R.M.S. Titanic - Rare Book Insider
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CRONIN, ANTHONY

R.M.S. Titanic

Ravens Arts Press, Dublin: 1981
  • $200
Original blue boards, lettered in gilt to the spine. 8vo - 22, [2] pp. In a complete and bright copy of the dust jacket, designed by Declan Buckley. The first edition of a stand-alone version of this long tragic poem. Earlier appearances were in journals and collections. A highly praised ambitious work. Signed by the author to the title page. Near Fine / Near Fine.
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Bartholmew Fayre

Folio, [10],1-11, [12, 13 mis-numbered as 6,3], 14-30, [31 mis-numbered as 13], 32-88 pp. Top edge trimmed with no loss. Also, and not to be forgiven, Jonson is spelled "Johnson" on the title page. A rather imfamous publication as Jonson was trying to add three additional plays, Bartholomew Fair, The Devil Is An Ass, and The Staple of News, to the already published "Workes" (1616). These plays were to be issued by I.B. (John Beale) for Robert Allot. When Jonson saw the printed publications he was appalled at the poor quality and execution by Beale and aborted the project. The plays finally appeared in the 1640 Collected Works. The plays were never sold, or at least there is no record of such, but were probably distributed. The copy offered here has been re-bound in the 20th century in 1/4 leather with marbled boards. The leather spine is without text. On the front paste-down is the book-plate of George Speight. George Victor Speight (1914-2005), was a theatre historian, author, performer, bibliophile, and an authority on puppets, puppetry and mechanical toy theatre. In this original text, "Puppets" are listed in "The Persons Of The Play." From the Induction scene Jonson writes (I will use the text here as written) "Hee is loth to make Nature afraid in like Drolleries, to mixe his head with other mens heeles, let the concupisence of jigges and Dances, raigne strong as it will amongst you : yet if the Puppets will please any body, they shall be entreated to come in." Act V, scenes 1 - 3 are concerned with the puppet show - those looking forward to it and those opposed. In any case, we can see why Mr. Speight was intrigued with this title and wanted it added to his collection. "Bartholmew Fayre" is an important play, commonly regarded as among Jonson's best and, because of the tortured publishing history, extremely scarce in this edition. This is a clean bright and solid copy. Besides the pagination errors and the trimming along the top edge, there are only minor problems; two small holes (pp. 11 and 38), likely caused by glowing embers from a pipe. OCLC lists 11 copies. Pforzheimer - 560. STC - 14755 (14754*). Near Fine.