"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. $4500.

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.

Cloth with mild toning to spine, dust jacket with a bit of toning, faint staining to front panel, expert restoration to spine head. A very attractive copy.