Milton's Literary Craftsmanship: A Study of a Brief History of Moscovia - Association Copy (Raymond D. Havens's copy with correspondence from Cawley)

8vo in blue cloth, spine title in gilt. Binding tight and square, virtually no rubbing, gilt fresh, glue residue in the gutters of the pastedowns, two-line inscription about Cawley and Milton at the top of the front free endpaper. Ownership signature of Raymond D. Havens, dated 1942, on the front pastedown above his very attractive bookplate. Laid in is an ALS from Cawley to Havens, dated June 13, 1951, both sides of a small piece of stationery, in which Cawley heaps praise on Havens and his book on Milton, and mentions Cawley's use of Havens's book in the classroom. Cawley also says that he will 'push hard' to get Havens honored at the next Milton dinner. In fact, Havens was named the Honored Scholar at the 1951 meeting of the Milton Society. There is also a postcard, dated June 19, 1951 from Cawley to Havens in which Cawley chides Havens for his modesty and tells him that he is 'ranked among the foremost Milton scholars'. The book itself has become scarce for some reason; at this writing (early Autumn 2026) there are no first editions offered online. But of course accompanied by such correspondence between these scholars makes this copy intriguing. [Research assistance provided by ChatGPT(Open AI).].…