Coleridge, Samuel Taylor.

8vo, first edition,  half-title, 8pp. advertisements at the end, original drab wrappers, "Christabel" in a contemporary hand on the upper wrapper, 14-line quotations from the poem in another contemporary hand on front endpaper (see below), signature "Archibabld Thomson" at head, some slight staining and spotting, wrappers slightly torn, mising portions of spine, covers slightly discoloured

Wise 32; Tinker 693; Hayward 207

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The first appearance of "Kubla Khan", Coleridge's celebrated, but unfinished visionary poem of contested inspiration, probably stemming from an opium-induced hallucination, the composition of which was famously alleged by the poet to have been interrupted by "the man from Porlock".

very rare in the original wrappers.

A loosely inserted letter from the antiquarian bookseller Basil Savage of Highgate records that having shown this first edition to the Coleridge scholar Kathleen Coburn "she says that the title written in dark ink on the front may be in the hand of Mrs Gillman [? the wife of Coleridge's friend and benefactor Dr James Gilman]. She thinks the writing on the fly-leaf is very luike that of Joseph Henry Green, Coleridge's literary executor..."

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea