Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
(800) 937-3880
SELL

Lot #2113
William Butler Yeats Autograph Letter Signed

Early editorial instructions for Wind Among the Reeds

Estimate: $0+
Sell a Similar Item?
Share:  

Description

Early editorial instructions for Wind Among the Reeds

Highly regarded Irish poet and playwright (1865–1939) recognized as one of the key figures in 20th-century literature. ALS signed “W. B. Yeats,” one-page both sides, 4.25 x 6.75, September 20, no year but likely circa 1902. Letter to Elkin Mathews, in part: “I see by account sent you from A P Watt that you had only 98 copies of ‘The Wind Among the Reeds’ last March. You must therefore have about exhausted the edition. I think it will be better in future to print the design in gold on a few vellum copies & to bind the ordinary copies in plain boards with a paper label. People will be all the more glad to buy the vellum copies if the design is not made common by printing it on all copies in some poorer way.” Attractively double-matted and framed with a portrait of Yeats and the original mailing envelope to an overall size of 16.25 x 16.5, with a window on the reverse for viewing the signed side. In fine condition. Published in 1899, The Wind Among the Reeds was a stylized collection of 37 poems that made use of both theosophy and Irish folklore. Mathews, the letter’s recipient and a neighbor of Yeats, was an important British publisher in the late 19th and early 20th century, printing the works of Lionel Johnson, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, and Robert Bridges. His friendship with Yeats may have played a role in allowing the poet to have such liberal say during the design and marketing processes. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Remarkable Rarities Auction
  • Dates: #447 - Ended February 18, 2015





This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for $100.00

*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.