LOVED HELEN

London: Chatto & Windus, 1929. Near fine in very good plus dust jacket.. Scarce first edition of T. H. White's first work, a collection of poems on topics both humble and legendary, including Norse mythology. Nearly ten years before his career-making ONCE AND FUTURE KING, T. H. White was a Stowe schoolmaster "trying to establish a literary reputation with books written on vacation" (SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER). This collection of poetry was his first publication and the opening gambit of several years of experimentation in different genres; the broad scope of his interests is visible in the topics of the poems, which range from musings on clouds to Classical history and Norse mythology. A scarce and fascinating peek into the early writing of a literary great. 8'' x 5.5''. Original black cloth binding with gilt lettering to spine. Original unclipped (5/-) black-and-white pictorial dust jacket. Fore- and tail edges machine deckle. [68] pages. Jacket with some edgewear, a bit of chipping to head and tail of spine; 1'' closed tear to front panel, repaired with tape to verso. Binding with a touch of bumping to spine ends. Sharp.