Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$125.00 + shipping
Description: Edition limited to 250 copies on Arches, 150 printed for Arno Werner, and 100 for private distribution; 8vo, pp. [4] frenchfold; handset by Wightman Williams and Harry Duncan in American Uncial, and printed in red, blue and black; some light creasing and wrinkling; very good. From the library of Kim Merker. Richmond 33.
Seller: Rulon-Miller Books (ABAA / ILAB), St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.
TATE, Allen. The Winter Sea: A Book of Poems.. The Cummington Press, 1944, 1944.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Description: [51] pp. 8vo, black cloth, slightly soiled; one of 300 numbered copies
Seller: Franklin Gilliam :: Rare Books, A.B.A.A., Charlottesville, VA, U.S.A.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First edition. Black cloth lettered in white with applied paper decoration on front board. About fine. Copy number 76 of 300 numbered copies (of a total edition of 330).
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Description: Edition limited to 330 copies, this copy unnumbered, sewn but without a binding; 8vo, pp. [52]; unopened; title page printed in blue and black; fine. From the library of Kim Merker. Possibly a proof copy which may have come to Merker from Harry Duncan. Richmond 18.
Seller: Rulon-Miller Books (ABAA / ILAB), St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Description: Black boards with tan speckled design; tan leather spine; engraved illustration frontispiece; 73, [1] pages, wood engravings. "The text is based on a comparison between one Bible issued in 1878 and another of 1943 . Printed at Cummington, Massachusetts, November 1943 to May 1944 . This copy is number 22." Includes wood engravings by Gustav Wolf and a note by Alfred Young Fisher. VG- (light overall shelfwear, lightly age toned pages but pages are otherwise clean and clear.)
Seller: Mullen Books, ABAA, Marietta, PA, U.S.A.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Description: One of 300 copies, #38. 4to. SAMUEL FRENCH MORSE'S COPY. Publisher's quarter calf and boards, almost fine. Bookplate of Samuel French Morse
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Description: Number 265 of three hundred copies printed in Poliphilus and Blado types on dampened Dacian paper. Printed November 1943-May 1944. With wood engravings by Gustav Wolf/ and a note by Alfred Young Fisher. 74, [2] pp. 1 vols. 4to. Richmond #15 Bound in original tan calf spibne with silver flecked black boards, original plain dustjacket with some wear With wood engravings by Gustav Wolf/ and a note by Alfred Young Fisher. 74, [2] pp. 1 vols. 4to Number 265 of three hundred copies printed in Poliphilus and Blado types on dampened Dacian paper. Printed November 1943-May 1944.
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$350.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: 74, [1] pp. Quarter calf over black silver-flecked boards, spine lettered in blind, with the original unprinted jacket. One of three hundred copies printed, illustrated with wood engravings by Gustav Wolf and a textual note by Alfred Y. Fisher. Jacket scuffed and stained with a couple of chips, book slightly rubbed at the head and tail of the spine but overall near fine. An elaborate edition and an early production of the press, the first Cummington book to be chosen by the American Institute of Graphic Arts for its Fifty Books of the Year.
Seller: Triolet Rare Books, ABAA, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$468.75 + shipping
Description: 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.
Seller: Rulon-Miller Books (ABAA / ILAB), St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.
Williams, William Carlos. THE WEDGE. Cummington Press, Cummington MA, 1944.
Price: US$600.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 12mo, original decorated paste-paper boards. One of 380 copies printed in Centaur and Arrighi type on Dacian paper. Paper over spine spliit but holding, plus some modest edgewear. Owner bookplate pastedown. Uncommon.
Seller: Johnnycake Books ABAA, ILAB, Salisbury, CT, U.S.A.
Williams, William Carlos.. The Wedge. Cummington Press, E-156, 1944.
Price: US$750.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: Hardcover. 12mo. Cummington Press, Cummington MA, 1944. Illustrated by Wightman Williams (title page and cover device) (illustrator). One of 380 copies printed in Centaur and Arrighi type on Dacian paper. Bound in original decorated paste-paper boards. Boards have wear present to the extremities of the boards (, spine taped to boards, corners and extremities bumped and rubbed this is a rough copy) Previous owner's name (an '45 alumnus of Bennington, who should have spent more time taking care of his books) present to the FFEP with a short poem by the previous owner also present to the reverse of the rear endpaper . Text is clean and free of marks. Binding tight and solid. This collection, published during the war, includes many of Williams's most effective and famous poems, including "A Sort of a Song," "The Dance," "the World Narrowed to a Point," "A Flowing River," etc. E-156; 12mo 7" - 7½" tall
Seller: Last Exit Books, Charlottesville, VA, U.S.A.
