R.L. STEVENSON FABLES: With Introduction And Notes.

BLYTH, R.H. [Reginald Horace]

Published by

Tokyo [1953], Nan'un-Do. Stiff buff wrappers, 79p.,very good covers a bit dusty, contents a bit 'toned' else a very solid and clean example, 12.5 x 18.2 cm., frontis of Stevenson. VERY RARE FIRST & ONLY EDITION AUTHOR'S SIGNED PRESENTATION . *** **** *** . . A VERY OBSCURE TITLE & PUBLICATION AUTHORED BY BLYTH . . . THE AUTHOR'S SIGNED PRESENTATION COPY TO . . . A LONG-TIME TRUSTEE OF MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK . . . MR.& MRS. [GIFFORD & JOANN] PHILLIPS . . *** This title was issued by an obscure Tokyo publisher, in a very small edition, most likely less than 200 copies. . The introduction by Blyth outlines the origin of 'fables' in Aesop's Fables, ca. 600 B.C., dated Tokyo 14 April, 1952. . The work contains 19 chapters, plus notes & appendix [a kind of glossary to old English of Stevenson]. . It is interesting to note that this work was refused publication by his then publisher, Hokuseido, in favor of an unknown, obscure and very small publisher, Nan'un-do. It is additionally noteworthy that the colophon shows the price of this book to be 90 yen, which was an astronomically high price in 1952, In those days the exchange rate was 360 yen to $1, a salary man earned 10,000 yen a month, or about $27.70, 90 yen equals about one-fourth of a day's salary! . *** RARITY: This title is NOT LISTED in WorldCat. It is obscure and was issued in a very small edition, eluding WorldCat and other standard bibliographies and references. It is therefore an "Unrecorded Title" exceptionally RARE and a unique example. . *** THE AUTHOR'S SIGNED PRESENTATION COPY: This exceptionally rare title was presented to Mr. [Gifford] & Mrs. [Joann] Phillips of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. During their sojourn in Tokyo they met Blyth, at that time Blyth gifted this copy to the Phillips with his hand-written token of presentation. . The Phillip's archive and papers are held in the Smithsonian, see citation below. . Gifford was a forty-year term trustee of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. . THE MOMA STAFF VISIT TO JAPAN: In 1952, as part of the MOMA delegation and administration, visited Japan to see an art exhibition. Mr. Phillips & his wife, along with Mr. Lieberman, [MOMA] Director of the Department of Drawings and Prints, Bliss Parkinson, Frank H. Porter & Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Governor of New York [patron of Asian Arts] went to the Maruei Hotel in Nagoya, to view the collection of "NEW JAPANESE PAINTING AND SCULPTURE." There after they arranged for this collection to come to the MOMA, for exhibition. . MOMA staff wrote and issued the exhibition book: THE NEW JAPANESE PAINTING AND SCULPTURE: An Exhibition Selected by Dorothy C. Miller and William S. Lieberman. With and essay by William S. Lieberman. . *** REFERENCES: This title is NOT FOUND in WorldCat. The closest title was a modern version of: Robert Louis Stevenson: FABLES, 2004-2014. . Although WorldCat lists 'Fables' as a London, 1895,Longman's edition, they do not provide any details under the choice of "view all editions." There is no reference whatsoever to the title we list herein. . See: editionsView=true&referer=br * Smithsonian Archive of Phillips papers: s-papers-13520 . ***. Seller Inventory # 38051401

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Title: R.L. STEVENSON FABLES: With Introduction And...