Browning, Elizabeth Barrett.

8vo (205 x 128 mm). B3-6 with small wormhole affecting a few letters on each page, E gathering spotted with two small wormholes, generally affecting only a portion of one letter (these two gatherings possibly supplied), short closed tear along inner margin of title, marginal repair to last leaf, light spotting to title. Nineteenth-century half-rose calf and marbled boards; minor rubbing.

H. Bradley Martin, Sotheby's New York, 30 April 1990, lot 2669 (his bookplate on pastedown).

Barnes A1; Wise 73

first edition of the author's first book, this copy inscribed by her to her grandmother

Published when Browning was thirteen, she has inscribed the title "for her dearest Grandmama with Elizabeth's love. Baker Street  March 19th 1820." Her maternal grandmother's ownership signature is the upper margin of the title, "Arabella Graham Clarke." (The copy inscribed to her paternal grandmother's is in the Morgan Library).

Privately printed at her father's expense for distribution to friends and family in an edition of perhaps 50 copies. The present copy has manuscript corrections to punctuation, as do most of the few surviving copies, presumably in the hand of the author. Barnes cites corrections made in the British Library and Newberry Library copy that agree with this copy with the exception of those listed on 8.1, 10.14, 14.8, 16.2, 16.9, and 65.3. In addition to these corrections cited by Barnes, this copy has 24 additional corrections. The reading of line 11 on page iii here is "ELIZABETH B. BARRETT."

Rare. Only 15 copies are recorded and this is the only copy not in a public collection.

Two older citations may refer to one or more of these copies: the Phipps copy and one cited by Hayward as in a private English collection.