top page edges plain; dust jacket with title in black on front and spine. Near fine or better in slightly soiled dust jacket (soiling more evident on the rear panel), with few tiny nicks and tears. [Book Id #41876] $175. EIMI. New York: Grove Press Inc. (1933) [1958]. Actually the third edition, although the introduction is titled “Sketch for a Preface to the Fourth Edition of Eimi.” One of a small number in the hardcover issue. Fine in lightly soiled dust jacket with just a few tiny nicks and tears. [Book Id #41877] $75. THE ENORMOUS ROOM. New York: Boni and Liveright (1922). First edition, first state with “Shit!” in last line, p.219. An interesting copy, presumably misbound: p.271, the last page of text, serves as the pastedown and appears to have been bound so. Good only, with covers soiled, somewhat darkened, and rubbed at all edges; a number of pages roughly opened (resulting in occasional chipping at margins) and a small stain to the page fore edges. Lacking the dust jacket. [Book Id #41677] $150.

28 THE ENORMOUS ROOM. New York: Boni and Liveright (1922). First edition, second state with “Shit!” inked over in last line, p.219. Bright, near fine copy with endpapers slightly darkened (appears to have been caused by the dust jacket flaps), and pp.214-15 roughly opened, resulting in a chip in the margin of p.214. Remnants of front panel and rear flap of the dust jacket are pasted to a plain sheet of white paper and laid in. [Book Id #41675] $200. THE ENORMOUS ROOM. London: Jonathan Cape (1928). First U. K. edition. Introduction by Robert Graves. Mild darkening to pastedowns (appears to be offset from binding), spine slightly dulled, a few tiny nicks in cloth at spine ends, and head of spine just barely beginning to fray, otherwise very good. An apparently contemporary British newspaper review pasted to the half- title page, which reads in part: “If the author of this extraordinarily powerful and extremely unappetising volume were asked–as he will no doubt be asked very frequently–what justification he could urge for having published it, he would probably reply ‘truthfulness’.” Lacking the dust jacket. A relatively scarce book, in any condition. [Book Id #41680] $100. THE ENORMOUS ROOM. New York: Liveright (1950). Second edition. Light crease at base of spine, still fine in dustwrapper with a tiny hole in the rear flap fold. [Book Id #41682] $25. THE ENORMOUS ROOM: A typescript edition with drawings by the author. New York: Liveright (1950). First edition thus. “Based on three corrected copies of the complete manuscript as well as Cummings’ original notes and drafts . . . reproduces, for the first time, approximately sixty on-the-spot drawings the author made of the people, places, and events described.” – from the dust jacket. Introduction by Richard S. Kennedy; afterword by the editor, James Firmage. Touch of fading to base of spine, otherwise fine in dust jacket sunned at spine, which is nonetheless bright. [Book Id #41683] $75. THE ENORMOUS ROOM. London: Jonathan Cape (1968). Includes Cummings introduction for the 1934 Modern Library edition, first edition thus. Spine ends slightly rolled, still bright and fine in price-clipped dustwrapper with just a touch of minor rubbing to base of spine. [Book Id #41681] $40. FREEDOM, JOY & INDIGNATION: Letters from E. E. Cummings. [Amherst, MA]: The Massachusetts Review, 1963). First edition. Off-print from the Massachusetts Review, Spring 1963. Edited by Robert G. Tucker and David R. Clark. INSCRIBED ON THE FRONT COVER BY CLARK, "Compliments of Dave Clark July 24, 1963." Correspondence negotiating re- recording or excise of objectionable material from a half-hour tape recording made by Cummings in 1954 for inclusion in a radio broadcast series featuring New England poets. Cummings' answer was "no." The tape was finally broadcast in 1963 during an hour-long tribute to Cummings by The Review. Fine in stapled paperwraps printed in black and red. Includes a letter from the Senior Archives Assistant at the University of Massachusetts W.E.B. Du Bois Library, responding to John Ordeman's request for a typescript or copy of Cummings' 1954 recording, with a xerox copy of the original program material for the series attached (but no typescript of the actual recording). [Book Id #41919] $125. FREEDOM, JOY & INDIGNATION: Letters from E. E. Cummings. [Amherst, MA]: The Massachusetts Review, 1963). First edition. Off-print from the Massachusetts Review, Spring 1963. Edited by Robert G. Tucker and David R. Clark. Correspondence negotiating re-recording or excise of objectionable material from a half-hour tape recording made by Cummings in 1954

