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The Song of the Lark
Willa Cather
John Murray, London · 1916
First Edition. Extremely scarce first UK edition of Cather's first major novel. Much rarer than its US counterpart.
Publisher's blue cloth with gilt spine lettering, and lettering in blind to front cover noting the author's name as W.S. Cather. On the title page her name is given as Willa SibertCather.
Printed using American sheets from the Riverside Press, Cambridge, MA. Given that Cather was then completely unknown in Britain and that the country was in the middle of a war it would seem highly unlikely that this novel would have made the slightest impact on the British reading public. Indeed, the present copy is the only one I've ever seen or even heard of.
This is not a choice specimen but you're unlikely to find a bettter one! Scuffing to corners and spine edges; a few pages roughly opened (the fore-edges were clearly originally uncut) but no loss to text. Spine lettering faded but still legible. Quite sound and very clean internally.
An important addition to any major Cather collection.
Written by Dr Jeremy Parrott, who has the book in his hands. Nothing here is generated from a catalogue record.
Bibliographic detail
| Author | Cather, Willa |
|---|---|
| Publisher | John Murray, London |
| Date | 1916 |
| Edition | First Edition |
| Binding | Hardcover |
| Condition | Good Only |
| Stock reference | ab_825028450 |