“WE THOUGHT ALUN’S BELIEF THAT WE COULD CAPTURE THE EARS AND EYES AND POCKETS OF THE MULTITUDE AS A FALLACY”

CHAMBERLAIN, Brenda. Alun Lewis & the Making of the Caseg Broadsheets. With a Letter from Vernon Watkins and a Checklist of the Broadsheets. London: Enitharmon, 1970. Slim octavo, original green cloth, paper spine label, original dust jacket, original glassine. $150.

Signed limited first edition of this publication history and reprinting of the famous Caseg Broadsheets, number 119 of 300 copies (out of a total edition of 135 copies) signed by the author, handsomely printed by the Daedalus Press on Basingwerk Parchment.

This work traces the production of the influential Caseg Broadsheets. A collaboration between WWII soldier and poet Alun Lewis and Caseg Press co-founders John Petts and Brenda Chamberlain, the Caseg Broadsheets, two of which are reproduced in this work, were a series of illustrated poetical works that were printed on flyers in order to reach the masses. Each broadsheet contained one of Lewis' remarkable poems as well as a beautiful engraving. They quickly became a sensation throughout Britain, turning Lewis into one of Britain's most famous poets. After Alun Lewis committed suicide at the age of 28, the true story behind the Broadsheets remained something of a mystery. Here, Chamberlain, as one of the original participants in the collaboration, shares the letters that gave birth to the Broadsheets and reveals the events that led up to Lewis' suicide.

A very nearly fine copy.