Books

T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets, published by New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1943. First collected edition, first printing, with first American edition to the copyright page. The publishers recalled this run, consisting of 4,165 copies, because of the incorrect imposition of formes; on most pages the left hand margin is noticeably small. 788 copies were kept for the purpose of copyright preservation and for review. This copy is one of few Review Copies with the publisher s stamp to the ffep. This copy was sent to A. D. Emmart (1902-1973) of The Baltimore Sun, Maryland. Emmart reviewed for the Sunpapers for 47 and a half years (producing around 22,500 editorials), was editor of the evening s editorial page in the 1960 s, and gave a yearly lectures at John Hopkins University where his papers are housed on T. S. Eliot. Apart from Emmart s ownership inscription in ink, this copy is unobtrusively annotated throughout by Emmart, mostly in pencil, commencing with two alternative translations of the Heraclitean fragments that precede the poem. His annotations include his own realisation of reference, be it to Dante or Mary Queen of Scots, the impressive identification of Eliot s use of letters, locations in Kensington (Eliot considered calling the Four Quartets the Kensington Quartets), cross-stanza rhymes, inter-Quartet references, and more. Emmart, equally a bibliophile, has understood how best to preserve this book. The light, white markings on the original cloth suggest the dust-jacket had been removed during reading, and although the contents are so well annotated, the contents remain immaculate, and the spine has been so well treated it still cracks on leafing. The same can be said for the dust-jacket (entirely original and first, price unclipped), though sustaining some light wear to the top-edge and the tail of the spine, its condition is remarkable for this well-lived book; also hosting Emmart s further notes to the rear flap. A lovely piece of Eliot s critical history.

Four Quartets is a set of four poems written by T.S. Eliot that were published individually over six years - Burnt Norton (1936), East Coker (1940), The Dry Salvages (1941), and Little Gidding (1942). These poems are meditative reflections on the themes of time, perspective, humanity, and the divine.