The Rare Books of T.S. Eliot: A Guide to First Editions and Valued Collectibles
T.S. Eliot (1888–1965): The Poet of Modern Fragmentation
Early Life and Education (1888–1914)
Thomas Stearns Eliot was born on September 26, 1888, in St. Louis, Missouri, into a prominent Unitarian family with deep New England roots. His grandfather, William Greenleaf Eliot, had founded Washington University in St. Louis, and his father, Henry Ware Eliot, was a successful businessman. Despite his privileged upbringing, Eliot was a sickly child, plagued by a congenital double hernia that limited his physical activities and fostered his introspective nature.
In 1906, he entered Harvard University, where he studied philosophy, Sanskrit, and French literature, developing a fascination with Symbolist poetry and Eastern thought. After earning his master’s degree, he traveled to Europe in 1910, studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he attended Henri Bergson’s lectures and immersed himself in the works of Charles Baudelaire and Jules Laforgue. Returning to Harvard for doctoral work in philosophy, he focused on F.H. Bradley’s idealism before departing again for Europe in 1914—this time to Oxford.
London, Pound, and The Waste Land (1914–1922)
Eliot’s life changed irrevocably when he settled in London and met Ezra Pound, who recognized his genius and became his fiercest advocate. In 1915, he married Vivienne Haigh-Wood, a troubled but intellectually vibrant woman whose mental and physical health struggles would shadow their marriage. To support himself, Eliot worked as a teacher, bank clerk, and later as an editor at Faber & Gwyer (later Faber & Faber), where he shaped modernist literature for decades.
His early poems, including “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1915), captured the paralysis and alienation of modern urban life. But it was The Waste Land (1922), edited extensively by Pound, that cemented his reputation as the voice of a disillusioned generation. A fragmented, allusive epic weaving myth, religion, and postwar despair, its famous opening—“April is the cruellest month”—signaled a stark departure from Romanticism.
Conversion and Four Quartets (1927–1945)
In 1927, Eliot converted to Anglicanism, a shift that infused his later work with spiritual searching. Ash-Wednesday (1930) reflected his turn toward faith, while Murder in the Cathedral (1935), a verse drama about Thomas Becket’s martyrdom, merged his poetic and theological concerns.
His masterpiece, Four Quartets (1943), distilled his meditations on time, redemption, and language into four interconnected poems (Burnt Norton, East Coker, The Dry Salvages, and Little Gidding). Drawing from Heraclitus, Dante, and Christian mysticism, Eliot sought transcendence amid war’s ruins: “We shall not cease from exploration / And the end of all our exploring / Will be to arrive where we started / And know the place for the first time.”
Nobel Prize and Later Years (1948–1965)
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948, Eliot spent his later years as an elder statesman of letters, writing plays (The Cocktail Party, 1949) and essays (Notes Towards the Definition of Culture, 1948). After Vivienne’s death in 1947, he found unexpected happiness in his second marriage to Valerie Fletcher in 1957.
He died on January 4, 1965, in London. His ashes were interred at St. Michael’s Church in East Coker, the ancestral village his family had left for America centuries before—a symbolic return to origins.
Legacy: The Architect of Modernism
Eliot redefined poetry for the 20th century, transforming fragmentation into a new aesthetic. From The Waste Land’s despair to Four Quartets’ hard-won hope, his work remains a beacon of intellectual and spiritual rigor. As he wrote: “Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.”
T.S. Eliot’s influence on subsequent authors is profound and inescapable. He fundamentally reshaped modern poetry by introducing a fragmented, allusive style that captured the disillusionment of the post-World War I era, most famously in “The Waste Land.” His technique of weaving together high culture with colloquial speech, myth with contemporary angst, and a pervasive tone of ironic despair provided a new vocabulary for countless writers. This influence is starkly evident in the works of poets like W.H. Auden and the confessional poets, but also extends to novelists, from the existential themes in the novels of Albert Camus to the layered, referential prose of James Joyce, who shared Eliot’s ambition to capture the complexity of modern consciousness.
