Kipling, Rudyard

The Seven Seas

New York, NY: D. Appleton and Company, 1898. First American Edition, Third(?) Printing. Hardcover. "The cities are full of pride,/ Challenging each to each-/ This from her mountain-side,/ That from her burthened beach." ("Dedication To the City of Bombay," first stanza, pg. v) Thus begins this collection of stirring poems by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), the great English poet, novelist, story-writer & journalist whose prolific output epitomized & celebrated the colonial British Empire. Kipling is of course out-of-favor if not entirely "cancelled" by our current, intolerant "liberal" literary establishment for his indeed extreme advocacy of colonial imperialism & appropriation of native cultures- but nevertheless, the quality & exciting adventurousness of his evocative writings give them a time-tested, immortal place in the world literary canon. Here we have the first American edition of this collection that includes the famous suite of "Barrack-Room Ballads." Following the poems are six interesting pages of advertisements for publisher's other publications including Arthur Conan Doyle's lesser-known "Uncle Bernac: A Romance of the Empire," apparently about a Napoleon-like character. Originally published in 1896, this ex-library copy is dated 1898 on title page, & is therefore likely the third printing of this then-very popular volume. Without scarce dust jacket. A solid, unrestored specimen of a rare contemporary edition of a Kipling classic. In relatively good-to-near-fine condition with missing dust jacket as noted; moderate-to-signficant rubbing, fading & sparse staining to front, back covers & spine; moderate-to-significant wear including a few short, closed tears & areas of fraying to edges & corners of same; moderate rubbing & spotting to edges of text block incl. gilt upper edge; small library number stamp ("238") affixed to spine below & not obscuring gilt lettering. Interior also good-to-near-fine with moderate-to-extensive spotting to all page leaves (but with no effect to legibility of text), paste-downs & endpapers; uncut side & lower edges & corners of page leaves as issued; vintage (very quaint) purple stamp of the "Dr. W. B. Hallock Memorial Library" in Cromwell, Connecticut on blank front pastedown & second blank front leaf; undated (appx. contemporary) gift inscription in pencil near upper right edge & corner of blank front endpaper; pencil checkmarks by previous owner or borrower beside several of the poems listed on index pages. Good- Near Fine. [Item #4220]

Price: $110.00