701. Date book 1982. [New York]: Faust & Smith / Purgatory Pie Press, 1981.
$250
Edition limited to 100 copies numbered and signed by the principals (this, no. 26); 16mo, pp. [128]; printed throughout in red, green, black, and orange, and designed to resemble a annual calendar, with typographic elements; business card of designer Esther K. Smith laid in; typography and letterpress by Dikka Faust. Original blue cloth with a half dozen pastedowns resembling collage. Fine copy.
Washington only in OCLC.
702. Journey to the Dead Sea. A poem. Omaha: Abattoir Editions, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1979.
$65
Edition limited to 222 copies from Bembo and Romulus types on Ingres paper; oblong 8vo, pp. [12]; 2 relief prints by David Newbert; fine in original printed tan wrappers. From the library of Kim Merker.
703. Thistles and thorns. Abraham and Sarah at Bethel ... With wood engravings by Barry Moser. Omaha: Abattoir Editions / University of Nebraska, 1977.
$500
Edition limited to 253 copies (this, no. 0); large 8vo, pp. 100; printed in red and black; 13 wood engravings by Moser; fine copy in original natural linen with printed red wrap-around label, original plain dust jacket slightly worn at extremities; all else fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Copy no. zero is likely a review copy or possibly a proof. Hence, without the red paper slip with title and authors' names tipped onto blank facing dedication page.
704. Truth: a New Year's gift for scribblers. Boston: Stephen Foster, 1831.
$325
First edition of the author's first book of poetry, 16mo, pp. vi, [7]-52; without the errata slip (not present in all copies); a nice copy in original muslin-backed drab boards, the cloth a little nicked and brooken along the spine.
Snelling (1804-1848) was the son of Josiah Snelling, commandant of the fort that bears his name at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers in St. Paul. William lived at Fort Snelling for seven years (1820-27) where he became familiar with the Indians, their language and habits. After returning east, he wrote many newspaper and magazine articles, and several books which drew on his experiences with the Indians, and this poem, a satirical commentary on the state of American poetry and poets "that rocked the small literary world of Boston for a time. [But] the onslaughts of his political and literary foes, combined with personal misfortunes, gradually drove him to dispair, and he took refuge in drink. To the great delight of his ill-wishers, he spent four months in the House of Correction, but he emerged broken, rather than in health or in spirit. He continued as an independent journalist and in 1847 became the editor of the Boston Herald, which he conducted with great vigor for one year before he died, in Chelsea, at the age of forty-four, burned out... Snelling is best remembered as ... the author of Truth, which is one of the best verse satires ever written in America" (DAB).
BAL 18413
705. Regarding wave. Iowa City: Windhover Press / University of Iowa, [1969].
$350
Edition limited to 280 numbered copies signed by Snyder (this, no. 29); 8vo, pp. 45, [3]; fine copy in original maroon cloth stamped in gilt on upper cover and spine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker, 36.
706. SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men) Manifesto [cover title). Scum manifesto ... with an introduction by Vivian Gornick. [New York]: The Olympia Press, Inc., [1970].
$250
Second printing, 12mo, pp. xxxvi, 52, [8] ads; original pictorial wrappers; near fine. From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded Coffee House Press.
"A radical feminist manifesto by Valerie Solanas, published in 1967. It argues that men have ruined the world, and that it is up to women to fix it. To achieve this goal, it suggests the formation of SCUM, an organization dedicated to overthrowing society and eliminating the male sex ... The SCUM Manifesto was little-known until Solanas attempted to murder Andy Warhol in 1968" (Wikipedia).
707. The paradox in the circle. Norfolk, Conn.: New Directions [designed, hand set and printed by Carroll Coleman at the Prairie Press, Muscatine, Iowa, [1941].
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. [32]; some darkening of the hinges, old bookplate, else near fine in original red paper-covered boards printed in black, dust jacket with one small chip out at the top of the font panel, else near fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
This copy signed by Spencer on the half title. Cheever 38.
708. The prairie's rim and other poems. N.p.: privately printed [by Carroll Coleman at the Prairie Press, Muscatine, Iowa], 1937.
$75
First edition, small 8vo, pp. [14], 17-75, [1]; vignette title page printed in green and black; fine copy in original green cloth, printed paper label on upper cover, and in the original glassine dust jacket. From the library of Kim Merker.
Only four in OCLC: Loras College, Iowa, Utah and LC.
Cheever 11.
709. Autograph poem, signed. Kenilworth, Illinois and Westport Point, Mass.: ca. 1916.
$45
Single12mo sheet with the letterhead of "The Autograph Collection of Howes Norris, Jr.," near fine. 4-line poem signed by the American poet, artist, and gardener. Produced for the avid autograph collector Norris, "Grandaddy of all the autograph fiends," who had this special letterhead for soliciting autographs.
The poem itself, which begins "So voyage, good people, whoever you be" was published in a slightly different version under the title "Envoy" in the Bulletin of the Garden Club of America, No. XVII, November, 1916.
710. Poems. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1882.
$60
First edition, 12mo, pp. vi, 172; the spine quite faded with ends beginning to fray and the back cover scraped, but all else very good in original red cloth lettered in gilt on front cover and spine.
This copy inscribed by the author on the ffep: "Miss Tilden [?], With the compliments of Harriet P. Spofford."
711. Signed autograph manuscript sonnet titled "Captive". Ca. 1896.
$375
Single sheet (approx. 21 x 14 cm.); text on recto only; fine.
A manuscript faircopy of the author's 14-line poem "Captive," beginning "When in the dark of some despairing dream..." One of Spofford's more mature poetical works, first collected in "In Titian's Garden and Other Poems" (Boston, 1897; BAL 18520).
712. Waiting in the bone and other poems ... with 15 relief etchings by Keith Achepohl. Omaha: Abattoir Editions, University of Nebraska, 1973.
$75
Edition limited to 260 copies (this, no. 214); 8vo, pp. 95, [1]; original red paste-paper wrappers, printed wrap-around paper label on spine and upper cover; a fine copy. From the library of Kim Merker.