Key Works:
- The Waste Land (1922)
- Four Quartets (1943)
- “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1915)
- Murder in the Cathedral (1935)
Famous Lines:
“In my beginning is my end.” (Four Quartets)
“This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper.” (“The Hollow Men”)
T. S. Eliot – First Editions Identification Guide
A Complete Bibliography of T.S Eliot : Novels, Rare Books & First Editions
| Year | Title | Publisher | First edition/printing identification points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 | Prufrock and Other Observations | London: Egoist Ltd., 1917 | First edition. Gray wrappers, black lettering. Price: 1s. 500 copies printed. |
| 1917 | Ezra Poound His Metric and Poetry | NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1917 | First edition. Rose paper boards, gilt lettering. Plain gray dust jacket. 1000 copies printed. Published January 1918. |
| 1919 | Poems | Richmond: L. & V. Woolf at The Hogarth Press | First edition. Wrappers (varying texture and design), white paste-on label. Two states, priority as listed: A) Red printed label. Misprints on p. 13, line 6 , "aestival" for "estivale" and line 12 "capitaux" for "chapitaux". B) The two misprints were corrected. Bound in marbled wrappers with inside plain or wall-paper design. The majority with black-printed label.Price: 2s6d. Fewer than 250 copies printed. |
| 1920 | Ara Vos Prec | London: Ovid Press, [1920] | First edition. Black wrappers or (later) black boards. White pate-on label on the spine, black lettering. Four issues, no priority: A) 10 copies unnumbered are for review. B) 4 copies on Japan Vellum numbered 1-4 & not for sale. C) 30 signed copies numbered 5-34 D) 220 copies numbered 35-255. NOTE: Misprint "Vus" for "Vos" in the title page was discovered after all the sheets had been printed and was corrected only on the label. ALSO: NY: Alfred A. Knopf, [1920]. First American edition. Published as "Poems by T. S. Eliot". Tan paper boards, brown lettering. Yellow dust jacket, green or brown lettering. No date. |
| 1920 | The Sacred Wood | London: Methuen & Co., [1920] | First edition. "First published in 1920" stated on © page. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Three states, priority as listed: A) "METHUEN" imprint at the foot of spine measures 3mm. Salmon dust jacket, black lettering, no subtitle "Essays .. criticism" on front panel. No ads on rear of book. B) "METHUEN" imprint at the foot of spine measures 3.5mm. Salmon dust jacket reset with " Essays .. criticism" on front panel, and ads for "Books by A. Clutton-Brock" on rear panel. C) Same as (B) with 8pp. of ads inserted after p. [156]. ALSO: NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1921. First American edition. Date 1921 on title page, verso blank. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. |
| 1922 | The Waste Land | NY: Boni & Liveright | First edition. Flexible or (later) stiff black/brown cloth boards, gilt lettering. Limited edition of 1000 numbered copies. Salmon dust jacket, black lettering. Price $1.50. Two issues, priority as listed: A) Flexible binding. The stamped limitation number is 5mm high. Around 500 copies bound. B) Stiff cloth. The limitation number is 2mm high. NOTE: Although Gallup remarks that "the first copies printed have the word 'mountain' correctly spelled in line 339 (page 41); in later copies the 'a' has dropped out," that point is not the true indication of the issue, but only of the place in the press run of the sheet on which that page was printed. During the printing of the sheet containing that page, the letter "a" worked loose, so that the copies were printed with the "a" correctly placed, out-of-alignment, or missing altogether. Since the sheets were selected for binding at random, the presence of the "a" is indicative only of the printing of that particular sheet, not of the book as a whole. ALSO: NY: Boni and Liveright, [1923]. Second impression. Limited edition of 1000 copies. "Second edition" stated on the © page. Content as in the first edition, this is actually a second impression. ALSO: Richmond Surrey: Leonard & Virginia Woolf, Hogarth Press, [1923]. First English edition. Blue marbled boards, white paste-on label, black lettering. Three states, no priority: A) Label measuring 3.8 x 6.5cm, with a border of asterisks B) label measuring 6.5 x 9.6cm, with heavy single-line rule above and bellow the title C) label measuring 6.7 x 10 cm, without rules. |