29 for inclusion in a radio broadcast series featuring New England poets. Cummings' answer was "no." The tape was finally broadcast in 1963 during an hour-long tribute to Cummings by The Review. Fine in stapled paperwraps printed in black and red. [Book Id #41918] $100. HIM. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1927. First edition. Light crease in second blank leaf (appears to be production error), minor soiling to paper covers, spine slightly faded with one tiny spot, corners rubbed to boards, otherwise very good; lacking the dust jacket. [Book Id #41862] $50. HIM. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, 1955. Reissue. Dark blue cloth printed in gold on front and spine. The dust jacket design is similar to that of the 1927 first edition, but printed in black only. Owner’s inscription on front endpaper, otherwise near fine in slightly tanned dustwrapper with a few tiny chips. [Book Id #41863] $60. HIST WHIST and other poems for children. New York: Liveright (1983). First edition. Edited by George J. Firmage. Illustrated with drawings by David Calsada. Includes the poems from 16 POEMES ENFANTINS, which was privately issued in an edition of only 500 copies by Firmage in 1962, as well as 4 poems originally intended for that issue. Gift inscription on front pastedown (partially obscured by dust jacket flap), otherwise fine in price-clipped dust jacket with only a few tiny rubbed spots. [Book Id #41933] $25. IN JUST-SPRING. New York: Little Brown and Co. (1988). First separate edition of this poem. Children's book, illustrated by Heidi Goennel. Fine in dust jacket. [Book Id #41967] $40. LITTLE TREE. London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1987. First U. K. edition of the first separate edition of this poem. Children’s book, illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray. Fine in glossy pictorial paper boards. Appears to have been issued without a dust jacket. [Book Id #41969] $30. LOVE IS MOSTLY MAD AND MOONLY. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. (1978). First edition. Poetry by Cummings (from COMPLETE POEMS 1913-1962) and photographs by John Pearson. Gift inscription (writ rather large) inside front cover, covers a little bowed, otherwise near fine with spine ends and corners lightly rubbed. [Book Id #41932] $25. MAY DAY 1952. (New York: Igal Roodenko, 1952). First separate edition of "I sing of Olaf glad and big." Small, yellow paperwraps (3 7/16 x 6 1/8"), printed in red and silver on front; pale green, fan-folded leaf (6 1/8 x 16 1/2") printed in darker green on stub attached inside rear cover. Unavoidable offset from the binding glue on rear cover, otherwise fine. [Book Id #41973] $100. MAY I FEEL SAID HE. New York: Welcome Enterprises (1995). First separate edition of this poem from NO THANKS, with color illustrations by Marc Chagall. Quarto pictorial paper boards. Fine in dust jacket. A mildly erotic book that at first glance appears to be for children. [Book Id #41960] $40. A MISCELLANY. London: Peter Owen (1965). First U.K. edition. Edited and with an introduction by George Firmage. Page edges lightly foxed, otherwise fine in lightly soiled dust

30 jacket with one small chip at head of spine. Remnants of sticker at bottom of front flap, but original price still visible. Scarce. [Book Id #41906] $60. NO THANKS. New York: Liveright (1978). Typescript edition, first thus. Edited, with an Afterword, by George James Firmage. Introduction by Richard S. Kennedy. Fine in dust jacket with a few small, rubbed tears and one small scrape. [Book Id #41879] $75. POEMS 1905-1962. London: Marchim Press, 1973. First edition. Edited by George J. Firmage. Authorized "Typewriter Edition," includes 770 collected, 45 uncollected and 20 previously unpublished poems. "Recreated from the Poet's Manuscripts," with bibliographical and textual notes by Firmage. Number 76 of 200 numbered copies (of 225 total). SIGNED BY FIRMAGE on the title page, though not called for. Green leather spine and edges; woven cloth boards. Few tiny rubbed spots at spine ends, and few minor splashes to green top edge, otherwise fine in original heavy acetate dust jacket with light crease along front fore edge. A remarkably nice copy of this over-sized volume. [Book Id #41931] $650. POESIE SCELTE. Milano: All'Insegna del Pesce D'Oro (1958). First edition. 12 poems, selected and with an introduction (in Italian) by Nobel Prize-winning poet Salvatore Quasimodo. Poems in English and Italian on opposing pages. Number 6 of 1000 numbered copies. Small (approximately 3 3/4 x 4 3/4") tan paperwraps with flaps, printed in pale orange and black. Minor soiling, still fine. [Book Id #42003] $100. SELECTED LETTERS OF E. E. CUMMINGS. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1969 First edition. Illustrated with photographs and a few of Cummings' sketches. Page edges lightly foxed, otherwise near fine in price-clipped dust jacket lightly foxed on verso and rear flap fold, with few rubbed tears and rear panel lightly soiled. [Book Id #41930] $35. SELECTED POEMS 1923-1958. London: Faber & Faber (1969). First Faber paperback edition. Interesting copy with pencilled note on half-title page indicating the poems from the book read at Marion Morehouse's (Cummings' wife) Memorial Service, as well as the readers (Robert Lowell, Stanely Kunitz, Glenway Wescott, et al). Few light creases near spine, otherwise near fine in white paperwraps printed in pink, teal and black. [Book Id #41913] $50. SELECTED POEMS. New York: Liveright (1994). First edition. 156 poems selected by Cummings' biographer Richard S. Kennedy, to commemorate the centennial of Cummings' birth. With an introduction and commentary by Kennedy. Illustrated with 13 drawings, oils and watercolors by Cummings, most never before published. Fine in dust jacket with publisher's promo laid in. Uncommon in hardcover. [Book Id #41957] $50. THREE PLAYS & A BALLET. New York: October House Inc. (1967). First edition, paperwraps issue. Edited and with an introduction by George J. Firmage. White covers a little mottled with age, price neatly inked over on front cover, otherwise very good or better. [Book Id #41922] $25.

