T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) British, (3) First Edition Books. Thomas Stearns Eliot (September 26th, 1888 - January 4th, 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright. He was a leading figure in English-language Modernist poetry where he reinvigorated the art through his use of language, writing style, and verse structure. He is also noted for his critical essays, which often re-evaluated long-held cultural beliefs. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, to a prominent Boston Brahmin family, he moved to England in 1914 at the age of 25 and went on to settle, work, and marry there. He became a British subject in 1927 at the age of 39 and renounced his American citizenship. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 as well as three Tony Awards, one for his play The Cocktail Party in 1950 and two posthumously in 1983 for his poems being used in the musical Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This lot consists of two poetry books by T S Eliot and the third book is a study about T S Eliot.
Size: (largest) 8 3/4 X 5 3/4 in.
#6496 .
The first poetry book by Eliot is a first edition of Ariel Poem, The Cultivation Of Christmas Trees, Illustrated by David Jones, and published in London by Faber and Faber in mcmliv [1954], according to the bottom of the inside cover in back. The book measures 8 1/2 x 5 7/16 inches wide, with a white string binding, sky blue covers, a blank page on the inner cover in front, a title page, a great colored illustration by David Jones, two pages of poetry, there is a Latin inscription at the bottom of the second page of poetry, the copyright information inside the back cover says “First Published in mcmliv by Faber and Faber”, which means this is a first edition, then a list of Ariel Poems (new series) on the back cover, and the booklet is in great condition, with clean pages and text and just specks of brown spots at the bottom of the front cover.
The second poetry book by Eliot is a first edition of A Cultivation of Christmas Trees published in New York by Farrar Straus and Cudahy in 1956, in thin stiff boards with gilt designs on the spine, white lettering with gilt designs on the front cover, “First Edition” is in the top left corner of the front paste-down, with decorated endpapers and “Typography, binding, and decorations by Enrico Arno” at the bottom of the front paste-down, the front flyleaf gives T S Eliot’s name, the title, and the publisher, the copyright page says “1954, 1956 by Thomas Stearns Eliot” and gives the Library of Congress Catalog Card Number below the dates, there are four illustrated pages of text and three full-page illustrations, and the last page of text is on the rear paste-down. The book measures 8 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches wide and is in great condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and text, just a speck of rubbing at the tips, and faint shadows on a couple of pages and that’s it.
The last book is “Thomas Stearns Eliot, A Study By Thomas McGreevy”, a first edition published in London in 1931 by Chatto & Windus, and “First Published 1931” is stated at the bottom of the copyright page, with no additional printings, which make this a first edition by Chatto & Windus. The book has green lettering and green floral designs on the spine, “The Dolphin Books” and green lettering and a green dolphin on the front board, blank endpapers with the owner’s name on the front flyleaf, followed by a half-title, the title page, the copyright page says the book was printed in Great Britain at the University Press in Edinburgh by T. And A. Constable, there are 71 pages of text, and the book comes with an attractive dust jacket that is priced at 2s. Net on the front flap. The book measures 7 1/2 x 5 inches wide and is in very good condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and text, and there is just light wear at the heel and crown of the dust jacket and faint wear at the tips.
A copy of Ariel Poem: The Cultivation of Christmas Trees signed by T. S. Eliot goes for $1500 on the rare book website we use, a proof copy goes for $350, and a nice group of books for Eliot enthusiasts.
