Scarce with such attributes

Lee, Laurie ~ The Bloom of Candles. Verse from a Poet’s Year : Inscribed Twice By The Author

First UK Printing : John Lehmann, London : 1947

8vo., yellow boards lettered in black to upper cover; in the yellow Lehmann wrapper lettered in black, with publisher’s device in blue to the front flap and overlaid price sticker 3’6 net; [unpaginated]; The BOOK with endpapers mildly offset; several pieces of ephemera tipped-in, including a small newspaper clipping affixed to the front free endpaper, an 'Arts Council' poetry reading schedule to the verso, and a clipping showing a photograph of the author/poet reclining on a bed of oranges tipped to the verso of the half-title ; a couple of in-text authorial penned corrections; a couple of light markings to the lower board, and a little toning to the upper edge; a Very Good++ copy in the Very Good+ WRAPPER, panels toned, light creases to the edges and one small chip to the foot of spine; one small brown stain to the lower panel. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. First edition, this copy doubly inscribed to Leslie Dakin - the first to the front free endpaper: “To Leslie Dakin & sons - & daughters - with the best wishes of Laurie Lee”. The second inscription to the half title: “Inscribed for Leslie Dakin, with best wishes, Laurie Lee”. As well as the two tipped-in pieces of ephemera, a programme from a poetry reading at the Arts Council of Great Britain is also loosely inserted. Lee’s second work of poetry following The Sun My Monument (The Hogarth Press, 1944), and a slim volume of just twelve poems which follow the year’s seasons. Beginning with ‘Christmas Landscape’, Lee progresses through ‘Poem for Easter’ and ‘April Rise’ to ‘Summer Rain’ and ‘Field of Autumn’, concluding with ‘December Dawn’. The poet wrote just four collections of poetry during his lifetime, believing that “experience and emotion are best set forth in short measure…readers would rather tackle a book of about a dozen lyrics than a great slab”. (S. Oliver-Jones A3).

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Very Good++
JACKET: Very Good+