| 1924 | Home to John Drydfen | London: Leonard & Virginia Woolf, Hoharth Press, 1924 | First edition. Off-white wrappers, black lettering. Price 3s6d. 2000 copies printed. |
| 1925 | Poems 1909-1925 | London: Faber & Gwyer, MCMXXV | First edition. Two issues, no priority: A) Limited edition of 85 numbered and signed copies. White linen boards, gilt lettering. Glassine dust jacket. B) Blue cloth, white paste-on label on spine. Cream dust jacket, blue lettering. 1460 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1932]. First American edition. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Printed on laid paper watermarked with a crown and the words "ANTIQUE DE LUXE | BCM | SH" Cream dust wrapper, blue lettering. The ads in the back flap for "Selected Essays 1917-1932" does not include price. 4080 copies printed. NOTE: A second printing was printed on wove paper, unwatermarked. Lavender dust jacket, with price at the bottom of the back flap. |
| 1927 | Journey of the Magi | London: Faber & Gwyer, [1927] | First edition. Two issues, no priority: A) Limited edition of 350 numbered copies. Yellow boards, black lettering. B) Yellow wrappers, black lettering, sewn. 5000 copies printed. (Unsold copies were reissued in February 1938, in mauve paper envelopes, on front … "The original first printing of the poem, decorated with drawings by E. McKnight Kauffer...". ALSO: NY: William Edwin Rudge, 1927. First American edition. Grey wrappers, black lettering. 27 copies printed. |
| 1927 | Shakespeare and the Stoicism of Seneca | Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1927 | First edition. Grey wrappers, black lettering. |
| 1928 | A Song for Simeon | London: Faber & Gwyer, [1928] | First edition. Two issues, no priority: A) Limited edition of 500 numbered and signed copies. Off-white boards, gilt lettering. B) Blue wrappers, black lettering. 3500 copies printed. (Unsold copies were reissued in February 1938, in grey paper envelopes, red lettering with, on front … "The original first printing of the poem, decorated with a drawing by E. McKnight Kauffer ..." |
| 1928 | For Lancelot Andewes | London: Faber & Gwyer, [1928] | First edition. "First published in MCMXXVIII" stated on © page. Blue cloth, tan paste-on label on the spine, black and blue lettering. Tan dust jacket, printed in black and blue. ALSO: NY: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1929. First American edition. "First edition" stated on © page. Purple-brown cloth, silver lettering. Grey dust jacket, red and blue lettering. 2000 copies printed. |
| 1929 | Dante | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1929] | First edition. Two issues, no priority: A) Limited edition of 125 numbered and signed copies. Blue-green boards, gilt lettering. Glassine dust jacket. B) "First published in MCMXXIX" stated on © page. Grey boards, black lettering. Grey dust jacket, printed in blue & black. No excerpts from reviews of the book on front/back flap. 2000 copies printed. |
| 1929 | Animula | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1929] | First edition. Two issues, no priority: A) Limited edition of 400 numbered and signed copies. Yellow boards, brown lettering. B) Yellow wrappers, black lettering. 3000. (Unsold copies were reissued in February 1938, in green paper envelopes, on front …"The original first printing of the poem, decorated with wood-engravings by Gertrude Hermes..." |
| 1930 | Ash-Wednesday | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., 1930 | First edition. Two issues, no priority: A) Limited edition of 600 numbered and signed copies. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Cellophane dust jacket with white paper flaps. Issued in plain brown slipcase. B) "First published in MCMXXX" stated on © page. Brown cloth., gilt lettering. White dust jacket, printed in green, black and red. ALSO: NY: G.P. Putname's Sons, 1930. First American edition. "First American Trade Edition" stated on © page. Black cloth, yellow lettering. Glassine dust jacket. 2000 copies printed. |
| 1930 | Anabasis A Poem by St. -J Perse | London: Faber & Faber Ltd. , 1930 | First edition. Two issues, no priority: A) Limited edition of 350 numbered and signed copies. Green cloth, gilt lettering. Cellophane dust jacket. Issued in plain green slipcase. B) Blue-green cloth, gilt lettering. White dust jacket, printed in green, black and red. 1650 sheets printed (of which 1101 were reissued in 1937). ALSO: Second issue. Green boards, gilt lettering. Green dust jacket, purple lettering. 1101 copies printed from first edition sheets, cut down, bound, and reissued. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1938. First American edition. "First American edition" stated on © page. Black cloth, gilt lettering. Grey dust jacket, red lettering. 1000 copies printed. |