713. For Lerida. Poems. Lisbon, Iowa: The Penumbra Press, [1973].
$100
Edition limited to 127 copies printed by Bonnie O'Connell on Wooky Hole Mill's Cream Laid Book Paper (this, no. 57); 8vo, pp. 16; self-wrappers printed in blue and black; fine, in a printed malila envelope, as issued. From the library of Kim Merker.
Issued as number 2 in the publisher's Manila Series.
714. The man in the yellow gloves. A poem. Lisbon, Iowa: The Penumbra Press, [1984].
$45
Edition limited to 275 copies (this, no. 27), signed by St. John and O'Connell; square 12mo, pp. [5], 6-15, [3]; cover and title-page illustrations are relief prints by Bonnie O'Connell; fine copy in original printed cream wrappers. From the library of Kim Merker.
"This book was made for the friends of The Penumbra Press to mark the last days of an enduring winter" (colophon).
715. Smoke's way. Port Townsend, Washington: Graywolf Press, 1983.
$150
First edition, this being one of 26 lettered copies signed by the author (letter K); 8vo, pp. [12], 112, [4]; gray paper-covered boards backed in blue cloth; fine in dust jacket.
716. The traveler. Allegorical lyrics by.... Rowe, Massachusetts: Cummington Press, 1955.
$75
Edition limited to 200 copies, 8vo, pp. 15, [1]; copper engraving on title page by Wightman Williams printed in blue; fine copy in original gray-green wrappers; printed title on upper cover. Fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Richmond 56.
717. Bone thoughts. Poems ... Foreword by Dudley Fitts. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1960.
$45
First edition, 8vo, pp. x, [2], 58, [2]; illustrated title page printed in green and black; fine copy in a near fine, unclipped dust jacket. From the library of Kim Merker.
The poet's first book, issued as Volume 56 in the Yale Series of Younger Poets.
718. Human means magazine. Volume I, number 2. [Boulder]: Human Means Press, [1986].
$65
4to, 11" x 8½", pp. [4], 63, [1]; printed from typescript; fine in original pictorial wrappers by George Schneeman; light spotting, near fine. From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded Coffee House Press.
Contributions by Larry Eigner, Ethie Stearns, Joanne Kyger, Clark Coolidge, Anne Waldman, Bernadette Mayer, and many more. This is the last issue of the magazine as only two were ever published.
719. Poems, lyrical and idyllic. New York: Charles Scribner, 1860.
$50
First edition, 12mo, pp. [iii]-viii, [2], [9]-196; orig. pebble-grain brown cloth; binding rubbed, spine edges chipped, but good and sound.
This is Stedman's first book. "These poems brought him the ... intimate friendship of Bayard Taylor, Richard Henry Stoddard, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, and William Winter" (DAB) through whom Lowell may have been introduced. BAL 18566.
720. Sonnets for women. Holly Springs, Mississippi: Ragnarok Press, 1975.
$65
Broadsheet, approx. 16" square, on a scroll, and limited to 45 copies "handset in Baskerville and printed on an 8 x 12 C & P press," signed and dated by Stefanson; some light wrinkling, but overall very good.
Contains 6 sonnets, all addressed to women: For Rochelle Holt -- For Lynn Burnett -- For Lavoria White -- For M. Jean Lee -- For Linda Brant -- For Ann Whiting. Each repeated on the verso which makes me think this is possibly a proof.
721. Voices round the river. San Francisco: Five Trees Press, 1977.
$75
Edition limited to 600 copies, this one of 100 copies case-bound, numbered, and signed by the author (this, no. 37); 8vo, pp. [2], 7-37, [5]; 2 illustrations by Jamie Robles; fine copy in original gray paper-covered boards, printed paper label on upper cover. From the library of Kim Merker.
Designed, set, and printed by Cheryl Miller.
722. re adjust ... just read. N.p.: [publisher not identified], n.d.
$150
Square 4to (8½"), pp. [12]; self-wrappers; some soiling; near fine.
Clearly printed in a small edition, and produced anonymously. To be sure, Steingroot may not be the one responsible for this. His name is written inside the back cover as if he were the artist/poet.
Not found in OCLC, or anywhere else for that matter.
723. The white boat and some other poems. Lithographs by Jeff Abshear. Kalamazoo: Buckner Press, 1994.
$250
"Four copies were printed as artist's proofs of which this is number 1." 8vo, pp. 84, [4]; 6 lithographs; original full natural linen, printed paper label on spine; fine.
An edition of 100 copies was printed the following year (25 in wrappers and 75 casebound) but with different pagination.
724. Bright moments. A collection of jazz poetry. [Madison, Wisconsin]: Abraxas Press, [1980].
$45
First edition, 8vo, pp. 73, [1]; 2 illustrations from photographs; about fine in original pictorial wrappers. Issued as Abraxas #20.
Contributions by Imamu Amiri Baraka, Michael S. Harper, Frank O'Hara, Stephanie Mines, Dave Etter, Warren Woessner, Jack Kerouac, and Frederico Garcia Lorca, among others.
725. Rosamund. A dramatic poem. San Francisco: A.M. Robertson, 1920.
$250
First edition limited to 500 copies (this, no. 457); 8vo, pp. [4], 120, [2]; inscribed by the author on flyleaf and again on dedication page, also signed on colophon, light toning to edges, extremities chipped at corners and spine ends with some neat tape repair, else a good copy or better in original decorative brown paper wrappers.
726. Bread without sugar. [Potomac, Maryland]: Sutton Hoo Press, [1991].
$150
Edition limited to 250 copies, this copy inscribed by the printer Chad Oness on the colophon: "Many thanks, Chad Oness," likely an inscription to Kim Merker, whose copy this was, and who is credited on the colophon "for his patient and guiding advice." 8vo, pp. [22]; full-page illustration by Nadya Brown; printed from Bembo types on Johannot, original printed tan wrappers; fine copy. From the library of Kim Merker
This long poem was Sutton Hoo Press' first book. Original prospectus laid in.
