"THAT'S A DOOR WORTH WATCHING… I SHALL GO DOWN TO IT SOME DAY AND KNOCK"

ROBINSON, Edwin Arlington. Matthias at the Door. New York: Macmillan, 1931. Octavo, original green cloth, printed paper spine label, top edge gilt, original glassine dust jacket, original cardboard slipcase with corresponding printed paper spine label. $200.

Signed limited first edition, number 144 of 500 copies signed by Robinson.

As he did in his earlier work Roman Bartholow (1923), Robinson here again considers the quest for a psychological, "quasi-religious 'father'… Even if religious faith were proved an illusion, these poems argue, faith in some form is indispensable" (Nicholas Ayo). "Robinson's blank verse is a perfected instrument, developed exactly to his needs… And Robinson's interpretation of impassioned speech has never reached a more moving climax, or developed a finer music, than here" (Monroe, Poetry 39:4 [1932], 216-17). Bruccoli & Clark II:341.

Small abrasions to original slipcase. Original glassine dust jacket with light wear to edges. Book fine.