Rossetti's Poems (1870, 1871 & 1881)

Front cover and spine
 Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, POEMS (London: F.S. Ellis, 1870).  First edition, 19 x 12.5cm (8vo), in publisher's dark green linen w/gilt floral & trellis design by the author to covers & spine, gilt title to spine, decorative dark blue on pale blue ep.s w/binder's ticket (Burn) to recto of rear ep., [i-vii] viii-xi [xii], [1] 2-282 [283-284], [1-4 publ. adverts], [1-16 blanks].  Printed by Strangeways & Walden, London.  With the neatly erased pencil name of M. Maurice to titlepage.  Binding Very Good (a few marks to cloth); contents Near-Fine.  Slater 3, Rossetti 17, Vaughan 11, Ashley IV 132, Ehrsam & Deily 218, Fredeman 23.8, Fennell 20, Ball 161, Colbeck 10 (in dark blue cloth).  (Inv. #198)  C$450


Book and case
 Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, POEMS (London: F.S. Ellis, 1870).  First edition, 19 x 12.5cm (8vo), in publisher's dark green linen w/gilt floral & trellis design by the author to covers & spine, gilt title to spine, decorative dark blue on pale blue ep.s w/fragment of binder's ticket (Burn) to recto of rear ep., [i-vii] viii-xi [xii], [1] 2-282 [283-284], [1-16 blanks].  Printed by Strangeways & Walden, London.  Enclosed in its custom made dark burgundy half-morocco over dark tan cloth slip-case w/gilt decorations & title to black spine w/5 raised bands.  Slip-case Good (spine chipped w/edges rubbed, & extremities moderately worn); binding Very Good (cloth moderately discoloured, extremities sl. bumped, & hinges starting); contents Near-Fine (minor creases to final blank leaves).  Slater 3, Rossetti 17, Vaughan 11, Ashley IV 132, Ehrsam & Deily 218, Fredeman 23.8, Fennell 20, Ball 161, Colbeck 10 (in dark blue cloth).  (Inv. #1021)  C$450


Covers and spine
 Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, POEMS (London: F.S. Ellis, 1871).  Stated fifth edition, 19 x 12.5cm (8vo), in publisher's dark green linen w/gilt floral & trellis design by the author to covers & spine, gilt title to spine, decorative dark blue on pale blue ep.s w/binder's ticket (Burn) to recto of final ep., 282 [xii] pp. +blank w/printer's colophon & 8pp. publ. cat to rear.  Printed by Strangeways & Walden, London.  Inscribed to half-title: "To Fred: C. Shaw, in remembrance of many happy hours in the past and in the hope of many more to come, Willis Challice, London 20 October 1873."  Binding Good (some stains & rubbing to cloth, extremities a bit bumped & worn, & hinges starting); contents Near-Fine (lt. thumbing to titlepage).  Colbeck 19.  (Inv. #978)  C$150


An Association Copy from a Poet Laureate

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, POEMS (London: F.S. Ellis, 1871).  Staed fifth edition, 19 x 12.5cm (8vo), in publisher's dark green linen w/gilt floral & trellis design by the author to covers & spine, gilt title to spine, a.e. untrimmed, decorative dark blue on pale blue ep.s w/binder's ticket (Burn) to recto of final ep., 282 [xii] pp. +blank w/printer's colophon & 8pp. publ. cat. to rear.  Printed by Strangeways & Walden, London.  Inscribed to Dedication page: "With Estlin's love to his Mother, May 8th 1871" to half-title, & "For Margaret from John Masefield, 14th September 1954."  In his tribute to Rossetti Thanks Before Going (Heinemann, 1946), Masefield indicates that DGR's poetry was "the most kindling influence among the young men of my time" (see Fennell 435).  Binding Good (spine darkened, a few bubbles to cloth, corner tips sl. worn, & hinges cracked); contents Near-Fine.  Colbeck 19.  (Inv. #519)  C$200


One of 31 Large Paper Copies of Poems 1881

Binding
 Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, POEMS: A NEW EDITION (London: Ellis & White, 1881).  First edition thus, 22.5 x 14cm (8vo), in publisher's cream paper spine over slate blue boards, paper title-label to spine, deckle edges, [i-ix] x-xi [xii], [1-3] 4-294, [1-2 publ. adverts] mostly unopened pp.  Limited Edition printed on watermarked Whatman handmade paper by Strangeways & Sons, London.  With the small blindstamp of American International to titlepage, & traces of their markings to spine & fr. pastedown.  Binding Fair (spine darkened w/loss to extremities & label, corner tips sl. worn, & fr. joint cracked); contents Near-Fine.  Slater p.218, Rossetti 34 ("there were also 31 copies printed on large paper"), Vaughan 11, Ashley IV 148, Fredeman 23.11, Fennell 22 ("contains most of the poems first seen in [Poems 1870], except that the House of Life has been removed ... and a few sonnets have been eliminated.  Four new poems and three new translations are added"), Colbeck 23.  (Inv. #455)  C$500



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