727. Bread without sugar. [Potomac, Maryland]: Sutton Hoo Press, [1991].
$50
Edition limited to 250 copies, 8vo, pp. [22]; full-page illustration by Nadya Brown; printed from Bembo types on Johannot, original printed tan wrappers; fine copy. From the library of Kim Merker who is credited on the colophon "for his patient and guiding advice."
This long poem was Sutton Hoo Press' first book.
728. Vassar viewed veraciously / 16 pencil sketches by Wallace Stevens. With an introduction & notes by D. H. Woodward. Iowa City: The Windhover Press, [1995].
$75
Edition limited to 350 copies, square 4to, pp. [10], 18 facsimile plates, [6]; original terracotta flax paper wrappers by Timothy Barrett, printed paper label on the upper cover; fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker, 106: Stevens and his wife and young daughter were visiting Vassar for some educational program for children. Stevens strolled around the campus making these drawings. The illustration printed in gray on the title page was done from a photopolymer plate, the first one I have ever used in my printing."
729. The Hawley Road marsh marigolds. Iowa City: Meadow Press, 1975.
$65
Edition limited to 170 copies (this, no. 16 and one of 70 case-bound) signed by the poet; [8], 13, [3]; unopened; woodcuts by the printer Leigh McLellan; fine copy in original pictorial ochre boards. From the library of Kim Merker.
730. Seven poems. [Colorado Springs]: The Press at Colorado College, 1978.
$150
Edition limited to 150 copies (this, copy 27), signed Stone; folio, consisting of 7 broadside poems printed on Arches, Stonehenge and Strathmore papers, and contained in a letterpress portfolio; fine.
Includes the printed slip from the printer, James Trissel and Joan Stone laid in, as issued. From the library of Kim Merker.
731. 18 poems from the Quechua. Cambridge: Halty Ferguson, 1971.
$75
First edition limited to 1000 copies,12mo, pp. 29, [5]; original cream cloth stamped in gilt on the upper cover; near fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
732. Blizzard of one. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1999.
$150
First edition, slim 8vo, pp. [10], 55, [4]; fine copy in the dust jacket.
Inscribed on the title-p., "To Gwin and Ruth Kolb / Mark Strand." In 1990 Strand was chosen Poet Laureate of the United States and he is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Gwin Kolb was an eminent Johnsonian scholar and longtime professor at the University of Chicago.
733. Elegy for my father Robert Strand 1908 - 1968. [Iowa City: Pillar Guri Press, 1973.
$250
Edition limited to 150 copies on handmade Japanese Shogun paper printed by Shari Madsen in red and black; small 4to, pp. [16]; 2 screen-print portraits from photographs; original black wrappers printed in black; fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
734. Sleeping with one eye open. Iowa City: Stone Wall Press, 1964.
$750
First edition limited to 225 copies (this, no. 19); 8vo, pp. 53, [3]; original red cloth, gilt-stamped spine, without the publisher's slipcase. Near fine copy, from the library of Kim Merker.
Berger, Printing & the Mind of Merker, 16: "Mark was a student at the Writers Workshop at the time." This is his first book.
735. Sleeping with one eye open. Iowa City: Stone Wall Press, 1964.
$2,200
First edition limited to 225 copies (this, no. 41); 8vo, pp. 53, [3]; original red cloth, gilt-stamped spine, publisher's slipcase. Fine copy, from the library of Kim Merker.
This copy inscribed by Strand to Merker: "To Kim / Who published the first and most recent - elegantly, beautifully. With high regard and abiding affection... / Mark Strand."
Berger, Printing & the Mind of Merker, 16: "Mark was a student at the Writers Workshop at the time." This is his first book.
736. The continuous life. Eighteen poems. With two woodcuts by Neil Welliver. Iowa City: Windhover Press, 1990.
$375
First edition limited to 251 copies, (this being copy no. 37); folio, pp. [60], printed on Umbria paper on rectos only in black and blue, title page in black, gray and blue; 2 woodcuts in the text; a fine copy in original plain gray wrappers made by Tim Barrett.
Merker published Strand's first book, Sleeping With One Eye Open in 1964 at the Stone Wall Press.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker 97.
737. The continuous life. Eighteen poems. With two woodcuts by Neil Welliver. Iowa City: Windhover Press, 1990.
$1,250
First edition limited to 251 copies, this being one of 26 lettered copies signed by the poet and the illustrator (this being copy 'Y'); folio, pp. [60], printed on Umbria paper on rectos only in black and blue, title page in black, gray and blue; 2 woodcuts in the text, repeated on 2 separate prints in pocket at the back, as issued; light wrinkle to the tops of the first half dozen leaves, else fine copy in original plain gray wrappers made by Tim Barrett, Japanese-style thong-and-loop clasps.
The printer Kim Merker's copy. Bifoliate prospectus laid in.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker 97: "those twenty-six copies ... sold out instantly."
738. The continuous life. Eighteen poems. With two woodcuts by Neil Welliver. Iowa City: Windhover Press, 1990.
$1,850
First edition limited to 251 copies, (this being copy no. 1) inscribed by Strand to the printer, Kim Merker. Folio, pp. [60], printed on Umbria paper on rectos only in black and blue, title page in black, gray and blue; 2 woodcuts in the text; a fine copy in original plain gray wrappers made by Tim Barrett.
Inscribed by Strand on the half-title: "To Kim / Whose book this is from one whose book this is too - with continuous affection / Mark." Merker published Strand's first book, Sleeping With One Eye Open in 1964 at the Stone Wall Press.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker 97.
739. Sweet William of Plymouth. Boston: sold wholesale and retail, by Leonard Deming, at the sign of the Barber's Pole, no. 61, Hanover Street ... and at Middlebury, Vt., n.d.,, [ca. 1830s].
$500
Broadside (approx. 9½" x 8½"), text in triple column beneath the running head; toned, previous folds, the paper limpish; all else very good. First lines: A seaman of Plymouth, sweet William by name, / a wooing to beautiful Susan he came."
Deming published another edition (text in 2 columns) ca. 1830, and the poem has at least 10 other printings going back to the 18th century.
