VOLUMES IN FOLIO

London: C. Elkin Mathews at the Sign of the Bodley Head, 1889. Small quarto. Paper boards, printed spine label. Some handsoiling to white paper spine, lower foretips bumped, shallow chips at crown and toe of spine, front free endsheet neatly excised (evidently long ago), otherwise a good or better copy of a fragile book. First edition of the author's first trade publication, preceded by the privately issued MY LADY'S SONNETS (1887), and the first book to bear the Bodley Head imprint. Copy #10 of fifty large paper copies on handmade paper, and signed by the author - there were an additional 250 copies on small paper and three on Japan paper. This copy is additionally facetiously inscribed by Le Gallienne on the half-title: "Unfortunately by Richard Le Gallienne." Scarce in this format. Whatever the reason for the front free endsheet's excision, it took place sufficiently long ago that the tan offsetting normally occurring to the free endsheets of this book in this case is to the half-title. NELSON 1. NCBEL III:1063. COLBECK I:479. LINGEL 5. (Inventory #: WRCLIT61899)