Landmark Books in All Fields
ItemID: #116988
Cost: $11,000.00

Casey at the Bat

Ernest Thayer

"SOMEWHERE IN THIS FAVOURED LAND THE SUN IS SHINING BRIGHT…": RARE FIRST SEPARATE EDITION, 1901, OF THIS LEGENDARY BASEBALL POEM, IN ORIGINAL PICTORIAL WRAPPERS

THAYER, Ernest. Casey at the Bat. New York: New Amsterdam, [1901]. Thin octavo, stitched as issued, original pictorial beige paper wrappers. Housed in a custom chemise and clamshell box. $11,000.

Rare first separate edition of this classic of American popular poetry, with vignette illustrations printed in red and a dedication to the poem's popularizer, actor DeWolfe Hopper, in original pictorial paper wrappers.

This classic American poem first appeared in an 1888 issue of the San Francisco Examiner, and was popularized by the stage performances of actor DeWolfe Hopper. In 1901 this edition was published separately in pamphlet form. While the 1912 hardcover edition is often considered to be the first "fully illustrated" edition due to its full-page line cuts, this earlier pamphlet does in fact contain illustrations—lovely vignette illustrations in brick red on every page. This is also the first edition to bear a dedication to DeWolf Hopper. Printed on rectos only; versos blank.

Only a few spots of soiling to text, text block and spine expertly repaired, unusually clean wrappers with only light restoration. A beautiful copy.

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