[STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS]. GOSSE, EDMUND. On Viol and Flute, London: King 1873. 12mo, original decorated paper boards, very worn, spine lacking, front free endpaper removed, quarter red morocco folding case, the case's hinge broken, FIRST EDITION, ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON'S COPY EMBELLISHED BY HIM; on the title-page, in lettering carefully matching the letterpress, he has added the legend: "Illustrated by R.L. Stevenson"; a total of ten pages have marginal illustrations added by Stevenson in black ink, some with captions, most with asterisks marking the particular lines or groups of lines to which the illustration relates; 6 pages bear autograph additions of Stevenson (these and all following are in pencil): to the poem at page 45 he has added the note "Inspired by a picture"; to the poem at page 67 he adds the direction "Repeat first rhyme for an additional line"; pages 10 and 12 each have a humourous line added to the verses printed there; at the beginning of the long poem "The Paradise of A Wearied Soul," at page 105, he writes emphatically "The finest poem Edmund Gosse ever wrote" (that page and two others are neatly folded down to mark their location and the stanzas of "Paradise" show many bracketings and underlinings, as do other poems); following "Guinevere" on page 103, Stevenson has appended a six-line parody of Gosse's ballad: "Just one more verse to serve as a foil. (Salts & senna & castoroil)..." Beneath Stevenson's addition is a further satirical stanza dated 18 March 1912 in an unidentified hand, signed with the initials "W.C." or "W.L." Books from Stevenson's library are rare.Provenance: The Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation (sale, Christie's New York, 22 November 1985, lot 118).

[STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS]. GOSSE, EDMUND. On Viol and Flute, London: King 1873. 12mo, original decorated paper boards, very worn, spine lacking, front free endpaper removed, quarter red morocco folding case, the case's hinge broken, FIRST EDITION, ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON'S COPY EMBELLISHED BY HIM; on the title-page, in lettering carefully matching the letterpress, he has added the legend: "Illustrated by R.L. Stevenson"; a total of ten pages have marginal illustrations added by Stevenson in black ink, some with captions, most with asterisks marking the particular lines or groups of lines to which the illustration relates; 6 pages bear autograph additions of Stevenson (these and all following are in pencil): to the poem at page 45 he has added the note "Inspired by a picture"; to the poem at page 67 he adds the direction "Repeat first rhyme for an additional line"; pages 10 and 12 each have a humourous line added to the verses printed there; at the beginning of the long poem "The Paradise of A Wearied Soul," at page 105, he writes emphatically "The finest poem Edmund Gosse ever wrote" (that page and two others are neatly folded down to mark their location and the stanzas of "Paradise" show many bracketings and underlinings, as do other poems); following "Guinevere" on page 103, Stevenson has appended a six-line parody of Gosse's ballad: "Just one more verse to serve as a foil. (Salts & senna & castoroil)..." Beneath Stevenson's addition is a further satirical stanza dated 18 March 1912 in an unidentified hand, signed with the initials "W.C." or "W.L." Books from Stevenson's library are rare. Provenance: The Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation (sale, Christie's New York, 22 November 1985, lot 118).

Details

[STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS]. GOSSE, EDMUND. On Viol and Flute, London: King 1873. 12mo, original decorated paper boards, very worn, spine lacking, front free endpaper removed, quarter red morocco folding case, the case's hinge broken, FIRST EDITION, ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON'S COPY EMBELLISHED BY HIM; on the title-page, in lettering carefully matching the letterpress, he has added the legend: "Illustrated by R.L. Stevenson"; a total of ten pages have marginal illustrations added by Stevenson in black ink, some with captions, most with asterisks marking the particular lines or groups of lines to which the illustration relates; 6 pages bear autograph additions of Stevenson (these and all following are in pencil): to the poem at page 45 he has added the note "Inspired by a picture"; to the poem at page 67 he adds the direction "Repeat first rhyme for an additional line"; pages 10 and 12 each have a humourous line added to the verses printed there; at the beginning of the long poem "The Paradise of A Wearied Soul," at page 105, he writes emphatically "The finest poem Edmund Gosse ever wrote" (that page and two others are neatly folded down to mark their location and the stanzas of "Paradise" show many bracketings and underlinings, as do other poems); following "Guinevere" on page 103, Stevenson has appended a six-line parody of Gosse's ballad: "Just one more verse to serve as a foil. (Salts & senna & castoroil)..." Beneath Stevenson's addition is a further satirical stanza dated 18 March 1912 in an unidentified hand, signed with the initials "W.C." or "W.L." Books from Stevenson's library are rare.

Provenance: The Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation (sale, Christie's New York, 22 November 1985, lot 118).