A Darkened Being: an anthology compiled by George Sims - printer's corrected proofs

George SIMS

Published by [Loanhead]: privately printed (by Alan Anderson at the Tragara Press), 1991

About this Item

Printer s corrected proofs. 92 leaves, printed on cream Abbey Mills, rectos only, one leaf lacking (Richard Jefferies' contribution), but with two copies of the half-title; with the printer's manuscript corrections on nine pages, and two copies of the printer's prospectus, single sheets, folded (one with the words "Card slip-case" deleted). "A collection largely of agnostic writings," this advertises the book, "with extracts from 65 authors", Alyse Gregory claiming the prize with five extracts, followed by her husband Llewelyn Powys and Tolstoy with four each, then Logan Pearsall Smith and James Gould Cozzens with three, and Shakespeare, Graham Greene, Joseph Conrad and Edward Thomas with a brace apiece. "There is no truth" (Alyse Gregory); "There is no hope" (Richard Rumbold). "This selection seemed to me to focus on a grim side of George's outlook, not fully in character with the man I know," wrote David J. Holmes, publisher of Sims's The Rare Book Game and its successors. Anthony Rota was much dismayed by this grimness, its "unmitigated gloom and despondency, even despair (not so much agnosticism as nihilism)". "I have just completed a book for George Sims," wrote Alan Anderson to the Tragara Press collector Alex Bridge (5 October 1991). "It runs to 89 pages - much larger than I would normally tackle nowadays, but George is my oldest friend and I wanted to do it. I collected the copies from the binder yesterday - rather attractive in our usual restrained way . . .". Seller Inventory # 32M100451

Bibliographic Details

Title: A Darkened Being: an anthology compiled by ...

Publisher: [Loanhead]: privately printed (by Alan Anderson at the Tragara Press)

Publication Date: 1991

Binding: No Binding

Condition: Near Fine