| 1930 | Marina | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1931] | First edition. Two issues, no priority: A) Limited edition of 400 numbered and signed copies. Blue boards, black lettering. Glassine dust jacket. B) Blue wrappers, sewn, black lettering. 2000 copies printed. |
| 1931 | Thought After Lambeth | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1931] | First edition. "First published February MCMXXXI" stated on © page. Two issues, no priority: A) Brown wrappers, swen, blue lettering. 3000 copies printed. B) Grey board, gilt lettering. Glassine dust jacket. 300 copies printed. NOTE: A few advance proof copies were issued for review purposes in the brown wrappers described but marked on page [i] in blue crayon “Proof copy only." These copies differ slightly from the regularly issued copies, publisher's name on tittle page is given as "Faber & Faber" instead of "Faber & Faber Limited". |
| 1931 | Triumphal March | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1931] | First edition. Two issues, no priority: A) Limited edition of 300 numbered and signed copies. Grey boards, gilt lettering. B) Grey wrapper, black lettering. |
| 1931 | Charles Whibley A Memoir | London: Oxford University Press, 1931 | First edition. Grey wrappers, black lettering. 4000 copies printed. |
| 1923 | Selected Essays | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1932] | First edition. Two issues, no priority: A) 115 numbered and signed copies. Blue vellum boards, gilt lettering. Cellophane dust jacket. B) "First published MCMXXXII" stated on © page. Brown cloth, gilt lettering. White dust jacket, printed in green & black. 3000 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1932]. "First edition" stated on © page. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Tan dust jacket, purple lettering. |
| 1932 | John Dryden the Poet ,the Dramatist, the Critic | NY: Terence & Else Holliday, 1932 | First edition. Two issues, no priority: A) Limited edition of 110 numbered and signed copies. Marbled boards, gilt lettering. Cellophane dust jacket. B) Mulberry boards, black & gilt lettering. White dust jacket, brown lettering. 1000 copies printed. |
| 1932 | Sweeney Agonistes | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1932] | First edition. "First published December MCMXXXII" stated on © page. Two issues, priority as listed: A) Blue boards, red lettering. B) Blue-green boards, red lettering. Yellow dust jacket, printed in blue. |
| 1933 | The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1933] | First edition. "First published November MCMXXXIII" stated on © page. Red cloth, gilt lettering. Blue dust jacket, printed in black & red. 2500 copies printed. ALSO: Harvard University Press, 1933. First American edition. Red cloth, gilt lettering. Cream dust jacket, printed in black and green. 1500 copies printed. |
| 1934 | After Strange Gods | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1934] | First edition. "First published in February MCMXXXIV" stated on © page. Black cloth, gilt lettering. Red dust jacket, printed in black and blue. 3000 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1934]. First American edition. "First edition" stated on © page. Red cloth, gilt lettering. Tan dust jacket, printed in black and red. 1500 copies printed. |
| 1934 | The Rock | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1934] | First edition. "First published in May MCMXXXOV" stated on © page. Grey wrappers, black lettering. 2000 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1934]. First American edition. "First edition" stated on © page. Tan cloth, red paste-on label on spine, black lettering. White dust jacket, printed in grey and red. |
| 1934 | Elizabethan Essays | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1934] | First edition. "First published October MCMXXXIV" stated on © page. Green cloth, gilt lettering. Blue dust jacket, printed in red & black. |
| 1934 | Words for Music | Bryn Mawr, PA: Privately printed | First edition. Twenty copies of Words for Music were printed for the author:
