Smith, Clark Ashton. AN ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT BY CLARK ASHTON SMITH: "The Crystals". Roy A. Squires, Glendale, California, 1969.

Price: US$950.00 + shipping

Description: This is one of 25 folders printed during February of 1969 to enclose manuscripts from the collection of Roy A. Squires". Contained within is the typescript with Smith's holographic corrections of "The Crystals", a prose poem which opens, "Raptly as one who would divine the perilous eyes of Sleep, and the dreams and mysteries which lurk therein, I sought to fathom the gulf-enclosing orb of the crystal." This poem first appeared in the Arkham House collection Poems in Prose (1965). It was through his poetry that Smith (1893-1961) gained the attention of both Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft, who he remains inextricably linked as the big three of weird tales. Smith manuscripts are both scarce and highly sought after. Bound within the light brown paper folder is a title page, the mylar sleeve housing the manuscript, and a limitation page. Fine.

Seller: johnson rare books & archives, ABAA, Covina, CA, U.S.A.