(1, 2); title-page, as above (with _Some of these poems have
appeared in_ / _the “English Review” and in “Poetry,”_ / _also
in the “Georgian Anthology” and_ / _the “Imagist Anthology”_
above center of verso), pp. (3, 4); _Foreword_—eleven lines
(verso blank), pp. (5, 6); table of _Contents_, pp. (7-9);
_Argument_—eleven lines, p. (10); text, pp. 11-(163). Printers’
imprint above center of p. (164) as follows: _Printed at_ /
_the Complete Press_ / _West Norwood_ / _London_. Pp. (165-167)
are occupied by advertisements, chiefly of volumes of poetry
published by Chatto and Windus. P. (168) blank. Title-and-name
label, similar to that described below, tipped-in at lower
right corner of p. (164).
Foolscap 4to, 8½ × 6¾; issued in bright red cloth; front and back covers
blank; backbone has white paper title-and-name label lettered across in
red as follows: _Look!_ / _We Have_ / _Come_ / _Through!_ / _D. H._ /
_Lawrence_ Top edges cut; fore edges cut, but in part unopened; bottom
edges untrimmed. End-papers white.
_Look! We Have Come Through!_ was Mr. Lawrence’s third volume of verse.
It is, with the doubtful exception of _Birds, Beasts and Flowers_,
his most notably original contribution to modern poetry. The relative
scarcity of copies of the first edition of _Look! We Have Come Through!_
is discussed in the note on _Love Poems_, and nothing more on that point
need be said here.
The first American edition of _Look! We Have Come Through!_ was
published, from the Chatto and Windus sheets, by B. W. Huebsch, New York,
1918.
(11)
NEW POEMS
Published October 1918
NEW POEMS / By / D. H. / Lawrence / London / Martin Secker / MCMXVIII
COLLATION:—pp. 64, consisting of half-title (with list of
three books of _Poems by the Same Author_ at head; and
acknowledgement, _Two of these poems have appeared in the
English Review._ at foot of verso), pp. (1, 2); title-page,
as above (with dedication, _To_ / _Amy Lowell_ at head; and
printers’ imprint, _Printed in England by the Westminster
Press_ / _411a, Harrow Road, London_ at foot of verso), pp. (3,
4); table of _Contents_, pp. 5, 6; text, 7-64.
Crown 8vo, 7½ × 4⅞; issued in grey wrappers; front cover has two-line
border in blue, and is lettered in blue as follows: _New_ / _Poems_ /
_By_ / _D. H._ / _Lawrence_ / _London_ / _Martin Secker_ / _MCMXVIII_
(All this lettering enclosed by elongated box formed by two vertical
lines inside border). Inside front cover, back strip, inside back cover
are blank. Back cover lettered in blue as follows: (Publisher’s device,
with name, _Martin Secker_) / _xvii Buckingham Street_ / _Adelphi_ Top
and fore edges cut; bottom edges untrimmed.
The first edition of _New Poems_ was printed on what must have been
almost the worst of all possible war-time paper; and since, in addition,
the book lacked the security of a substantial “case,” I suspect this item
will before long become scarce.
The first American edition of _New Poems_ was published, from new plates,
by B. W. Huebsch, New York, 1920. This edition, too, has an interest
for the Lawrence collector; it contains a significant prefatory essay,
which is not in the English issue, and which, Mr. Lawrence says, “should
have come as a preface to _Look! We Have Come Through!_” This “Preface”
is notable for its lucid and brilliant comment on the nature of poetry.
One finds Mr. Lawrence recurring to some of the tenets here expressed,
when on those too few later occasions he has commented on the poetry of
others, more especially on that of Whitman. This essay first appeared in
_The Playboy_, Numbers 4-5 (not dated), under the title “The Poetry of
the Present.”
