The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism.: Studies in the Relation of Criticism to Poetry in England.
by ELIOT, T. S
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
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London, United Kingdom
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About This Item
Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press,, 1933. Presented to "a valued friend", fellow poet, and the man who baptised him First US edition, first printing, presentation copy, inscribed by Eliot on the front free endpaper to the man who baptised him into the Church of England: "to Stead, T. S. Eliot 1935". The recipient, William Force Stead (1884-1967), was an American poet, critic, Anglican clergyman, and chaplain of Worcester College, Oxford, from 1927 to 1933. He and Eliot first met in 1923, and began a correspondence in 1926, when Stead sent Eliot a copy of his book The Shadow of Mount Carmel, a series of meditations in poetry and prose tracing his pilgrimage from Oxford to Assisi. Eliot replied that he would read the book "with great interest" (Eliot, Letters, p. 306), and wrote again to Stead the following February regarding his conversion to Anglicanism: "My dear Stead... I want your advice, information & your practical assistance in getting Confirmation with the Anglican Church." Eliot rarely confided about his spiritual life in his letters, and he pressed Stead to keep his intentions secret: "I rely upon you not to mention this to anyone. I do not want any publicity or notoriety - for the moment, it concerns me alone, & not the public - not even those nearest to me. I hate spectacular 'conversions'" (Letters, pp. 403-4). Stead baptised Eliot at the Holy Trinity Church, Finstock, on 29 June 1927. He later recalled the day in his essay "Some Personal Reminiscences of T. S. Eliot", published in 1965: "I was living in Finstock, a small village far away in the country, with Wychwood Forest stretching off to the north, and the lonely Cotswold hills all round. Eliot came down from London for a day or two, and I summoned from Oxford Canon B. H. Streeter [of Queen's College] and Vere Somerset [of Worcester College]. These were his Godfathers. It seemed odd to have such a large though infant Christian at the baptismal font, so, to avoid embarrassment, we locked the front door of the little parish church and posted the verger on guard in the vestry. My three guests remained for the night, and after dinner we went for a twilight walk through Wychwood, an ancient haunted forest, 'savage and enchanted'. I can see Eliot pacing under the mighty oaks and pushing his way through hazel thickets attired in a smart suit, a bowler hat, and grey spats." Eliot later praised Stead in a testimonial, dated 9 December 1938, as "a valued friend" and "a poet of established position and individual inspiration". The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism is based on the Charles Eliot Norton lectures which Eliot delivered at Harvard University in the winter of 1932-3. This edition was published simultaneously with the first British edition on 2 December 1933. Octavo. Original red cloth, spine lettered in gilt, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. With dust jacket. Extremities lightly rubbed, faint browning and offsetting to endpapers, pp. viii-xi browned from inserted clipping, contents otherwise clean, a very good copy. Jacket marked and rubbed, spine slightly toned, top edge chipped and creased, otherwise very good and unclipped. Gallup A24b. Valerie Eliot and John Haffenden, eds, Letters of T. S. Eliot, Volume 3: 19261927, 2012; William Force Stead, "Some Personal Reminiscences of T. S. Eliot", Alumni Journal of Trinity College, Washington, vol. 38, no. 2, Winter 1965.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Peter Harrington (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 161891
- Title
- The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism.
- Author
- ELIOT, T. S
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Place of Publication
- Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press,
- Date Published
- 1933
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About the Seller
Peter Harrington
Biblio member since 2006
London
About Peter Harrington
Since its establishment, Peter Harrington has specialised in sourcing, selling and buying the finest quality original first editions, signed, rare and antiquarian books, fine bindings and library sets. Peter Harrington first began selling rare books from the Chelsea Antiques Market on London's King's Road. For the past twenty years the business has been run by Pom Harrington, Peter's son.
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Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Top Edge Gilt
- Top edge gilt refers to the practice of applying gold or a gold-like finish to the top of the text block (the edges the pages...
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...