D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930) English, (2) Books. These two books were written by David Hutton Lawrence (1885 - 1930), an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and playwright, and they are titled Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Birds, Beasts, And Flowers. 

Size: (largest) 8 9/16 X 6 3/4 in. 

#6495 . 

Lady Chatterley’s Lover was first published privately in 1928 in Italy and then in Paris in 1929, and this edition has beautiful maroon boards with gilt lettering and gilt-ruled boards, decorated endpapers and gilt-ruled borders on the front paste-down, followed by blank endpapers, a half-title, the title page which says it was published in 1933 by the Odyssey Press in Hamburg, Paris, and Bologna, there’s an open letter written by Frieda Lawrence after the copyright page - she was the wife of D H Lawrence - and 360 pages of text. 

It tells the story of a woman trapped in an unfulfilling marriage, it gained notoriety because of its explicit descriptions of sex, its portrayal of a passionate relationship between a woman of the upper class and a working class gamekeeper, it used vulgar language, according to many critics, and it depicted sexual acts and female pleasures that were considered shocking and obscene at the time. The book even had to go to court to escape censorship. 

The book measures 7 3/8 x 4 3/4 inches wide and is in very good condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and text. There are light scratches on the covers and corner creases on pages 35 to 41, and that’s it. A very attractive copy of this controversial novel by D H Lawrence. 

The second book is titled Birds, Beasts, And Flowers, and it’s a first American edition published in New York in 1923 by Thomas Seltzer. The book is a collection of poetry by Lawrence that is written in free verse and delves into themes of nature, existence, and the interconnectedness of life, and it explores both the beauty and complexity of the natural world and the intricate relationships between humans and the animal kingdom. 

The book is beautifully bound, with a green morocco spine and light green cloth, five raised bands and gilt lettering on the spine, beautiful marbled endpapers, then salmon-colored endpapers, a half-title, the title page says it was published by Thomas Seltzer in 1923 and the copyright page is dated 1923, which makes this a first edition - the dates on the title and copy pages match and there is just a single date on both pages - there are three pages of Contents (vii - ix), and 180 pages of text. 

The book measures 8 9/16 x 6 3/4 inches wide and is in great condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and text, with faint brown spots on the first few pages and watermarks along the bottom of some pages from the middle on, and still a very attractive copy of this second Lawrence title.