(12)
BAY: A BOOK OF POEMS
Published November 1919
BAY (_two dots_) A BOOK / OF (_two dots_) POEMS (_two dots_) By / D : H :
Lawrence
COLLATION:—pp. 48 (together with tipped-in dedication leaf),
consisting of half-title, _Bay_ / (signed in ink by Author
and Artist:) _D. H. Lawrence_ / _Anne Estelle Rice_, p. (i);
Certificate of issue as follows: _This is the eighth book
issued by the Beaumont Press_ / _and the fourth printed by
hand 30 copies have been_ / _printed on Japanese vellum signed
by the author and_ / _artist and numbered 1 to 30 50 copies
on cartridge_ / _paper numbered 31 to 80 and 120 copies on
hand-made_ / _paper numbered 81 to 200._ / (each copy numbered
by type), p. (ii); title-page, as above (verso blank), pp. (3,
4); dedication leaf; table of _Contents_, pp. (5-7); p. (8)
blank; text, pp. 9-43; p. (44) blank; colophon as follows:
_HERE ENDS BAY A BOOK OF POEMS BY_ / _D. H. Lawrence The Cover
and the Decorations_ / _designed by Anne Estelle Rice The
Typography_ / _and Binding arranged by Cyril W. Beaumont_ /
_Printed by Hand on his Press at 75 Charing_ / _Cross Road in
the City of Westminster_ / _Completed November the Twentieth_
/ _MDCCCCXIX_ / (device of the Beaumont Press) / _Pressman
Charles Wright_ / _Compositor C. W. Beaumont_, p. 45; pp.
(46-48) blank. Pp. 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 25, 29, 39, 41 are
occupied by decorations in color, as well as by text. Tipped-in
between pp. (4) and (5) is a leaf, not reckoned in pagination,
with dedication _To Cynthia Asquith_ on recto, verso blank.
Crown 8vo, 7½ × 5⅛; issued in decorated boards, with vellum back; front
and back covers blank; lettered up the back strip in gilt as follows:
(small ornament) _Bay_ (dot) _D. H. Lawrence_ (small ornament). Top edges
rough trimmed; fore and bottom edges untrimmed. End-papers white.
The three forms of _Bay_ are fully described in the collation above,
except as to the following points: (1) the copies on cartridge paper,
with decorations in color, have a green buckram back; (2) the copies on
hand-made paper have the same green buckram back, but the decorations are
not in color; (3) owing to an accident, only about half of the cartridge
paper edition was ever issued. All examples of this book are scarce. And
this is a great pity, for _Bay_ contains some of Mr. Lawrence’s finest
short poems.
(13)
TOUCH AND GO
Published May 1920
TOUCH AND GO / A Play in Three Acts by / D. H. Lawrence / London: C. W.
Daniel, Ltd. / Graham House, Tudor Street, E. C. 4 / 1920
COLLATION:—pp. 96, consisting of fly-leaf, with series-title,
_Plays for a People’s Theatre. II._ at head, and half-title,
_Touch and Go_ in center of recto (with _Copyright in
the United States of America._, and notice of performing
rights—seven lines in all—in center of verso), pp. (1, 2);
title-page, as above (with list of three _Plays for a People’s
Theatre_, note on submission of mss. of plays, and quotation
from Bela Kun—fourteen lines in all—on verso), pp. (3, 4);
_Preface_, pp. 5-12; blank page (with list of _Characters_
on verso), pp. (13), 14; text, pp. 15-96. Printers’ imprint,
beneath thin line, at foot of p. 96 as follows: _Printed in
Great Britain by Neill and Co., Ltd., Edinburgh._
Crown 8vo, 7⅝ × 5; issued in flexible yellow boards; front cover has
light blue paper title-and-name label lettered in darker blue of
surrounding decorative border as follows: _Touch_ / _& Go_ / _D. H.
Lawrence_. Light blue paper title-and-name label along back lettered in
dark blue: _Touch and Go—D. H. Lawrence_. Back cover blank. Top and fore
edges uncut and unopened; bottom edges untrimmed. End-papers white.
_Touch and Go_ is one of the easier Lawrence items. It is not difficult
to get, but it _is_ quite worth having. The play is interesting; the
preface is extremely uproarious.
The first American edition of _Touch and Go_ was published, from new
plates, by Thomas Seltzer, New York, 1920.