31 TOM. (New York: Arrow Editions, 1935). First edition. Cummings’ ballet based on “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” with color frontispiece by Ben Shahn. Base of spine lightly rubbed, otherwise fine in brown cloth boards, lettered in silver on front and spine; lacking the scarce dust jacket. [Book Id #41882] $150. TULIPS & CHIMNEYS: The original 1922 manuscript with the 34 additional poems from &. New York: Liveright (1976). First edition thus. Introduction by Richard S. Kennedy; edited and with an afterword by George James Firmage. Tiny, blue ink asterisks marking 11 poems in the Table of Contents, and several sentences underlined in the introduction, rubber-stamped price on front endpaper, boards faded at edges; overall about very good. In price-clipped dustwrapper, nicked and creased along the top edge, with a few tape repairs/reinforcements on verso. [Book Id #41687] $40. VV (VIVA). New York: Liveright (1979). Typescript Edition, first thus. Based on the poet’s final, corrected manuscript. Edited, with an Afterword, by George James Firmage. Fine in dust jacket with one tiny nick. Surprisingly scarce. [Book Id #41869] $75. VV(VIVA). New York: Liveright Publishers, 1970. Introduction by Malcolm Cowley, first thus. Light spotting to rear board, front endpaper rubbed at fore edge, otherwise bright and fine in price-clipped dust jacket with a few small, rubbed tears. [Book Id #41868] $60. . . . VIVA SWEET LOVE". Portland, Maine: The Ascensius Press, 1989. Eleven poems compiled by Sheldon Skolfield, with an etching of Cummings by R. Keith Rendall, first edition thus. Number 65 of 75 numbered copies (of 100 total) SIGNED by the publisher. This copy also signed by the artist on the colophon page. Called for? Hand-made printed paperwraps. Fine. A lovely production. [Book Id #41971] $200. XAIPE. New York: Liveright (1979). Typescript edition based on the final, corrected manuscript, first thus. Edited, with an afterword, by George James Firmage. Possible review copy with publisher’s publicity letter laid in. Top edges slightly faded, otherwise fine in dust jacket with two rubbed tears (one affecting “G” in author’s name) repaired with tape on verso. Can’t have been many of these typescript editions printed. Remarkably scarce. [Book Id #41899] $50.

