Stevens, Wallace.

8vo (189 x 127mm.), first edition, inscribed presentation copy to his editor with the manuscript of his poignant poem "First Warmth" on the half-title, original green paper-covered boards, black cloth spine with printed label, green dust-jacket, preserved in blue cloth chemise and quarter blue morocco slipcase, bookplate, some discoloration to gutters of first few leaves, very minor wear to jacket.

Edelstein A.11.a.1

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing where 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."

A fine copy incorporating an autograph manuscript of the great poet's "strongest single volume" (Harold Bloom, Wallace Stevens. The Poems of our Climate).

Stevens' eight-line poem "First Warmth" is here inscribed by him, together with the book, to his editor at Knopf, Harvey Weinstock:

"The Only Copy | of | [Transport to Summer ] | together with |First Warmth, 1947. |

I wonder, have I lived a skeleton's life
As a questioner about reality,

A countryman of all the bones in the world?
Now, here, the warmth I had forgotten becomes

Party of the major reality..."

"First Warmth" was later published in Opus Posthumous (ed. Samuel French Morse, 1957), with the text apparently taken from the autograph manuscript in this copy of Transport to Summer (see Lucy Beckett, Wallace Stevens, p.209). There was an error in the transcription, with "in the world" in the third line incorrectly appearing as "of the world". A typed letter signed about this, by Harry Ford of Alfred A. Knopf to Ben Meiselman of New York, is loosely inserted (26 October 1988). In 1954 Stevens revised the poem "into something closer to a final statement", under the new title "As You Leave the Room" (see Harold Bloom, op.cit, p.367).