"ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS 20TH-CENTURY BOOKS OF ALL… A MUST"

ELIOT, T.S. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. London: Faber and Faber, (1939). Octavo, original yellow cloth, uncut, original dust jacket. $3600.

First edition of one of T.S. Eliot's most popular books, one of only 3005 copies printed, in the original dust jacket designed and drawn by Eliot.

It was fellow poet Ezra Pound who first gave the nickname "Old Possum" to Eliot. Eliot sometimes used it among his friends and occasionally signed letters to them with the initials "T.P." (Tom Possum). "A classic from the day it was printed and today-partly because of the irrepressible musical, Cats—one of the most famous 20th-century books of all. This one is a must" (Joseph Connolly). The work was adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber into the musical Cats, which opened in the West End on May 11, 1981. Gallup A34a. Owner signature.

Book with minor discoloration to endpapers and toning to cloth extremities. Dust jacket with a few spots of soiling, chipping to spine ends, split along spine joint, and toning to extremities. An extremely good copy.