Seamus Heaney - Death of a Naturalist, first edition, 1966, inscribed by Heaney

Description: Death of a Naturalist, warmly inscribed by the author Seamus Heaney London: Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1966 First edition, first printing Condition: Near FineJacket Condition: Very Good This is a jacketed and inscribed presentation copy of first edition, first printing of the author’s first commercially published book. The author’s notably warm gift inscription, inked in seven lines on the front free endpaper recto, reads: “for Alan - | man of books, friend | of the bookmen, good | genius of Cheltenham, | “our heartiest welcomes” - | Seamus | 12th October 1985”. Condition is near fine in a very good dust jacket. The publisher’s green cloth binding is square, clean, bright, and tight with sharp corners, vivid spine gilt, and only the slightest shelf wear to extremities. The contents are bright and clean with no spotting or previous ownership marks. The dust jacket is complete, unclipped with no loss or tears. The pink portion of the lower spine is lightly sunned, the white rear panel mildly soiled, and there is light wear to the joints, spine center, and edges. The dust jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover. The recipient, Alan Hancox (1920-1992) was a friend and close literary associate of Heaney. Hancox’s path to becoming an accomplished bibliophile and friend and host of renowned literary figures was improbable. Hancox left school at thirteen and spent the Second World War as a conscientious objector, growing vegetables to support the war effort. After the war, he ran a youth hostel before finding his life’s calling when he opened a bookshop in Cheltenham in 1949. Hancox proved “a bookseller who actually read his books” and his lifelong passion for literature found active expression when he “transformed the Cheltenham Literature Festival from a rather low-key event to what Michael Foot described as ‘the finest of its kind in the world” with Hancox as “its presiding genius.” (Powys Society) Hancox became festival director in 1980, growing the festival from 15 events in 1980 to 65 events in 1990, the audience increasing almost sevenfold." (The Times) Seamus and Marie Heaney reportedly regularly stayed with Alan and Shelagh Hancox when they attended the Festival. The regard in which Hancox was held is manifest in the posthumous tribute by the poets he brought to Cheltenham, Poems for Alan Hancox, published in 1993. Heaney was, of course, among the contributors. Seamus Justin Heaney (1939-2013) was the first of nine children born to a farmer and raised in rural County Derry “in suspension between the archaic and the modern.” At Queens University Belfast Heaney evolved into a poet. In 1965 Heaney was a member of a group of young Belfast poets known as “The Group” when his first book, Eleven Poems, was published as a staple-bound pamphlet by Queen’s Festival Publications to coincide with their 1965 festival. Critical acclaim followed commercial publication of Death of a Naturalist in 1966, earning Heaney the Cholmondeley Award, the Eric Gregory Award, the Somerset Maugham Award, and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. The 34 poems in Death of a Naturalist show Heaney fully occupying the interstitial perspective linking his indelibly peaty sensibilities and rarefied literary voice. As fitting company for the poet Heaney was to become, the rear panel of this first edition dust jacket featured the names of other poets published by Faber, among them names like Auden, Eliot, Hughes, Larkin, Lowell, MacNeice, and Spender. Heaney noted the august company when he received his six free copies from the publisher in late April 1966. He would later say “There was a new self-consciousness, yes, and probably some bewilderment… Three years before, I was somebody who’d had one poem in the Irish Times and one in the Kilkenny Magazine”. (Interview in Stepping Stones, O’Driscoll, p.61) The next half century saw Heaney publish a dozen poetry collections, as well as prose, plays, and numerous translations. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995 "for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past". Reference: Brandes & Durkan A2a Ref #: 008010 CHURCHILL BOOK COLLECTOR We are Churchill Book Collector, a professional bookseller specializing in books and other published works by and about the great twentieth century statesman and acclaimed writer, Sir Winston Churchill. We offer both a singular inventory and approachable expertise. The integrity of our inventory is backed by our membership in the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA), the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), and the Independent Online Booksellers Association (IOBA). Churchill's official biographer, Sir Martin Gilbert, rightly called Churchill's long life "remarkable and versatile". Statesman, soldier, war correspondent, ardent social reformer, combative cold warrior, painter - Churchill was many things, but perhaps above all a master wordsmith. We’re here to help Churchill’s words find your shelves. Our extensive inventory features some of the rarest material offered – including fine first editions and inscribed copies – as well as reading copies and works about Churchill’s life and time. While we specialize in Churchill, our inventory also includes noteworthy first and collectible editions by other authors, ranging from Xenophon to T. E. Lawrence, spanning exploration and empire to twentieth century fiction. We are able to help with anything from finding individual books to assembling full collections, working closely with individual collectors to identify and accommodate their preferences and budget. We are also able to commission preservation cases and fine bindings. Please contact us if you have books to sell. We buy, and in some cases consign, fine and collectible individual items, as well as whole collections.

Price: 7200 USD

Location: San Diego, California

End Time: 2024-10-31T20:01:00.000Z

Shipping Cost: 20 USD