Brooks, Van Wyck (Ferlinghetti, Lawrence)

The Dream of Arcadia: American Writers and Artists in Italy 1760-1915

New York, NY, USA: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1958. First Edition. Hardcover. From the collection of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, with his ownership signature & date. "Noted historian of American letters, Van Wyck Brooks tells for the first time the story of American writers and artists who have lived and worked in Italy, and have seen in that classic land the earthly fulfillment of their "dream of Arcadia." Some of them made their homes in that treasure-land of art and history and Van Wyck Brooks tells the full story of the many noted Americans in Italy, of their ideas and work, and the influence of the ever-beautiful country upon them." (from front flap) A classic work of history & biography by Van Wyck Brooks (1886-1963), the acclaimed & Pulitzer Prize-winning American literary critic, biographer & historian. Spanning the mid-eighteenth through early twentieth centuries, Brooks examines the impact of Italy, with its transcendent monuments of art & literature, on such canonical American artists & authors as John Singleton Copley, Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Mark Twain, Henry James, Edith Wharton et al. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket (undoubtedly first-issue with $4.50 price printed at front flap), first edition as stated at copyright page, first printing though not specified as such thereon. From the collection of Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021), the canonical Beat-&-Beyond American poet, artist, publisher & bookseller. On the front endpaper, Ferlinghetti has hand-signed & dated in pencil: "(signed) Ferlinghetti/ 4/2001." An erudite, rich & rewarding Brooks collectible in its rarest contemporary form, with most-distinguished association & provenance. Book in relatively fine-to-very-fine condition with only slight wear, fading, age toning & occasional spotting to edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; light rubbing, age toning & sparse spotting to edges of text block esp. upper edge. Interior fine-to-very-fine with mild age toning, occasional spotting to blank white paste-downs & endpapers; owner's (previous to Ferlinghetti) small gold-foil sticker affixed to front endpaper at upper right margin; miniscule bumps at corners of a few page leaves. Dust jacket (again relatively) fine-to-very-fine with slight rubbing, faint scratching & sparse spotting to front, back covers, spine & flaps; a hint of wear & some tiny bumps, creases at/from edges & corners of same. Fine-Very Fine / Fine-Very Fine. [Item #7527]

Price: $75.00