This edition not found in OCLC or American Imprints.
740. Breaking in the house. [Iowa City]: New Erections Press, 1971.
$45
First edition, small 4to, pp. [12]; printed and set in Bulmer by Tim Hildebrand; small spot on the back cover, else fine in original marbled wrappers. From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded Coffee House Press.
This copy inscribed: "For Allan and Cinda, my best wishes to you both. Love, George Swoboda."
Not found in OCLC.
741. Poems. Providence: Cranston & Hammond, 1834.
$200
First edition, 12mo, pp. xxii [i.e. xxxii], [2], 98; original green cloth boards, brown leather label on spine; boards and label worn, textblock in rough shape, with endpaper, flyleaf, and final few leaves in back reattached, pp. 5-10 torn through the middle, retaining all text; fair only.
Bookplate of the estate of William P Sheffield, a U.S. Representative from Rhode Island, and the ownership signature of Anna Elizabeth Hardy of New Port [sic], Rhode Island.
Taggart was an invalid and suffered from insomnia and chronic pain throughout her life. Her poetry reflects her condition, and was put forward in the introduction as "defective" in some respects but remarkable for the circumstances in which it was produced. The 22-page preliminary includes a synopsis of her life and letters of note.
American Imprints 27004.
742. Billy the Kid ... Translated by Harold Wright. Madison: Bieler Press, 1980.
$50
Broadside (approx. 15¼" x 9¾"), edition limited to 200 copies on handmade paper; "approximately 60" were signed, but not this; illustration of The Kid from a mezzotint engraving adapted from an early photograph, over which the letterpress text; fine.
"This translation has been taken from The Poetry of Postwar Japan (University of Iowa Press, 1975). Mr. Bonney has been reproduced from the photograph originally used for the rendition in Pat Garrett's The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid (1882)."
Smith, Bieler, 10.
743. The nurse, a poem. Translated from the Italian...by William Roscoe. New-York: Reprinted for William Cobbett, by John Furman, 1800.
$75
24mo, pp. 30, 44, 34; contemporary sheep, red morocco gilt-lettered spine; boards quite worn, upper cover starting to come loose; 2 contemporary ownership inscriptions on ffep, else textblock near fine.
Evans 38604.
744. Fragment of a meditation / MCMXXVIII. [Cummington, Mass.]: Christmas, 1947.
$125
Edition limited to 236 copies in Poliphilus and Blado types; 8vo, pp. [8]; title-page design by Wightman Williams; generally a fine copy in original gray wrappers, printed label on red paper on upper cover. From the library of Kim Merker.
Richmond notes that 230 copies were printed on Tunbridge, and 6 copies on Charing. This copy is printed on J. Batchelor & Son handmade.
Richmond 32.
745. The vigil of Venus. Pervigilium Veneris. The Latin text with an introduction and an English translation. Cummington, Mass.: Cummington Press, 1943.
$50
Edition limited to 430 copies (this, no. 123), and one of 400 in the regular edition on Worthy Signature; 8vo, pp. [28]; title page printed in red and black; fine copy in original black cloth lettered in red on spine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Richmond 12.
746. [Williams, Wightman.] The winter sea. A book of poems. [Cummington, Massachusetts]: The Cummington Press, Printers & Publishers, December, 1944.
$6,500
Edition limited to 330 copies, this one of 300 on Sterling Laid paper; small 8vo, pp. [52]; title page printed in blue and black; original cream paper-covered boards bearing a 5-color watercolor by Wightman Williams on the upper cover; fine copy in a slightly chipped, unadorned dust jacket.
From the library of Kim Merker, with his initials in pencil on the front free endpaper, "KKM / 12-70."
While not called for, this copy is signed in full by Tate on the colophon. Additionally, there is a presentation on the front free endpaper "To Max Wolf, with affectionate regards, Allen Tate, May 29, 1945." And, this copy is bound as if it were one of the thirty numbered in roman numerals, containing on the upper cover a very nice watercolor by Wightman Williams, signed "WW/45."
Richmond 18.
747. The winter sea. A book of poems. [Cummington, Massachusetts]: The Cummington Press, Printers & Publishers, December, 1944.
$375
Edition limited to 330 copies, this being copy '0' - reviewer's proof; small 8vo, pp. [52]; title page printed all in black; original light gray wrappers bearing a printed label on the upper cover identifying this as a "reviewer's advance proof," with publishing date and prices for the two issues; slight wear but generally a near fine copy. From the library of Kim Merker.
Richmond 18 making no mention of the review copies. Mississippi State and the Morgan only in OCLC.
748. Two conceits for the eye to sing, if possible. [Cummington, Massachusetts]: Cummington Press, 1950.
$125
Edition limited to 300 copies printed by Harry Duncan; 12mo, pp. [8]; woodcut by Wightman Williams, initials printed in red; original brown wrappers, printed paper label on upper cover; text block loose in wrappers, else fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
749. Bewitched. Four poems (pirated in a way) from the works of James Tate. [Iowa City]: Windhover Press, 1989.
$50
Edition limited to 175 copies (this, no. 165 as numbered by Merker - see below), 8vo, pp. [12]; illustration by Kim Merker on front cover and title page from a stencil; original pictorial cream wrappers; fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker, 94: Though this pamphlet is dated 1989, it was distributed free of charge to subscribers in December 1991. The copies were sent out without numbers. Subscribers who received a copy subsequently received a postcard informing them of what their copy numbers were."
750. Notes of woe. Iowa City: The Stone Wall Press, 1968.
$750
Edition limited to 230 copies, 12mo, pp. 48; printed in blue and black; original terracotta paper-covered boards stamped in gilt on the upper cover; fine copy. From the library of Kim Merker.
This copy inscribed by Tate to the printer, Kim Merker: "For the guy who made this / book / with whom I have shared / many passages, dark and / otherwise - / eternal fraternal / embraces / you great unique f*ck*r / Jim Tate." (Asterisks supplied)
James Tate (1943-2015) was the author of over 20 poetry collections.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker, 28.