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| 1935 | Murder in the Cathedral | H. J. Goulden, Ltd. 1935. | First edition. Two issues, no priority: A) First acting edition. Grey wrappers, blue lettering. 750 copies printed. (A few copies issued in plain white wrappers issued to the cast before the printed wrappers were ready). B) Faber & Faber Ltd., [1935]. First complete edition. "First published June MCMXXXV" stated on © page. Purple cloth, gilt lettering. Blue dust jacket, printed in red & black. 3000 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1935]. First American edition. "First published" stated on © page. Black cloth, gilt lettering. Off-white dust jacket, printed in plum & black. 1500 copies printed. |
| 1935 | Two Poems | Cambridge University Press, 1935 | First edition. Privately printed for Frederic Prokosch. Twenty-two copies of these poems were printed for the author:
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| 1936 | Essays Ancient and Modern | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1936] | First edition. "First published in March Mcmxxxvi" stated on © page. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Green dust jacket, printed in black & blue. 2500 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1936]. First American edition. Blue (or, later, dark blue) cloth, gilt lettering. "First American edition" stated on © page. Grey dust jacket, red lettering. 2500 copies printed. |
| 1936 | Collected Poems 1909-1935 | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1939] | First edition. "First published in April Mcmxxxvi" stated on © page. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Red dust jacket, printed in blue & black. 6000 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1936]. First American edition. "First American edition" stated on © page. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Grey (or, later, brown) dust jacket, red lettering. 4700 copies printed. |
| 1939 | Family Reunion | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1936] | First edition. "First published in March MCMXXXIX" stated on © page. Grey cloth, red lettering. Cream dust jacket; printed in red, green & black. (or, later, mauve dust jacket, black lettering). 6375 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1039]. First American edition. "First American edition" stated on © page. Black cloth, gilt lettering. Yellow dust jacket, brown lettering. Price $2.50. 2500 copies printed. |
| 1939 | Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1939] | First edition. "First published in September Mcmxxxix" stated on © page. Yellow cloth, red lettering. Pictorial yellow dust jacket, black lettering. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1939]. First American edition. "First American edition" stated on © page. Grey cloth, black lettering. Pictorial orange dust jacket, black lettering. ALSO: London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1940]. First illustrated edition. "First illustrated edition November Mcmxl" stated on © page. Pictorial cream cloth, red lettering. Cream pictorial dust jacket, printed in black & red. |
| 1939 | The Idea of a Christian Society | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1939] | First edition. "First published in October MCMXXXIX" stated on © page. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Red dust jacket, black lettering. 2000 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1940]. First American edition. "First American edition" stated on © page. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. White dust jacket, blue lettering. 3000 copies printed. |
| 1940 | East Coker | The New English Weekly, 1940 | First edition. Unbound, held in place with two staples. ALSO: Second edition. "Reprinted from the Easter Number" stated on the title page. Unbound, wire-stiched. ALSO: London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1940]. Third (first Faber) edition. "First published in September Mcmxl" stated on © page. Yellow wrappers, black lettering. |
| 1941 | Burnt Norton | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1941] | First edition. "First published in February Mcmxli" stated on © page. Green wrapper, black lettering; wire-stiched. |
| 1941 | Points of View | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1941] | First edition. "First published in June Mcmxli" stated on © page. Blue cloth, red lettering. Grey dust jacket, red lettering. |
| 1941 | The Dry Salvages | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1941] | First edition. "First published in September Mcmxli" stated on © page. Blue wrappers, black lettering. 11,223 copies printed. |
