One of 268 copies.

THOMAS, Dylan; John PIPER [Illus.] ~ Deaths and Entrances. With an ALS from the designer.

LIMITED EDITION. Gregynog Press, Newtown: 1983.

Folio, bound under the direction of James Brockman in green morocco-backed patterned cloth boards, lettered vertically in gilt to backstrip; housed in the original publisher's cloth-covered slipcase; with frontis and a further 7 double-page illustrations in full colour by John Piper; THE BOOK fine, the slipcase with a little rubbing. Limited edition, one of just 268 copies of which this copy No. 109 bound under the direction of James Brockman. Designed by Eric Gee, with a notecard from the Press and a letter from Gee to a Mr Brickman, on Gregynog headed notepaper, in which he apologises for not being able to provide one of the specially lettered editions, which "were sold within seven days of our announcement of publication". A fabulous edition, in fine condition, with the striking full and double page illustrations by the war artist John Piper. Deaths and Entrances was Thomas's fourth volume of poetry, first published in 1946, which takes its title from John Donne's last sermon 'Death's Duell': "Deliverance from that death" Donne writes, "is an entrance, a delivery over to another death." The collection's title poem, written during September 1940, was like many others inspired by the young poet's experiences of the Second World War, and sits alongside others including the famous 'The Hunchback in the Park', 'Poem in October' and 'Fern Hill'. Together, they reflect his own profound experiences, perhaps most strikingly the bombing raids on London, which he experienced during his time as a fire-watcher in the burning city. Walford Davies, one of the leading authorities on Thomas, writes in his introduction that these poems are "amongst the most emotionally vivid and strongly-worded" of the war. "The poems are closer to the real spirit of the times" he continues, "the resilience and the defiance, than any more strictly analytical response would have allowed them to be. The refusal to mourn is a strategy." The book is here beautifully accompanied by eight illustrations in sweeping full colour by John Piper, whose depictions include the fire of the Blitz at the House of Commons in 1941, alongside scenes of Welsh landscapes, buildings and cities which were part of the poet's home, including Swansea, which Thomas himself referred to as my ‘ugly lovely town’. The Gregynog Press, founded in 1922 by the sisters Margaret and Gwendoline Davies, rose to prominence during its heyday as one of the best and most revered private presses of the 20th century. After eighteen years, forty-two books and hundreds of ephemeral items, it was forced to close in 1940, reopening under the Welsh name Gwasg Gregynog by the University of Wales in 1978. A beautiful production from the Press.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Fine