(Thayer, Ernest L.)

12mo (160 x 123mm.,), number 22 of 74 copies, printed in red and black, original brown wrappers with black calligraphic lettering and pictorial vignette in red, uncut, red half morocco gilt slipcase and chemise, wrappers bound upside down, chipped, stained

?Thomas B. Mosher, inscription in pencil in another hand; sale, Sotheby's New York, 13 December 2002, lot 151

cf. Cave, Private Press, pp. 130-132 (Bandar-Log Press)

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."

The rare first appearance in book form of America's most enduring example of baseball lore and literature. After leaving Harvard, where he had been editor of the Lampoon, William Randolph Hearst returned to California and assumed the editorial reins of the San Francisco Examiner from his father. He hired three members of the Lampoon staff, one being Ernest Thayer. Thayer wrote a humorous column on a regular basis under the pseudonym "Phin". In the spring of 1888, Thayer submitted his "Casey" poem for publication, and it was printed in the Examiner on 3 June 1888. A few weeks later, the last eight stanzas of the poem appeared in the New York Sun, but with the attribution of an anonymous author. The first separate printing in book form of "Casey at the Bat" is recognized as being published by the New Amsterdam Book Company in 1901 (see next lot).

This, the first book of the Bandar-Log Press, was limited to 74 copies, of which this is number 22. The press was owned and operated by a newspaper illustrator named John Francis Holme, who was a member of a Chicago design circle that included the great American typographer Frederic Goudy and lettering artist W.A. Dwiggins. Even though the Examiner is acknowledged as the source of the poem, in this literary miscellany, Holme took literary licence with the work, substantially altering several phrases, all the while keeping the spirit of the verse both in meaning and scansion. 

Rare. Only two copies have been located in American institutions. The Research Library of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which holds approximately 180 editions of the poem, does not possess the present work. This copy, first offered in 2002, is the only copy ever to appear at auction. It is not recorded in the baseball bibliographies of Myron Smith and Anton Grobani, or in the textual edition and bibliography of the poem by Marvin Gardner.