Because author collecting is an intimate activity, acquiring autograph material deepens one’s understanding of the object of one’s collecting interest. Through these bits of preserved handwriting, we catch flashes of personality, possibly glean an overlooked biographical tidbit, or take pleasure in seeing the evolution of a piece of writing. In the spirit of opening up these potential vistas into an author’s mind, we offer a selection of autograph material, whether in manuscript form or inscriptions within books; and running the gamut from Elmer Adler discussing the foundation of Casa del Libro just before leaving for Puerto Rico, to Walt Whitman arranging the London sale of copies in sheets of his Complete Poems and Prose.
Erwinna, PA: 1955. One-and-a-half pages on a single sheet of Colophon stationery, folded into fourths. Dated 16 June 1955 and addressed to Paul Bennett, Adler opens with an apology of sorts, noting that "I am not able to say what my address will be in another two weeks." The reason..... More
NY: Null-Q Press, 1968. First American edition. One of 250 copies printed on a mimeograph machine on pulp paper, and stapled. This copy is inscribed and signed by Blish. This novel was first published in the U.K. in 1964, and because no American imprint would agree to publish it in..... More
NY: Random House, 1931. Octavo. 116pp. One of 500 copies, inscribed by the bibliography's compiler, Louis Henry Cohn. Illustrated with a frontispiece facsimile note from Hemingway to the bibliography's author. With a presentation card from Cohn's wife and a 1961 Playboy Magazine article with Hemingway quotations laid in. Some rubbing..... More
Stockholm: July 12, 1950. Single 8 1/2 by 11-inch sheet, folded in six. In this letter, addressed to "Blijestra," the American novelist states his plans to visit Amsterdam, bringing with him an American trade union official whom he plans to introduce to one De Kadt. Fine. More
November 1952. Holograph manuscript on two leaves of white wove, three-holed, loose-leaf paper measuring 9 1/2 by 6 inches. At the bottom of the second leaf, in Frost’s hand, the work is inscribed “Robert to Fred” (i.e. Frederick B. Adams, Jr.). A life-long bibliophile, Adams was the director of the..... More
NY: Holt, (1936). First edition. One of 4,000 copies printed. This copy is inscribed by Frost with the final quatrain of "Desert Places". The inscription is dated "June 1936", which is shortly after the book's May 30th publication date. Frost received the Pulitzer Prize for this collection, and was the..... More
Mt. Horeb, WI: Perishable Press, (1970). Octavo. (11) ff. One of 183 copies. With an inscription by James Laughlin. A short collection of poems by the poet and legendary founder of New Directions, which published some of the most important writers of the twentieth century, including Ezra Pound, William Carlos..... More
(Verona: Plain Wrapper Press, 1980). Quarto. 7, (1)pp. One of 155 copies signed by the author. Inscribed by the author to the distinguished New York antiquarian bookseller John Fleming in 1981: "For John Fleming, who is no more in need of instruction in the art of wooing than was J...... More
NY: Knopf, 1931. Second edition, third binding. This edition contains fourteen new poems, while dropping three from the original edition. The complete printing of the second edition consisted of 1,500 copies, which were bound over a period of thirteen years. This copy is inscribed by Stevens on a preliminary blank..... More
