Leaves of Grass
- Hardcover
- San Francisco: Arion Press, 2014
San Francisco: Arion Press, 2014. Hardcover. Fine. Hardcover. Number 85 of 250 deluxe copies numbered in Arabic, with fifteen copies numbered in Roman for complimentary distribution. This was the 100th publication of the Arion Press. It is one of the most elegant and collectible books issued by the Press. The origins of Arion Press reach back to 1919, when the brothers Edwin and Robert Grabhorn came to San Francisco from Indianapolis. The brothers established the Grabhorn Press, which became one of the foremost fine printing establishments in the United States from the early 1920s to the mid-1960s. They were proponents of what the great bookmaker Bruce Rogers called “allusive printing,” in which the selection of type, decoration, and page layout alluded to aspects of the books’ contents. When the Grabhorn Press closed in 1965, Robert Grabhorn partnered with Andrew Hoyem. Together, Grabhorn-Hoyem preserved and utilized the Grabhorn Press's vast and distinctive holdings of type and equipment. In 1974, Arion Press was officially formed and launched a series of limited-edition books, printed by letterpress and bound by hand. Many of them were illustrated by prominent artists; some were accompanied by separate editions of original prints. To this day, the list of Arion publications is characterized by its diversity, with titles that range from ancient literature to modern classics [From the Arion Press website].
The text for this exceptional book was taken from the 1855 first edition, which contained just a dozen poems, the first, later titled "Song of Myself," was so long that it took up half the pages. The introduction to this edition was written by noted poetry scholar Helen Vendler (who died earlier in 2024). The volume includes the preface to the 1855 edition, plus the text of a letter of praise of his poetry from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Whitman in 1855. There is also a reproduction of a well known image of Whitman at the age of 34, the year before the first edition was published. Bound in light brown wood boards with a green leather spine with gilt titling. The binding design is a tribute to the Grabhorn edition of 1978-79 in that the boards are wooden, with oak veneer stained yellow-tan, and the spine is goatskin, green for this volume. The types are Goudy Californian (designed for the University of California Press in 1938) for the text, and Trajan capitals, also by Frederic Goudy for initial letters and titling. The paper is handmade Langley, from the Barcham Green Mill in England with watermarks of the Press and the Mill. Accompanied by the prospectus, which includes a sample page from the volume. Housed in a green cloth covered slipcase. In fine condition. Measures 10 x 14 inches. 155 pages plus colophon. PRI/092524.
The text for this exceptional book was taken from the 1855 first edition, which contained just a dozen poems, the first, later titled "Song of Myself," was so long that it took up half the pages. The introduction to this edition was written by noted poetry scholar Helen Vendler (who died earlier in 2024). The volume includes the preface to the 1855 edition, plus the text of a letter of praise of his poetry from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Whitman in 1855. There is also a reproduction of a well known image of Whitman at the age of 34, the year before the first edition was published. Bound in light brown wood boards with a green leather spine with gilt titling. The binding design is a tribute to the Grabhorn edition of 1978-79 in that the boards are wooden, with oak veneer stained yellow-tan, and the spine is goatskin, green for this volume. The types are Goudy Californian (designed for the University of California Press in 1938) for the text, and Trajan capitals, also by Frederic Goudy for initial letters and titling. The paper is handmade Langley, from the Barcham Green Mill in England with watermarks of the Press and the Mill. Accompanied by the prospectus, which includes a sample page from the volume. Housed in a green cloth covered slipcase. In fine condition. Measures 10 x 14 inches. 155 pages plus colophon. PRI/092524.