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And I have known the eyes already,
known them all— The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase, And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin, When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall, Then how should I begin To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways? And how should I presume? |
| ELIOT, T.S. Prufrock
and Other Observations. London: The Egoist Ltd., 1917. 12mo, original
buff paper wrappers, custom half-leather box. $20,000. First edition, one of only 500 copies, of Eliot's revolutionary first book of poetry. "Eliot's first important publication, and the first masterpiece of 'modernism' in English, was 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.' Nothing like the first three lines of 'Prufrock' had previously appeared in English poetry. 'Prufrock' was the first poem by either of these revolutionists [Eliot and Pound] to go beyond experiment to achieve perfection. It represented a break with the immediate past as radical as that of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth in Lyrical Ballads (1798). From the appearance of Eliot's first volume, Prufrock and Other Observations in 1917, one may conveniently date the maturity of the 20th-century poetic revolution; for, in addition to the title poem, the book contained 'Preludes' and 'Portrait of a Lady'--both mature works; and the revolution had come of age" (Britannica). Gallup A1. Ezra Pound was so impressed by Eliot's work that he agreed to publish Prufrock at his own expense, in a small edition of only 500 copies. The limited print run, combined with the fragile nature of the first printing, have made unrestored copies of Prufrock in original wrappers exceptionally scarce. This copy with only usual light soiling, mild toning to spine and rear wrapper, and minor wear to wrappers. A beautiful copy, most rare in this condition. image of rear cover, please click to enlarge:
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