(14)
WOMEN IN LOVE
(Limited Edition)
Published November 1920
WOMEN IN LOVE / By / D. H. Lawrence / New York / Privately Printed for
Subscribers Only / 1920
COLLATION:—pp. iv + 540, consisting of half-title, p. (1);
certificate of issue, as follows: _1250 copies of this book
have been_ / _printed of which this is_ / _No. —_ (each copy
numbered in red ink), p. (ii); title-page, as above (with
_Copyright, 1920, by_ / _D. H. Lawrence_ / (a line) / _All
rights reserved_ in center of verso), pp. (iii, iv); divisional
half-title (verso blank), pp. (1, 2); text, pp. (3)-536; pp.
(537-540) blank. There is no printer’s imprint.
Medium 8vo, 9½ × 6¼; issued in dark blue cloth; front and back covers
blank; backbone has four merely ornamental raised bands, and is lettered
across in gilt as follows: (two lines at top) / _Women_ / _in_ / _Love_ /
(a line) / _D. H. Lawrence_ / (two lines at bottom). Top and fore edges
uncut; bottom edges rough trimmed. End-papers white.
The “tall, blue _Women in Love_.” In this form Mr. Lawrence’s most
significant and most characteristic novel had its first restricted
circulation. Copies of this issue are not very scarce. Just why is
difficult to say. Perhaps the edition was not fully bought up (however
much it deserved to be) when the novel was published in a cheaper form by
Mr. Seltzer, October, 1922.
A few (less than twenty-five) copies of this form of _Women in Love_ were
autographed, on the title-page, by Mr. Lawrence. These signed copies were
the first numbered, and except for the signature, are identical with the
above. They should not be confused with examples of the autographed form
of _Women in Love_ described below as item 14B.
(14A)
WOMEN IN LOVE
Published May 1921
WOMEN IN LOVE / By D. H. Lawrence / London / Martin Secker / Number Five
John Street Adelphi
COLLATION:—pp. 512, consisting of half-title (verso blank),
pp. (1, 2); title-page, as above (with _London: Martin
Secker (Ltd.), 1921_ at foot of verso), pp. (3, 4); table
of _Contents_ (verso blank), pp. 5, (6); text, pp. 7-508.
Printers’ imprint, beneath thin line, at foot of p. 508 as
follows: _Printed in Great Britain by_ / _The Dunedin Press
Limited, Edinburgh_ Pp. (509-512) are occupied respectively by
_Some Press Opinions of_ / _The Lost Girl_; _The Tales of_ /
_Henry James_; _The Novels of_ / _Compton Mackenzie_; and an
advertisement of _New Poems_.
Crown 8vo, 7½ × 5; issued in brown cloth; front cover, unlettered, has
in blind two-line border, inside line thicker than outside; backbone
ornamented and lettered across in gilt as follows: (one thin, one thick
line at top) / _Women in_ / _Love_ / (dot) / _D. H._ / _Lawrence_ /
_Secker_ / (one thick, one thin line at bottom). Back cover same as
front. Top and fore edges cut; bottom edges untrimmed. End-papers white.
Uniform with _The Lost Girl_.
The first English edition of _Women in Love_. This edition, which was
from new plates, has been reprinted at least three times. Copies of the
first printing are becoming scarce. Catalogues sometimes allege that this
edition was “withdrawn from circulation.” Mr. Secker says that it was not.
(14B)
WOMEN IN LOVE
(Special Signed Edition)
Published May 1922
WOMEN IN LOVE / By / D. H. Lawrence / New York / Privately Printed for
Subscribers Only / 1920
COLLATION:—pp. iv + 540, consisting of blank page, p. (i);
certificate of issue, as follows: _Fifty copies have been_ /
_signed by the Author,_ / _of which this is No._ (each copy
numbered in ink) / (signed in ink by the Author:) _D. H.
Lawrence_, p. (ii); title-page, as above (with _Copyright,
1920, by_ / _D. H. Lawrence_ / (a line) / _All rights reserved_
in center of verso), pp. (iii, iv); divisional half-title
(verso blank), pp. (1, 2); text, pp. (3)-536; pp. (537-540)
blank. There is no printer’s imprint.
Medium 8vo, 9³⁄₁₆ × 6¼; issued in brown cloth; front cover, unlettered,
has in blind two-line border, inside line thicker than outside; backbone
ornamented and lettered in gilt as follows: (one thin, one thick line at
top) / _Women in_ / _Love_ / _(dot)_ / _D. H._ / _Lawrence_ / _1920_ /
(one thick, one thin line at bottom). Back cover same as front. Top edges
dark green and cut; fore and bottom edges untrimmed. End-papers white.