751. Notes of woe. Iowa City: The Stone Wall Press, 1968.
$125
Edition limited to 230 copies, 12mo, pp. 48; printed in blue and black; original terracotta paper-covered boards stamped in gilt on the upper cover; fine copy with none of the usual fading. From the library of Kim Merker.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker, 28.
752. Notes of woe. Iowa City: The Stone Wall Press, 1968.
$250
"Reviewer's proof" copy, 12mo, pp. 48; unopened; printed in blue and black; original terracotta paper-covered wrappers with printed paper label on the upper cover; upper cover with a couple of small scratches, else a fine copy. From the library of Kim Merker.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker, 28 making no mention of this "reviewer's proof."
753. Tell me a tale [cover title]. New York: International Art Publishing Co. Ltd., ca. 1897.
$85
12mo, unpaged; color and black and white chromolithographs; original stiff pictorial wrappers; spine ends starting to crack, else a very good, bright copy.
Nursery rhymes. Sunshine Series no. 5.
Not in OCLC.
754. The poetry quartos. Twelve brochures each containing a new poem by an American poet… [as below].. [New York]: Random House, 1929.
$200
Edition limited to 475 sets printed in Silvermine, Conn., each designed, printed and made by Paul Johnston; tall 8vo, each poem in separate printed wrapper, stitched, as issued, and enclosed in a yellow printed paper chemise; lacking the publisher's box, but otherwise fine throughout.
Includes: Monologue for Mothers by Genvieve Taggard, The Lovely Shall Be Choosers by Robert Frost, Rigmarole, Rigmarole by Vachel Lindsay, The Prodigal Son by Edwin Arlington Robinson, Adirondack Cycle by Louis Untermeyer, Body and Stone by Alfred Kreymborg, Red Roses for Bronze by H.D., Birthday Sonnet by Elinor Wylie, The Aspirant by Theodore Dreiser, Sagacity by William Rose Benét, Prelude by Conrad Aiken, Roots by Witter Bynner.
755. The selected poems ... Translated by Carolyn Forche and William Kulik. Edited with an introduction by William Kulik. New York: Ecco Press, [1991].
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. xxvi, 181, [1]; fine copy in a fine, unclipped dust jacket. From the library of Kim Merker.
This copy inscribed Kulik: "For Kim Merker - best wishes! Bill Kukik."
Robert Desnos (1900-1945) was a French poet who played a key role in the Surrealist movement of his day. He was a member of the French Resistance during World War II. He was arrested by the Gestapo in 1944, and was deported to the German concentration camps of Auschwitz in occupied Poland. He then went to Buchenwald, Flossenburg in Germany, and finally to Terezín (Theresienstadt) in occupied Czechoslovakia in 1945. He survived the war but died of typhoid a month later.
756. The Watershed Anthology II. An annual journal of literature and art. La Crosse: Department of English, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, [1999].
$100
Edition limited to "approximately" 275 copies printed from Eric Gill's Joanna types, 8vo, pp. 49, [3]; 2 pages are folding; 8 woodcuts (one printed in blue); original white paper-backed marbled boards, titling in black on spine; fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Among the contributors are Marvin Bell, Maurya Simon, Allison Quam, Dean Gorman, and Gary Young. Among the printers is Chad Oness of the Sutton Hoo Press.
757. The dancers and other legends and lyrics. Boston: Richard G. Badger. The Gorham Press, 1903.
$50
First edition, 12mo, pp. 93 plus 1 leaf publisher's ads; title-page printed in red and black with publisher's device; a very good copy in original dark brown mottled paper, printed paper label on front cover, a few scattered smudges and stains.
Thomas (1854-1925) wrote novels as well as poetry about her home state of Ohio, and received national attention when her works were published in The Century and Atlantic Monthly, among others. This work issued as part of the publisher's Arcadian Library series of affordable, paperbound literature.
758. Letters to various persons. [Edited by Ralph Waldo Emerson]. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1865.
$1,250
First edition, BAL's binding A (presumed sequence), 12mo, pp. [8], 229; lightly rubbed, else a fine, reasonably bright, sound copy in original green cloth gilt.
At the back are printed nine poems appearing here for the first time in a book.
BAL 20116; Borst A6.1.a.
759. A book of kinds. Iowa City: Stone Wall Press, 1958.
$100
Edition limited to 320 copies, 16mo, pp. 39, [1]; 17 illustrations by Constance Merker; fine in original blue cloth lettered in black on spine. From the library of Kim Merker.
This is the first book printed by Kim Merker under the Stone Wall Press imprint. Merker later founded the Windhover Press at the University of Iowa, Iowa City.
Berger, Printing and the Mind of Merker, 4.
760. [Toothpaste Press.] Telephone Call. [West Branch, Iowa]: Toothpaste Press, 1982.
$100
Edition limited to 70 signed and numbered copies, 10" x 13.25" poetry broadside printed for Bookslinger Editions on the occasion of the author's reading at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.
761. P. F. Flyer. Number one - number five [all published?]. Iowa City, Iowa: [Steve Toth], 1971-72.
$125
Five issues, each a single mimeographed leaf 11" x 8½" on various colored paper. Contributions by Dave Morice (and Joyce Holland), George Mattingly, John Sjoberg, Allan Kornblum, Steve Toth, Darrell Gray, Dave Hilton, Tim Hildebrand, Karen Hildebrand, David Gitin, and Maria Gitlin. Illustrations by Dave Morice and others.
OCLC locates the Madison-Wisconsin holding only, which consists of only number four.
762. Night vision. Translated by Robert Bly. [Northwood Narrows, N.H.: Lillabulero Press, 1971.]
$950
First edition, 8vo, pp. [10], 4-44, [1]; original pictorial wrappers, slightly rubbed. This copy inscribed by Robert Bly: "Written by:" [and in Transtromer's hand:] "Tomas Transtromer." And in Bly's hand again: "Translated by Robert Bly" with a typical Bly drawing of a one-eyed blob beneath.
