Astræa: The Balance of Illusions. A Poem Delivered Before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Yale College, August 14, 1850
by HOLMES, Oliver Wendell
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Lebanon, New Jersey, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1850. First edition, BAL state B (no priority), binding A. 12mo. 39, [1] pp. + 4 pp. inserted publisher's list (October 1850) at front. Publisher's printed glazed cream-yellow boards (BAL binding A); spine chipped, front joint cracked, some soiling to boards, in custom brown cloth slipcase and chemise First edition of this poetical address to the Yale Phi Beta Kappa Society by Oliver Wendell Holmes. With a later manuscript note of October 1906 on the ffep by Yale alumnus Edmund Stedman, who witnessed the address: "I was only sixteen
it much impressed me, as all of us college boys knew something of the doctor's early verse." Stedman (1833-1908) was a poet, critic and stock broker, whose anthologies of American literature were important steps in defining the canon of American letters. BAL identifies two printings of the first edition, each printing having two states distinguished by minute typographical differences to the copyright page and signature mark 3. Priority between the two states is unknown. This is one of 2,500 copies of the first printing, state B (or A?), bound in the publisher's glazed boards, which BAL gives priority over the various cloth bindings. Edwin P. Hoyt, in his biography of Holmes, notes that "Holmes got one hundred dollars from publisher Fields for 'Astrea,' which pleased the author mightily" (The Improper Bostonian, p. 296) PROVENANCE: Edmund Clarence Stedman (book-plate, manuscript note); Mrs. J. Insley Blair (Blairhame book-label)REFERENCE: BAL 8757; Currier & Tilton, pp. 47-8
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Bull's Head Rare Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 100333
- Title
- Astræa:
- Author
- HOLMES, Oliver Wendell
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition, BAL state B (no priority), binding A
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Ticknor, Reed, and Fields
- Place of Publication
- Boston
- Date Published
- 1850
Terms of Sale
Bull's Head Rare Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Bull's Head Rare Books
Biblio member since 2021
Lebanon, New Jersey
About Bull's Head Rare Books
Bull's Head Rare Books was established in 2020 by Alex Obercian after more than a dozen years in the New York City book trade. BHRB deals in rare books and manuscripts in all fields, with specialties in literature, bookbindings, architecture, photography, science and medicine and country-life pursuits — gardening, farming and landscape design.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- FFEP
- A common abbreviation for Front Free End Paper. Generally, it is the first page of a book and is part of a single sheet that...
- Cracked
- In reference to a hinge or a book's binding, means that the glue which holds the opposing leaves has allowed them to separate,...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Copyright page
- The page in a book that describes the lineage of that book, typically including the book's author, publisher, date of...
- BAL
- Bibliography of American Literature (commonly abbreviated as BAL in descriptions) is the quintessential reference work for any...
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...