Spender, Stephen

8vo (201 x 125mm.), first edition of the author's scarce first book, number 14 of "about eighteen [copies] made up", partly paginated by the author, original green wrappers, collector's chemise and black morocco-backed box, wrappers discoloured and frayed at extremities, minor ink spot on spine

Hayward 341

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
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The limitation note states "Of these poems, about thirty copies of each sheet have been printed, & about eighteen made up". The rare volume was printed on the same hand press as W.H. Auden's first work, an "Adana printing set... for chemists' labels." Very few copies survive. Spender noted in his Journals that Auden was "so contemptuous of my pamphlet Nine Experiments (which certainly was very bad) that... I destroyed every copy of it I could retrieve from friends" (Journals 1939-1983, p.356).

Hayward, who exhibited Cyril Connolly's copy of the book in the 1947 National Book League exhibition of English Poetry in 1947, described the pamphlet as 'the poet's very rare first book". Only two copies are recorded recently as sold at auction (both in 1990).