This small edition of _Women in Love_ was done by Martin Secker, who
imported the sheets for it from America. These sheets were the same as
those printed for item 14, which was, of course, brought out by Thomas
Seltzer, but without his imprint.
Except for size, copies of this edition of _Women in Love_ are uniform
with the Secker format of Mr. Lawrence’s novels, beginning with _The Lost
Girl_ and followed by the ordinary _Women in Love_ described immediately
above.
Before the Seltzer sheets were put into the Secker “case,” they were
trimmed about five-sixteenths of an inch at the top by the English
binders. This accounts for the slightly greater height of the copies
in the blue “case.” I mention this because the signed copies in brown
are sometime described as the tall-paper copies. Obviously any such
description of the Secker book needs qualifying. All this may be summed
up as follows: all forms of the “1920” issues of _Women in Love_, whether
signed or not, whether bound in blue or brown, were from the sheets of
the Seltzer privately printed edition. To this summary may be appended
the following observations: (1) these “1920” forms constitute the real
first printing of _Women in Love_; (2) this is one of the two books which
Mr. Lawrence has thus far signed—and the only novel.
(15)
THE LOST GIRL
Published November 1920
THE LOST GIRL / By D. H. Lawrence / London / Martin Secker / Number Five
John Street Adelphi
COLLATION:—pp. 372, consisting of half-title (verso blank),
pp. (1, 2); title-page, as above (with _London: Martin
Secker (Ltd.), 1920_ at foot of verso), pp. (3, 4); table
of _Contents_ (verso blank), pp. 5, (6); text, pp. 7-371.
Printers’ imprint, beneath thin line, at foot of p. (372) as
follows: _Printed in Great Britain by_ / _The Dunedin Press
Limited, Edinburgh_
Crown 8vo, 7½ × 5; issued in brown cloth; front cover, unlettered, has
in blind two-line border, inside line thicker than outside; backbone
ornamented and lettered across in gilt as follows: (one thin, one thick
line at top) / _The Lost_ / _Girl_ / (dot) / _D. H._ / _Lawrence_ /
_Secker_ / (one thick, one thin line at bottom). Back cover same as
front. Top and fore edges cut; bottom edges untrimmed. End-papers white.
The first edition of _The Lost Girl_ exists in three states. These are:
first, that which has the text exactly as Mr. Lawrence first wrote
it; second, that which has the original text altered, the alterations
occurring on two cancel-leaves, which, tipped-in, replaced two leaves
with the original matter; third, that which has the altered pages not
tipped-in, but as integral parts of the signatures to which they belong.
It is not generally known that any changes were made in the text of
_The Lost Girl_ after the book had been printed, but such is the case.
These textual changes were made on pages 256 and 268, and necessitated
tipped-in leaves at those places in the book. The cancel-leaves have
been held, by a few careful dealers, to mark the real first issue. To
most dealers this “point” is evidently unknown. Mr. Martin Secker,
answering my inquiry about the changes in this book, wrote as follows:
“The explanation of the tipped-in pages in _The Lost Girl_ is that it
was thought expedient to make certain verbal alterations in the text, a
decision which was come to after the book was printed. As far as I know,
all copies of the English edition in circulation are like this.”
This letter would seem to justify anyone in assuming that copies with
the tipped-in leaves were of the first issue. But, as a matter of fact,
copies with the original text are extant. At least one such copy has
fallen into my hands. It came from an English dealer through the Centaur
Book Shop. I have neither seen nor have I heard of another such copy.
But that some few more are in circulation is likely. In any case this is
certain: the unaltered form of _The Lost Girl_ is a scarce book, perhaps
even a rare one. So much for the first and second states.
Regarding the third state, little need be said. One might be justified in
reporting it as a second printing; but since there is nothing in the book
to indicate a complete reprinting, it seemed better to regard it as one
form of the first edition, as I have done.
The first American edition of _The Lost Girl_, which has the altered
text, was published, from new plates, by Thomas Seltzer, New York, 1921.
