Books

First Riccardi Press edition, number 11 of 12 copies printed on vellum from a total edition of 1,012 copies. This copy retains the publisher's advertisement slip loosely laid in. First issued publicly in 1850, this famous elegiac poem is a tribute to Tennyson's college friend, Arthur Henry Hallam (1811-33), son of the historian Henry Hallam. Tennyson's first verses had been published before he was 20, but after Hallam's death he published nothing for nine years, although all the while he was working on this poem, the product of protracted meditation. Written in rhyming quatrains, the poem moves from grief and doubt to certainty that the universe is purposeful. It achieved sensational popularity and struck a deep note of resonance with Victorian readers. The vellum issue of this edition is a fine example of the craftsmanship of the Riccardi Press, issued in a year that Tennyson's poem would find an appreciative new readership. Octavo. Original limp vellum, titles to spine and cover gilt, green silk ties, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Some natural variation to tone of vellum, small mark to top corner of front cover, front pastedown lifting slightly, else fresh and crisp internally. A near-fine, bright copy. .

In Memoriam A.H.H. is a poem by the British poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, completed in 1849. It is a requiem for the poet's beloved friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage in Vienna in 1833.