Price: US$1750.00 + shipping
Description: 12mo, original decorated paste-paper boards. Arthur Mizener's copy, with his tiny book-label on the front endsheet, spine very slightly faded, with a touch of wear at the base, otherwise an unusually nice copy of this fragile book, which seldom survives in fine condition. Arthur Mizener's copy, with his tiny book-label on the front endsheet, spine very slightly faded, with a touch of wear at the base, otherwise an unusually nice copy of this fragile book, which seldom survives in fine condition. First edition. One of 380 copies printed in Centaur and Arrighi type on Dacian paper. Wallace A23. A diminutive but significant volume, which includes "Paterson: The Falls", "The Dance (In Breughel's great picture)", "The Semblables" and "To Ford Madox Ford in Heaven", in addition to Williams' important introduction, a brief "Ars Poetica".
Seller: James S. Jaffe Rare Books, LLC, ABAA, Deep River, CT, U.S.A.
Williams, William Carlos.. The Wedge.. The Cummington Press, 1944.
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Limited Edition. 380 copies. Title and cover "wedge" designs by Wightman Williams. Near Fine copy in deep orange marbled paper covered boards. Slight rubbing to edges of spine, which is very slightly faded. Text and endpapers clean and unmarked, with no soil, foxing or wear. 109pp. This collection, published during the war, includes many of Williams's most effective and famous poems, including "A Sort of a Song," "The Dance," "the World Narrowed to a Point," "A Flowing River," etc. A diminutive book, with an eccentric design. Q06200
Seller: Compass Rose Books, ABAA-ILAB, Kensington, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$2200.00 + shipping
Description: First edition. [44] pp. Bound in publisher's navy boards with red lettering. Very Good+ with typical sunned spine, a little toning to boards. The American poet's rare first book.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
LOWELL, Robert. Land of Unlikeness. Cummington Press, Cummington, MA, 1944.
Price: US$2250.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Octavo, unpaginated [48pp.]. About very good in the publisher's blue boards, stamped in red. Spine sun-faded (as is often the case) and slightly offset near the spine on the rear board. Spine ends nicked. A fragile book, with some mild evidence of wear, but unrestored, and perfectly clean internally. One of 224 limited copies (there were another 26 copies printed on Dacian paper and signed and lettered by the author). The first edition of Lowell's rare first book, which appears infrequently in commerce and at auction. Lacks the uncommon tissue dust jacket.
Seller: Cleveland Book Company, ABAA, Rocky River, OH, U.S.A.
Price: US$3000.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: (48)pp. Title-page woodcut by Gustav Wolf. Boards. Slightly sunned. Front board slightly scuffed. One of 26 copies on Dacian paper, numbered and signed by Lowell on the colophon, from the limited edition of 250 in all. Lowell's first book of poetry.
Seller: Ars Libri, Ltd. (ABAA), Charlestown, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$3750.00 + shipping
Description: Edition limited to 250 copies (this one of 224 on Brook and unsigned); 8vo, pp. [44]; title page printed in blue, red, and black with a woodcut design by Gustav Wolf; original blue paper-covered boards lettered in red; spine and edges sunned; all else near fine. From the library of Kim Merker. This is Lowell's first book. Richmond 16.
Seller: Rulon-Miller Books (ABAA / ILAB), St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.
Price: US$4000.00 + shipping
Description: 8vo, title-page woodcut by Gustav Wolf, original blue boards without printed dust jacket as issued. Very small spot of faint discoloration on the back cover, otherwise a very fine copy of a book rarely seen without the almost inevitable fading to the spine, in a cloth folding box. Very small spot of faint discoloration on the back cover, otherwise a very fine copy of a book rarely seen without the almost inevitable fading to the spine, in a cloth folding box First edition of Lowell's scarce first book. One of 250 copies printed.
Seller: James S. Jaffe Rare Books, LLC, ABAA, Deep River, CT, U.S.A.
LOWELL, Robert.. Land of Unlikeness.. Cummington, Massachusetts: Cummington Press, 1944, 1944.
Price: US$4134.07 + shipping
Description: First edition, first printing, of Lowell's first book of poems, one of 250 copies, notably uncommon in the original glassine, especially so in such fine condition. The poems were written between 1940 and 1944, while the author was studying in Louisiana and Tennessee. "Lowell at that time converted to Roman Catholicism, influenced by Gerard Manley Hopkins, Etienne Gilson, and other Catholic writers and philosophers, and impelled as well by his dark moods and what his wife termed 'fire-breathing righteousness'. This religious conversion strongly shaped the character of his first two books of poetry" (ANB). The Cummington Press was a small letterpress owned and operated by Harry Duncan (1916-1997), "considered the father of the post-World War II private-press movement" (Newsweek, 16 August 1982). The press's first book, Incident on the Bark Columbia, appeared in 1941, printed on a hand printing press at the Cummington School of the Arts; the press went on to publish editions of Tennessee Williams, Wallace Stevens, and Marianne Moore, typically with print runs of fewer than 500 copies, continuing to operate until Duncan's death in 1997. Octavo. Original blue boards, spine and front cover lettered in red, buff endpapers. With original glassine jacket. Housed in a custom purple quarter morocco slipcase and chemise. Woodcut to title page by Gustav Wolf printed in pale blue, text printed in black and red. Spine lightly rubbed, spot of wear to ends, ownership inscription to front free endpaper sometime erased, contents otherwise clean. A near-fine copy in fine glassine.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Robert Lowell. Land of Unlikeness. Cummington Press, 1944.
