The Waste Land

Description

Eliot, T.S.. The Waste Land. No Place: Hand-printed by Jess Fitch, 1973. . Sewn Wrappers. Very Good. -1974) (20pp.) This printing of Eliot’s landmark poem is completely unknown &, in its personal sense, private rather than a pirate publication (having evidently never been offered for sale). Perhaps for reasons of copyright, it was undertaken by Fitch (conceivably while a student of printing) from the year after its 50th anniversary. On the verso of the title page there is a first name birthday inscription from her, in both English & Welsh, with an accompanying drawing. Every page is framed by a blue decorative scrolled border; one is blank where lines 199-227 (from The Fire Sermon section) are omitted; maybe, again to mollify Faber & Faber’s legal department by leaving the text incomplete? Plain, gilt-titled red card wrappers lightly soiled with a little glue residue visible at the gutters where the sewn text-block is fixed. While it is certain that, at the very least, the printer, also, would have had her own copy, as there is no bibliographical reference even to its existence let alone print run, this appears to be the only known example of this printing of The Waste Land &, as such, too scarce an Eliot item to even be mythical!