North of Boston Robert Frost Other Poetry

This is an impressively bright and clean copy of the first edition, second printing of the first U.S. edition of Robert Frost s second published book, which bolstered his newly minted literary reputation and precipitated his return to the United States from England, where his first two books were published. Though erroneously stated "Third edition" on the copyright page, this is actually the second printing of June 1915, following the first printing of March 1915. North of Boston opens with the famous poems "The Pasture" and "Mending Wall" and was swiftly hailed by important reviews when originally published in 1914. North of Boston was the first of Frost's books to be published in the U.S. (preceding the U.S. publication of A Boy's Will). It also found improbable commercial success. While the publisher "Holt had originally imported only 150 copies from [the British publisher] David Nutt in London, they quickly printed 1,300 more copies of their own; a year later, after four printings, the book had reached 20,000 sales - almost unheard of for a book of poetry."This June 1915 second printing is virtually identical to the first printing save for the notation of a subsequent printing on the title page verso. The dust jacket is identical to that of the first printing. Condition is near fine, in a very good dust jacket. The blue cloth binding is bright, clean, square, and tight with sharp corners, vivid gilt, and rich blue hue. We note only trivial hints of shelf wear confined to the bottom edges and a little wrinkling to the spine head. The contents remain surprisingly bright with a crisp, almost unread feel. We find no spotting or previous ownership marks. Mild age-toning is manifest only to the page edges, which are otherwise impressively clean. The dust jacket shows only trivial loss, confined to the spine ends and front flap fold corners. The spine is lightly scuffed and even more lightly toned, and the blank rear face shows some small, faint stains. The jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.Iconic American poet Robert Lee Frost (1874-1963), the quintessential poetic voice of New England, was actually born in San Francisco and first published in England. Ironically, a 1912 move to England with his wife and children "the place to be poor and to write poems" catalyzed his recognition as a noteworthy American poet. A Boy s Will was published in 1913. A convocation of critical recognition, introduction to other writers, and creative energy supported the English publication of Frost s second book, North of Boston, in 1914, after which "Frost s reputation as a leading poet had been firmly established in England, and Henry Holt of New York had agreed to publish his books in America." Publication of Frost s books in America began with North of Boston; when publishing Frost s first two books, Holt reversed the order of British publication, publishing the U.S. first edition of North of Boston in late March 1915, followed swiftly thereafter by the U.S. first edition of A Boy s Will in April 1915.Accolades met his return to America at the end of 1914 and 1915, when this second printing was issued by his U.S. publisher, was a heady year, marked by expanding recognition and possibilities. By 1917 a move to Amherst "launched him on the twofold career he would lead for the rest of his life: teaching whatever "subjects" he pleased at a congenial college and "barding around," his term for "saying" poems in a conversational performance." (ANB) By 1924 he had won the first of his eventual four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry (1931, 1937, and 1943). Frost spent the final decade and a half of his life as "the most highly esteemed American poet of the twentieth century" with a host of academic and civic honors to his credit. Two years before his death he became the first poet to read in the program of a U.S. Presidential inauguration (Kennedy, January 1961). References: Crane A3; Parini, Robert Frost, p.171