763. Twenty poems. Translated by Robert Bly. Madison, Minn.: The Seventies Press, 1970.
$1,500
First edition, wrapper issue; 8vo, pp. 59, [3]; original plain tan wrappers with tan pictorial dust jacket without a price on the front flap and with the '2' in "20" on the front panel in a smaller font. This is the first state of the dust jacket (see Gustafson for details). Also, wrappered copies appear to be the ones first shipped from the printer.
This copy inscribed to Mankato poet: "For Rezmerski, John. Robert Bly [and with a typical Bly drawing of what I take to be a moose] and also from Tomas Transtromer." 2000 copies were printed, 1000 each in boards and wrappers. Transtromer won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2011.
Gustafson B14.
764. The polyp (a Quetzalcoatl production), tych, polyptych, striking camp [envelope title]. Des Moines: Cookie Press, 1976.
$150
Broadsheet approx. 28" x 22" folded twice and contained in a manila envelope printed in red; one corner of the envelope with small (approx. 1" x .5") hole from nibbling; broadsheet unaffected; near fine. "This work concludes the cycle begun in Camping out B & continued in Tangerine universe in 3 refrains ..."
Wikipedia notes that Fred Truck is "an American artist currently living in Des Moines, Iowa. He is noted for his performance art and cartoon imagery using painting, sculpture and digital constructions."
MOMA, Iowa, Iowa State, Boise State and one copy in Germany in OCLC.
765. The poetical works of John Trumbull, LL.D. Containing M'Fingal, a modern epic poem, revised and corrected, with copious explanatory notes; The Progress of Dulness; and a collection of poems on various subjects. written before and during the Revolutionary War. Hartford: printed for Samuel G. Goodrich, by Lincoln & Stone, 1820.
$115
2 volumes, 8vo, pp. [2], 177, [1]; 235, [1]; inserted frontispiece portrait and engraved title page in volume 1 (wanting the engraved title page in volume II); 3 (of 4) engraved plates; later full green crushed levant by Canape, spines in 6 compartments, gilt-lettered direct in 2, t.e.g., the fore- and bottom edges uncut, gilt dentelles; spines faded to brown, else near fine.
BAL 20547; Sabin 97234.
766. Annunciations. [West Chester, Pennsylvania]: Aralia Press, 2001.
$45
Edition limited to 125 copies printed from Romanee type on dampened Johannot paper; 8vo, pp. [20]; title page printed in red and black; light shadow along fore-edge of the upper cover, else fine in original mauve cloth, printed paper label on spine. From the library of Kim Merker.
767. The compleat melancholick: being a sequence of found, composite, and composed poems, based largely upon Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy. Minneapolis: Bieler Press, 1985.
$75
Edition limited to 150 copies signed by Turco (this, no. 76); small 8vo, pp. 67, [3]; handset by Emily Mason in Monotype Plantin and printed by Gerald Lange on Mohawk Letterpress Text; a hand-colored woodcut from the Augsburg Calendar introduces the poetry; fine in blue buckram-backed paste paper boards, printed paper label on spine.
Smith, Bieler, 37.
768. Contemporary Iowa poets. Muscatine, Iowa: The Prairie Press, 1935.
$400
First edition limited to 220 copies (this, no. 164); 8vo, pp. [6], 67, [3]; title page printed in red and black; a very good copy in original linen-backed tan paper-covered boards, paper label on spine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Bookplate of William A. Kittredge. Prospectus laid in. Tipped in at the back (now loose) is Carroll Coleman's Notes on the Prairie Press (1936) explaining the origins of the press.
This is the first Prairie Press imprint. Among the poets represented here are Margaret Durant, Don Farran, James Hearst, Jay G. Sigmund, and Marion Louise Bliss among 30 or so others.
Cheever 1.
769. A little book of XXIV carols. Portland, ME: Thomas B. Mosher, 1907.
$125
Edition limited to 100 copies printed on Japan vellum "and the type distributed," 12mo, pp. viii, 39, [2]; title page with printer's device printed in red and a few headpieces in black and initials in red throughout; original art vellum covered boards lettered in black and red on front cover and spine; a few minor brown spots on back over, otherwise a fine copy in the original glassine and slipcase of paper-covered boards, the spine slightly browned .
770. Poems. Creative Arts Week, May 1961, at the University of Iowa [cover title]. Poems: all of them touching on some aspect of the imagination and written by members and former members of the University, some of them especially for the occasion, read as part of Creative Arts Week, May 1961, at the University of Iowa. [Iowa City]: University of Iowa, 1961.
$150
Printed in a limited but unspecified edition, narrow 4to, pp. [28]; original printed blue wrappers lightly toned at the edges, else generally fine. From the library of Kim Merker.
While Merker's name is not associated with this publication, it's hard to believe he was not involved as the design seems unmistakably his.
Contributions by William Dickey, W. D. Snodgrass, Satoru Sato, Robert Mezey, Donald Justice, Paulene Aspel, Robert Patrick Dana, Philip Levine, and Paul Engle, among others.
771. Dog's death. [Cambridge, Mass.]: The Adams House and Lowell House Printers, 1965.
$1,250
Limited to 100 copies, of which this is no. 95; broadside, folio (340 mm.); matted and in a classic black frame edged in gold; fine. Signed by Updike.
The first limited, signed edition by Updike, and his first published broadside, not for sale, and distributed on a single day at Harvard.
De Bellis & Broomfield A-15.
772. Telephone poles and other poems. London: Andre Deutsch, [1964].
$50
First British edition, 8vo, pp. viii, [2], 83, [3]; very good copy in jacket, slightly worn, small tear at top edge of cover.
Updike's second collection of poetry.
773. At the sign of the harp. Minneapolis: University Press, 1900.
$175
First edition of the author's first book, sq. 12mo, pp. [3]-71; exceptionally fine copy in original printed wrappers decorated in red and lettered in black; publisher's slipcase.
"Born in the state of New York, he moved with him family to St. Paul in 1894. At the University of Minnesota lack of means and ill health prolonged his course over a period of years, during which he began publishing his poems. In 1906 he joined the faculty of the university" (Nute, Minnesota Books and Authors).
