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STEVENS, Wallace; Harmonium 1923 | 1st Edition | Signed | Association Copy | Roosevelt Family, Lady Clarke.; Second issue binding.

    This 1923 first edition of Harmonium represents a cornerstone of the American Modernist canon, capturing the precise moment Wallace Stevens redefined the possibilities of poetic language. Featuring the striking second-issue decorated boards, this specific copy serves as a premier transatlantic traveler; originally owned by an Ensign Clark of Maryland, it likely entered the renowned Roosevelt-Clarke library during Sir Humphrey Clarke’s service at the British Embassy in Washington during WWII. In Very Good condition, this volume offers a rare tangible link between the ‘supreme fiction’ of Stevens and the elite diplomatic circles that shaped the 20th-century Western world, making it a museum-quality acquisition for any serious collector of Modernist literature.

Details

  • Title
  • HARMONIUM
  • Author
  • Wallace STEVENS
  • Published
  • New York, NY: 1923
  • Alfred A Knopf
  • Edition
  • 1st Edition. Second issue binding.
  • Format
  • Hardcover | Cloth
  • Signed
  • Not signed by author| Association Copy: A premier transatlantic association copy documenting the migration of American Modernism into the British establishment. The 'Ensign Clark' inscription and Maryland address anchor the book to the Roosevelt-Clarke family’s peak diplomatic period in the United States (1941–1944). It represents a significant intellectual record of how Stevens's visionary poetry was curated and preserved by a family at the apex of global political influence.
  • Condition
  • Book: Very Good | DJ: No DJ
  • Provenance
  • Ensign Clark, 4 Plaza Maryland.
  • Additional Items

Description and Condition

  • Description
  • Hardcover | Cloth. Decorated paper over boards with black cloth spine and paper label. Language: English. Size: 21.5 cm by 14 cm. Pages: 140.
  • Book Condition
  • Very Good
  • Light wear to corners, edges and spine ends. Clean sharp boards. Toned title plate. Tightly bound with clean intact endpapers and strong hinges. A few spots to text block edges spilling to very extreme page margins.
  • Dust Jacket Condition
  • No DJ

Notes

  • Association
  • A premier transatlantic association copy documenting the migration of American Modernism into the British establishment. The 'Ensign Clark' inscription and Maryland address anchor the book to the Roosevelt-Clarke family’s peak diplomatic period in the United States (1941–1944). It represents a significant intellectual record of how Stevens's visionary poetry was curated and preserved by a family at the apex of global political influence.
  • Provenance
  • Originally from the collection of Ensign Clark of 4 Plaza Maryland, USA; subsequently part of the personal library of Elisabeth Cook (Lady Clarke). Passed by descent through the Clarke baronetcy to Sir Charles Mansfield Tobias Clarke, 6th Bt. The volume likely entered the family collection during Sir Humphrey Clarke’s service at the British Embassy in Washington (1941–1944).
  • Resume
  • Harmonium is widely considered one of the most influential poetry collections of the twentieth century. This first edition introduces the core tenets of Stevens's aesthetic, blending flamboyant, exotic imagery with rigorous intellectual inquiry. The volume contains many of his most essential works, including 'The Emperor of Ice-Cream,' 'Sunday Morning,' and 'Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.' These poems move away from the traditional romanticism of the past, instead embracing a world of sensory experience where colour, sound, and abstract thought intersect to create a 'supreme fiction' that replaces lost religious certainty.
  • Author
  • Wallace Stevens was a transformative figure in American letters who famously balanced a dual life as a high-level executive for the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company and a visionary modernist poet. Born in Pennsylvania and educated at Harvard and New York University Law School, Stevens did not publish his first major collection until the age of forty-four. His work is celebrated for its linguistic acrobatics, philosophical depth, and a career-long meditation on the relationship between reality and the human imagination. Though he initially reached only a small group of readers, his reputation grew steadily, culminating in a Pulitzer Prize and two National Book Awards, solidifying his status as a supreme craftsman of the English language.

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