Smith, William Jay. Birds and Beasts. David R. Godine, Boston, 1990.

Price: US$26.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: Inscribed, "To R____ & R_____, with love and best wishes from their cousin" and signed 'Bill/William Jay Smith' on the front endpage. Also, laid-in is a typed and signed letter from the author. First printing of first edition. Illustrated with charming woodcuts by Jacques Hnizdovsky. Very Good in a Very Good dust jacket. Minor wear to cloth at spine-ends. Jacket is free of any chips or tears, but has some browning on each side of the spine - a bit more prominent on the rear panel. Poetry.

Seller: Brazos Bend Books, Houston, TX, U.S.A.

SMITH, William Jay. BIRDS AND BEASTS; Woodcuts by Jacques Hnizdovsky. David R. Godine, Boston, 1990.

Price: US$31.00 + shipping

Description: 4to, A fine copy in dj. Inscribed by the author. : "For |. | with my best wishes | . | Pittsfield | 16 July 1992" William Jay Smith was born in Winnfield, Louisiana. He was brought up at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, south of St. Louis. Smith received his A.B. and M.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, and continued his studies at Columbia University, and Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Smith is the author of ten collections of poetry of which two were finalists for the National Book Award. He was appointed the nineteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1968 to 1970.

Seller: Second Life Books, Inc., Lanesborough, MA, U.S.A.

Smith, William Jay. Birds and Beasts [SIGNED]. David R. Godine, Pub., Boston, 1990.

Price: US$100.00 + shipping

Condition: Fine

Description: Unnumbered pp.; HB w/DJ. Limited to 6,000, this is one of a special subset of 1,000 set aside for members of limited edition book club Hoc Volo, signed by author Smith on the colophon. Pages: clean, bright, tight, frontis; no defects. Cover: tan boards w/brick backstrip, woodcut front, black titles spine; minimal shelfwear. DJ: unclipped, lt green, yellow block front, woodcuts front/back, red/black titles front/spine; lt wear, lt toning along joints, sm closed tear and crinkle front top. Wonderful woodcut illustrations by Hnizdovsky. From Godine's press, whose stated aim is "to identify the best work and to produce it in the best way possible" Lovely, giftable.

Seller: Independent Books, Long Beach, WA, U.S.A.

Smith, William Jay. Birds and Beasts. Boston: David R. Godine, 1990.

Price: US$175.00 + shipping

Condition: Fine

Description: 8vo, tan decorative cloth lettered in black; pictorial dust jacket; slightly soiled. First edition, first printing. One of 1000 numbered copies, with woodcuts by Jacques Hnizdovsky. A presentation copy, inscribed by Smith to Eleanor D. "Siddy" Wilson: "For Siddy - with many memories - with love and best wishes - Bill," on the front endpaper. Wilson, a widely exhibited abstract painter and actress, was best known for "Reds" (1981) and "Alice's Restaurant" (1969). A striking work.

Seller: North Star Rare Books & Manuscripts, Sheffield, MA, U.S.A.