Hardy, Thomas

small 8vo, FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR ("To | James M. Barrie | from | Thomas Hardy | Dec: 1916") on front free endpaper, original blue cloth lettered in gilt on spine, collector's folding blue cloth box, some leaves unopened, others crudely cut, binding worn and soiled, collector's booklabel

Purdy, pp.178-88

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."

As noted by Purdy, this volume "is a collection of 120 poems drawn from The Dynasts and the four volumes of poetry Hardy had published up to 1916 and including, a fact that lends the book particular importance, nine poems from the unpublished MS. of Moments of Vision."

Hardy and Barrie were acquaintances from the early 1890s and Millgate calls Barrie one of Hardy’s "closest friends" from the mid-1900s. When Barrie visited Max Gate on the occasion of Hardy’s eightieth birthday in 1920 he noted that Hardy had "something about him more attractive than I find in almost any other man – a simplicity that really merits the adjective Divine – I could conceive some of the disciples having been thus" (see Michael Millgate, Thomas Hardy: A Biography Revisited (2004), p.487).

It was Barrie who took an active role in securing a resting place for Hardy in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey (although Barrie would later claim this was at the insistence of Sydney Cockerell). It was therefore Barrie who accompanied Hardy’s body (minus the heart, of course) to the crematorium at Brookwood, near Woking, oversaw the cremation and delivered the urn of Hardy’s ashes to Westminster Abbey.