| 1942 | The Classics and the Man of Letters | London: Oxford University Press, 1942 | First edition. Pale-blue wrappers, black lettering. 5017 copies printed. NOTE: In the first copies printed the “t” of “the” in line 6 of the title-page is correctly printed; in later copies the letter registers so weakly as almost to disappear. |
| 1942 | The Music of Poetry | Glasgow: Jackson, Son & Co., 1942 | First edition. Tan wrappers, dark blue lettering. 1000 copies printed. |
| 1942 | Little Gidding | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1942] | First edition. "First published in Mcmxlii" stated on © page. Mulberry wrappers, black lettering. Sewn or (later) wire-stiched. |
| 1943 | Four Quartets | NY: Harcourt, Brace Co., [1943] | First edition. "First American edition" stated on © page.. Black cloth, gilt lettering. White dust jacket, pzz black, cream and grey. 4615 copies printed (of which 3373 copies were destroyed due to printer's error). ALSO: London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1944]. First English edition. "First published … Mcmxliv" stated on © page. Tan cloth, gilt lettering. Grey dust jacket, pzz black and red. 6000 copies printed. |
| 1943 | Reunion by Destruction | London: The Pax House, [1943] | First edition. Grey-brown or (later?) tan wrappers, black lettering. |
| 1945 | What is a Classic? | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1945] | First edition. "First published in Mcmxlv" stated on © page. Two issues, priority unknown: A) Virgil Society issue for distribution gratis to members. Green wrappers, black lettering. 500 copies printed. B) Regular issue. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Cream dust jacket, printed in black & red |
| 1946 | Die Einheit der europäischen Kultur | Berlin: Carl Haben Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1946 | First edition. Yellow wrapper, brown lettering. Two states, priority as listed: A) pp. 58 & 59 are numbered. B) pp. 58 & 59 are unnumbered. |
| 1947 | A Practical Possum | Cambridge: Harvard Printing Office, MCMXLVII | First edition. "First edition" stated on © page. Limited edition of 80 numbered copies for distribution gratis. Grey-green wrappers, black lettering. |
| 1947 | On Poetry | Concord, Massachusetts, 1947 | First edition. Limited edition of 750 numbered copies, for distribution gratis to alumnae and friends of Concord Academy. Olive-green wrappers, grey and green lettering. |
| 1947 | Milton | London: Geoffrey Cumberlege, 1947 | First edition. Grey wrappers, sewn, black lettering. 500 copies printed. |
| 1948 | A Sermon | Cambridge: University Press, [1948] | First edition. Unbound, sewn. For distribution gratis to members of the college. 300 copies printed. |
| 1948 | Selected Poems | Penguin Books, Harmondsworth: Faber & Faber, [1948] | First edition."First published in Penguin Books 1948" stated on © page. White wrappers, grey & black lettering. 50,000 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1967] First American edition. "First American edition" stated on © page.. White wrappers, printed in yellow, blue, purple, black & red. 50,000 copies printed. |
| 1948 | Notes Towards the Definition of Culture | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1948] | First edition. "First published in mcmxlviii" stated on © page. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Cream dust jacket, red & black lettering. 6000 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1949]. First American edition. "First American edition" stated on © page. Black cloth, gilt lettering. White dust jacket, printed in grey & turquoise. With 10 titles listed under "Books by T.S Eliot" on back panel, latter issues only have 8 titles. |
| 1948 | From Poe to Valery | NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1948] | First edition. Limited edition of 1500 copies. Privately printed for distribution gratis. Dark blue boards, white & green lettering. Issued in green paper mailing envelope. |
| 1949 | The Undergraduate Poems | Cambridge: The Harvard Advocate, [1949] | First edition. Grey wrappers, black lettering. Published without authorization. 1000 copies printed. |
| 1949 | The Aims of Poetic Drama | London: The Poets' Theatre Guild, 1949 | First edition. Unbound, wire-stiched. 5000 copies printed for distribution gratis to members of the Poets’ Theatre Guild and for sale at 6d.; |
