JANUARY GARDEN / BEHIND DARK SPACES / A WIDER ARC. THREE INSCRIBED BOOKS + LETTERS AND ADDITIONAL PAPERS.

Cane, Melville - inscribed. (Melville Henry Cane, 1879-1980.)

Published by Harcourt Brace, New York

A collection of three first edition hard covers in dust jackets, each inscribed by the author, plus additional material. Melville Henry Cane, 1879-1980, was a graduate of Columbia University and partner in the law firm Ernst, Fox & Cane in New York, where he was legal counsel to Sinclair Lewis, Upton Sinclair, Ayn Rand, William, Saroyan, Thomas Wolfe and others. He was also a poet, producing several volumes of verse, writing "Making a Poem" in 1953 and winning the Robert Frost Medal for lifetime achievement in 1971. The books: 1. January Garden, 1926, 70 pp, 8 1/2" H, black cloth spine with white paper title label/black lettering on spine, black paper covered boards, top edge orange, orange endpapers. Inscribed on title page: "For Tommy Atkins / From his old friend, / Melville Cane 4/1/26". Orange dust jacket with black lettering/decoration. 2. Behind Dark Spaces, 1930, 80 pp, 8 1/2" H, bright blue cloth spine with gilt lettering, yellow paper covered boards, yellow endpapers. Inscribed on dedication page: "To G.C. Atkins, / Send your grade A honey to / Melville Cane / 64 Wright St. / Westport, / Conn." Yellow dust jacket with black lettering/decoration. 3. A Wider Arc: Poems, 1947, 186 pp, 8 5/8" H, black cloth with gilt lettering on spine, white endpapers. Inscribed on title page (Cane has crossed out his printed name): "For Tommy / From Melville, / April '47. This volume includes a prose piece, "Making a Poem". Dust jacket has red spine/front panel with white lettering, white rear panel with red lettering. ALSO: 5 letters/notes on Ernst, Fox & Cane letterhead to G.C. Atkins (George Chew "Tommy" Atkins), a fellow Columbia graduate and lawyer who moved to a farm in Ontario, Canada in 1921. 1. Full sheet, holograph, signed "Melville", dated March 31/26. References the "sporty" proposition of exchanging Cane's first book of verse for some of Tommy's apples, commenting on Tommy's giving up of "this unproductive law activity and grow(ing) something worthwhile." In response to an invitation to visit Ontario, Cane says that he happens "to be the only person in America out of jail who hasn't a car." 2. Half sheet, holograph, signed "Melville", dated April 7/26. References the arrival of the apples and the finding of three with soft spots, but continuing "if you find only three poems with soft spots, it'll be a stand-off." 3. Full sheet, typed, signed "Melville Cane", dated April 20th, 1926. Comments favorably on Tommy's idea of raising turkeys, but "do not expect epics from me in exchange." Mentions he has conveyed Tommy's greetings to Harcourt and Brace (Cane was on their board of directors). 4. Full sheet, holograph, signed "Melville", dated 3/9/33. Comments on the university's (Columbia's), and the general, lack of appreciation for poets and mentioning that he is sending "a couple of specimens (of poetry) of different moods." (see below). 5. Half sheet, holograph, signed "Melville', dated 6/25/51. Mentioning the death of a mutual acquaintance and hoping Tommy will visit. The first two pieces in this group have pencil notations at the bottom, probably by Tommy. WITH: a group of four poems. Three are typed on full sheets of paper, each with one correction in pen and one with a pencil quotation from a poem by John Erskine (a mutual friend). "Melville Cane" is typed at the bottom of each of these sheets, but they are NOT signed. The three poems ("Hymn to Night", "Petition" and "Ancient Organ Grinder") were later published in "A Wider Arc". "Hymn to Night" and "Ancient Organ Grider" were included with Cane's letter to Tommy of 3/9/33. The fourth poem, on a 3 1/4" square scrap of paper, is handwritten in ink, with crossings out and smears and refers to honeybees - it was tucked into "Behind Dark Spaces", at the dedication page, where Cane gives Tommy directions on where to send his honey. WITH: Three items relating to Bernard M.L. Ernst, Cane's long-time friend, fellow Columbia graduate and partner in the law firm of Ernst, Fox & Cane. Seller Inventory # 30393

Bibliographic Details

Title: JANUARY GARDEN / BEHIND DARK SPACES / A ...
Publisher: Harcourt Brace, New York
Binding: Hard Cover
Condition: Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
Signed: Inscribed By Author
Edition: First Editions.