Sonnets and Ballate of Guido Cavalcanti,; With Translations of Them and an Introduction by Ezra Pound.
London: Stephen Swift & Co. Ltd., 1912. First English edition. Cloth. 8vo, 135pp + publisher's ads; original streaked gray cloth stamped in gilt. A pair of tiny, old wormholes; spine faded slightly; scattered very light pencil annotations, still an attractive copy, bright and clean. Item #202460
Pound revised the contents, both the translations and the introduction, for this edition, which followed the U.S. publication by a month. Although the press run is unknown, this edition has long been less common than its American counterpart, likely owing to the fact that the bulk of the edition, in the form unbound sheets, were destroyed by a fire at the binder's. This copy bears the publisher's "presentation copy" blindsamp on the first page of the introduction. Although Gallup justly counts translations among "A" items, it is no doubt the presence of the Italian originals alongside Pound's renditions here that relegates this book to his B section. Gallup B4b.
Price: $650.00