32 CONTRIBUTIONS TO BOOKS AND MAGAZINES 24 items, offered as a lot

Untitled, “Chapters I-VIII,” first line “The king took off his hat,”pp.165-83 in THE NEW AMERICAN CARAVAN: A Yearbook of American Literature. Edited by Alfred Kreymborg, Lewis Mumford, and Paul Rosenfeld. New York: The Macaulay Company, 1929. No dust jacket. Four Poems in PRIZE POEMS 1913-1929. New York: Charles Boni Paperbooks, 1930. Poet Leonora Speyer’s copy with her annotations, and note indicating it was used in her classes at Columbia University. Signed by the editor, Charles A. Wagner, on the title page; by Alfred Kreymborg at the end of his play/poem “Pianissimo,” p.101; and again by Wagner at the beginning of his poem on p.214. No dust jacket. “Anthropos: or the Future of Art,” pp.153-67 in WHITHER, WHITHER, OR AFTER SEX, WHAT?; A Symposium to End Symposiums,” edited by Walter S. Hankel. New York: Macaulay Co., 1930. Spine worn. No dust jacket. “From a Russian Diary” in HOUND AND HORN, April to June 1932. A precursor to EIMI, his journal of his trip to Russian. Paperwraps. “And It Came to Pass” in AMERICANA, Volume 1, Number 1, November [1932]. Paperwraps. Brief letter from Cummings and small picture reproduced in the introduction of FIFTY POETS: An American Auto-Anthology in Which Fifty Outstanding Poets Select Their Favorite Own Poem and Describe the Mood or Circumstance of Its Creation. Edited by William Rose Benet. New York: Duffield & Green (1933). Cummings selected a poem by Marianne Moore, which is included herein. In dustwrapper. “Two XI” in THE MODERN MUSE: Poems of Today; British and American. London: Oxford University Press, 1934. In dustwrapper. Seven Poems in POETRY: A Magazine of Verse, January 1939. Paperwraps. Some staining. “Speech from a Play” in THIS IS MY BEST: Over 150 Self-chosen and Complete Masterpieces, Together with Their Reasons for Their Selections. Edited by Whit Burnett. New York: The Dial Press, 1942. In dustwrapper. Five poems in POETRY: A Magazine of Verse, July 1943. Paperwraps. “I Sing of Olaf” and “my sweet old etcetera” in THE WAR POETS: An Anthology of the War Poetry of the 20th Century. Edited by Oscar Williams. New York: The John Day Company, 1945. In dustwrapper. “The Old Man who said ‘Why?’,” a poem and “Santa Claus (A Morality)” in CUMMINGS NUMBER: The Harvard Wake 5, Spring, 1946. Guest editor Jose Garcia Villa, appreciations/criticism of Cummings by William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, Allen Tate and John Dos Passos. Writer/critic Alfred Kazin’s copy with his signature on front cover. Soiled, aged, covers loose. Statement by Cummings in THE CASE OF EZRA POUND by Charles Norman. New York: Bodley Press, 1948. Paperwraps. “Of Nicolette,” “Sunset,” “Summer Silence,” “Ballade” and “The New Art” in HARVARD ADVOCATE ANTHOLOGY: Undergraduate Writings. Edited by Donald Hall. New York: Twayne Publishers Inc., 1950. In dustwrapper. “suppose…,” p.120 in A DIAL MISCELLANY. William Wasserstrom, editor. (Syracuse): Syracuse University Press, 1963. In creased dustwrapper. “Now I lay…” and “Freedom, Joy & Indignation” in THE MASSACHUSETTS REVIEW, Spring 1963. Paperwraps.

33 “Letters of E. E. Cummings to Ezra Pound,” pp.55-87 in PARIS REVIEW, Fall 1966. Paperwraps. “An Essay” on the sculpture of Gaston Lachaise by Cummings, reprinted from Creative Art Magazine (August 1928) in THE SCULPTURE OF GASTON LACHAISE. New York: Eakins Press, 1967. Paperwraps and dust jacket. “Santa Claus” in THEATRE EXPERIMENT: An Anthology of American Plays, edited by Michael Benedikt. New York: Doubleday & Co. Inc., 1967. Also includes Wilder, Saroyan, Lardner, Wallace Stevens, Gertrude Stein, et al. In dustwrapper. “Five Poems,” pp.96-9 in THE DIAL: Arts and Letters in the 1920s. Edited Gaye L. Brown. Worcester: Worcester Art Museum (1981). Large, pictorial paperwraps. “And It Came to Pass,” pp.49-50, “Ballad of an Intellectual,” pp.133-4, and “In Memoriam,” pp.147-8, in LIGHTEST BLUES: Great Humor from the Thirties. Text by Jane Van Nimmen, edited by Clive Giboire. New York: Imago Imprint (1984). In dustwrapper. Seven works of art in DOUBLY GIFTED: THE AUTHOR AS VISUAL ARTIST by Kathleen G. Hjerter. New York: Harry M Abrams, Inc. (1986). In dustwrapper. “Hist Whist” in THE SCARY BOOK, compiled by Joanna Cole and Stephanie Clamenson. New York: Morrow Junior Books (1991). In dust jacket. Two drawings: “Assyrian Dancer” and “Negro Drinking” in NOTABLE NOTES: Drawings by Writers and Composers, by Diane Waldman. New York: Joseph Helman Gallery, 1997. Paperwraps. $650 for the lot