774. At the sign of the harp. Minneapolis: University Press, 1900.
$300
First edition of the author's first book, sq. 12mo, pp. [3]-71; a very good copy in orig. printed wrappers decorated in red and lettered in black, and warmly presented by the author to Richard LeGallienne, dated St. Paul, February 8, 1901.
"Born in the state of New York, he moved with him family to St. Paul in 1894. At the University of Minnesota lack of means and ill health prolonged his course over a period of years, during which he began publishing his poems. In 1906 he joined the faculty of the university" (Nute, Minnesota Books and Authors).
775. Sonnets and songs. Portland, Maine: Thomas B. Mosher, 1911.
$30
Edition limited to 950 copies, 12mo, pp. x, 47, [2]; previous owner's bookplate, else a fine copy in original gray paper-covered boards, paper labels on spine and upper cover.
776. Sonnets and songs. Portland, Maine: Thomas B. Mosher, 1911.
SOLD
Edition limited to 50 copies printed on Japan vellum "and the type distributed," 12mo, pp. x, 47, [2]; title page with printer's device printed in red and a handful of head- and tail-pieces throughout; original art vellum covered boards lettered in black and red on front cover and spine; the slightest darkening of the top spine end, otherwise a fine unopened copy in the original glassine with some chipping along edges.
777. Sonnets and songs.. Portland, Maine: Thomas B. Mosher, 1911.
$250
Edition limited to 50 copies printed on Japan vellum "and the type distributed," 12mo, pp. x, 47, [2]; title-page with printer's device printed in red and a handful of head- and tail-pieces throughout; original art vellum covered boards lettered in black and red on front cover and spine; some scattered light foxing to covers, otherwise a fine unopened copy in the original glassine and slipcase of paper-covered boards, the spine slightly browned .
778. The city: a poem-drama and other poems. New York: Macmillan Co., 1905.
$250
First edition, 12mo, [viii] & 134pp., very good copy in original green cloth gilt.
This copy with a presentation "To W[illiam] C[rowell] Edgar, with the author's compliments and sincere regards, Arthur Upson, August, 1906." Edgar was founder and first editor of The Bellman, Minnesota's first literary magazine, to which Upson was a contributor. This is the poet's penultimate book. He was tragically drowned in a Bemidji boating accident in 1908.
779. The collected poems of Arthur Upson. Edited and with an introduction by Richard Burton. Minneapolis: Edmund D. Brooks, 1909.
$150
First edition, 2 vols., 8vo, pp. xxvi, 254; vii, [1], 262; gravure portrait and 1 facsimile; a fine set in orig. tan buckram lettered in gilt on upper cover and spine, with green cloth chemises (spotted at the base of the spines), each with a leather label on spine.
Life work of the Minnesota poet, edited by his classmate and published by the eccentric Twin City bookseller.
780. Westwind songs. Minneapolis: Edmund D. Brooks, 1902.
$100
First edition, 12mo, pp. 99, [5]; illustrated title-page by Margarethe E. Heisser; bottom of front hinge starting to chip, spine ends lightly chipped, else a very good copy in original gray paper-covered boards lettered in red on upper cover and spine.
Upson's fourth book, and in our experience, his scarcest.
781. The city a poem-drama and other poems. New York: Macmillan, 1905.
$75
First edition of the author's penultimate book, small 8vo, pp. vi, [2], 134; fine in original green cloth, gilt lettering and decoration on spine and upper cover, t.e.g.
782. Lami ... With an introductory note by Allen Ginsberg. San Francisco: The Auerhahn Society, 1965.
$60
Edition limited to 1000 copies "produced by Andrew Hoyem, printer," 8vo, pp. 91, [1]; photographic frontispiece tipped in; very good in original printed wrappers.
The last poems of a poet who died in 1961 in his early 20s, collected from his writings by David Rattray. Although not stated, this is from the library of Israel "Izzy" Young, former owner of the Folklore Center in Greenwich Village, New York.
783. Mortal summer. Iowa City: Prairie Press, [1953].
$60
Edition limited to 221 copies, 8vo, pp. [6], 9-63, [1]; printed in red and black; original blue cloth stamped in black on spine, unclipped dust jacket; fine throughout. From the library of Kim Merker.
A review copy, with a publisher's slip printed in red laid in. Cheever 107.
784. Valentines to the world. With illustrations by Fred Becker. [Iowa City]: The Cummington Press, 1958.
$150
Edition limited to 180 copies "printed at Iowa City by Raeburn Miller, K. Kimber Merker, and Harry Duncan" at 428 Fifth Avenue, Iowa City"; this is copy no. 4; 4to, pp. 55, [1]; printed in red and black, 10 abstract illustrations by Fred Becker; original gray cloth, endpapers with glue stain at the margins, the binding moderately spotted, spine partially perished; text block about fine, with silk ribbon bookmark intact. From the library of Kim Merker.
Raeburn Miller and Kim Merker were the founders of the Stone Wall Press and Duncan was their mentor and instructor. This is the first Cummington Press book printed in Iowa. And it is the first book of Mona Van Duyn.
Richmond 66.
785. The builders and other poems. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1897.
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. vi, 87; handsome title page printed in black and red within a floral border à la William Morris; art vellum-backed olive green cloth stamped and lettered in gilt on front cover and spine, minor soiling, and with a 1/4-inch chip from bottom of spine; light foxing scattered throughout; all else very good and sound.
This copy inscribed and dated Feb. 4, 1919, by the author on the front free endpaper, and with the bookplate of the renowned bibliographer and collector, Willard S. Morse.
786. The spirit of Christmas. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1905.
$50
First edition, 12mo, pp. [4], 59; frontispiece illustration in the pre-Raphaelite style; original olive green cloth stamped and lettered in gilt on spine and front cover; spine faded, light wear to extremities, and signature starting at frontispiece; generally good and sound.
This copy inscribed and dated by the author on the ffep; the inscription rendered partially illegible by the running of the ink.