Price: US$4500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First book by Lowell and it has the rare dust jacket. The book is a strong very good while the d/j a weak veryy good. D/j is ripped on top and shows some soiling. The spine of the d/j is blank but someone has pencilled Robert Lowell on it. Overall a very nice copy in the difficult fold your own dust jacket.
Seller: Culpepper Books, Tacoma, WA, U.S.A.
Price: US$5000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: The 1944 original printing of Robert Lowell's first published book, limited to 250 copies. THIS COPY BELONGING TO POET ROBERT DUNCAN, WHO SIGNED HIS NAME ON THE FRONT FREE ENDPAPER AND WHOSE WILDLY DECORATIVE 1945 BOOKPLATE (SHARED WITH AND UNDOUBTEDLY DESIGNED BY HIS PARTNER JESS COLLINS) ADORNS THE FRONT PASTEDOWN. A solid, presentable copy to boot. Clean and VG in its dark boards, with light offsetting along the panel edges, limited, very light blotching to the rear panel and its usual (in this case mild) fading along the spine. Introduction by Allen Tate. Also includes a handsome, custom-made chemise and printed slipcase, with its gilt-titled, dark-leather label along the spine.
Seller: APPLEDORE BOOKS, ABAA, WACCABUC, NY, U.S.A.
LOWELL, Robert. LAND OF UNLIKENESS. Cummington Press, (Cummington, MA), 1944.
Price: US$6250.00 + shipping
Description: Publisher's blue boards stamped in orange, title page printed in red and black with woodcut in blue by Gustav Wolf. Introduction by Allen Tate. Lowell's first book, limited to a total of 250 copies printed. This is Copy #11 of only 26 on Dacian paper SIGNED by the author on the limitation page. Allen Tate, in his introduction to this collection, tempers his praise with a fair assessment of Lowell's current stature and potential, heralding a lasting presence in American poetry: "The history of poetry shows that good verse does not inevitably make its way; but unless, after the war, the small public for poetry shall exclude all except the democratic poets who enthusiastically greet the advent of the slave-society, Robert Lowell will have to be reckoned with." Two years later, Lowell would win the Pulitzer Prize for LORD WEARY'S CASTLE, at the age of 30. Slight fading to boards, moreso to the spine which has a couple of small tears, one neatly repaired. Very Good and scarce
Seller: Charles Agvent, est. 1987, ABAA, ILAB, Fleetwood, PA, U.S.A.
LOWELL, Robert. Land of Unlikeness. The Cummington Press, (Cummington), 1944.
Price: US$7500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition. Blue printed papercovered boards, lettered in red. Introduction by Allen Tate. Woodcut by Gustav Wolf. Light rubbing to the crown, spine a little faded, with two very small spots, and a small, light smudge on the front board, lacking the original unprinted glassine dustwrapper. A nice, very good copy of a fragile volume, and internally fine. This copy Inscribed by Lowell to Stanley Hyman, important American literary critic, and husband of the novelist Shirley Jackson: "For Stanley Hyman From Robert Lowell With Great Respect." The author's first book. One of 224 copies of a total edition of 250. An important title and a keystone of American poetry.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Price: US$12500.00 + shipping
Description: Publisher's blue boards stamped in orange, title page printed in red and black with woodcut in blue by Gustav Wolf. Housed in a half blue morocco leather slipcase. Introduction by Allen Tate. Lowell's scarce first book, limited to a total of 250 copies printed. INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author on the front free endpaper to poet Randall Jarrell: "For Randall/with affection and admiration/and no apologies for dogma,/Cal." Lowell was nicknamed Caligula at preparatory school, and the diminutive "Cal" stuck with him throughout his life. Lowell and Jarrell met at Kenyon College, where they were roommates, and became lifelong friends, each providing valuable criticism of the other's work. In 1965, Lowell eulogized the friend who had been one of two beneficiaries of his will: "Randall Jarrell was the only man I have ever met who could make other writers feel that t heir work was more important to him than his own." Along with the copies Lowell presented to John Crowe Ransom--at the University of Texas--and Allen Tate--in a private collection--this is one of the three most compelling association copies imaginable. Allen Tate, in his introduction to this collection, tempers his praise with a fair assessment of Lowell's current stature and potential, heralding a lasting presence in American poetry: "The history of poetry shows that good verse does not inevitably make its way; but unless, after the war, the small public for poetry shall exclude all except the democratic poets who enthusiastically greet the advent of the slave-society, Robert Lowell will have to be reckoned with." Two years later, Lowell would win the Pulitzer Prize for LORD WEARY'S CASTLE, at the age of 30. Small ink date of 1944 at the bottom right corner of the title page, likely in Jarrell's hand. Mild sunning to the spine which has a small, neat repair at the head; lacking the plain tissue dustwrapper. Near Fine in a Fine box
Seller: Charles Agvent, est. 1987, ABAA, ILAB, Fleetwood, PA, U.S.A.