does anyone own any first edition keats books?

[Raphael]

Ennis, I spoke to my conservationist house mate and she said it is best not to have the box with your book on your wall if the book is upright in the box as gravity will put pressure on the spine and eventually damage it. She said the book should be kept flat in the box. As for the pages- what the fellow told you is right- any preserving done on the pages will in time cause further damage and it is better to keep it in the conservation box where it will be in a special enviornment (not too humid, not too dry) and when turning the pages to wear vinyl or rubber gloves (not cotton as the fibres will rub on the paper).She said paper conservation might improve with technology.
I showed her my Mrs Beeton's 1897 recipe book which I have sellotaped the loose pages- I thought she would throw up her hands in horror!- but she said sellotape is ok only it yellows. I have glued the spine covering on it with PVA glue which was already off it when I got it. The book is in poor condition so it would never be worth anything now (I got it for 10p)- but if it was minor page tears and it was worth lots I would have had it done properly. I'm keeping it for historical interest and some of the pickle recipes (great for me- sugar free!!!). I'm keeping it lying flat as it is fragile.

[BrokenLyre]

Excellent Ennis!! I am glad you rescued it from circulation. Good job!

[Cybele]

It is indeed wonderful that that book found its way to the home of someone who will cherish it and take good care of it, Ennis. And I'm so impressed you have a a shrine wall! I love the idea!

(And, Raphael, I like your new avatar. I hope to see that sculpture in person someday.)

[Raphael]

Raphael, I like your new avatar. I hope to see that sculpture in person someday.)

Same here. I'd be interested to know how life size the culpture of him is!

[Saturn]

It's a full life-size sculpture. I'm only 5"10 and I towered over him. I know people generally were smaller in the past but Keats must have been small even to his contemporaries.

[jesleeall]

Saturn, here's a link to a page with pictures of the statue, and one (sort of amusing, I thought!) of a doctor's wife sitting next to the Keats statue. Shows how small he was! I'd love to get to sit next to him some day!

http://www.gsttcharity.org.uk/arts/keats.html

[jesleeall]

Let me add this link:

http://www.portraitsculpture-online.com ... /Keats.htm

[Raphael]

Interesting link jesleeall, thanks for posting it. I love:

We hope the work inspires those who sit with Keats to rest, contemplate and feel more positively about their time in hospital - whether they are a patient, visitor, member of staff or student.

I'd like to sit with him too.

It's a full life-size sculpture. I'm only 5"10 and I towered over him. I know people generally were smaller in the past but Keats must have been small even to his contemporaries.

No *only* Saturn- 5'10 is tall! I think from what I have read that the average height for Regency/1800S men was 5'6. So he wouldn't have been *that* short back then. Anyway, his height didn't make him less attractive to women (though he seemed to think so) and good things come in small packages.
I'm 5'3 so hardly any taller then he was.

I've seen the artist's link before jesleeall- great photos.

[ChildofWoz]

I got an 1897 edition of the poems from a second hand book shop today. I had seen it last time I went in- well the spine at least- the cover is tan coloured and isn't particuarly pretty so I hadn't looked inside. The pages are a bit yellowed and frayed at the edges( they didn't seem to cut them neat like they do in books today). I'm glad I took it out and looked inside it today as it is a hidden gem! It is full of gorgeous illustrations (line drawings)- there are many for Endymion- lots of dancing naked fauns lol.
The publishers were George Bell and sons, York Street, Covent Garden, London. The drawings were by Robert Anning Bell, with an introduction by Walter Raleigh. There is a piece of tissue paper in front of the title page.I found a postcard in there sent to a family in 1962 by a woman who went to Keats House- the postcard is b/w and of the Severn minature.
There is a heart inscribed on the front of the book with the name Norah Lindsay. The man in the book shop thought it might have been a school prize for this Norah.
I only paid £3.50 for it!

Oh, Raphael! That's amazing. That book seems to have quite a history.
That is simply astounding.
Congratulations on your find (:
Truly unique.

[Raphael]

Thanks ChildofWoz.I treasure it!

[Ennis]

I just bought Leigh Hunt's 2-volume autobiography, published in the 1850s, for the grand sum of . . . $15.99!! It looks a little worse-for-the-wear, but, hey, it's worth it to me. I don't purchase my Keats books as a financial investment, anyway. An emotional one, yes, but monetary, nope!! They're mine, all mine!

My bother and I went to Guy's Hospital on our summer pilgrimage 2009, and we saw The Statue. We even did rubbings of the quotes, but we lost them enroute from Rome back to London, along with our "cotton-pickin'" rubbings of The Grave in the Non-Catholic Cemetery. Oh well, my spin on that is -- there's another reason to go back. (The "cotton-pickin'" quote is for ChildofWoz: if she reads this post, she'll understand.)

I also recently purchased PBS' Regency House Party (dvd). I watched parts of it on YouTube (?) and had to own it for my "collection." Now, if I can find a dvd of Ackroyd's The Romantics (BBC) I'll be happy. for a short while, anyway.

[SophieO]

I do. I own two first editions (vol. I and vol. II) of The Poems of John Keats in fine binding. I am actually looking to sell them as I am moving and down-sizing and no longer have room for all of my books. I anyone is interested in purchasing them please let me know.

[Cathat906]

This is an interesting question, I buy most of my secondhand difficult to find books on Abebooks. The internet has revolutionised finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. Something that two decades ago would have taken months searching in bookstores in Hay on Wye, you can find in seconds. Birkinhead's Life of Severn or Amy Lowells monster two volume biography or even a copy of one of the text books that Guys students including Keats used, Salisbury's Botanist companion. I have an 1816 edition that I think cost me less than £5 delivered.
But the price of first editions is astounding, a first edition of Poems 1817 is on sale today on Abebooks for £47.5K.