| 1950 | The Cocktail Party | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1950] | First edition. "First published in mcml" stated on © page. Green cloth, gilt lettering. Grey dust jacket, printed in black & red. Two issues, no priority: A) Misprint "here for "her" p. 29, line 1. B) Misprint corrected. Both were bound up and issued simultaneously. 19, 950 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1950]. First American edition. No "fist American edition" on © page. Later impressions are identified by code symbols. 10,000 copies printed. |
| 1950 | Poems Written in Early Youth | Stockholm: Privately printed, 1950 | First edition. White boartds, white paste-on label, black lettering. Limited edition of 12 numbered copies, not for sale. ALSO: London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1967]. Second trade edition. "First published in mcmlxvii" stated on © page. Purple cloth, gilt lettering. Yellow dust jacket, printed in black & purple. 15,000 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, [1967]. First American edition. "First American printing, 1967" stated on © page. Green cloth, gilt lettering. White dust jacket, printed in green, black, blue & gold. 3500 copies printed. |
| 1951 | Poetry and Drama | Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1951 | First edition. Dark-blue cloth, gilt lettering. White dust jacket, printed in blue, black and brown. Price $1.50. 5000 copies printed. ALSO: London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1951. First English edition. "First published in mcmli" stated on © page. Red cloth, gilt lettering. Blue dust jacket, red lettering. 10,000 copies printed. |
| 1952 | The Value and Use of Cathedrals in England Today | Chichester: Friends of Chichester Cathedeals, [1952] | First edition. White wrappers, black lettering. Price: 1s. 2000 copies printed. |
| 1952 | An Address to Members of the London Library | London: The London Library, [1952] | First edition. Statement of limitation of the colophon page. Blue wrappers, red & black lettering. Sewn. 500 copies printed. ALSO: The Providence Athenaeum, Rhode Island, 1953. First American edition. Unbound, wire-stiched. 1100 copies printed for distribution gratis to members and friends. |
| 1952 | The Complete Poems and Plays | NY: Harcourt, Brace, [1952] | First edition. "First edition" stated on © page. Blue-green cloth, dark grey & silver lettering. White dust jacket, printed in blue, gold & black. Price $6.00. 12,600 copies printed. |
| 1953 | Selected Prose | London: Penguin Books, [1953] | First edition. "First published 1953" stated on © page. White wrappers, printed in purple & black. |
| 1953 | American Lilerature and the American Language | Washington University, Missouri, [1953] | First edition. Grey wrappers, gilt lettering. 500 copies printed. |
| 1953 | The Three Voices of Poetry | Cambridge University Press, 1953 | First edition. Cream wrappers, printed in green. ALSO: NY: Cambridge University Press, 1954. First American edition. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Grey dust jacket, printed in blue and red. |
| 1954 | The Confidential Clerk | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1954] | First edition. "First published in mcmliv" stated on © page. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Yellow dust jacket printed in red & black. Price 10s6d. (later increased to 12s6d). 20,000 copies printed. NOTE: Some copies (about half) have a misprint "Ihad" for "I had" p. 7, line 2 up. Fixed in press. Both were bound up and issued simultaneously. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1954]. First American edition. "First American edition" stated on © page.. Black cloth, gilt lettering. White dust jacket printed in brown & black. Price $3.00. 26,000 copies printed. |
| 1954 | Religious Drama: Mediaeval and Modern | NY: House Books, Ltd. 1954 | First edition. Lmited edition of 300 numbered and signed copies [plus 26 lettered copies for presentation]. The limitation sheet is inserted. Red cloth, gilt lettering. Glassine dust jacket. |
| 1954 | The Cultivation of Christmas Trees | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1954] | First edition. "First published mcmliv" stated on © page. White wrappers printed in blue & black; sewn. Issued in pale-pink mailing envelope printed in black. ALSO: NY: Farrar, Straus & Co., [1956]. First American edition. "First edition" stated on © page. Decorative white boards printed all-over in black. Issued in yellow paper mailing envelope, printed in black. Price $1.25. 30,000 copies printed. |
| 1955 | The Literature of Politics | London: Conservative Political Centre, [1955] | First edition. "First published in June 1955" stated on © page. Cream-wehite wrappers, printed in blue & black. 6160 copies printed. |
