BANGS, JOHN KENDRICK

...The Battle of College Point...Dedicated to the Contestants...by...John Kendrick Bangs, L. F. September 18, 1897

No place of publication: privately printed, 1897. First Edition. Publisher’s wrappers; BAL 733 (locating a single copy), noting that 100 copies were “Issued as a souvenir of a picnic given by Harper & Brothers for their employees.” Inscribed inside the front wrapper by an executive or editor at the publishing house, “To my friend Wm. Doxey with best wishes from Tho. H. Ammon. The Umpire. Dec. 21, 97.” Additionally inscribed at a later date by Bangs, “I humbly confess myself guilty of writing these lines, and throw myself on the mercy of the Court. John Kendrick Bangs, May 31: 1914.” Included is a two page holograph letter on Harper & Brothers letterhead presenting this slim volume to Doxey, “Enclosed you will find an Epic Poem on the Battle of College Point. Mr. John Kendrick Bangs did it - only a few printed - in fact it’s an Edition de Luxe - as Bangs played left field...” The condition of the pamphlet is fine; the letter has been folded. The recipient was a noted San Francisco publisher and bookseller who went bankrupt, but is remembered for his periodical The Lark, a publication famed for its printing of Gelett Burgess’s “The Purple Cow,” the wild popularity of which ensured that its author would never emerge from its shadow. All books described as first editions are first printings unless otherwise noted.

[Book #1478]

Price: $250.00