Poems

Stamford, Connecticut: Privately Printed at The Overbrook Press, 1934. One of only 75 copies printed. Hardcover, in slipcase. Format is approximately 5.25 inches by 7.5 inches in a slightly larger slipcase. Minor wear and soiling noted. Illustrated endpapers. 15, [7] pages. Some pages uncut. The dates of the poems range from 1928 to 1934. Among the poems presented are: Awakening, Spring in Southern Italy, Dawn, Expectancy, Struggle, Creed, Fifty-ninth Street Bridge at Night, Lines, Chansonnette, Mon Ame a des Ailes, The Memorial, Wind Song, Cameo, and An Admonition. The poetry is equally evocative whether written in English or French. Perhaps the most striking is the poem Fifty-ninth Street Bridge at Night which to this reader retains its sense of immediacy and contemporaneousness within the vision of the narrator. This is an early offering from The Overbrook Press. To some, this rare volume is physical evidence of an under-recognized American poet of the early 20th century whose work merits renewed esthetic and scholarly interest. The Overbrook Press was founded in 1934 in Stamford, Connecticut, by Frank Altschul, an investment banker and civic leader with a lifelong interest in book arts and printing. Altschul initially pursued printing as a hobby, experimenting with a small press in his New York apartment. In 1934, he was approached by designer Margaret B. Evans, who had been working for Ashlar Press. Ashlar was closing, and Evans hoped Altschul would continue its work. Altschul set up the press in converted outbuildings on his Stamford farm and hired Evans as designer and compositor and John MacNamara as pressman. The Overbrook Press went on to print an eclectic variety of books and pamphlets, as well as ephemera such as awards and certificates. Evans placed great emphasis on technical expertise and craftsmanship, and even smaller pieces - political pamphlets such as Towards a More Creative Policy and short books on chess problems - were handled with surprising care. Altschul set up the press in converted outbuildings on his Stamford farm and hired Evans as designer and compositor and John MacNamara as pressman. Overbrook volumes were also known for fine illustrations. In the 1930s, the Overbrook Press published an edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's travelogue An Inland Voyage , which featured illustrations by French artist Jean Hugo. Hugo was commissioned to follow Stevenson's path through Belgium and France and produce gouaches of scenes along the route. The press worked with many other artists, including Valenti Angelo, Anna Simons, and Bruce Rogers, but is most closely associated with T. M. Cleland, who illustrated a number of Overbrook volumes. His most ambitious project was an edition of Prevost's Manon Lescaut , for which he created elaborate silk-screened illustrations. The volume, which was published in 1958 after six years of work, is considered one of the highest quality private press books of the time. The Overbrook Press operated for nearly thirty years, closing its doors in 1969. Condition: Very good.

Keywords: Madeleine R. Cook, Poetry, Verse, Awakening, Spring in Southern Italy, Dawn, Expectancy, Struggle, Creed, Fifty-ninth Street Bridge at Night, Lines, Chansonnette, Mon Ame a des Ailes, The Memorial, Wind Song, Cameo, An Admonition

[Book #84287]

Price: $750.00

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