34 BOOKS AND ARTICLES ABOUT CUMMINGS; REVIEWS OF HIS WORK First editions in hardcover, unless otherwise noted 52 items, offered as a lot

Baum, S. V., editor. E.E. CUMMINGS AND THE CRITICS. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press (1962). In dustwrapper. (Beach, Sylvia). LES ECRIVAINS AMERICAINS A PARIS ET LEURS AMIS 1920-1930. (Paris: Les Presses Artistiques, 1959). Catalog of Paris exhibition consisting primarily of the collection of publisher and bookstore owner Sylvia Beach, of Shakespeare and Company. Includes photograph of and few items by Cummings. Paperwraps. Berry, S. L. E. E. CUMMINGS. (Mankato, Minn): Creative Education (1994). Second printing. Illustrated with photographs, and illustrations by Stasys Eidrigevicius. Children’s book in the “Voices in Poetry” series. In dustwrapper. Blackmur, R. P. “NOTES ON E.E. CUMMINGS’ LANGUAGE” in Hound & Horn, Vol. IV, No. 2, January-March, 1931. pp. 163-92. Rebound in black cloth, no dustwrapper. Bloom, Harold, editor. E.E. CUMMINGS. In “Bloom’s Major Poets” series. “Comprehensive Research Guide.” Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers (2003). Issued without dustwrapper. Burns, David. SATURDAY REVIEW, December 18, 1954. Review of POEMS: 1923-1954,” pp.10-1. Paperwraps. Clark, David R. LYRIC RESONANCE: Glosses on Some Poems of Yeats, Frost, Crane, Cummings and others. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1972. Issued without dustwrapper. Cohen, Milton A. POET AND PAINTER: The Aesthetics of E.E. Cummings’s Early Work. Detroit: Wayne State University Press Detroit ,1987. Typed letter signed by Cohen to John Ordeman laid in. In dustwrapper. Cowley, Malcolm. A SECOND FLOWERING: Works and Days of the Lost Generation. New York: Viking (1973). Illustrated with photographs. Includes “Cummings: One Man Alone.” In dustwrapper. Cummings Qualey, Elizabeth. WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL. Memoir of her childhood, by Cummings’ sister. (New Hampshire: Privately printed, 1981). Illustrated with photographs by Elizabeth and Estlin’s father. Stapled paperwraps. Dendinger, Lloyd N. E.E. CUMMINGS: THE CRITICAL RECEPTION. (New York): Burt Franklin & Co. (1981). No dustwrapper, although doesn’t appear to have been issued with one. (Dos Passos, John). WE MODERNS: Gotham Bookmart 1920-1940, Catalogue No. 42. Signed by Frances Steloff, founder of Gotham Bookmart, on the cover. Includes a brief write-up on Cummings by John Dos Passos and attractively priced offerings for 30 or so books by Cummings. Illustrated with photographs; in wire-ring paperwraps. Dumas, Bethany K. E.E. CUMMINGS: A REMEMBRANCE OF MIRACLES. New York: Barnes & Noble Books (1974). In dustwrapper. Fairley, Irene R. E.E. CUMMINGS AND UNGRAMMER: A Study of Syntactic Deviance in His Poems. New York: Watermill Publishers (1975). Issued without a dustwrapper.

