ALDINGTON, Richard

Images of War

Boston: Four Seas Company, 1920. First American Edition. First printing (preliminary issue?), from British sheets. 12mo (17cm). Original printed paper-covered boards; 64pp. Title page is a cancel. Some rubbing to boards, including a small scuff at upper corner of front cover; internally clean, tight, and unmarked. A Very Good copy.

An uncommon issue of Aldington's third regularly-published book, a collection of poems based on his experiences in the First World War. Poems under this title first appeared in England in a fine-press edition illustrated by Paul Nash (Beaumont Press: 1919); this was followed the same year by a somewhat expanded trade issue (Allen & Unwin: 1919); followed then by an American edition, bound from British sheets (not mentioned by Kershaw, but readily known). The date generally given for the American issue is 1921 – we can find no recorded evidence for another copy, British or American, with a 1920 date on the title page. Sales of the Allen & Unwin edition were, in Aldington's own words, "a dreadful fizzle" – only about 90 copies sold – so we can imagine there was no hesitation to sell off the remainder sheets to an American publisher. We can't say whether this 1920 issue was simply done up for copyright, or if a small number were issued thus commercially – but we can say that the issue is rare, not noted in any bibliographical source we have examined; nor do any such copies appear separately catalogued in OCLC. See KERSHAW 6 for the first trade edition (UK).

Price: $500.00

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