(16)
MOVEMENTS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY
Published March 1921
MOVEMENTS IN / EUROPEAN HISTORY / By / Lawrence H. Davison / Humphrey
Milford / Oxford University Press / London, Edinburgh, Glasgow / Toronto,
Melbourne, Cape Town, Bombay / 1921
[Illustration]
COLLATION:—pp. x (preceded by blank leaf) + 306 (followed
by fourteen pages of maps), consisting of half-title (verso
blank), pp. (i, ii); title-page, as above (verso blank), pp.
(iii, iv); _Introduction for the Teacher_, pp. v-viii; table
of _Contents_ (with list of fourteen _Maps_ on verso), pp.
ix, (x); text, pp. (1)-306. Printers’ imprint, beneath line,
at foot of p. 306 as follows: _Edinburgh: Printed by T. and A.
Constable Ltd._ At end of volume are fourteen maps, in black,
which occupy the rectos of fourteen leaves, twelve of which are
book-size, and two of which are 9¾ inches wide unfolded.
Crown 8vo, 7⅛ × 4⅞; issued in light blue cloth; front and back covers
blank; backbone lettered across in black as follows: _Movements_ / _in_ /
_European_ / _History_ / _Davison_ / _Milford_ All edges cut. End-papers
white.
_Movements in European History_, written by Mr. Lawrence and published
under the _nom de plume_ Lawrence H. Davison, is in effect an elementary
textbook on the history of continental Europe from the beginning of the
Christian era to the unification of Germany. But it is more than that.
To say that the book is alive, that it interprets rather than catalogues
historical events, that it deals with these events frankly rather than
cautiously, that it is written with spirit and can be read with pleasure,
and, finally, to assert that nowhere about the book does one smell
pedagogy, is to say in a variety of ways that _Movements in European
History_ is very much more than an elementary textbook.
The initial edition of this interesting item exists in two forms. The
first is described above; the second differs from the first in that it
has a light brown binding, all other points being identical. The initial
printing was exhausted the first year, and the book was reprinted in
1922. Both first forms differ in several ways from the reprint, which
has, on the verso of an undated title-page, a line of type as follows:
_First published 1921; reprinted 1922_
At the time this note is written (late September, 1924) plans are on foot
to reissue _Movements_ with an epilogue and illustrations. The former
will presumably bring the story of European history down to the present.
In its new form, as in its old, the book will in England bear the imprint
of the Oxford University Press.
The first American edition of _Movements in European History_ will
probably be published next spring, with Mr. Lawrence’s authorship
acknowledged, by Thomas Seltzer, New York.
(17)
PSYCHOANALYSIS AND THE UNCONSCIOUS
(“Special Issue of the First Edition”)
Published May 1921
PSYCHOANALYSIS / AND THE / UNCONSCIOUS / By / D. H. Lawrence /
(_publisher’s device_) / New York / Thomas Seltzer / 1921
COLLATION:—pp. 120 (preceded by two blank leaves), consisting
of half-title, p. (1); certificate of issue, as follows:
_Special Issue of the First Edition_ / _Limited to 250 copies
of which this is_ / _No._ ________ (copies of the issue
evidently never numbered), p. (2); title-page, as above (with
_Copyright, 1921, by_ / _Thomas Seltzer, Inc._ / (a line)
/ _All rights reserved_ / _Printed in the United States of
America_ on verso), pp. (3, 4); table of _Contents_ (verso
blank), pp. (5, 6); divisional half-title (verso blank), pp.
(7, 8); text, pp. 9-120. There is no printer’s imprint.
Crown 8vo, 7⅜ × 5; issued in oyster white boards; front cover lettered in
very dark blue as follows: _Psychoanalysis_ / _and the_ / _Unconscious_ /
(a line) / _D. H. Lawrence_ Backbone lettered across in very dark blue:
_Psycho-_ / _analysis_ / _and the_ / _Uncon-_ / _scious_ / (a line) / _D.
H._ / _Lawrence_ / _Thomas_ / _Seltzer_ Back cover blank. All edges cut.
End-papers white.