35 Firmage, George J. E.E. CUMMINGS: A BIBLIOGRAPHY. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press (1960). In dustwrapper. Frankenberg, Lloyd. PLEASURE DOME: On Reading Modern Poetry. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. (1949). Entire section on Cummings. Publisher’s compliments card laid in. In dustwrapper. Friedman, Norman. E.E. CUMMINGS: THE ART OF HIS POETRY. Baltimore: The John Hopkins Press (1960). In dustwrapper.. Friedman, Norman. E.E. CUMMINGS: THE GROWTH OF A WRITER. Carbondale: Southern Illinois (1964). In dustwrapper. Friedman, Norman, editor. E.E. CUMMINGS: A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc. (1972). Includes Allen Tate, William Carlos Williams, Alfred Kazin, Robert Graves, et al. In dustwrapper. Friedman, Norman. (Re) VALUING CUMMINGS: Further Essays on the Poet 1962-1993. (Gainesville): University Press of Florida (1996). Issued without dustwrapper. Heusser, Martin. I AM MY WRITING: The Poetry of E. E. CUMMINGS. Tubingen: Stauffenburg Verlag (1997). Paperwraps. Josephson, Matthew. LIFE AMOUNG THE SURREALISTS: A Memoir. New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston (1962). Describes his friendships with Cummings, Malcolm Cowley, Hart Crane, et al. Ex-library, in dustwrapper. Kennedy, Richard S. “Edward Cummings, The Father of the Poet” in BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, Volume 70, Number 7, September 1966. Paperwraps. Kennedy, Richard S. E.E. CUMMINGS AT HARVARD: Verse, Friends, Rebellion. Presentation copy inscribed by Kennedy on the front cover, “For Morrie Werner, biographer extraordinaire, who has been extremely helpful to me in my own endeavors -- with gratitude/ Richard S. Kennedy.” Offprint from Harvard Library Bulletin, Volume XXV, Number 3, July 1977. Includes previously unpublished poetry. Stapled paperwraps. Kennedy, Richard S. DREAMS IN THE MIRROR: A Biography of E. E. Cummings. New York: Liveright (1980). Presentation copy inscribed by Kennedy, “For Dr. J. Sibley Watson – with deepest gratitude for help – Richard S. Kennedy.” In dustwrapper (tape on verso). Kennedy, Richard S. E.E. CUMMINGS REVISITED. New York: Twayne Publishers (1994). Later printing. In dustwrapper. Kidder, Rushworth M. E.E. CUMMINGS, PAINTER. Offprint from Harvard Library Bulletin, Volume XXIII, Number 2, April 1975. Stapled paperwraps. Kidder, Rushworth M.. E.E. CUMMINGS: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE POETRY. New York: Columbia University, 1979. In dustwrapper. Lane, Gary. I AM: A Study of E.E. Cumming’s Poems. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas (1976). In dustwrapper. Lauter, Paul, compiler. E.E. CUMMINGS: Index to First Lines and Bibliography of Works by and about the Poet. Denver: Alan Swallow, 1955. Review copy; 46 8 1/2x11” pages,

36 including covers, printed on rectos only. Appears to be a galley proof, with review slip stapled to top front cover. Marks, Barry A. E.E. CUMMINGS. In “Twayne’s United States Authors” series. New York: Twayne Publisher Inc. (1964). In dustwrapper. McBride, Katherine Winters, editor. A CONCORDANCE TO THE COMPLETE POEMS OF E.E. CUMMINGS. Ithaca & London: Cornell Universtity (1989). Issued without a dustwrapper. NEWS WEEK, March 13, 1944. Review of “1 x 1,”note about Cummings art, and photo pp. 78, 80. Paperwraps. Norman, Charles. SATURDAY REVIEW, January 30, 1954. Review of “i: six nonlectures,” pp.18-9. Paperwraps. Norman, Charles. THE MAGIC MAKER E.E. CUMMINGS. New York: MacMillan Co., 1958. In dustwrapper. Norman, Charles. E.E. CUMMINGS THE MAGIC MAKER. New York: Duell, Sloan, & Pearce (1964). “Considerably” revised edition. In dustwrapper Norman, Charles. E. E. CUMMINGS: A Biography. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1967. Norman, Charles. POETS AND PEOPLE. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co. (1972). In dustwrapper. Norman, Charles. E.E. CUMMINGS THE MAGIC MAKER. Indianapolis: Bobbs Merrill Co. (1974). Re-revised edition; includes new material and new photographs. In dustwrapper Rotella, Guy L. E.E CUMMINGS: A REFERENCE GUIDE. Boston: G.K Hall & Co. (1979). Issued without dustwrapper. Rotella, Guy. CRITICAL ESSAYS ON E. E. CUMMINGS. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co. (1984). Brief library markings on copyright page. Lacking dustwrapper, if issued in one. Sawyer-Laucanno, Christopher. E. E. CUMMINGS: A Biography. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc. (2004). Signed by the author. Illustrated with photographs. In dustwrapper. Southworth, James G. SOME MODERN AMERICAN POETS. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1950. Lacking dustwrapper. Sutton, Walter, editor. POUND, THAYER, WATSON, AND THE DIAL: A Story in Letters. Gainesville: University Press of Florida (1994). Numerous references to Cummings. In dustwrapper. TIME, May 20, 1935. Review of NO THANKS, p.77. Paperwraps. Triem, Eve. E.E. CUMMINGS. Pamphlets on American Writers number 87. Minneapolis:Univ. of Minnesota Press (1969). Paperwraps. Tucker, Robert. E.E. CUMMINGS AS AN ARTIST: The Dial Drawings. Notes by Dagmar Reutlinger. The Massachusetts Review, Spring 1975. Illustrated. Paperwraps. Wasserstrom, William. THE TIME OF THE DIAL. New York: Syracuse University Press, 1963. Illustrated with photographs, including one of James Sibley Watson. In dustwrapper.

