This is Number Three: The Sylvia Plath Auction

The Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes Bonhams auction in March is the gift that keeps on giving, it seems. Because nearly one-quarter of all the lots were purchased jointly between two booksellers, dozens of items are appearing now individually for sale. This is how I procured two additional possessions of Frieda Hughes' in addition to Plath's fishing rod. In July I posted about the presentation copy of Alan C. Jenkins's White Horse, Black Bull, acquired from Modern First Editions. This blog post is about the third, and perhaps final, item from the auction which I have purchased.

I have always had an interest in uncorrected proofs of Plath's books. They represent a pre-first edition state, were printed in extremely limited quantities, and often serve as a bridge state between manuscript and first edition. Peter Harrington Books of London acquired Lot 377 which was comprised of thirteen total books. Eleven of them were lightly described in the Bonhams catalog leaving two out.

From the catalog:

1). The Bell Jar, small piece cut away from upper fore-corner of front free endpaper [Tabor A4a.3], 1966; 2.) idem, paperback edition, 1966, each signed by Frieda Hughes; 3.) idem, [Tabor A4b], New York, 1971; 4.) Crossing the Water, [Tabor A11a], 1971; 5.) idem, light marks at gutter margins of endpapers [Tabor A11b], New York, 1971; 6.) Winter Trees, [Tabor A15a], 1971; 7.) idem, [Tabor A15b], New York, 1972; 8.) Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams, introduction by Ted Hughes [Tabor A21a], 1977; 9.) idem, [Tabor A21b], New York, 1979-- 10.) Sylvia Plath: Drawings. Introduced by Frieda Hughes, signed by Frieda Hughes, 2013, unless otherwise stated publisher’s cloth with dust-jackets, 8vo; and 11.) 3 others, including copy 121 (of 400) of Lyonnesse, Rainbow Press, 1971 (13)

So two books were not described. One of them appeared in a small catalogue Harrington produced and it had all the hallmarks of being something that would tempt me:

PLATH, Sylvia.
Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams and Other Prose Writings.
London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1977

Octavo. Unbound and untrimmed sheets. Some light soiling, else in good condition.

Uncorrected proof copy, from the library of Ted Hughes, who collected the writings and contributed the introduction. Signature P is duplicated, with one signature having manuscript corrections by Hughes, corrections which were transferred into the final text. The sheets, without being marked with Hughes’s ownership, passed by descent to his daughter Frieda Hughes, and were auctioned at Bonhams among other Hughes family items in 2018.

The book was delivered to me in June and in July I sent it out to have a custom box made for it. I really adore having this, especially with the few hand-corrected typesetting mistakes.

And now for the box!

I needed a box for this as the signatures were unbound. This one I wanted in orange to kind of match the first Faber edition. It is a different color orange, but I'm ok with that. This box is stunning and it is not temporary.

All links accessed: 23 July 2018.