(17A)
PSYCHOANALYSIS AND THE UNCONSCIOUS
(Ordinary Edition)
Published May 1921
PSYCHOANALYSIS / AND THE / UNCONSCIOUS / By / D. H. Lawrence /
(_publisher’s device_) / New York / Thomas Seltzer / 1921
COLLATION:—pp. 120 (preceded by two blank leaves), consisting
of half-title (verso blank), pp. (1, 2); title-page, as above
(with _Copyright, 1921, by_ / _Thomas Seltzer, Inc._ / (a
line) / _All rights reserved_ / _Printed in the United States
of America_ on verso), pp. (3, 4); table of _Contents_ (verso
blank), pp. (5, 6); divisional half-title (verso blank), pp.
(7, 8); text, pp. 9-120. There is no printer’s imprint.
Crown 8vo, 7⁵⁄₁₆ × 5; issued in grey boards; front cover lettered in
dark blue as follows: _Psychoanalysis_ / _and the_ / _Unconscious_ / (a
line) / _D. H. Lawrence_ Backbone lettered across in dark blue: _Psycho-_
/ _analysis_ / _and the_ / _Uncon-_ / _scious_ / (a line) / _D. H._
/ _Lawrence_ / _Thomas_ / _Seltzer_ Back cover blank. All edges cut.
End-papers white.
(17B)
PSYCHOANALYSIS AND THE UNCONSCIOUS
Published July 1923
PSYCHOANALYSIS AND / THE UNCONSCIOUS / By D. H. Lawrence / London /
Martin Secker / Number Five John Street Adelphi
COLLATION:—pp. 128, consisting of half-title (with list of
eight books _By the same Author_ on verso), pp. (1, 2);
title-page, as above (with _London: Martin Secker (Ltd.) 1923_
on verso), pp. (3, 4); table of _Contents_ (verso blank), pp.
5, (6); divisional half-title (verso blank), pp. (7, 8); text,
pp. 9-(128). Printers’ imprint at foot of p. (128) as follows:
_Printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner, Frome and London_
Crown 8vo, 7¼ × 4¾; issued in garnet cloth; front and back covers blank;
backbone has cream paper title-and-name label lettered across in red as
follows: (a line) / _Psychoanalysis_ / _and the_ / _Unconscious_ / (a
line) / _D. H. Lawrence_ / (a line) / _Secker_ / (a line). Top and fore
edges cut; bottom edges rough trimmed. End-papers white.
The American edition of _Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious_, which was
the first, exists in two forms. I collated both the so-called “Special
Issue” and the ordinary edition because I know that many collectors, as
well as some dealers, have been puzzled about the first forms of this
book. A comparison of items 17 and 17A will show that the two forms of
the first edition of _Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious_ differ in the
following respects: first, the “Special Issue” has a certificate of issue
on the verso of the half-title, but is on the inside otherwise identical
with the ordinary form—even to the broken U on page nine, in the word
“Unconscious;” second, the sheets of the “Special Issue” measure 7⅜ × 5,
while those of the ordinary issue measure 7⁵⁄₁₆ × 5; third, in keeping
with this difference, perhaps, the outside measurements of the “Special
Issue” are slightly larger all around; fourth, the boards of the two
forms are different in color; fifth, the lettering on the “Special Issue”
is darker than that on the ordinary copies.
Just why the “Special Issue” was done is not exactly clear. Perhaps
some plans with regard to it miscarried, and the idea of a real limited
edition was given up. At any rate the five copies of the book I examined
were all unnumbered, and the original price on them was that of the
regular edition. It is not too much to say the limited “Special Issue” of
_Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious_ is freakish rather than any thing
else. It is a collector’s item.
After the first edition of this book had been exhausted, Mr. Seltzer
issued the second printing in a more substantial “case,” that is to
say, in cloth, in which form it is now available. It will be noticed
from the collations above that the first American edition preceded the
corresponding English edition by more than two years.
In spite of all that critics have said or may say about _Psychoanalysis
and the Unconscious_ and its successor, _Fantasia of the Unconscious_,
one thing is clearly incontrovertible. It is this: both of these books,
especially the latter, reveal flashes of illumination, such as are found
in imaginative thought—and nowhere else.
(18)
TORTOISES
Published December 9, 1921
TORTOISES / By / D. H. Lawrence / (_publisher’s device_—in red) / New
York / Thomas Seltzer / 1921