[Rarebooks] FS: SIGNED True First Edition of Robert Frost's First Book, Henry James's Copy

[Charles Agvent]

FROST, Robert. A BOY'S WILL. London: David Nutt, 1913. First Edition. 
Original bronzed brown pebbled cloth, gilt-lettered on the front cover. 
Crane A2: First Issue, Binding A of Frost's first book. Less than 350 
copies of the first issue in the first binding were issued, from a total 
edition of 1,000. INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author on the front 
endpaper: "To William Stockhausen/this a first of my first/Robert 
Frost/and pleased to meet it/again so fresh after all/these years/Dec 26 
1960." In addition on the front endpaper is the pencil ownership 
signature of Henry James, Jr. with a 55 East 65th St. address. According 
to the SOTHEBY PARKE BERNET catalog of THE WILLIAM E. STOCKHAUSEN 
COLLECTION, 1974, "this copy is most certainly from the library of Henry 
James the novelist. The owner name is in the hand of his nephew Henry 
James but appears to be an identification of source. The nephew 
inherited a large part of the novelist's library on the author's death 
in 1916. He never used either Jr. or Henry James II but his uncle did 
use the latter. Since this is evidently not his own ownership 
inscription it appears to be more than likely that he wrote it to 
identify those books which had come from his uncle's library." A copy of 
NORTH OF BOSTON also inscribed to Stockhausen had a similar ownership 
signature. This copy of A BOY'S WILL was last on the market in 1977, and 
a letter from the well-known bookseller to the buyer is laid in. Housed 
in a cloth chemise and handsome brown morocco-backed cloth slipcase. A 
spectacular copy with an exceptional association. (#015100) $50,000.00

http://home.ptd.net/~chagvent/015100.JPG

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