One of only 460 copies issued

Eliot, T.S. ~ The Waste Land

Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, Richmond : 1923

The First UK printing published by Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, Richmond in 1923. 'About 460 copies were printed’ and ‘out of print on 11 February 1925 with 443 copies sold’ (Woolmer 28). Gallup identifies three states of the label, assigning no priority, this being Gallup(a) with the label bearing a border of black asterisks. The BOOK is in Very Good++ condition. The blue patterned paper covered boards (likely by Vanessa Bell) are lightly rubbed but are in very good condition. A light small pen mark to the outer edge of the half-title and some light spotting in places and to the printed paper label. The spine which is often absent is present here, and amazingly intact, but is detached. It is faded and toned. However, it is held firmly together in place on the spine of the book by the removable Mylar archival cover and presents very well. The binding remains tight. The book has undergone NO restoration or repairs. Virginia and Leonard Woolf had published Eliot's ‘Poems’ (1919) as the fourth book of their Hogarth Press. ‘The Waste Land’ was handset by Virginia Woolf and provided her with her most difficult technical challenge due to the innovative line-spacing of the poem. Eliot was very pleased with the result and considered this edition to be superior to the US edition of 1922 but it caused Virginia some anxiety. She wrote to a friend that "I have just finished setting up the whole of Mr Eliot's poem with my own hands - you see how my hand trembles". The Waste Land had originally been published in the inaugural issue of Eliot's quarterly journal 'The Criterion' in October 1922 with the USA book edition following two months later on December 15th 1921. Having taken time off from his job at Lloyds Bank for what would now be called depression, Eliot spent three weeks in Margate, on the South-East coast of England. The theme of despair, and its powerful vision of urban alienation spoke to a generation of disillusioned young post-war readers, with some critics hailing it as a masterpiece, and others denouncing it for its allusiveness (the US poet William Carlos Williams disliked the modernist style, claiming in his autobiography that it "returned us to the classroom"). Nonetheless, the poem remains one of the most influential of the twentieth century. Housed in an attractive Wyvern Bindery custom solander box. Extremely scarce to find in completely unrestored collectible condition.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Very Good++