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A BOY'S WILL.
(London: David Nutt, 1913). 183 x 120 mm. (7 1/4 x 4 3/4"). ix, [1] pp., [1] leaf (blank), 50 pp., [1] leaf. FIRST EDITION, Second Issue. With the blank preceding the first leaf of text, and "Printed in Great Britain" rubber-stamped on verso of title.
Publisher's cream vellum-paper printed wrappers (variant binding D), housed in a modern green morocco-backed marbled paper clamshell box. SPECIALLY SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR on title: "For Franklin Bennett/ from/ Robert Frost." Crane A2. See also: Fagan, "Critical Companion to Robert Frost: A Literary Reference to his Life and Work," pp. 52-53. Barely perceptible fading to wrappers, spine a bit cocked at the tail, shallow crease to lower cover (surely incurred in binding, rather than through use), trivial soiling to covers, but still AN EXTREMELY PLEASING COPY of a very easily damaged book.
This is an especially agreeable inscribed copy of Robert Frost's first commercially published book of poetry. It is preceded only by his 1894 work, "Twilight," of which just two copies were printed for the author--only one of which has survived. Written in a simple yet musical style, the autobiographical poems in "Boy's Will" explore themes of youth, nature, self-discovery, and the passage of time. According to Fagan, "The book has many strengths as it establishes Frost's voice . . ., his subject matter, and his skill. . . . 'A Boy's Will' was Frost's first triumph, and without it he could not have gone on to publish the large number of immortal poems of the later books." Published while the author was living in England, the book enjoyed enthusiastic reviews from writers such as Ezra Pound and F. S. Flint; ANB notes that "Yeats pronounced the poetry 'the best written in America for some time.'" The bibliographical history of this work is complicated. According to Crane, there were a total of 1,000 copies of the first edition printed. The first issue consisted of fewer than 350 copies, which were bound for publisher David Nutt in two variant bindings, and sold between 1913-17; the remaining copies comprise the second issue, and were also bound in two variant bindings. Most of the second issue copies (including the present item, in variant binding D) were acquired by the Dunster House Bookshop in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1923, following publisher David Nutt's bankruptcy after the First World War. At some point thereafter, our copy was signed and specially inscribed by Frost to Franklin Bennett, whom we were unable to identify with any certainty. "A Boy's Will" is arguably Frost's most sought after early work, so copies will always be found in the marketplace; the present copy is intended to be characterized by an extremely tempting combination of especially pleasing condition and attractive price. (ST20338-077)
Price: $3,000.00