37 Watson, Hildegarde Lasell. EDGE OF THE WOOKS: A Memoir. Numerous references to Cummings and his wife. Illustrated with photographs and sketches. One of 1000 copies. Without dustwrapper, apparently as issued. Whicher, Stephen E. THE ART OF POETRY:CUMMINGS, WILLIAMS, STEVENS. In the “Aquila Essays” series. Isle of Skye: Aquila Publishing (1982). Paperwraps. Wickes, George. AMERICANS IN PARIS 1903-1939. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1969. Illustrated with photographs. In dustwrapper. Wigner, Robert. THE POETRY AND PROSE OF E.E. CUMMINGS: A Study in Appreciation. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. (1965). In dustwrapper. $1200 for the lot

38 RECORDINGS 26 items, offered as a lot Vinyl Records:

1 x 1: SEVENTEEN POEMS ON LOVE; improvisations by reader, flute, clarinet, guitar & bass. 28TH CENTURY POETRY IN ENGLISH; Library of Congress Recording Laboratories, Washington, D.C. ALEC GUINNESS A PERSONAL CHOICE RCA VICTOR RED SEAL DYNAGROOVE RECORDING. AN ALBUM OF MODERN POETRY; an anthology read by the poets edited by Oscar Williams Library of Congress Recording Laboratory. BERIO-CUMMINGS-BUSSOTTI-CAGE; Stereo Mainstream Records. BUT YESTERDAY IS NOT TODAY; New World Records, New York, 1977. THE CAEDMON LIBRARY OF FOUR MODERN POETS; featuring W.H. Auden, E.E. Cummings, Dylan Thomas, and T.S. Eliot. Caedmon Publishers/Caedmon Records, 1953. THE CAEDMON TREASURY OF MODERN POETS READING; Caedmon Publishers, New York. CAEDMON; speaking of the best for twenty-five year. Caedmon Records, 1977. E.E. CUMMING READING HIS OWN POEMS; The Library of Congress, Twentieth Century Poets in English 1942. E.E. CUMMINGS READING FROM “50 POEMS”; The National Council of Teachers of English, Contemporary Poets Series 1942 E.E. CUMMINGS READING; poems from ONE TIMES ONE, EIMI, XAIPE, and others. Scenes from HIM and SANTA CLAUSE. New York, 1953 2 copies. E.E. CUMMINGS READS HIS COLLECTED POETRY 1920-1940 AND PROSE; Caedmon Records, 1975. E.E. CUMMINGS READS HIS COLLECTED POETRY 1943-1958; Caedmon Records, New York 1977. E.E. CUMMINGS READS HIS POETRY; Caedmon Records Inc., 1953. E.E. CUMMINGS SIX NONLECTURES; Volumes 1-6; also a 1965 duplicate of nonlecture volume 1. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS TWENTITH CENTURY POETRY IN ENGLISH; E. E. Cummings reading his own poems. New York, 1947 (not in original album case). PLEASURE DOME; an audible anthology of modern poetry read by its creators. Columbia Records, 1949. POETS READING THEIR OWN POEMS; Library of Congress Recording Laboratories. SEVEN POEMS BY E.E. CUMMINGS; read by Cummings. Decca Records, 1938.

VHS Recordings:

AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL: E. E. CUMMINGS; The Master Poets Collection, as seen on PBS, 1997. DAMN EVERYTHING BUT THE CIRCUS; William Mooney in an Entertainment by E. E. C, Gainesville, FL, 1985.

39 THE MAKING OF A POET. Appears to be a private recording.

Cassettes:

E. E. CUMMINGS READS; remastered from the 1953 recording. Caedmon, 1993.

Compact Discs:

BAPTISM: A Journey Through Our Time; Sung and Spoken by Joan Baez. Re-release of 1968 recording. Includes Cummings’ “All in Green Went My Love Riding.” LUNAPARK 0,10; original recordings by various authors/poets. Paris, 1999.

