About this Item
First impression of the true first edition, published in 1937 - edited by Gordon Bottomley and Denys Harding, with a foreword by Siegfried Sassoon. The original publication of Isaac Rosenberg's "Poems" was in 1922 by William Heinemann, with this "Collected Works" not being published until 1937. With eight monochrome illustrations, including a frontispiece showing: 'Self Portrait, 1911 or earlier'. An historically important collection of artistic and literary works by Isaac Rosenberg. ***Near fine in red cloth-covered boards with a gilt titles on the spine. The gilt is still nice and bright, although the spine colour has faded a bit. The boards are quite clean, just showing some marks and rubbing from age and handling over the years. Head and tail of spine slightly creased, with some small nicks to the top edge cloth. Corners sharp. Top edge of page block stained red by the publisher to match the boards. Edges of page block clean, with just a small mark to the fore-edge but no foxing. With the bottom edge untrimmed by the printer. No reading lean to the binding, and no reading creases to the spine. Spine tight. Internally also near fine, with just a neat contemporary ownership name at the top of the front free endpaper. No offsetting or foxing to the interior pages. Pages clean. No creases or tears. Without the scarce dustwrapper. ***226mm x148mm. 401 pages. ***Contents: Foreword; Biographical Note; Editorial Note; POEMS: Night and Day, 1912; Youth, 1915; Moses: A Play, 1916; Trench Poems, 1916-1918; The Unicorn; Earlier Poems Unpublished by Rosenberg, 1914-1915; Earlier Poems, 1913; Earlier Poems, 1912; Earlier Poems, before 1912; Fragments. PROSE: Art, Emerson, The Pre-Raphaelite Exhibition, Shorter Fragments of Prose, Romance at the Baillie Galleries, Rudolph, On a Door Knocker. LETTERS, NOTES, INDEX OF FIRST LINES, INDEX OF TITLES. ***'Youth is still childhood: when we cast off every cloudy venture, and our thoughts are clear and mature; when every act is a conscious thought, every thought an attempt to arrest feeling; our feelings strong and overwhelming, our sensitiveness awakened by insignificant things in life; when the skies race tumultuously with our blood, and the earth shines and laughs; when our blood hangs suspended at the rustling of a gown. Our vanity loves to subdue--battle, aggressive. How we despise those older and duller--we want life, newness, excitement. (Isaac Rosenberg, circa 1916) ***'Isaac Rosenberg (25 Nov 1890 - 1 Apr 1918) was an English poet and artist. His "Poems from the Trenches" are recognized as some of the most outstanding poetry written during the First World War. On 21 Mar 1918, the German Army started its Spring Offensive on the Western Front. A week later, Rosenberg sent his last letter with a poem "Through These Pale Cold Days" to England before going to the front lines with reinforcements. Having just finished a night patrol, he was killed on the night of 1 Apr 1918 with another ten KORL soldiers; there is a dispute as to whether his death occurred at the hands of a sniper or in close combat. (Wiki) ***An original first edition of the "Collected Works" of Isaac Rosenberg. The Collected Works was issued in an edition of 500 copies, with 900 sets of sheets being stored for a potential reprinting at the publisher's bindery - however, only 403 copies had been sold by March 1938, and the remaining unbound sheets were destroyed in April 1941 when the warehouse used by Chatto & Windus was bombed in the London Blitz. As a consequence, copies of this book in any condition are very hard to find now. Of interest to literary academics and collectors of Isaac Rosenberg's work, and the poetry of the First World War. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc.
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