Seen & Unseen, Or Monologues of a Homeless Snail

New York: Orientalia, 1920 Soft cover, 16mo. (measuring 5 x 7 1/2 inches) in mid-blue sparkly card wrapper, sewn with a cream thread binding in a Japanese-style binding. Cased in a blue linen-covered chemise with two printed paper labels, and two ivory clasps with loop closures, unpaginated. Condition: Very Good Plus for both book and chemise. Moderate age toning shows to both exterior labels on the chemise, as well as some corner rubbing. This is more in the line of "patina" than "problem." Book shows faint sunning to top edge of wraps, mild age toning to text within, but is otherwise clean and in excellent condition. The frontispiece portrait of the Author is both signed and bears a red chop (seal). Colophon states this to be a limited edition of 500 copies, a second edition, printed Nov. 1920. First published in 1897, this work contains fifty poems, each highlighted with a decorative stylized chrysanthemum initial capital. **Author Yonejiro Noguchi (1875-1947) was the first Japanese writer to publish both in English and Japanese, including poetry, literary criticism, journalism and diary-like novels. He published under the first name Yone in his English works. He was a well-educated Japanese immigrant to the San Francisco area in the 1890's, and was influenced by the bohemian circle of artists and writers living there, finding vocation as a poet even as he worked as a domestic servant to survive. His work speaks eloquently of the emotional strain of the two-stated individual.. Signed by Author on frontispiece. " New Edition" Second Edition, limited to 500 copies.. Soft Cover, with japanese style hand sewn binding. Very Good Plus.