787. Behind the candied chimes. [Winona?], Minnesota: Gendun Editions, [2005].
$125
Edition limited to 125 copies (this, unnumbered), signed by Van Someren; square 12mo, pp. [38]; circular decorations throughout printed in blue, yellow, red, green and black; original navy blue cloth, printed paper label on upper cover; fine copy. From the library of Kim Merker
"Impossible without each [Chad and Elizabeth] Oness - again" (colophon).
Printed on dampened Fox River and Somerset papers by Z.C.L.C. Binding executed by Jill Krase at Ovenbird Bindery.
788. Household. Nine poems. Iowa City: Athanor Press, [1976].
$50
Edition limited to 125 copies on Nideggen from Bembo types; 8vo, pp. [22]; printed in blue and black; title page engraving by Roxanne Sexauer; fine copy in original blue cloth-backed tan paper-covered boards. From the library of Kim Merker.
Most of the edition was bound in wrappers. "Many thanks to K. K. Merker whose assistance made this book possible" (colophon).
Hamilton, Buffalo, Iowa State and Iowa in OCLC.
789. The Wichita poems. Prints by William Kough. Iowa City: Stone Wall Press, 1973.
$100
Review copy, with printed label on upper cover reading "Reviewers' proof / The Wichita Poems / Michael Van Walleghen / In boards $7.50." 8vo, pp. [2], 54, [2]; unopened; 5 full-page illustrations; fine in original Japanese wrappers. From the library of Kim Merker.
Berger, Printing & the Mind of Merker, 56: "There was a student in my class who was a printmaker named William Kough. He wanted to do a print for the book ... The engraving is printed at each section [of the poem]. It was a cumulative print ... The images were printed on top of each other in different colors..."
790. The Wichita poems. Prints by William Kough. Iowa City: Stone Wall Press, 1973.
$45
First edition limited to 250 copies on Rives light printed by Kim Merker, bound by Mary Ellen Chapdu; 8vo, pp. [2], 54, [2]; 5 full-page illustrations; fine in original Japanese paper over boards, printed paper label on spine. From the library of Kim Merker.
Berger, Printing & the Mind of Merker, 56: "There was a student in my class who was a printmaker named William Kough. He wanted to do a print for the book ... The engraving is printed at each section [of the poem]. It was a cumulative print ... The images were printed on top of each other in different colors..."
791. Morning passage. [New York]: Telephone Books, [1976].
$75
First edition limited to 750 copies (including 26 lettered and signed), 12mo, pp. [32]; photo of the author by Alan Carey; fine copy in original pictorial wrappers by Martin Carey. From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded Coffee House Press.
This copy inscribed to Allan Kornblum: "For Allan on his voyage west, love Maureen." This is almost certainly Maureen Owen, the founder and principal of Telephone Books.
792. Tom Veitch magazine #4. San Francisco: An eco-ego-echo publication, [1971].
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. [60]; text a bit toned, else near fine in original pictorial wrappers. From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded Coffee House Press.
The magazine ran from 1970 to 1972. This is the last of the four issues published.
793. Passages. San Francisco: Meadow Press, 1983.
$50
First edition limited to 75 copies signed by Vincent (this, no. 22); 12mo, pp. [12] frenchfold; 2 monoprints by Phyllis Rockne; original orange paper covered boards lettered in black on the upper cover; fine copy. From the library of Kim Merker.
Original prospectus laid in.
794. Automatic transmissions. [New York]: Swollen Magpie Press, [1970].
$125
Edition limited to 300 copies, 4to, 11" x 8½", pp. [42]; printed from typescript; original pictorial wrappers by Courtney McGlynn, side-stapled; light toning, near fine. From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded Coffee House Press.
This copy inscribed: "For Allan, Buzz awhile, Paul."
OCLC locates no earlier Violi publication. She'll Be Riding Six White Horses was also published in 1970.
795. Smoke. Free free. Priceless / no sense. [New York?]: printed on the Renaissance Press, n.d., [ca. 1970].
$150
4to, 11" x 8½", [5] leaves (including title leaf on green paper), printed from typescript; corner-stapled. Fading and short tears at the edges; good to very good. From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded Coffee House Press.
A very early publication by Violi, possibly his first. Includes the poems "Icarus," "Squawk," and "from Pre-Cambrian Memories."
Not found in OCLC.
796. Splurge. New York: Sun, 1982.
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. [8], 81, [1]; small crease at the bottom of the front wrapper, else near fine throughout. From the library of Allan Kornblum, poet, fine press printer, and publisher who founded the Toothpaste Press and Coffee House Press.
This copy inscribed: "For Allan & Cinda, Happy New Year! Love, Paul. Jan. '83."
797. Waterworks. West Branch, Iowa: The Toothpaste Press, 1972.
$50
Edition limited to 550 copies, this being one of 50 copies numbered (this, no. 49) and signed by Violi; 8vo, pp. [24]; fine in original pictorial wrappers after a design by Cinda Wormley (Kornblum). This copy is not sewn, rather the text block (slightly larger than the covers) is laid into the wrappers.
Peich 15.
798. A song of America, and minor lyrics. New York: Hanscom and Company, 1876.
$65
First edition, 12mo, pp. ix, [4], 14-206; original terracotta cloth stamped in gilt on upper cover and spine; near fine.
799. The final resting place of the 10,000 names of the Buddha. Sacramento, CA: Runcible Spoon, 1970.
$75
Staplebound booklet, 1 of 200 copies, 11 x 8.5, pp. 34; yellow paper wrappers, paper browned, covers lightly worn.
Includes contributions from Jack Collom, Veryl Rosenbaum, Victoria Salkey, John Oliver Simon, Bill Bissett, and others. The second and last issue under the Runcible Spoon series.
Although not stated, this copy is from the library of Israel "Izzy" Young, former owner of the Folklore Center in Greenwich Village, New York.
800. As I journey on. Poems in various moods. [Cedar Rapid, IA]: privately printed [at the Torch Press], 1907.
$75
Edition limited to 500 copies (this copy out of series), 8vo, pp. [28]; original wallet-style wrappers with the Wakefield crest in black on the upper cover; some soiling of the wrappers, but generally fine.
An early Torch Press book.