The Twelve by Alexander Blok - 1920

Paperback / softback. New.

NY: B. W. Huebsch, Inc., 1920. 1st Edition . Soft cover. Good. Translated from the Russian and with an introduction by Babette Deutsch and Abraham Yarmolinsky. NY: B. W. Huebsch, Inc., 1920. 12mo. (7" x 4.5"); 23pp.; saddle-stapled in printed wraps. Issued as part of The Freeman Pamphlets series. The first English-language edition of Blok's controversial long poem of 1918, which describes in twelve stanzas the passage of a dozen Bolshevik soldiers through the streets of a blizzardy Petrograd. Written in response to the October Revolution, the poem's political and mystical opacity earned scorn from both intellectuals and revolutionaries, respectively. As the translators note in their introduction: "The main theme is only briefly glimpsed, moving in the obscurity of broken shadows and the intermittent flash of revolutionary fires. It is interrupted by lyric passages, by snatches of street-songs, by echoes of rifle shots, and concludes with the revelation of the twelve led by the… Read More

New York: B.W. Huebsch, Inc, 1920. First U.S. edition. Softcover. Translated from the Russian by Babette Deutsch and Abraham Yarmolinsky who also contribute an introduction. A poem about the Russian Revolution. An about fair copy in stapled wrappers with a chip to the top corner, splitting to the base of the spine, some staining as well and some edge tears as well. Scarce.

New York: William Edwin Rudge, 1931. Unpaginated. 32 x 24 cm. Red quarter leather with red paste paper covered boards and gilt titling to spine, in a plain white paper dustjacket and housed in a black paper covered slipcase; Limited to 650 copies, 100 of which are numbered and have as illustrations the original lithographs by George Biddle, this is number 18. Uneven sunning to slipcase, with wear and chipping to corners and extremities.Rubbing to boards of case, with some splash marks to one of the side panels. Toning to dust jacket, which is missing the spine panel and is in two pieces. Some rubbing to spine, with some light wear to tail of spine of book. Light 12.5 x 9 cm patch of adhesive where a bookplate was removed from front pastedown. Frontispiece lithograph has been signed in pencil by George Biddle. All ten lithographs have been mounted to pages, with lightly toned spots from the mounting adhesive . Interior otherwise clean and umarked. Binding sound. Due to the size of this book, additional… Read More

Rare original poetry book with cloth covered boards, copyright 1880 by J. W. Shoemaker & Co. This edition published in 1906 by the Penn Publishing company, Philadelphia. From the estate of my great-great grandfather.Includes many unique poems and recitations such as "To a skull", "Uncle Daniel's Introduction to a Mississippi Steamer", "The Leak in the Dyke", etc. More well-known poetry includes "Song of Birds", "Old Ironsides", and "Bannock Burn" by Robbie Burns. Light rubbing and bumps to outside spine edges. Back cover and interior cloth covered board has a stain at top. Original owner's name and address from 1908, but no other writing or marks. First 2 pages have a stain at top, but text of 192 pages of poetry and recitations is totally clean with light tanning of pages.

Comet Press Books, New York, 1956, Fine Hardcover / no dustjacket, 56 pages, 5.5" x 8.25". Inscribed by author on ffep.

New York, Grove Press, 2022, trade paperback, 272 pp, Advance Uncorrected Proof (ARC), New. Straight, tight and clean with no wear or markings in bright, pictorial card covers, no dustjacket as issued. The pieces in this collection, written between 1956 and 1961 and including short fiction, a radio play, and a stunning early novel, offer startling insights into Cohens imagination and creative process. Cohen explores themes that would permeate his later work, from shame and unworthiness to sexual desire in all its sacred and profane dimensions to longing, whether for love, family, freedom, or transcendence. ISBN 9780802160478

2015 - Stated First Edition - Limited Edition - INSCRIBED by author on the title-page "Fran Marie, Friend for many years," - "Unlike the tradition of most books of poetry, Ransom includes photos and paintings." - book: near fine - tight, sound, and square - pages are clean and unmarked - dj: near fine

Trumansburg, NY: Out of Step Press. Fine with no dust jacket. 2016. Numbered Edition; First Printing. Pamphlet. The author's non-linear poem about the billeting of soldiers in civilian homes in wartime. Copy 89 of a limited edition of 250. Folded into the form of a letter, the work was letterpress printed in wraps of handmade "combat paper" made from military uniforms. The author says: "Some time ago-maybe a year, maybe two? I had a conversation with some of my Combat Paper brothers (well, the kids call them their combat paper uncles, so it follows…) that led to me writing the poem "Quartering." Which was informed by them, of course, and by all the rooms I'm in, and by imagining what is really required of all the caregivers I love. It's a thought experiment: if we tore down the barracks at military hospitals and offered incentives for Americans in the surrounding neighborhoods to quarter injured service members, what would the honest instructions… Read More

Plainfield: North Atlantic Books, 1976. First Edition, 8vo. [60pp], no pagination. Softcover, pictorial wraps. Very good condition, faint creasing, slight rubbing, top corner bumped and back cover small stain. This project was partially supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C., a federal agency. Please see photos for specifics. A portion of all book sales from Babcock & 68th are donated to charity.

Singapore: Math Paper Press. Very Good. 2012. First Edition. Softcover. 9810728492 . Printed white wrappers, show moderate soil; light vertical crease front cover. Two Poem anthology, arising from the accidental advocacy of one poet, coming off the back of her love for walking about in the less beaten paths in Singapore. In a series of chapbooks borne of the Babette's Feast public gathering of writers.; 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall .

Palermo Edizioni Arte e Pensiero, 1947, paperback. Poetry, text in ITALIAN. SIGNED, inscribed by Giosue Sparito (pseudonym of Enrico Fagone). 123 pages. Softcover. Good used condition: binding unglued from spine, covers edgeworn, page margins tanned.

Winnetka, IL: Vixen Press, 1985. First Edition. Pictorial Paper Covers. Fine. 20pp, colophon; six colored wood engravings by Caryl Seidenberg. 9.5" x 6.5" This is #222 of 250 copies only, set in Centaur and Arrighi types and printed by hand on dampened Rives heavyweight. Signed under the colophon by Seidenberg and by Friedberg.

NY: Exposition Press, 1976. Burgundy leatherette boards, bright gilt lettering. Pages [63] clean, unmarked, binding tight and square. Semi-transparent waxpaper dust jacket, appears to be original; in new archival mylar, age discoloration at edges and spine, some edge wear, small bit missing. The author graduated Kennett (Missouri) High School in 1973. Copy of newspaper [DDD] article about the KHS reunion on Jan 18, 2004 laid in. Now also available is a signed copy, same condition but without the transparent dust jacket. Media Mail, Priority & most international shipping include free tracking information. Every book listed is located in my smoke free and climate controlled shop. All are inspected by me and will have qualities and/or flaws described. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Good+.