TAGGARD, Genevieve (editor); LANKES, J.J. (illustrations)

May Days: An Anthology of Masses - Liberator Verse, 1912-1924 [Association Copy, Signed and Inscribed by 9 Contributors]

New York: Boni & Liveright, 1925. First Edition. Octavo (20.5cm); 3/4 brown paper over black cloth, with titling and decorations stamped in gilt on spine and front cover; black topstain; dustjacket; [xiv],306pp; text illustrations after woodcuts by J.J. Lankes. Wear to lower board edges and upper right corner of front board, resulting in some occasional exposure; brief penciled notations at upper front pastedown; Very Good+. Dustjacket is unclipped (priced $3.00), spine-sunned, with light dustiness and toning to panels and extremities, with a few tiny nicks and a small rectangular chip to lower front joint; Very Good+.

Major anthology of left-wing verse, chosen from the pages of The Masses and its successor publication The Liberator. Contributors include a long roster of major left-wing authors of the period: John Reed, Max Eastman, Louis Ginsberg, James Rorty, Max Bodenheim, Arturo Giovannitti, Jean Toomer, Claude McKay, and many others. The present copy belonged to author, artist, and bookplate designer Wilbur Macey Stone, inscribed to him in the year of publication on the front endpaper by fellow artist J.J. Lankes: "My best wishes to my very dear friend Wilbur Macey Stone / J.J.L. / Christmas 1925." In 1922, Stone was involved in the publication of Lankes, His Woodcut Bookplates (Gardenville, NY: F.J. Lankes), which highlighted the artist's work in an area they both become known for. This volume additionally signed by the following eight authors at their respective contributions: Leonie Adams (2x), William Rose Benet (2x), Louise Bogan (3x), e.e. cummings, Leslie Nelson Jennings (2x), Jean Starr Untermeyer (2x), Mark Van Doren, and Margaret Widdemer. An uncommon title in jacket, particularly with the compelling association and assemblage of signatures.

Price: $850.00

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