Ivor Gurney | Severn and Somme, London, 1917, first edition, inscribed by the author

Ivor Gurney

Severn and Somme. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1917

FIRST EDITION, INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR, 8vo, half-title, original cloth, lacking dust-jacket, minor dampstaining at outer margins (not affecting text), spine sunned

Inscribed by the author: "To Marion Scott, Dear Friend and Good Business Agent, Nov 6, 1917". Scott was the dedicatee of Gurney's later collection War's Embers (see lots 344 and 345) and two poems in this volume also have his holograph dedication: "To Marion Scott". The author has added the place (and sometimes the date) of composition beneath a number of other poems. Gurney's relationship with Scott was the most significant of his life, to the extent that Pamela Blevins wrote a dual biography of the two in 2008. There has only been one book inscribed by Gurney at auction for nearly 50 years. A very good copy lacking the dust-jacket.