$1500 for the lot

40 EXHIBITION CATALOGS 2 items offered individually; 5 items offered as a lot

E.E. CUMMINGS: Sketches and Watercolors of the Twenties and Thirties. New York: Gotham Book Mart, 1968. One of a designated 50 copies of the limited, boxed edition WITH AN ORIGINAL CUMMINGS DRAWING. This copy unnumbered. A lovely production, with 8 of Cummings sketches/paintings in black and white and one watercolor (in color on “front cover”). The 7 black-and-white plates are laid in the folded colophon which is, in turn, laid in 2 plain folded sheets of black card stock together with a small sheet of sketch paper with Cummings’ ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF SEVERAL FIGURES IN MOTION AND ONE HORSE, on front and back. Laid in a paper folding case (with the watercolor plate on front) and then a cloth covered folding case with Cummings signature reproduced on the front. Fine. [Book Id #42529] $750. E.E. CUMMINGS: Sketches and Watercolors of the Twenties and Thirties. New York: Gotham Book Mart, 1968. One of 1,000 unnumbered copies in envelope. This copy with a personal invitation from Marion Cummings, “If you or Mr. Tucker should be in N.Y. perhaps you’d like to see these. M. C.” Fine. [Book Id #42530] $150.

______

E.E. CUMMINGS. (New York: American British Art Center, 1944). One of 2,500 copies of the catalog of the exhibition, March 1st to March 18th 1944. Paperwraps. 2 copies. i: (eye): E.E. Cummings and the visual Arts. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1994. Flyer advertising an exhibit of Cummings’ drawings and paintings at the Ackland Art Museum. 11 x 17” sheet, folded in fourths and labeled and metered for mailing.

E.E. CUMMINGS: The Poet as Artist. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1977. Catalog from an exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, December 2, 1976 to February 6, 1977. Stapled paperwraps. Black-and-white reproductions of sketches by Cummings.

E.E. CUMMINGS’ PAINTINGS: The Hidden Career. Milton A. Cohen. Dallas: The University of Texas/Dallas Public Library, 1982. Oblong, stapled paperwraps. Color reproductions. Together with a framed poster from the exhibit (approx. 11 x 17”).

E.E. CUMMINGS/ONEHUNDRED: A Keepsake for the Exhibition. Austin: University of Texas, 1995. Exhibit of sketches made by Cummings at the tender age of seven, for the “Edward E. Cummings Grand Zoological Congress and Trained Wild Animal Arena”—his imaginary circus. Keepsake with illustrations, commissioned by the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center in conjunction with an exhibit of Cummings’ art commemorating his hundredth birthday.

$150 for the lot

41 MUSICAL SETTINGS OF POEMS 8 items offered as a lot

FOREVER AND SUNSMELL. Music by John Cage for voice with Percussion Duo. (New York: Henmar Press Inc., 1960). 10 pages including covers. Fine. 3 copies.

FIVE SONGS FOR CONTRALTO (with piano accompaniment). Music by John Cage. New York: Henmar Press Inc. (1960). Includes “where did you go little four paws?” “little tree,” “in Just-spring,” “hist whist” and “Tumbling hair.” 22 pages, spiral bound. Fine.

4 SONGS TO E. E. CUMMINGS (Voice, Cello, Piano). Music by Morton Feldman. (New York: C. F. Peters Corp., 1962.) Includes “black against white sky?” “air, be comes (a) new (live) now,” “sitting in a tree” and “moan (is) ing the she of the sea.” 4 pages, spiral bound in plain covers. Over-size. Fine.

SIX SONGS to Poems by E. E. Cummings: For Voice and Piano. Music by William Bergsma. New York: Carl Fisher, Inc. (1967). “When God lets my body be…,” “Doll’s boy’s asleep…,” “Hist whist…,” “Thy fingers make early flowers of…,” “It may not always be so; and I say…,” and “Jimmie’s got a goil….” 24 pages plus covers, stapled. Covers splitting at fold, otherwise about very good.

SONGS OF ELIE SIEGMEISTER. (No-place): Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., 1978. Includes five of Cummings’ poems set to music: “in spite of everything,” “the first of all my dreams,” “raise the shade,” “up into the silence” and “because it’s Spring.” Also includes three by Garcia Lorca, et al. 72 pages plus covers. Near fine.

ANYONE LIVED IN A PRETTY HOW TOWN. Music by Ron Jeffers, “for women’s chorus.” (No-place: Earthsongs, 1987). Two 8 ½ x 11” sheets, printed on both sides. Loose. About very good.

$150 for the lot

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