| 1956 | The Frontiers of Criticism | Minn: University of Minnesota Press, [1956] | First edition. White wrappers, printed all-over in green. Issued in white mailing envelope, black lettering. Distributed gratis. 10, 050 copies printed. |
| 1957 | On Poetry and Poets | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1957] | First edition. "First published in mcmlvii" stated on © page. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Yellow dust jacket, printed in grey and black. Price 21s. 6180 copies printed. ALSO: NY:Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1957 . First American edition. "First printing" stated on © page. Black cloth, gilt lettering. Pictorial white dust jacket, printed in in blue & black. |
| 1959 | The Elder Statesman | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1959] | First edition. "First published in mcmlix" stated on © page. Red cloth, gilt lettering. Green (or, later, thinner grey) dust jacket, printed in red and black. 15,000 copies printed. ALSO: NY:Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, [1959]. "First printing" stated on © page. Black cloth, gilt lettering. White dust jacket, printed in black & orange. |
| 1961 | Geoffrey Faber 1889-1961 | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1961] | First edition. Limited edition of 100 copies, privately printed for distribution gratis. Brown boards, gilt lettering. Plain cellophane dust jacket. (Later copies issued in plain brown slipcase.) |
| 1962 | Collected Plays | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1962] | First collected edition. "First published in mcmlxii" stated on © page. Green cloth, red-brown & gilt lettering. Blue dust jacket printed in red & black. |
| 1962 | George Herbert | Longmans, Green & Co., [1962] | First edition. "First published in 1962" stated on © page. Pale yellow-green wrappers, printed in green & black; wire-stiched. 8000 copies printed. ALSO: Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, [1964]. White wrappers, printed in brown, rose and black. 5000 copies printed. |
| 1963 | Collected Poems 1909-1962 | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1963] | First edition. "First published in mcmlxiii" stated on © page. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Yellow dust jacket, printed in black, blue and red. 15,090 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., [1963]. First American edition. "First American edition" stated on © page. Black cloth, gilt lettering. White dust jacket, printed in plum, yellow and black. Price $5.00. 8000 copies printed. |
| 1964 | Knowledge and Experience in the Philosophy of F. H. Bradley | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1964] | Unpublished edition [1963]. "First published in mcmlxiii" stated on © page. Blue cloth, black & gold lettering. White dust jacket, printed in blue & black. Not published. 4961 sets of sheets were printed and 2961 were bound and delivered to the warehouse of the publishers in May 1963; the remaining 2000 sets of sheets were pulped by the binders. All save “a very few” of the bound copies were destroyed by the publishers. ALSO: First published edition [1964]. "First published in mcmlxiv" stated on © page. Blue cloth, black & gilt lettering. White dust jacket, printed in blue & black. ALSO: NY: Farrar, Straus & Co., [1964]. "First printing" stated on © page. Gold boards, gilt lettering. White dust jacket, printed in black, orange and gold. Price $4.50. 5000 copies printed. |
| 1965 | To Criticize the Critic and Other Writtings | London: Faber & Faber Ltd., [1965] | First edition. "First published in mcmlxv" stated on © page. Blue cloth, gilt lettering. Green dust jacket, printed in black, red and blue. 6000 copies printed. ALSO: NY: Farrar, Straus & Co., [1965]. Two issues, priority as listed: A) "First printing" stated on © page. Beige cloth, dark brown & gillt lettering. Off-white dust jacket, printed in brown, red and yellow. 10,000 sheets printed (of which 2500 were used for the 2nd issue). B) Off-white wrappers, printed in black, red and yellow. Publisher given on page [iv] of wrapper as: The Noonday Press. 2500 copies printed. These are the first American edition sheets slightly cut down but otherwise unchanged. |
T. S. Eliot – First Edition Dust Jackets Identification Guide
Gallery of First state Dust Jackets.
Reference:
- Donald Gallup – T. S. Eliot, A Bibliography, A Revised and Extended Edition, 1969.
